Nonprofits Respond to Threats to the Combined Federal Campaign

Last week, the nonprofit community mobilized quickly to oppose Section 90104 of the Senate reconciliation bill, which proposed a damaging 10% fee on payroll-deducted charitable contributions. This proposal threatened the integrity of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) and the support it provides to communities nationwide.

As of today all workplace giving provisions—including the proposed 10% fee on payroll deductions—have been removed from the Senate reconciliation bill. This progress would not have been possible without your swift action, engagement and voice. Your partnership helped demonstrate the collective strength and unity of the nonprofit sector and its vital connection to the Combined Federal Campaign.

The CFC remains one of the most effective workplace giving programs in the world. Since 1961, it has raised more than $8.76 billion to support nonprofits serving communities nationwide. Federal employees can give through payroll deduction, making it a trusted and efficient way to donate, with no cost to taxpayers.

The CFC delivers a strong return on investment by directing more dollars to vetted nonprofits. In the last campaign alone, over $68.25 million was pledged to support services like veteran care, disaster relief, health care access, research and child welfare.

CHC remains confident in the future of the CFC. We continue to see growth opportunities in areas such as retiree and contractor giving. Despite changes in the federal workforce, a major drop in CFC pledges did not occur in last year’s campaign. In fact, the campaign saw only a modest 3% decline in pledges for CHC partners, demonstrating continued strength and commitment among federal and military donors. As in previous years, CHC partners fared slightly better than non-CHC partners in the campaign. We will continue to work to make the participation of our partners a success.

Upcoming Opportunities

• CHC will continue to keep our partners updated on any developments with the fee structure for the Combined Federal Campaign. Additionally, CHC is in regular meetings with the office that manages the CFC, the Office of Personnel Management.
• CHC will share a CFC marketing toolkit with donor insights, donor profiles, marketing strategies and customizable marketing graphics and tools in advance of the start of the upcoming CFC campaign in October.
• CHC will continue to identify new workplace giving opportunities for our nonprofit partners. In the coming weeks and months we will announce new philanthropic opportunities to connect you with potential donors in communities across the U.S.

We are also calling all of our nonprofit partners to participate in our CFC gratitude campaign. Running from June 30 through July 4, this campaign highlights the remarkable commitment of the federal and military donors who have given billions to community causes.