A post-Russell call to arms for the needy

The announcement that Russell Investments is departing Tacoma next year has a lot of people wondering what to do in its wake.

Here’s one prescription for guaranteed results: Give to Sound Sound nonprofits.

Perhaps nowhere will Russell’s absence be felt more acutely than among the social service agencies that relied on the generosity of Russell’s head office and employees.

Russell has been Pierce County’s single biggest giver. Before the financial meltdown, the company’s giving amounted to as much as 8 percent of the millions raised by United Way of Pierce County. In addition to the $950,000 Russell management and employees contributed to area nonprofits through United Way two years ago, it gave another $500,000 directly to nonprofits.

The community’s safety net could be headed for a world of hurt. Nonprofits already have been pounded by recession in two ways: The very economic downturn that sends more people through their doors also puts a squeeze on donations.

Charities simply have no buffer to cushion any blow, much less a blow as big as Russell pulling up stakes.

Now, for the good news: Pierce County doesn’t need a bunch of suits with six-figure salaries to take care of its own. It never has.

Last year, Sound Sound troops and other federal employees raised $1.25 million in their annual fund drive at a time when thousands of them were deployed and their families were facing financial and other pressures.

Those who have experienced hardship tend not to forget it. They often open their wallets wider than those who have never known need.

Pierce County residents, provided the opportunity and a compelling case, will give. More of them need access to this community’s most efficient way to deliver the most assistance to the most people: United Way.

United Way can’t go where it’s not welcome. For years now, the agency has been trying to gain entree to more Pierce County businesses, with disappointing results. Some of its more iconic businesses – solid corporate citizens such as Brown & Haley and Milgard Windows and Doors among them – don’t participate.

The reasons are varied. Sometimes a business already has its own charitable programs and managers worry about asking too much of employees. Some worry about taking valuable time away from production. Others aren’t aware of the evolution of United Way from mere fund-raiser to a community priority setter that channels money to organizations with demonstrated results.

There never has been a more pressing need for companies to set reservations aside and simply offer employees a chance to give.

Calls to United Way’s help and referral line – an indication of community need – have more than doubled since 2006. The county’s social service network is facing a state of emergency. The community should respond with the appropriate urgency.