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Your CFC Questions Answered!

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The deadline for the Combined Federal Campaign is December 15, but many of you may still have questions. Luckily, we have the answers!

Who can donate through the CFC?

If you are a federal employee, government contractor, postal worker, service member or are retired from federal/postal or military service, you can donate!

How much or frequently can I donate?

You can give either as a one-time thing or through regular donations. Either way is completely fine!

How do I give?

You can donate either online or through a paper pledge form. Online donations can be made through payroll deductions, credit or debit card or an eCheck. Payroll deduction, cash or check is accepted when using a paper pledge form.

Your unit should have a CFC representative who can guide you through the process. If you need more help, contact support@cfcnca.org.

Are payroll deductions pre-tax?

You cannot make charitable contributions through payroll deductions pre-tax, per federal laws. However, you can claim these donations on your taxes.

Is there a minimum pledge amount?

For payroll deductions, you must give at least $1 per payroll period.

What if I want to cancel my donation?

Canceling a payroll deduction or recurring credit/debit card donation is the only change allowed outside of the pledge period. To cancel a payroll deduction, contact your payroll department and request that the allotment be stopped. To cancel a recurring credit card statement, call your credit or debit card company. You can get more information from support@cfcnca.org.

Can I give to more than one charity?

Yes! You can give to one specific charity, to specially chosen charities you select, to a group of charities or give to undesignated funds. You can search through the eligible charities at cfcnca.org. When giving to more than one charity, you can specify how much of your funds will be given to each charity. Undesignated funds will be equally allotted among all charities and federations.

Your CFC Questions Answered!

CFC is the largest and most successful yearly workplace charity program in the world.

I donated to the CFC last year. Do I need to make a new pledge?

Yes, donations are only good for one year. For each year that you wish to donate through the CFC, you will need to complete a new pledge form, either online or on paper.

What if I want to donate to a charity in a neighboring charity region?

Unfortunately, this is not allowed. You can only donate to national charities or local charities within your workplace CFC zone.

How do I get a copy of my contribution statement for taxes?

If you donated through a payroll deduction, you won’t receive a charitable contribution statement. Instead, you will need to compare your payroll deductions to the charities on your pledge form.

To find this, keep a copy of your pledge form. Then on your last leave and earning statement (LES) of the year, locate the deductions. Make sure the totals match, and bring both forms to your tax service or use them when you do your taxes.

For one-time donations on a debit or credit card, please keep the original receipt that was emailed to you. For recurring credit or debit donations, please save the original emailed receipt and your monthly credit/debit card statements.

If you donated through cash or check, please email finance@cfcnca.org to request a tax receipt.

Bring all of these documents with you when you do your taxes or have them handy at home, if you do your own taxes.

Why should I care about the CFC?

Over the last 55 years, more than $8 billion has been contributed to local and national charities. It is the largest and most successful yearly workplace charity program in the world. The donations made by federal, military and postal employees (and retirees) help support health and human services charities across America and around the world.

When does the contribution period end?

The deadline is rapidly approaching!

To pledge to a charity through the CFC this year, you must make your pledge by December 15.

Your workplace should have a local representative or point of contact who can guide you in making your donation. If you need more help, contact support@cfcnca.org.

What questions do you have about the CFC?

Why the CFC Matters

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For service members and federal employees, the Combined Federal Campaign is everywhere right now. But why does it really matter?

Why the CFC Matters

First, a little history about the CFC.

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) has been around, in different forms, since 1956. President Dwight Eisenhower created a system to allow federal employees and military personnel to give to charity, without endless requests at work. Presidents through the years have refined and changed the system into what it is today.

Today, the CFC is a once yearly period of time when troops and government workers can donate to charities. This helps to stop year-round charitable donation requests from colleagues or groups. And it allows federal workers to show their support for their favorite causes through their job. On the job giving or donations requests usually isn’t allowed. It can be seen as an “endorsement” by the government.

What is the CFC?

The CFC is a system that helps service members to donate to their favorite charities quickly and easily. It also helps them to track their giving for pay purposes.

First, charities apply to be included in the program. A group that has 501(c)(3) status may apply to be included in either a local or national campaign. For either category, the charity must show their impact and programs.

Then, between September 1 and December 15, 2016 federal employees and service members can give to the group(s) of their choice.

Charities are either local, national or part of a federation. You can give to groups in one or all categories. A local charity works in a designated zone close to your workplace or base. A national charity reaches communities around the country. Charities in a federation are all similar types of groups. For example, a group of charities working in education or health care.

