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This section contains information compiled from a variety of campaigns regarding
ideas that have proven to be effective in administering a local CFC. While
much of the CFC process is uniform in nature, each campaign has unique aspects
(e.g. size of the campaign, geographic challenges, adequacy of LFCC resources,
initiatives involving reductions in or restructuring of the Federal workforce).
Not all "Proven Practices" suggestions will be useful to all campaigns,
nor will they work as well in one campaign as they have in others. Agency
and installation culture will also play a significant part in which campaign
practices work effectively and those that will not.
Also included in this section are campaign ideas (e.g. bake sales, races) that
are intended to publicize the CFC. Events of this kind are important
because they raise campaign awareness and can be important marketing tools.
However, the focus of CFC is to offer each employee the opportunity participate
by making an individual pledge or gift, with an emphasis on the employee's
ability to designate his/her gift to the charity of their choice.
Keep in mind that some employees who buy a raffle ticket or a cake at
a CFC-sponsored event may feel that they have contributed to the campaign
in this way and will decline to make a personal gift to the campaign.
CFC's regulations specify that employee solicitations are to be conducted during
duty hours using methods that permit true voluntary giving and donor confidentiality.
Campaign kickoffs, progress reports, awards victory events, and other non-solicitation
events to build support for the campaign are strongly encouraged. Most
successful campaigns have all or some of these kinds of events.
Some campaigns combine kickoffs with fairs at which the representatives of
participating charities and/or federations set up information booths and may
arrange tours of their facilities. Agency heads may permit representatives
of the participating organizations to establish information desks on their premises.
If you do permit this type of information sharing, it must be made available
to all the participating agencies that are interested.
A meal served in conjunction with a campaign event is an allowable expense
that may be paid from campaign receipts. The cost would be included in
campaign expenses. The LFCC Chair makes decisions about the appropriateness
of CFC-sponsored dinners and luncheons.
CFC regulations allow special fundraising events such as auctions, bake sales,
book sales, athletic events or other similar activities with the approval of
the appropriate agency head or other government official.
Events must be consistent with guidelines established by CFC regulations and
applicable government-wide ethics regulations. Personal solicitation of
funds or other support from subordinate employees or from sources with which
you might have an ethical conflict is never permissible. For example,
an employee must not solicit prizes, donations, money or anything of value from
any entity that the agency contracts with or does business with or whose activities
are regulated by the agency.
Fundraising events should be held on behalf of the CFC in general, and not
on behalf of a particular charity or group of charities. To do so provides
excluded groups with a potential basis to legally challenge the sponsoring officials.
If an agency official or military officer sponsors an event for one organization,
the official must allow all charitable agencies that request a similar event
to have one or face the possibility of legal action.
Remember, it is important that CFC not favor, or even appear to favor, a particular
charity or group of charities. Federal donors must be allowed to decide
to support the charity or charities of his or her choice - or no charity at
all. Consequently, all special fundraising events must provide the donor
' with the option of designating to a specific participating organization or
federation. Donors who do not make a designation should understand that
their donation will be counted as an undesignated contribution and be distributed
according to CFC regulations.
The Kickoff Rally usually starts the annual CFC campaign. The campaign-wide
kickoff event is organized by the PCFO and the LFCC. Additional events
should also be held at each federal agency or facility as arranged by that entity's
Campaign Coordinator. You may also want to contact other LFCCs or Campaign
Chairs to get ideas and information about what has worked well and for plans
ideas they have for the next campaign. If lunch is served at the event (paid for by the employees), indicate via signage,
where the leftover food will be donated. Activities can include tricycle
races between different public law enforcement teams, raffles for donated prizes,
local popular TV or radio personality, and a musical segment (e.g. well-known
band/vocalist).
This event acknowledges the contributions of all the people who worked on the
campaign. In addition to the celebration planned and administered by the
LFCC for Loaned Executives and Campaign Coordinators from a variety of Federal
agencies, individual agencies installations may want to hold their own celebrations
to recognize the accomplishments of their employees, volunteers, Key Workers,
Campaign Coordinators and Loaned Executives.
The PCFO/LFCC should agree to a dollar amount goal for the campaign.
You may want to set a goal above that achieved by the previous year's campaign,
so long as the new goal is reasonable and attainable. Take into consideration
the employment situation for the local area (i.e., are RIFs being conducted?
Are agencies currently hiring? Are early out's authorized?), local trends
in giving and problem areas that might be overcome with new campaign strategies.
In February, start formatting an annual report with the intent to have it completed
by May. Include information on the top gift giving agencies and their
giving history, and the top 30-50 charities that will receive the contributions
designated by the givers. Also include highlights of the campaign (such
as the average gift per giver, change in contributions over previous year, participation
increase/decrease) and a message from the CFC Chair. The finished product
can be shared with agency/installation heads, Loaned Executives, Campaign Coordinators,
and other LFCCs/PCFOs, for information purposes and as a source document for
planning the following years goals. It will also serve as a convenient
summary of the campaign for your archives.
