Changes to the Combined Federal Campaign Charity Drive
by Amanda Adams*, 3/12/2007
The Office of Personnel Management, which administers the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity drive in government offices, has decided to drop a requirement that charities spend no more than 25 percent of their total revenue on administrative and fund-raising expenses. Charities that exceeded the cap were required to give the OPM a reason, which the agency said was an administrative burden. Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to President Bush expressing his concern about this rule change. Senator Grassley and others in the nonprofit sector are worried that the change will hamper the integrity of the CFC charity drive, reduce accountability and cause donations to suffer. According to the Washington Post:
It's clear, however, that many charities -- small and large -- are uncomfortable with the rule change. Global Impact, which represents U.S-based international charities, calculated that 91.8 percent of the comments received by the OPM on the change were in opposition.
