Twitter
Facebook
Fundraising for charitable organizations in the federal workplace can
be traced to the late 1940s. However, formal authority to permit
fundraising in the federal workplace was not established until 1961,
when the U.S. Civil Service Commission was created to develop
guidelines and regulate fundraising in the federal service.
Prior to the 1950s, on-the-job fundraising in the federal workplace was
an uncontrolled free-for-all. Quotas for agencies and individuals were
freely established and supervisors applied pressure to employees. But
even with the frequency of on-the-job solicitations, total receipts for
charitable causes were minor. In many cases, employees donated their
pocket change.
In June 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally charged the
President’s Advisor on Personnel Management with responsibility for the
development and administration of a uniform policy and program for
fundraising within the federal service. The committee’s eligibility
criteria formed the basis for identifying charitable organizations. The
first participating charitable organizations were:
– The American Red Cross,
– Community Chests, United Funds, or Federated Groups,
– The National Health Agencies (an ad hoc group of nine health-related
voluntary organizations, now known as Community Health Charities), and
– International Voluntary Agencies
Each of the groups was assigned specific periods during each year when
they would be permitted to carry out on-the-job solicitations. This was
a giant step in simplifying and systematizing fundraising in the
federal service. As it developed, however, there continued to be
dissatisfaction with the expense and disruptive influence of multiple
campaigns.
In 1964, the first “combined” campaigns, officially called Combined
Federal Campaigns, were conducted as experiments in six cities,
consolidating all drives into one. The result was a substantial
increase in contributions, ranging from 20 to 125 percent, and a highly
favorable response within the federal community: agency managers were
pleased with having to deal only with a once-a-year effort; federal
employees responded with favor to the single solicitation. By 1971 all
campaigns had become combined.
In the late 1970’s, public policy advocacy groups, legal defense funds,
and other organizations succeeded through lower court litigation in
entering the CFC. Significant changes to the CFC regulations went a
long way toward expanding participation in the CFC and resolving a
number of other problems.
CFC regulations were revised in November 1995 – eligibility and public
accountability criteria for participating charities remain consistent
with congressional guidelines. However, several administrative changes
were made. Some of the more important revisions include:
– More clearly defining the scope and meaning of workplace solicitations in the federal government;
– Identification of the circumstances where the director may authorize
solicitations of federal employees in the workplace outside of the CFC;
and
– Clarification of procedural requirements for charitable organizations seeking participation in the CFC.
(Information provided by Combined Federal Campaign)
