{"id":61640,"date":"2018-09-21T20:35:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T20:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/21\/after-miserable-cfc-results-in-2017-military-charities-look-for-better-2018\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:37:09","slug":"after-miserable-cfc-results-in-2017-military-charities-look-for-better-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2018\/09\/21\/after-miserable-cfc-results-in-2017-military-charities-look-for-better-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"After \u2018miserable\u2019 CFC results in 2017, military charities look for better 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Donations were down by about 40 percent in the 2017 Combined Federal Campaign season<\/a>, but as this year\u2019s season kicks off, charities are hoping to see big improvements over last year\u2019s results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charities serving the military and veteran communities suffered an overall drop of about 50 percent in donations, according to Patrick Maguire, whose Maguire\/Maguire firm provides support services for 23 independent charitable federations. Two of those federations \u2014 Military Family and Veterans Service Organizations of America<\/a> and Military Support Groups of America<\/a> \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

All the federations had similar \u201cmiserable\u201d results, Maguire said. He noted that half the country didn\u2019t actually stage a CFC fundraising campaign in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, \u201cthings are looking way better now in 2018,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, \u201cthe CFC is all about online \u2014 internet and social media,\u201d and his firm has provided marketing materials to help charities in that effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s campaign season for the CFC began on Sept. 10 and runs through Jan. 11. The 36 CFC zones run their campaigns at various times within that period. It\u2019s the only workplace solicitation allowed for federal, military and postal employees. While many of the military charities receive donations through other means outside the CFC, that federal campaign is an important chunk of their funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, fewer charities participated in 2017, the first year of a revamped CFC, than previously. Hurricanes had an impact on a number of areas. There were also hiccups such as a delay in launching the new online giving portal, the CFC Online Donation System<\/a>, which gives all personnel access to one electronic giving platform to support all the charities in all the zones. Officials have taken recommendations from employees to make changes this year in the online portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the second year, employees will also be able to pledge volunteer time for charities as well as monetary donations. Last year, federal and military employees pledged more than 125,000 hours valued at more than $3 million. Officials said these pledges combined with monetary pledges amounted to more than $104 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checking out charities<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charities have to go through an approval process before becoming part of the CFC. But in general, whether you decide to donate through CFC or in other ways, you can delve further into a particular organization\u2019s finances, and how much of the donations generally go to directly support your cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are thousands of organizations that help troops, veterans and\/or their families. But just because a group has \u201cveteran\u201d or \u201cmilitary\u201d or a patriotic word in its title, it doesn\u2019t mean the group is legitimate and funneling money to these causes. The Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on sham veteran charities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groups have a variety of missions, such as funding programs for military kids, or helping survivors of those who die on active duty. It\u2019s best if you do the research to find the charity that best deserves your dollars, rather than simply agreeing to send money to an organization that solicits your money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n