{"id":28855,"date":"2017-10-04T19:28:39","date_gmt":"2017-10-04T19:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/04\/2017-cfc-kicks-off-with-new-fee-setup-fewer-charities-and-delays\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:34:12","slug":"2017-cfc-kicks-off-with-new-fee-setup-fewer-charities-and-delays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2017\/10\/04\/2017-cfc-kicks-off-with-new-fee-setup-fewer-charities-and-delays\/","title":{"rendered":"2017 CFC kicks off with new fee setup, fewer charities … and delays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Combined Federal Campaign has kicked off its annual pledge season with some major changes designed to benefit givers, but without a full charity list or a promised web portal that would let donors search available nonprofits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly half of the charities that participated in 2016 won\u2019t return, said Patrick Maguire, whose Maguire\/Maguire<\/a> firm provides support services for 22 independent charitable federations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of those federations \u2014 Military Family and Veterans Service Organizations of America, and Military Support Groups of America \u2014 combine to represent more than 130 charities that took part in last year\u2019s campaign, from the Fisher House Foundation to the Semper Fi Fund to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, better known as TAPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of those that left the campaign were local charities,\u201d Maguire said. \u201cThe military charities are hanging in to see how 2017 goes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smaller charities may have bailed, he said, because a new fee structure requires nonprofits to pay their share of CFC costs upfront, rather than earmarking a portion of each donation for campaign management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is for 100 percent of all donations to reach the charities, but the result, Maguire said, is that some charities would have to pay more in upfront fees than they might collect from the campaign itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI understand that about 25 percent of those listed had historically received no designations at all, yet the campaign had to absorb the costs of their participation nevertheless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DELAYED START, UNFINISHED DETAILS<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Wednesday, the Office of Personnel Management hadn\u2019t approved the final list of charities in the federations that Maguire\u2019s firm supports, he said, though he couldn\u2019t speak for other outlets. OPM did not immediately respond to questions regarding the release of the full list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also didn\u2019t have a start date for a proposed web portal that will allow online giving worldwide, to include an online search engine to find specific charities or types of charities. This system will be a more secure way of giving for the donor, Maguire said, and will reduce administrative costs for the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\t