Eligibility Requirements, Accountability Standards for CFC Charities Likely to Change

Yesterday, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a proposed rule, which would make significant changes to the “eligibility requirements and public accountability standards” for charities participating in the annual Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). The proposed changes, in part, put more responsibility on donors to research the charities where they direct their money. A summary of the proposed rule states the changes "are intended to streamline the significant eligibility requirements and public accountability standards and other administrative areas to reduce the burden on applicant charitable organizations seeking to qualify for the CFC, simplify the administrative process of determining whether charitable organizations are eligible to participate in the CFC and facilitate modernization of the CFC program.” OPM will accept comments on the proposed rule until August 14, 2006.

The CFC is a fund-raising drive conducted every fall that allows Federal employees and military personnel to donate money directly to charities of their choice through workplace solicitation. During the 2005 campaign, the CFC gave more than 22,000 charities access to the federal workplace and collected more than $250 million in donations. In May, the House Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing on a Government Accountability Office report, which examined if CFC charities have unpaid taxes, if CFC charities are abusing the federal tax system and if OPM screens charities for federal tax problems before allowing them to be listed with the CFC. The proposed rule is a likely result of the GAO report and increased Congressional attention.