OPM Discloses Fee Schedule for Participation in the 2018 CFC

The 2017 Combined Federal Campaign is currently underway and will be running through January 12, 2018.  We hope that you are having a great campaign season and have been able to take advantage of some of the event opportunities we’ve been sending your way. 

Beginning with the 2017 CFC, a new set of campaign rules took effect, and one of the most significant changes is the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) assessment of fees for charities to both apply to and participate in the campaign. The intention of assessing these fees is to cover the federal government’s fixed costs to administer the campaign. Amounts are announced prior to the beginning of each application period for a given campaign year.

On November 9, 2017, OPM released CFC Memorandum 2017-05 disclosing the fee schedule for participation in the 2018 CFC.

Once again for 2018, two separate fees will be assessed:

• An application fee, due and payable at the time a charity applies for participation in the 2018 CFC.
• A listing fee, due and payable at such time that a charity is accepted by OPM to participate in the 2018 CFC.

There is a possibility that a “distribution fee” will be assessed in the event that the application and listing fees are not sufficient to cover the cost of running the campaign. The necessity for the distribution fee is determined by OPM once the campaign is closed and prior to distribution of CFC funds.

The amount that a charity pays for its application fee is determined by whether an organization is applying nationally or locally in the CFC, as well as whether an organization is part of a federation or is applying independently. 

The amount that a charity pays for its listing fee is determined using a tiered approach based on charity’s total revenue as listed on the IRS Form 990, and then on whether it has been approved as a national or local participant.

• Tier I Organizations: Report $1 million or greater in total revenue
• Tier II Organizations: Report more than $250,000 in total revenue, but less than $1 million
• Tier III Organizations: Report less than $250,000 in total revenue

Some important items of note:

• Once again, application fees are lower for federation members than charities that do not participate with a federation. 
• The listing fee is the same for all charities, regardless of federation participation.
• The listing fee for the 2018 CFC campaign is slightly lower for all participating charities than it was for the 2017 campaign, but it is significantly lower for national/international organizations, ($515 decrease). 
• America’s Charities is required to make one bulk payment of all member organizations’ application and listing fees at time of application (January 31, 2018) and at such time that OPM designates for listing fees. In order to ensure your organization meets all stated requirements for CFC participation and that you may be included in the CFC, we will be invoicing your organization for its application fee in the coming weeks, once OPM releases the 2018 CFC application.  In addition, we will invoice for the listing fee once we receive notification that your organization has been approved in the 2018 CFC (likely in spring or early summer 2018).

As always, we are here to advise you throughout this process and answer any questions that you may have. We are also free to help you determine your fees for the upcoming 2018 CFC.  Please feel free to reach out to Robyn Neal, VP, Client Engagement Solutions, or contact our Client Engagement Solutions team at (800) 458-9505 extension 4953.