The annual Combined Federal Campaign has kicked off, raising millions for charity from the contributions of postal and other federal employees. I was a regular contributor to the CFC for most of my career, quitting the program only two years ago when the Bush Administration slapped on a requirement that agencies receiving contributions check their employees against a blacklist concocted by the Justice Department. The idea that a creature like John Ashcroft would have any say in whom I could contribute money to was a bit much for me.
The blacklist was dropped last year (I guess they’ve caught all the terrorists?). At the same time, though, the Administration decided that it wasn’t going to worry about how much a CFC agency actually spent on charity. The old limit had been that no more than 25% of contributions could go to administrative and fundraising expenses. That seems like an awful lot to me- I could have money deducted all year, but I wouldn’t actually start helping people until April? But even that limit was too restrictive for the Bushies, so now anything goes.
So I’ll be making my contributions directly once again this year- it’s really no more difficult than the CFC, especially if you have a decent online banking service. Just calculate your monthly giving, set up 12 monthly payments to each of your selected charities, and treat them like any other recurring expense.
If you want to continue with the CFC, though, just make sure you’re practicing safe charity! The most important thing is to designate your contributions. If you just make a contribution to the CFC, the amount allocated to each individual charity will be determined based on how other contributors designated their contributions. (A charity that nobody designates gets no money from the CFC). So a little of your money would go to PETA, and a little would go to the NRA, among others!
And be careful about who you designate! There is some information in the CFC booklet, but you can do better- check out Charity Navigator, which provides ratings, expense information and more about just about every major charitable organization.
