Updates – 2016 and 2017 Campaign Funds Distribution

We’ve arrived at what we know to be our member nonprofits’ favorite time of year – not just because it’s almost summer, but because now is when you begin to receive payout for pledges produced from workplace giving campaigns for the prior year. The distribution schedule for workplace giving campaigns is fairly unique in that it brings in consistent, predictable monthly revenue for charities year-round. However, it can also be a bit confusing, given that campaign cycles and payouts overlap; payments from prior campaigns are still occurring during the 4-5 month lag time between when more recent campaigns close and when first payments are issued.

Here’s a short refresher on the average distribution schedule using 2016 and 2017 campaigns for example:

• 2016 Campaigns: Employee makes a pledge during his/her company’s charitable campaign in fall 2016. First payments from the 2016 campaign are issued in May 2017 and occur on a monthly basis, through April 2018; America’s Charities distributes funds as they are received from the employer.
• 2017 Campaigns: Employee makes a pledge during his/her company’s charitable campaign in fall 2017. First payments from the 2017 campaign are issued in May 2018 and occur on a monthly basis through April 2019; America’s Charities distributes funds as they are received from the employer.

Here are some important items to note this month as 2016 campaigns close out and distribution for 2017 campaigns begins:

• 2016 Campaign Payments Finalized
  • Payments were issued to your charity on a monthly basis as America’s Charities received funds beginning in May 2017.
  • The most recent distribution of 2016 funds was issued to members on May 21, which is one month later than the traditional timeframe. This delay is attributed to campaigns sending funds to America’s Charities later than anticipated, as well as some administrative changes. An example of this is with the 2016 CFC of the National Capital Area, which accounts for roughly ¼ of overall pledges produced in the CFC, but did not issue final payments until later this spring.
  • While 2016 campaigns are now mostly paid out, there is a possibility that your charity could receive additional funds for 2016 designations through August, as there are still some public sector campaigns for which final payments are pending.
• 2017 Campaign Payments – Late June
  • Due to a number of factors, first payments for 2017 campaigns are about a month behind schedule and will not be issued until late June. Our Funds Management team is currently still allocating funding from campaigns for 2017 and preparing it for distribution. Online reporting on Pledge First is also not complete for 2017. Information is currently available in the portal for the CFC and for our managed campaigns, but pledge data is still being loaded for many state and local and private sector campaigns. Reporting should be more fully available in late June as pledge information is processed.
• 2017 CFC Distribution Fee – As mentioned in our most recent update on May 24, the Office of the CFC is assessing a 16.5% distribution fee for all charities that participated in the 2017 campaign. Here are several very important items to note surrounding the 2017 distribution fee:
  • This fee is not assessed by America’s Charities; it is deducted from distributions by the CFC’s Central Campaign Administrator (CCA) before payment reaches America’s Charities for redistribution to member organizations.
  • The distribution fee is being assessed to cover the remaining balance of campaign administrative costs not already covered by charity application and listing fees that were paid by your organization in 2017.
  • The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is recouping the entirety of the 16.5% within its first 2 distributions; all remaining distributions will be whole (with no further funds being taken from the distribution before reaching America’s Charities). This means that your first distribution of CFC funds from America’s Charities at the end of June, (a combined payment of the May and June CFC distributions), may be smaller than anticipated.
  • There have always been administrative costs associated with participating in the CFC; the difference this year is that these costs have been standardized for the entire campaign rather than determined at the local level, and actual costs have been made more fully transparent upfront. Campaign administrative costs this year were consistent with total campaign costs in years past, and the CFC is looking for ways to decrease costs in 2018 in a variety of ways, to include:
    • Increasing the participation rate of federal employees and retirees.
    • Recruiting more nonprofits to participate in the program.
    • Creating clear, consistent lines of communication with all campaign stakeholders.
    • Working with Outreach Coordinators to increase the frequency and quality of events and speaking engagements, creating more opportunities for charities to interact with employees.

2017 Payment of Membership Fees for the CFC – Last week, we received notice that the Office of the CFC will not be enforcing its new requirement of having federations invoice for membership-related fees assessed on CFC distributions. This is great news for our members who have historically preferred to have their CFC and other campaign fees deducted from distributions, as it saves them time and is far less expensive to process. As a result, we will be deducting funds management fees from distributions for all campaigns, including the CFC.  If you do not wish to have your CFC fees deducted, please notify us in writing at ClientSolutions@charities.org no later than COB Friday, June 15.

Please note:

• If you initially selected to be invoiced for all campaigns, not just the CFC, we will continue to invoice your organization as initially planned.
• If you are unsure what you selected or need a copy of your 2017 contract, please reach out to us via email at ClientSolutions@charities.org, and we will get you a copy straight away.

Should you have any questions related to these updates, please contact us at ClientSolutions@charities.org. If you are having trouble accessing or understanding reporting on Pledge First, please reach out to our Help Desk, help@charities.org and/or ClientSolutions@charities.org for assistance.