Frequently Asked Questions Combined Federal Campaign

No. Key Workers, PCFO staff and others assisting with the CFC cannot identify those CFC charitable organizations involved in disaster relief in response to requests from donors unless they are following instructions disseminated by the Director of OPM.

No. The required certifications and documentation must have been completed and submitted prior to the application filing deadline. Applications received that are incomplete may not be perfected during the appeal process. Further, documents that were not available at the time of the application deadline cannot be considered on appeal.

Yes. The CFC regulations, set forth at 5 CFR § 950.102, state that the CFC is the only authorized solicitation of employees in the Federal workplace on behalf of charitable organizations. No other solicitation on behalf of charitable organizations may be conducted in the Federal workplace. These regulations do not apply to the collection of gifts-in-kind, such as food, clothing and toys, or to the solicitation of Federal employees outside of the Federal workplace. Heads of departments or agencies may establish policies and procedures applicable to solicitations conducted by organizations composed of civilian employees or members of the uniformed services among their own members for organizational support or for the benefit of welfare funds for their members.

Yes. However, it must separately apply to all CFC's and meet the local presence or statewide presence requirements in each location.

The CFC is only authorized to solicit Federal employees, retirees, and contract personnel between September 1 and December 15.  The CFC cannot accept funds that were raised in events outside of that time period.

Bona-fide chapters or affiliates of a national organization that are not separately incorporated are permitted to submit the parent organization's audited financial statements, to the extent required, and 26 U.S.C 501(c)(3) tax exemption letter, buts must provide its own pro forma IRS Form 990, page 1 and Part V only, for CFC purposes. In order to use the parent organization's tax exemption letter and audited financial statements (if required), the local organization must provide a certification signed by either the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or CEO equivalent of the national organization stating that the local charitable organization operates as a bona-fide chapter or affiliate in good standing of the national organization and it is covered by the national organization's 501(c)(3) tax-exemption, IRS Form 990 and audited financial statements. A copy of the national organization's 501(c)(3) letter must accompany the CEO's certification.

If the PCFO has made every attempt and is unable to locate the correct payroll office they may call OPM on 202-606-2564 or email OPM at cfc@opm.gov.  DO NOT FORWARD CHECKS TO THE OPM/CFC OFFICE.

The PCFO must make every attempt to contact the charitable organization and determine if it is still viable. If the charitable organization no longer exists, the PCFO must consider the funds undesignated.