Time Left to Contribute to Combined Federal Campaign

Editor's note: This military-written story was provided by the DVIDs website.

Cpl. Jovane Henry

The annual Combined Federal Campaign, which started Sept. 1, will end Friday, leaving plenty of time for service members to choose charities of their choice to donate funds to for 2012.

Established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, the CFC is a yearly charitable fundraising campaign that provides federal civilian and military employees an opportunity to provide financial assistance to various non-profit organizations throughout the world. 

Since its inception, the program has raised more than $7 billion to support more than 20,000 charities worldwide, from Doctors Without Borders to the United Service Organization.

This year, the Marines, sailors and federal employees of Camp Pendleton have raised $474,162.06 in contributions to the CFC, said Staff Sgt. Daniel Bell, the fund drive coordinator for Pendleton.

Responsible for this impressive donation amount is the 100-percent contact policy, said Bell.

“Information on the CFC is spread using command representatives all the way down to the platoon level,” said Bell. “We make sure every single person has a chance to find out what the CFC is all about.”

With the base hovering around the same donation amount garnered during last year’s campaign, Bell said he is hoping for last-minute donations to up the final sum.

“We are close to last year’s donation amount, and the number of personnel aboard the base is down compared to this year, so I’d say we’ve done extremely well this year,” said Bell. “However, I’m hoping we can raise another $200,000 in donations before the end of the drive.”

Donations can be as little as $1 each month, and can be taken through salary allotments or in one lump sum.

As the world’s largest annual workplace charity drive, and the only program authorized to solicit and collect donations from federal employees at work, the CFC provides a golden opportunity to give to the charities and causes they support.

“This campaign is not only important, but beneficial to service members and federal employees as well,” said Bell. “The CFC provides an easy and efficient way to donate to different organizations that they or a family member may be in need of someday.”

For more information, contact your CFC unit representative or visit http://www.opm.gov/cfc/