EDITOR: Recent media coverage of the sudden closure of a company
called PipeVine that processed charitable contributions for United
Way of the Bay Area and some large corporations has raised concerns
within our community.
EDITOR:
Recent media coverage of the sudden closure of a company called PipeVine that processed charitable contributions for United Way of the Bay Area and some large corporations has raised concerns within our community.
We value your support and thought you’d like to have more details about the situation.
United Way of the Bay Area and United Way Silicon Valley are separate organizations and United Way Silicon Valley did not use PipeVine to process gifts. We do it ourselves in-house – unless a partner company decides to process its own pledges or contract with someone else to do it – which some of our largest partner companies do because of the national scope of their employee base.
Eight of the approximately 500 companies we work with used PipeVine to process employee contributions: Bank of America, Kaiser Permanente, Macy’s West, New United Motors, PG&E, Union Bank, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo.
If you don’t work for one of these eight companies, the gift you made through United Way Silicon Valley has not been affected.
It appears at this point that there will be relatively little financial impact on us in Silicon Valley, but we are following up to fully understand the situation. We will work closely with United Way of the Bay Area and the eight companies affected to reach a solution that fully honors donors’ pledges through their workplace campaigns.
On one important point you can rest assured: Your United Way and its Board of Directors fully understand that how we handle and distribute your donation is critical. We have tight controls in place and pledge to work tirelessly to maintain your trust and confidence.
Mark Walker, President & CEO United Way, Silicon Valley
