Without public trust, charities like the United Way find it needlessly hard to survive, let alone thrive. Consequently, the leaders of such organizations must avoid not only wrong-doing itself but even its appearance.
That being the case, William Aramony did the honorable thing Thursday by announcing he will step down as national president of United Way of America as soon as a successor is chosen.Whatever else the public may choose to conclude from Aramony's resignation and the scandal that led up to it, his departure certainly can be seen as a painful but necessary exercise in damage-control.
In recent days, the United Way has been suffering nationally because of the cloud under which Aramony found himself. United Way does such important work that its squeaky-clean character and reputation simply must be preserved and protected.
But it would have been needlessly hard to do that job as long as the man at the top was under the kind of cloud that Jack Anderson and Michael Binstein outline in their syndicated column on this page today.
In essence, the allegations against Aramony involve lavish salaries, apparent favoritism in hiring, and irregularities between the national United Way and spinoff organizations receiving money from it. As a result, Aramony lost the support of many of the nation's largest United Way chapters and was being pressed to give up the post he has held for 22 years.
More than a score of those local United Way organizations across the country have delayed payment of their voluntary dues to the national organization. Their action could send an unfortunate message to individual and corporate donors. Even after Aramony announced his departure, local United Way officials around the country expressed fears that the organization still could face financial and perceptual problems.
A few admonitions are clearly in order at this point.
First, don't judge local United Way operations across the country on the basis of mistakes at the national level. At the grassroots level, United Way is still a major asset whose value is enhanced by frugality and selfless service.
Second, if the national organization is wise, its future leaders will stop acting like executives of Fortune 500 companies and start comporting themselves more like servants of the deserving needy. If United Way wants a pattern for its remodeling, it should take a close look at the American Red Cross, whose top official is paid less than half of what Aramony has been making. Unlike United Way of America, the Red Cross also does not permit air travel in costly first-class.
Finally, United Way of America deserves credit for recognizing that, even without Aramony at the helm, some reforms are in order. Already it has announced that travel and other expenses will be monitored much more closely. Further changes are under consideration. Meanwhile, Aramony's departure should help speed the repair work.