The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the workplace giving program of the

federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

. The program is authorized by executive order 12353 (as amended) of March 23, 1982, and is overseen by the

United States Office of Personnel Management The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that manages the US civilian service. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight and support, and tends ...

(OPM). Issued by President Reagan, the order states that a CFC objective is "to lessen the burdens of government and of local communities in meeting needs of human health and welfare..." According to OPM's website, 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". The federal regulations that govern the CFC are at 5 CFR §950.

Origins

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower promulgated procedures for a program of charitable solicitation in the federal workplace and established the "President's Committee on Fund-Raising Within the Federal Service" to review and modify the fund-raising program (

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

No. 10728, 22 Fed. Reg. 7219, Establishing the President's Committee on Fund-Raising Within the Federal Service, Sept. 6, 1957). In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed

10927, "Abolishing the President's Committee on Fund-Raising Within the Federal Service and Providing for the Conduct of Fund-Raising Activities," which gave authority to the

United States Civil Service Commission The United States Civil Service Commission was a government agency of the federal government of the United States and was created to select employees of federal government on merit rather than relationships. In 1979, it was dissolved as part of t ...

to organize nonprofit solicitations of federal government employees:

Kennedy's executive order was eventually replaced by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's 1982 executive order 12353, "Charitable Fundraising," which created the modern Combined Federal Campaign under the

Organization

The CFC consists of a number of local committees and a central Office of the CFC. The overall program is overseen by the Office of Personnel Management. Before 2014, administration was very decentralized. While collecting contributions via payroll deduction was centralized, most of the publicity and distribution of funds was the responsibility of the local committees. Circa 2014, there were 163 such committees. Most of those committees relied on local

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

charities to perform the actual work. In 2014, OPM issued rules to centralize administration of the CFC. OPM argued centralized administration would reduce expenses and eliminate redundant, paper-heavy functions. The first campaign under the new structure took place in 2017. The new structure gave a single charity responsibility for distributing contributions. A reduced number of regional CFC committees were responsible for promoting the campaign. In 2020, there were 36 such CFC zones. In 2015, OPM awarded a contract to administer the CFC to The Give Back Foundation, a charity based in Madison, Wisconsin. The Give Back Foundation subcontracted to Total Administrative Service Corporation (TASC), a for-profit corporation that runs the day-to-day operations of the CFC. OPM renewed the contract in 2021.

Administrative costs

The CFC spends a portion of contributions on administrative costs. The 2014 rule changes included charging each charity an annual application fee, and if the application was approved, an additional listing fee. Although OPM intended these new fees to cover the entire cost, it continued to need to deduct money from contributions to meet administrative expenses. According to the OPM, historically, campaign costs have averaged ten percent. However, costs increased and contributions decreased in the period when administration was centralized. Administrative costs for the 2017 campaign were 25%. In 2019, the CFC continued to charge application fees, listing fees, and distribution fees. The distribution fees that year were 19% of pledges.

Participation

At the Main Treasury Building, in the Cash Room 05

Contributions to the CFC totaled $12.9 million in 1964, $82.8 million in 1979, and peaked at $282.6 million in 2009. In 2011, CFC pledges totaled $272.7 million with 24% of the federal workforce participating and an average employee pledge of $284.27.. In 2012, OPM began the process restructuring the CFC, by establishing the CFC-50 commission, followed by draft rules in 2013. The vast majority of CFC stakeholders that submitted comments in the public comment period opposed key aspects of the proposed rules. The CFC donations began to decline in this period. In the last year of the historical structure with charities operating the CFC, 2016, donations to the CFC totaled $167 million with employee participation at 10.7 percent. Under the first year of OPM's new centralized structure, donations dropped 39% to $101 million and employee participation dropped to 4.3%. The number of participating charities was estimated in 2012 at more than 20,000 nonprofit organizations worldwide. Organizations wishing to participate must submit a new charity application annually. Beginning in 2017, OPM began charging charities upfront fees in order to participate in the CFC. Application and listing fees were tiered based on the size and nature of the charity. Application fees collected from charities totaled $3,498,745 and listing fees totaled $5,766,385. 8,573 charities opted to pay the upfront fees and participate in the CFC. After the 2017 CFC campaign concluded, OPM announced that, pursuant to provisions in the new rules, a 16.5% distribution fee (totaling $16,772,233) would be charged on donations to cover the cost of the CFC. Early reports are that the number of charities participating in 2018 will drop by approximately 9%

Screening of Charities

The CFC requires participating charities to meet certain requirements. From time to time, the CFC has been criticized both for requirements both too restrictive and too lenient.

Terrorist screening controversy

In 2004, the program added a new requirement that all organizations participating in the CFC must certify that they screen all of their

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ot ...

s against government-created

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

s, intended to identify people involved in "

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

activities". This resulted in the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

(ACLU) resigning from the CFC July 31, 2004, because such checks violate their

principle A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, such as the l ...

s. In November 2004, the ACLU and 12 other

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organizations filed a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

challenging this policy. Since then, in November 2005, the OCFCO has put out revised requirements. The new regulation requires that each federation, federation member, and un-affiliated organization applying for participation in the CFC must, as a condition of participation, complete a certification that it is in compliance with all

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

s, Executive orders, and

regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

restricting or prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in transactions and dealings with countries, entities, or individuals subject to economic sanctions administered by the

U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy o ...

(OFAC). In essence, the charities have to certify that the organizations that they support are not considered terrorist organizations by the US Government. While the ACLU was not in the CFC for 2005, these revised requirements seem to have satisfied most of the charities who complained. In 2007, the ACLU returned to the CFC.

Charities failing to pay taxes

In 2006, Federal regulators released a report finding the CFC had allowed charities to participate despite being behind on payroll taxes or otherwise engaging in illegal activities. The CFC said a federal law prevented it from screening charities for tax compliance, however in 2006 it said it was taking steps to assure participating charities actually were recognized by the IRS as tax exempt.

Charities with high overhead costs

Prior to 2006, the CFC restricted charities with fundraising and other overhead costs exceeding 25% of revenue. It did not prohibit such charities from participating, but required them to explain those costs. Starting in 2006, it dropped this screening, citing burden administering the rule, as well as lawsuits from charities affected by the rule.

Notes

References

* "ACLU and Coalition Challenge Government Watch List Policy", ''Civil Liberties'' (The ACLU national newsletter), Winter 2005.

External links

OPM CFC web site
or''
opm.gov Combined Federal Campaign website

CFC Today
{{authority control United States federal law 1961 establishments in Washington, D.C. United States Office of Personnel Management