September 8, 2010; Source: Charlotte Observer | It is United Way campaign season so NPQ will be following notable stories about workplace campaigns. In Charlotte, North Carolina the takes from its two major workplace campaigns run by the United Way and the Arts and Science Council have each declined 30% in recent years, so the Foundation for the Carolinas convened a task Force to try to figure out what could and should be done. We do not have immediate access to the report but the problem is stated in this article as follows, “over the past few years, things changed dramatically. The economy tanked. A leadership scandal smacked the United Way. Workers tired of the arm-twisting and started to question the value of a middleman between them and the charities of their choice.” The task force studied best practices around the country and came up with one main recommendation, which was to start a third workplace campaign to cover agencies excluded from those run by United Way and ASC. The problem of excluded agencies is brewing all over the country and some are going away mad enough to do something about it. Last year NPQ covered a few stories about groups of agencies which started their own alternative campaigns after being excluded. What do you think about the recommendation posed by this task force?–Ruth McCambridge