Federal charity donations reached record level in 2003

Government employees donated a record amount of money to the Combined Federal Campaign in 2003, according to figures released this week by the Office of Personnel Management.

Federal workers, Postal Service employees and military service members gave $248.5 million to the campaign, an increase of almost $19 million over 2002 contributions. The previous record for CFC donations was set in 2001, with $241 million.

OPM Director Kay Coles James praised federal employees for "opening their hearts and wallets to those who need our financial support."

The campaign was formed in 1961 to gather federal solicitations into one large-scale charity effort. The CFC is the only authorized fund-raiser in the federal workplace. Employee volunteers work with nonprofit organizations to raise funds and distribute donations to local chapters of the nationwide CFC.

CFC contributions dipped in 2002 by about 2 percent, to $236.9 million. When that figure was released, OPM officials said global turmoil and the possibility of war with Iraq might have prevented more generous giving.

Donations in the Washington area-which represents the largest percentage of federal employees and the largest amount of CFC contributions-fell in 2002 by 6 percent. The D.C.-area campaign was tainted by revelations of financial improprieties at the United Way, the organization that had run the regional fund-raiser for a quarter-century. A Virginia-based nonprofit group, Global Impact, took over the Washington charity drive in 2003.

James said last year's Washington-area fund-raising was conducted under more stringent accounting guidelines. She praised the efforts of OPM Inspector General Pat McFarland to monitor the campaign. The Washington region's contributions rebounded from $47 million in 2002 to $50.7 million in 2003.

The second-largest percentage of donations came from the overseas campaign, which generated $13.5 million. The third-largest was in San Diego, with $6.3 million in donations.