Photo By Senior Airman Megan Myhre | U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James Powell III, 97th Air Mobility Wing command...... read more read more
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – The 2015 Combined Federal Campaign is scheduled to begin Oct. 9 and end Nov. 16 at Altus AFB. The mission of the campaign is to support and promote philanthropy through a voluntary, employee focused, cost-efficient and effective program that provides federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all.
According to the 2015 CFC brochure, the campaign is the only authorized federal solicitation on behalf of approved charitable organizations and is the largest and most successful workplace philanthropic fundraiser in the world.
“It gives military and civilian personnel the chance to give back to the community,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tobey Zicopula, a wing point of contact for the CFC. “It’s a way to know who you’re giving to and how much money is actually going to the cause, as opposed to donating to commercial groups or someone on the street where you might not know how the money is actually being used.”
There are more than 20,000 charities available through the CFC and they are broken down into many different categories including, but not limited to: arts, education, animal related, health care, mental health and crisis intervention, medical research, crime and legal research, housing and shelter, recreation and sports, science and technology and religion-related.
“A misconception I’ve noticed with the CFC is that people think its mandatory, but it’s not,” said Zicopula. “I don’t think people realize how many different organizations there are and that they have the freedom to choose and donate to causes important to them.”
All listed organizations have met the CFC eligibility requirements and a percentage is included next to each cause to showcase overhead costs deducted from donations they receive. This allows participants to understand exactly how much of their donation is going toward the cause, and how much goes to other expenses.
When donating, participants can choose to give a single donation or opt to sign up for the payroll deduction. The payroll deduction automatically deducts the donation amount from each paycheck and is documented on the donor’s monthly leave and earnings statement.
Each squadron and group has a designated representative responsible for educating and assisting potential donors within their unit in regards to the campaign.
The base’s priority this year is to make 100 percent contact with all Airmen to inform them of the purpose and logistics of the campaign, with a monetary goal of $97,970.97.
“We based the goal off the last five years of statistical data. The base raised roughly $100,000 each year, except for last year,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Eric Helms, a wing point of contact for the CFC, “We believe last year was due to the furloughs and fears people may have had about not getting paid because it was right around the time the budget wasn’t getting passed by congress. We came in a little under last year but we hope to exceed it and reach our goal this year.”
The CFC was founded in 1961 in order to consolidate and coordinate the fundraising efforts of charitable organizations in the workplace, so Federal employees would only be solicited once throughout the year and have the opportunity to make payments through the payroll deduction option.
For those looking to donate, or for additional information, visit www.opm/gov/cfc.
| Date Taken: | 10.08.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.09.2015 08:29 |
| Story ID: | 178553 |
| Location: | ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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