Set a goal that will result in 1 00% of employees being personally asked to
contribute to the CFC by their Key Worker or Campaign Coordinator. Remember,
this goal is to have 100% of the workforce personally asked to give - it is
not permissible to set a goal to have 100% of the workforce donate or pledge.
This kind of goal is often viewed as coercive.
For agencies that have had low CFC participation, develop strategies that will
focus attention and energy on encouraging and increasing participation.
This can include a personal visit to the agency head by the CFC Chair to present
the giving history and suggested strategy, reaching out to labor groups, and/or
assigning particularly talented Loaned Executives to 'problem' accounts.
Be sure to follow-up on such contacts and see what you can do to assist the
agency (e.g., provide ideas, consultation services, contact names from other
agencies which may have overcome similar barriers, etc.).
Participate in or help organize Leadership Breakfasts where agency heads from
the public sector can meet and share ideas for running successful CFC campaigns.
Stimulate the interactions and help energize the group by arranging for speakers
from the community who have been helped by CFC or are strong advocates for CFC.
The PCFO, usually organizes the Day of Caring and selects volunteer projects
in the local community that are in particular need of help. Examples include
planting trees in selected public areas, providing a special event for a low-income
daycare facility, painting a run-down shelter facility, and providing special
services to a retirement home, etc-. Breakfast can be provided, and employees
usually receive 4 hours of administrative leave (if approved by their supervisor)
and then take 4 hours of annual leave. This one-day event builds a sense
of community among the participating employees (teams are formed by agency)
and their Federal colleagues, provides much needed services to the community,
and is a great lead-in to the kickoff rally and campaign.
Develop a strategy where the CFC Chair sends written correspondence to agency
heads on a regular basis (perhaps monthly) to provide information and encourage
participation. Include prior results, suggested goals/strategies, and
a status report on campaign and information on upcoming events. Also acknowledge
participation (thank-you's), and request support for the following year's campaign.
'Raise the bar' on the levels of agency accomplishments that will be recognized.
For large campaigns, separate larger agencies from the smaller ones to ensure
equitable competition.
Strive to make the Eagle Share [one hour of pay per month] a standard, and
encourage giving at that level. Clarify that giving at any level is appreciated.
After the campaign is over, the PCFO/LFCC should analyze what worked and what
didn't, in order to improve administrative processes, results and overall effectiveness
for the next campaign. This critique should occur in the beginning of
the calendar year, usually after a new CFC Chair begins his/her term.
It should include development of a structured feedback process (written survey)
and solicit feedback from agency heads, Campaign Coordinators, Loaned Executives,
Key Workers, and employees. The results should be analyzed, implications
objectively assessed, and improvements made to help ensure even greater success
for upcoming campaigns.
If your campaign reaches a special milestone, such as its most successful campaign
or national recognition, celebrate the achievement through appropriate PR, including
letters, banners, buttons, or pins to acknowledge the accomplishment.
Use employee newsletters, magazine ads, letters, websites, etc., to keep CFC
alive throughout the year. Active solicitation is allowed for only 6 weeks,
but the remainder of the year can be used to keep CFC "out in front",
rather than being something people hear about for a short time each Fall.
Information provided could include planning status, progress being made in the
campaign, accomplishments, and messages from the Campaign Chair, and stories
about the difference contributions have made in the lives of local residents.
From the early stages of planning (normally in January), develop a Calendar
of Events so that all LFCC/PCFO members are clear on the activities/due dates
for the campaign. Update it monthly. For activities where dates
are yet to be determined, state the activity and list 'TBD" for the date.
In this way, you will ensure that all members are clear as to what needs to
be done and by when, which will enhance the planning and implementation activities.
Publicity about CFC is both desirable and essential in attracting Federal donors'
interest and support. CFCs may host a variety of events to bring CFC to
the attention of the Federal community and the community in general.
Campaigns should consider issuing press releases about campaign activities
and success stories. Campaign kickoffs and victory celebrations are both
worthwhile and provide well-earned recognition events for Federal donors.
The PCFO and LFCC can solicit service/product contributions from commercial
companies to support the publicity program. Examples include posters in
public buildings, billboards and advertising space in public areas (e.g. on
the sides of buses, in bus stations, subways, etc.). National magazines often
produce advertising inserts of local interest that go to subscribers in a certain
geographical area, and they offer the space that they otherwise cannot sell
for free for public service announcements. Plan ahead and submit finished
copy to these magazines so they can insert them when space is available.
Securing the services of a local personality to emcee the kickoff rally can
lead to residual-free publicity (e.g., radio host or DJ, local news program
personality).
Campaign Manual
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