From Fundraiser to Change Agent

In 2002, Rebecca Leet researched, analyzed, and reported the remarkable transformation of one of the nation's premier United Way organizations, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. The UWMA experience has reverberated throughout the national system, which adopted a strategic plan in 2002 calling upon all United Ways to become community organizers and change agents along the model of Atlanta and other innovative United Ways.

These Lessons for Transforming an Organization are excerpted from the two-volume documentation of the Atlanta experience. The companion document is entitled The Building Blocks of Change: Details of What Changed at UWMA and How.

1. Take the time needed.
   Major change requires 5-7 years.
2. Have a vision.
   Without it, whatever is created will not hold.
3. Secure executive leadership.
   Without senior management, major and lasting change is impossible.
4. Expect controversy.
   People honestly differ about mission.
5. Expect mistakes.
   There is no clear path to most transformative change.
6. Expect frustration.
   Anticipate it. Articulate it. Manage for it.
7. Involve experts.
   You may know where you want to go but not how to get there.
8. Re-tool your thinking, re-tool your actions.
   Post-transformation, the product is often markedly different from its predecessor. The production process may need to be, too.