CFC Info Center

Small donations matter, say leaders of some of the smaller Combined Federal Campaign chapters, where the poor economy has dampened hopes for significant increases in charitable pledges this year.

“The United Way told us that $1 can provide a full meal for a person. So I tell people, ‘Know someone who could use a meal? Give $1,’ ” said Craig Metzel, chairman of the CFC of Central Iowa’s Local Federal Coordinating Committee. Metzel, like many other leaders of smaller CFC campaigns, hopes to meet his fund-raising goal by pooling the small donations of a larger number of participants. So far, however, he and other organizers who spoke to Federal Times haven’t raised half of their funds at the campaign’s halfway mark.

The CFC formally kicked off Sept. 1 and runs through Dec. 15. The Cincinnati Metro Area CFC raised $1.24 million last year and hopes to raise $1.25 million this year. It has raised about 25 percent of that goal so far, executive director Marcus Glasgow said.

That’s good considering the region’s unemployment is above 10 percent and many federal employees are worried their spouses employed at private companies may lose their jobs, he said. He’s hopeful more employees will join in, donate smaller amounts and push the campaign to meeting its goal.

“Cincinnati is one of the harder-hit areas like Cleveland and Detroit — we’re really feeling the economy. Our volunteers and donors give it their all, and we didn’t want to discourage them by reducing our goal,” he said.

Glasgow said he’s told volunteers to encourage small donations, which can quickly add up when pooled together. If all of the federal employees in the Cincinnati area who don’t currently participate in the CFC donated $1 a week, the campaign would have an additional $296,000 a year, he said.

“We’re hoping that emphasizing that even small gifts count might get some people to react and donate,” he said. Metzel said the Central Iowa CFC had a late start because of paperwork backlogs. The campaign kicked off the week of Oct. 18 and has raised $100,000 so far, he said.

The campaign raised $528,000 in 2008 and hopes to reach $581,000 this year. The economy hurt the Lubbock, Texas, Area CFC last year, which raised $78,000, falling short of its $85,000 goal. Local Federal Coordinating Committee Chair Justin Weaver said he’s optimistic that the campaign will meet this year’s goal of $79,500. The campaign kicked off its drive at the beginning of October and has raised about 30 percent of its goal so far. Weaver said Lubbock hasn’t been as badly hit as other regions by foreclosures and layoffs, which has him optimistic.

“The mood is more positive, and people seem not quite as concerned about layoffs. We’re facing one of the smallest [federal] pay raises in recent years, but the mood does seem to be better than a year ago,” he said. Many campaigns have cut administrative expenses to maximize dollars for charity.

"We used to have various prizes for each level of giving, but we found with some of the smaller donation amounts, we were spending more on the prize than we were bringing in,” said Weaver, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Now, anyone who donates $100 or more will receive a stadium blanket, a hit for employees who flock to high school or Texas Tech University football games, he said. Glasgow said his CFC is processing pledge cards in-house to save $3,000. The process is more time-consuming but is fiscally responsible, he said. The CFC of Central Iowa decided not to give donors prizes, scrapping the usual $1.50 water bottle for a savings of $7,000. Metzel has had no complaints about the decision.

“That’s money that could be better spent back in the community,” said Metzel, a pharmacist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Des Moines. Agencies also agreed to loan executives to work part-time on the campaign. That way, reluctant agencies aren’t left without an employee for the duration of the campaign. The move allows for more loaned executive scattered throughout the campaign’s coverage area, which reduces mileage costs and time commuting to agency offices.

Instead of posting double-digit fund-raising gains, Metzel said he wants to see more employees connect to local charities and give what they can. He said the sour economy actually seems to motivate people to donate, especially to local charities. People are connecting to the needs of those hurt by the economy in a way they may not have to victims of natural disasters, Metzel said.

“There’s a tornado. Or a flood. Every year there’s some disaster, some crisis. This is the first year where the crisis has been felt border to border, coast to coast. It’s rallying people more than in the past,” he said.