CFC Update: The 2018 CFC Campaign and Government Shutdown

Valued Nonprofit Partners:

As you are no doubt aware, we are currently on day 24 of a partial federal government shutdown. 800,000 federal employees have been furloughed or expected to work without pay since December 22, making this the longest shutdown in our nation’s history.

While we do not yet have final results, we know the shutdown will impact donor participation and dollars pledged in the 2018 CFC.

Here is what you need to know: 

• The 2018 CFC solicitation period began on September 10, 2018 and was set to close this past Friday, January 11. It is our understanding that the Office of Personnel Management’s Acting Director is currently considering a proposal to extend the solicitation period, but we do not know the proposed end date for the extension. That being said, the CFC’s online giving portal now shows a Campaign end date of February 8.
• In recent years, we have seen increasing need for employee giving programs to adjust to changes in donor expectations and technology. Donors now have a number of different ways to give to nonprofits and employers have had to respond to employee demand in order to engage more effectively through their programs.
• Beginning with the 2017 CFC, major administrative and structural changes were put in place to help modernize the program and rebound from its decline. While it remains our view that so many changes should not have been implemented within such a short timeframe, we saw a revitalized Campaign really begin to hit its stride before the shutdown occurred this past fall. Now, the question remains what the impact will be.

I want you to know we are not taking this lightly. We remain on the front lines advocating on your behalf to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and administrative and marketing representatives of local campaigns throughout the country. We continue to be in contact with members of the press – front and center as of this morning is our contribution to a column in The Washington Post.

At the end of the day it is important to remember workplace giving is one of the most cost-effective and transparent ways to donate to charity. As we’ve stated before, the CFC is still an extremely valuable source of revenue for more than 8,000 charities nationwide, with major potential for growth, both in overall federal employee and retiree participation and pledges generated for nonprofits. Cost-effective benefits of participating in the CFC include marketing and promotion for your nonprofit to the entire federal workforce, aggregated funds disbursement, and consolidated data and reporting provided to charities. The key moving forward is for the CFC to engage the federal workforce in a meaningful way – an enormous challenge in the face of what will undoubtedly be lower employee morale.

We will continue to keep you updated with feedback we have on how this shutdown has impacted the CFC. In the meantime, please continue to show federal employees your appreciation. Let them know difference they make with their gifts. You can find resources on how to do this in our 2018 Promotion Guide.

Should you have any questions about the CFC or your membership with America’s Charities, please reach out our Client Engagement team via email at clientsolutions@charities.org. Please stay tuned for more updates.

Sincerely,

Jim Starr

President & CEO