Charity Choices

A Resource for Donors

About the CFC

How to make sure your charity comes up in an online Combined Federal Campaign search

Now is the time to review your CFC description    

          As CFC charities are getting their 2020 campaign acceptances, now is the time to look closely at your CFC description. You can change your description when you pay the CFC’s “listing fee,” after you receive your acceptance. 

          In the past, you wanted to write as compelling a case as you could about your work and why it’s important…in 25 words. 

CFC giving down slightly in 2021, but the average gift goes up to $808

                After a small increase in 2020, the Combined Federal Campaign went down about 4% in 2021, raising just over $78 million.  After the big declines between 2017 and 2019, this relative stability the past two years is welcome news. 

                CFC donors increased the average amount they give, up to $808. Donors in DC give even more, an estimated $1,043.* These amounts shows why workplace campaigns continue to be important.  Most people give more when they can give throughout the year by using payroll deduction.   

Ill-timed government shutdown -- plus continuing impact of 2017 changes -- results in another disappointing CFC campaign.

                Donations through the Combined Federal Campaign declined again in 2018, though not nearly as much as they did the previous year, when the CFC rolled out its massive overhaul of the federal government’s fund-raising drive. 

How to navigate the Combined Federal Campaign’s new online giving portal

The Combined Federal Campaign underwent major changes last year designed to streamline the government’s charity drive and make giving easier and more efficient.  As with any major change, implementation wasn’t smooth, which hurt many charities.  Overall giving declined sharply, which has made this year’s campaign even more important for charities.

CFC releases list of eligible charities much earlier than last year. Hundreds of charities drop out, reducing competition.

            This fall's CFC Campaign keeps moving forward, a big contrast to last year's Campaign, which started extremely late. 

            The list of eligible charities was issued August 2. Among other things, this allows the website consultants to start testing the online giving portal, which should take about a month. The materials for this fall's campaign were made available online this week.

Is CFC-focused Promotion Still Worth It? What the Data Shows for Two Charities that Have Taken Different Paths

 

With the federal charity drive declining since 2010, is it worth it to promote your charity’s work among potential CFC donors? 

Two similar charities have answered this question in different ways since 2010, one continuing and expanding its CFC-focused promotion, the second cutting back to the point where it now appears to do little CFC promotion. 

The two are Food For The Poor and World Vision. Both are large Christian charities with strong brands that work internationally. 

As the CFC works to fix the many problems with last year’s campaign, it appears to be on schedule to get this fall’s campaign started on time

 

           The 2018 CFC fall campaign is far ahead of last year’s campaign schedule, a good sign that this year’s CFC will be much more successful.  Last year’s campaign plummeted nearly 40%, a loss of more than $65 million for charities.  One key reason: the campaign started far later than normal. 

Proposed CFC rules call for big changes in how charities can participate and how the CFC will be run

An Analysis by Charitable Choices

            On April 8, 2013, the Office of Personnel Management released proposed rules for the Combined Federal Campaign. The rules call for some major changes, changes that could force many charities out of the CFC and cause giving through the CFC to plummet. 

2017 CFC: What happened? What’s being done to make 2018 better?

         There are times when you wish you hadn’t been right.  Unfortunately, those who predicted the negative impact of many of the federal charity drive’s changes could not have been more right. 

          Last fall -- the year these changes were finally implemented – saw the CFC experience by far its biggest decline ever, both in total dollars given and number of donors.