Due to the government shutdown in October, which occurred just as many of the CFC kickoffs and charity fairs were beginning, the Office of Personnel Management has extended the campaign one month to January 15, 2014. Here’s the link to the official letter from OPM with that decision: CFC Extension
What this means for your CFC charity is that you should continue your messaging about your participation in the CFC during the holiday season and into the New Year. What methods should you use? All of them!!
Whatever methods you regularly use, you should include the fact that your non-profit participates in the CFC. And, of course, you should be using the modern methods … that include information on your website, taglines in e-mail signatures, and information on Facebook and other social media sites where you have a presence.
In addition to that, don’t forget that simple methods can also be extremely effective, and here’s an example of that:
The Calvert County Library Foundation enrolled in the CFC for the first time in 2012, and they received more than $14,000 of unrestricted funds from their CFC donors. They used multiple methods of communication, but the one that probably had the highest ROI is this 4×8 plywood sign.
Why did this work so well? Because the Pax River Naval Air Station is located 75 miles south of Washington DC, and there is one main road to the east coast’s “Top Gun” school – Maryland Route 2/4. And, because there are 17,000 uniformed and civilian employees that work at Pax River, and most of them drive to the base via Route 2/4 … most of them pass this sign on their way.
Here’s another banner sign, this one from the Chesapeake Cares Food Pantry.
That sign has both CFC and United Way codes, plus the Maryland Charities Workplace Giving Campaign code; and, it can be seen by people driving in either direction. It’s just up the road from the Support Calvert Library sign so obviously these two CFC charities have found this technique to be effective.
By the way, neither sign is located at their respective facility; they are on residential lawns of supporters.
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New Head of OPM Confirmed
In the last CFC post I promised an update on the new CFC regulations. There has been no change there yet, but one important thing that had to happen was the confirmation of the new permanent director of the Office of Personnel Management.
In May, President Obama announced the nomination of Katherine Archuleta as the first Latina to head the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and on October 30, 2013, the Senate confirmed her to lead the Federal agency responsible for managing the Federal workforce, including responsibility for oversight of the CFC.
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During his 25-year career in the Federal sector, Bill Huddleston, The CFC Coach,
served in many CFC roles. If you want to participate in the Combined Federal
Campaign, maximize your nonprofit’s CFC revenues, or just ask a few questions,
contact Bill Huddleston
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Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks.
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Hank Lewis with Development Consultant Associates has over thirty years as a fundraising consultant and is a specialist in Board and Leadership Development, Capital Campaign, Bequest Program and Major Gifts.