While we at Charitable Choices are not part of the CFC, we still believe that it is an excellent way for federal employees, military personnel and postal workers to support charities. Here’s why:
- No other employees have the kind of choice of charities to support than do people who work for the federal government. In DC, employees can support more than 4,400 charities, ranging from big charities that support struggling people in other countries to small charities that serve people who are losing their home down the road.
People can also support charities that work in many different ways to help people – charities that provide direct services such as shelters for the homeless, or charities that advocate for more affordable housing. There was a big struggle in the 1980s to make it possible for federal workers to decide for themselves the kind of charitable work they would like to support.
- Every charity in the CFC has met a series of accountability standards, such as having an audit. People can certainly give online, but when they do, unless they do a lot of research, there is no way to know if the charity they choose to support is legitimate and accountable.
- Through the CFC, people can find out about charities they didn’t know about but which are doing exactly the kind of work they want to support. Most people know about the big charities with strong “brands.” It’s easy to go online and support them. But there are thousands of charities just in this area that are doing important work, but which don’t have marketing budgets and don’t have broad name recognition.
Often these are the kinds of charities many people would like to support. They are smaller, so individual donations mean more to them. They are often led by deeply motivated staff and volunteers. They are often trying new approaches or working on new challenges. People can learn about and support charities like this through the CFC.
- By giving through the CFC, people support charities in a way that really makes a difference to all of them, both large and small. Employees do this by having a little deducted from each paycheck. Not only does that allow people to give more, it also gives charities a steady stream of support through the year, which allows them to plan and do more.
There are hundreds if not thousands of charities for whom the CFC has been a godsend. It provides the kind of steady, unrestricted support that all charities need to do their work. If you can, please give through the CFC.