DARMSTADT, Germany — The 2004 Combined Federal Campaign Overseas begins Monday and will run through Dec. 3 allowing donors to support a wide range of charitable and humanitarian organizations.
The CFC is the only authorized solicitation of federal employees for charitable organizations, according to Web sites, and continues to be the largest and most successful workplace fund-raising model in the world.
Last year the U.S. European Command raised a total of $6,384,419, of which more than $280,000 was directed back to European military communities through Family Support and Youth programs, according to Greg Sassman, CFC director for Europe.
The funding was used for items such as purchasing computers and Internet access for a teen center, installing a 24-hour emergency hot line system in a family support center, stocking food lockers, providing free baby-sitting services for junior enlisted personnel and buying uniforms for youth sports teams.
Overall, a record of nearly $250 million was raised or pledged by federal workers, military personnel and others funded by U.S. taxpayers during 2003, according to a federal Office of Personnel Management Web site.
This year’s campaign has more than 1,500 U.S. national, international and local charities in the program for donors to select from. Donations can be given to the military community or to any CFC charity of choice and can be made in one-time payments or through regular paycheck deductions.
“Our goal is to give every Army in Europe soldier and civilian employee an opportunity to contribute,” said Donald Wade, Installation Management Agency- Europe CFC project manager, in an e-mail statement. “CFC is an important program because it benefits so many people around the world.”
Wade told Stars and Stripes during a telephone interview that there is a concentrated process to getting that word out. A network of project officers in the communities and tactical units provide information and brochures to potential donors of their options.
Brochure information includes organization names and code numbers, a statement of purpose, phone numbers, a Web site address, the legal name of the organization in parentheses if it is doing business under another name, the employer identification number and its fund-raising and administrative expenses as a percentage of total support and revenue.
“We expect to have a very successful campaign this year,” Wade said. “This is partly because we have more soldiers eligible to contribute this year.”
He explained that large deployments of units last year made many soldiers ineligible to contribute and this year’s campaign has a set program to ensure people know about the program and know how to participate.
“We look forward to continued strong support,” Wade said.
This year, those who complete a pledge card for the overseas campaign also will be eligible for a prize giveaway including a Jeep Liberty Renegade.
For more information, contact specific CFC coordinators or look online at www.cfcoverseas.org.
