Combined Federal Campaign
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 (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".
[3] In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order 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 to organize nonprofit solicitations of federal government employees:[4] ...
Such arrangements shall (1) permit true voluntary giving and reserve to the individual the option of disclosing his gift or keeping it confidential; (2) designate specific periods during which solicitations may be conducted; and (3) provide for not more than three solicitations annually, except in cases of emergency or disaster appeals for which specific provision may be made by the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission.Kennedy's executive order was eventually replaced[5] by President Ronald Reagan's 1982 executive order 12353, "Charitable Fundraising," which created the modern Combined Federal Campaign under the United States Office of Personnel Management.
While collecting contributions via payroll deduction was centralized, most of the publicity and distribution of funds was the responsibility of the local committees.
[9] In 2015, OPM awarded a contract to administer the CFC to The Give Back Foundation, a charity based in Madison, Wisconsin.
Although OPM intended these new fees to cover the entire cost, it continued to need to deduct money from contributions to meet administrative expenses.
In 2004, the program added a new requirement that all organizations participating in the CFC must certify that they screen all of their employees against government-created blacklists, intended to identify people involved in "terrorist activities".
This resulted in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) resigning from the CFC July 31, 2004, because such checks violate their principles.
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 statutes, Executive orders, and regulations 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's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
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.
[16] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Archives and Records Administration.
