What's in a name?

So, what's the value of a brand name? In the case of United Way, it's over 4 billion dollars! A recent Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100 Report listed United Way of America (now United Way Worldwide) as the #3 Power Brand with an overall brand value of $4,516,900,000. United Way was also ranked #2 in revenue ranking and number 3 in Brand Image Rank.

Who ranked ahead of United Way? YMCA of the USA is ranked number 1 with a brand value of $6.393,600,000 while the Salvation Army was second at $4,702,900,000. Other groups in the top 10 included American Red cross, Gooodwill Industries, Catholic Charities, Habitat for Humanity, American Cancer Society, The Arc of the United States and Boys & Girls Club of America.  Besides being #1 in Brand Value Rank, YMCA was also tops in Revenue Rank. The American Cancer Society was number 1 in Brand Image Rank. United Way and the Salvation Army were the only groups ranked in the top 3 in all three categories.

Those numbers pale next to the value of the world's number one brand name - Coca-Cola - which Business Week valued at $67 billion, but they make for some interesting discussions as to the value of nonprofits as perceived by the public. However, United Way's brand would land it in the top 100 world wide brands if you could use the Cone valuation on the business Week lists.

According to the Cone report, "Brands were valued based on five years of consolidated financial data and a nationally representative consumer perception survey, among several other metrics." 

Here at Valley United Way, we are proud to be a member of the United Way family. However what's really important to us is how people in the Valley area perceive us and the value that we bring to the community here. We benefit from the association with United Way's all across the country and the recognition that United Way brings in the area of philanthropy and service to the community. Though we don't have an NFL franchise, we can't help but gain from the exposure that the ads during every NFL game bring. Ultimately however, we are judged by the good that we do in the Valley, and that's just fine with us.

For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.