United Way President Leaves For East Coast Tireless Fund-Raiser Leaving Spokane Better Than He Found It

The president of United Way of Spokane County resigned Wednesday to accept the same job at a bigger United Way organization on the East Coast.

Jose Pena, 52, ushered United Way through a rocky period in the charity’s history - raising record amounts of money but falling short of the annual goal each of his four years as president.

His last day will be Aug. 15. Pena didn’t return calls to his office seeking comment Wednesday.

“It caught us a little off guard,” said Kristi Blake, chairwoman of United Way’s board of directors. “I did know he was considering another position.”

Pena will be the president and chief executive of the East Fairfield County United Way in Bridgeport, Conn.

He will have a larger staff, a bigger salary and manage a larger annual campaign.

The Spokane County United Way raised $5.1 million last year to support 33 agencies that provide services to the poor, elderly and disabled.

The United Way in Bridgeport raised $6 million last year to support 49 agencies.

When Pena was hired in 1993, he made $65,000 a year. Spokane County United Way officials would not release his current salary. Pena’s predecessor in Bridgeport earned $70,000 a year.

Throughout his four years as president, Pena insisted the organization needed to respond to changing economic factors in order to raise money.

“I loved the fact that he saw the big picture,” said Jan Krogh, who has been involved with the United Way campaign in Spokane for nine years and a board member for a year. “And he had ethics. I’m deeply saddened that he’s leaving.”

One innovation that sets the charity apart is its workplace deduction plan, in which employees at most corporations and businesses can have donations deducted from their paychecks.

Corporate downsizing, increasing distrust of employers and frozen or falling wages all detracted from donations, Pena said.

Blake said Pena turned the Spokane County United Way around at a time when donations were dropping. She pointed out three of Pena’s accomplishments: creating and implementing a strategic plan, starting a $1,000-a-year leadership giving plan and working toward improving race relations in the area.

Pena, who was born in Mexico City and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the first Hispanic to serve as director of the charity.

He came to Spokane with his wife and two teenage daughters from San Diego, where he had been a United Way vice president.

He urged the community to address social problems such as gangs, race relations and youth crime while the problems are still manageable. He repeatedly said that Spokane was in a good position to improve - large enough to have a lot of resources but small enough to pool those resources.

The board of directors will meet in two weeks to name an interim president and develop a transition plan, Blake said. A search committee will be named and start looking for a replacement.

“I’d think we need to have someone who has a good strong fund-raising base,” Blake said, “because we can’t do anything without money.”

, DataTimes