Why the CFC Matters

From left: Master Sgt. Elizabeth Ramos, 412th Force Support Squadron, watches as Brig. Gen. Carl Schaefer, 412th Test Wing commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Todd Simmons, 412th TW command chief, fill out their Combined Federal Campaign donation forms at wing headquarters Oct. 24. Ramos and 1st Lt. Christophe Bangerezako, 412th Medical Support Squadron, are this year’s points of contact. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ethan Wagner)

Not sure where you want your donation to go? You can donate undesignated funds. These will be split evenly between all the charities.

Giving is simple too!

During the CFC period, employees can donate in 3 different ways.

The easiest way is through a payroll deduction. You can give as little as $1 per paycheck over the course of the CFC giving year. Or you can donate as much as you want! The money comes out automatically every pay period and can be divided between different groups.

Another option is to give a one-time cash, check or credit card donation. For specifics about how to donate this way, check with your unit or base representative.

The last way to give is through a recurring credit, debit or ACH donation. Again, check with your unit or base rep for more details.

It’s also easy to track your giving. For payroll deductions, match the deductions taken to the charities on your year-end LES. For credit or debit card donations, make sure that you keep your receipts! If you made a cash donation, you should contact the Finance Department.

Changes are coming to the CFC in 2017.

Retirees will be able to donate through the CFC starting in September 2017. They will be able to give through monthly deductions from their annuity.

Also starting next year, federal employees will be able to volunteer their time and donate. You will be able to give time to selected groups. That time will be monetized and added to the CFC totals.

By opening up these 2 ways to give back, more service members and military retirees will be able to have an impact.

Even those on a tight budget will be able to help others, through the gift of time.

Another change is the GiveBack.org has partnered with the CFC and OPM to modernize the donation system. GiveBack is a charity that helps large groups of people work together for charity. This group will also likely help to integrate the volunteer and retiree donation options into the current CFC system.

The 2016 Combined Federal Campaign is currently underway. Click here to find out more information about donating to the CFC today.

Search Charity Navigator Before Donating Through the CFC

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My elderly neighbor handed me the solicitation paperwork she received in her mailbox and asked me

Is this a legit veterans organization?

My neighbor wants to donate her money to a veterans organization and she gets many requests through the mail for her donations. But she is worried that this organization might be a scam and frankly, she should be concerned. These scams target senior citizens and the donation paperwork often looks very similar to legit nonprofit organizations.

Did I know if this nonprofit organization was telling the truth? No, but I used the website Charity Navigator to find out.

Search Charity Navigator Before Donating Through the CFC

The Charity Navigator takes the confusion out of the donation selection process. Use it before making a donation through the Combined Federal Campaign.

Charity Navigator is a nonprofit organization that aims to give donors information so that they can make informed giving decisions. It’s an independent charity evaluator and the best way to research thousands of charities easily.

“By guiding intelligent giving, we aim to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome our nation’s and the world’s most persistent challenges,” according to Charity Navigator’s mission statement.

Charity Navigator has a comprehensive search tool and rating system. Charity Navigator also has interesting Top Ten Lists (10 Charities Worth Watching and 10 Charities in Deep Financial Trouble) that are worth browsing along with a specific Support Out Troops page.

The Support Out Troops page cautions donors “to look carefully before choosing one of these charities to support as not all operate with equal efficiency.”

“Donors can be confident that contributions made to the higher rated charities will be spent efficiently as these charities have low overhead and fundraising costs enabling them to use more of their resources in carrying out their mission.

“On the other hand, the low rated charities do not operate efficiently. Much of the money donors give to those organizations ends up in the hands of for-profit fundraisers, not the brave women and men of the United States’ military and their families,” said the Charity Navigator’s Support Out Troops page.

Search Charity Navigator Before Donating Through the CFC

That’s the reason why I search Charity Navigator before making a donation through the Combined Federal Campaign.

I want my donation to go to help veterans, not toward a 6-figure salary for a nonprofit’s CEO. I always look very closely at the percentage reported for the organizations’ program expenses (percent of the charity’s total expenses spent on the programs and services it delivers) within the financial performance metrics provided by Charity Navigator.

My goal is to donate to a nonprofit that is 90 percent or higher in that category. That’s my personal benchmark. You can pick your own.

I also use Charity Navigator to take the confusion out of the Combined Federal Campaign. The Combined Federal Campaign, available to federal employees and service members, is the largest workplace giving campaign.

It’s a convenient way to donate money to your favorite charity. The CFC takes place once a year. It’s not required that service members donate money to a nonprofit organization, but the CFC gives everyone the option and opportunity to make a donation.

The CFC has thousands of charities in its system and sometimes I have difficulty deciding which to give my money to. The Charity Navigator takes the confusion out of the donation selection process and allows me to make an informed donation.

Want to research your favorite charities? Visit Charity Navigator today.

What’s the Combined Federal Campaign?

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The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the world’s largest annual workplace charity campaign and it is available to all federal employees, including service members. In 2013, $209.7 million was donated through CFC pledges made between September 1 and December 15 at almost 200 campaigns throughout the country and around the world. The number of participating charities is estimated at more than 20,000 worldwide.

Have you heard of the Combined Federal Campaign? Have you donated to your favorite charities using the CFC in the past?

The CFC is the only authorized giving program for federal employees. Its history dates back to June 1956, when President Dwight Eisenhower formally charged “the President’s Advisor on Personnel Management with responsibility for the development and administration of a uniform policy and program for fundraising within the federal service. In that year, Fund Raising Bulletins No. 1 and No. 2 were issued, identifying the charitable organizations recognized for on-the-job solicitations and designating the times of the year during which their solicitations could take place.”

Prior to the 1950s, federal on-the-job solicitation “was an uncontrolled free-for-all. Agencies, charities, and employees were all ill-used and dissatisfied,” according to the Office of Personal Management.

The first “combined” campaigns happened in 1964. Officially called “Combined Federal Campaigns,” this experiment consolidated fundraising drives from 6 cities into one. The result was a “substantial increase in contributions, ranging from 20 percent to 125 percent and a highly favorable response within the federal community: agency managers were pleased with having to deal only with a once-a-year effort; federal employees responded with favor to the single solicitation.”

In 1971, President Richard Nixon announced that the CFC would be the uniform fundraising method for the federal service.

Today, the Combined Federal Campaign provides a convenient and confidential option for service members who want to donate a percentage of their paychecks or make a one-time donation to their favorite charities.

The Office of Personal Management oversees the CFC. Each base has its own CFC agency coordinators who oversee the key workers. The key workers are federal employees who distribute the CFC charity list and pledge forms within their unit. These key workers may also collect pledge forms and donations from contributors. All pledges are transmitted and reported to the agency coordinator.

I was once the CFC key worker for the MCCS Okinawa Marketing office. My main responsibility was to notify each person working in our office about the CFC. There was zero pressure to donate. The CFC doesn’t have a fundraising goal. Instead the target is that 100 percent of federal employees are notified about the campaign and its purpose.

I also distributed the CFC charity list and answered questions about the CFC. For example, one of the misconceptions of the Combined Federal Campaign is that the charity list is made up of only national nonprofit organizations.

When in fact, the charity list includes national, international and local organizations. This means that the CFC charity list includes a wide range of nonprofit organizations. Think everything from UNICEF to the NRA to Navy Seal Foundation to Guam Girl Scouts.

You can search the charity list easily using the CFC Search Tool found on the CFC website.

What questions do you have about the CFC?

Info About the Combined Federal Campaign

https://www.opm.gov/combined-federal-campaign/

FAQ about the Combined Federal Campaign

https://www.opm.gov/combined-federal-campaign/donating-through-cfc/#url=FAQs

Welcome to the official source for information about the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC)

The mission of the CFC is to promote and support philanthropy through a program that is employee focused, cost-efficient, and effective in providing all federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all.

CFC is the world’s largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign, with almost 200 CFC campaigns throughout the country and overseas raising millions of dollars each year. Pledges made by Federal civilian, postal and military donors during the campaign season (September 1st to December 15th) support eligible non-profit organizations that provide health and human service benefits throughout the world. The Director of OPM has designated responsibility for day-to-day management of the program and to its CFC office.

This website will be of interest to anyone interested in workplace giving.


http://www.cfctoday.org/_root/

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FOUNDATION

Welcome to CFCToday.org, the Web site developed to provide resources for local campaigns and to help Federal employees make informed, educated decisions about giving to charity through the Combined Federal Campaign. The CFC is your campaign, run by Federal volunteers across the nation and overseas, it is the largest employee campaign in the world.

We invite you to learn more about the Combined Federal Campaign, connect with the CFC in your own community, and review the charities that need your support.


http://cfcoverseas.org/news/cfc_overseas_announces_2015_dodds_art_competition_winners