CFC MEMORANDUM 2006-18

July 6, 2006

2006 Model Pledge Form

The Office of CFC Operations is pleased to release the 2006 CFC Model Pledge Form, which incorporates several revisions that were recommended by local campaigns. The changes below must be included in all 2006 pledge forms with the exception of the volunteer checkbox and statement, which are optional features.

• Box formerly labeled "Federal Organization" is now labeled "Federal Agency and Office".

• Box formerly labeled "Unit/Division and Payroll Office" has been changed to "Payroll Provider (optional)". This change was made to assist the campaigns in identifying which of the five major payroll providers will be disbursing the employees’ contributions. For example, General Services Administration (GSA) is the payroll provider for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Therefore, OPM employees would check the GSA box. A list of the Federal agencies served by each payroll provider is attached. Agencies not appearing on this list perform their own payroll.

• "Recognition Options" - this box will only be used by donors who wish to release their home address and/or email contact information. The donor is not required to check a box to indicate his/her desire to release their information. It is the responsibility of the PCFO to forward any information entered in this section by the donor to the charity(ies) designated on the form.

• The payroll authorization dates have been changed from 2006 to 2007.

• The Social Security Number field has been placed below the signature line for donors authorizing a payroll deduction. Note that the Privacy Act notice states that the furnishing of the Social Security Number is voluntary.

• The checkbox and statement indicating interest in being a CFC volunteer is optional. Campaigns that do not wish to collect this information may remove it from their forms.

• A new statement regarding volunteer opportunities in the community has been added to the bottom of the form and is accompanied by text following the Privacy Act Notice. Privacy Act Notice text is mandatory, but the volunteer statement and text that follows the Privacy Act Notice is optional.

There is no requirement on the size of the pledge form. This is a decision that may be made by the local campaign. Each campaign should take steps to clearly indicate the campaign name, four-digit control number, and contact information on the face of the form. This will help to reduce any errors in data entry at the payroll office level.

Campaigns may add their local giving levels and award recognition options to the pledge form without approval by OPM. However, per the CFC regulations at 5 CFR §950.402, other modifications may not be made without prior approval from OPM. Requests for modifications can be sent to cfc@opm.gov. These must outline the specific additions/deletions that are being requested and include a copy of each page of the proposed modified pledge form.

We appreciate the input from campaigns that led to these changes. We encourage you to contact your CFC Regional Representative if you have additional recommendations for future pledge forms.

Brochure Format Changes

The Office of CFC Operations is in the process of compiling the 2006 national/international list of participating charities for distribution to campaigns. The final list is scheduled to be sent in Word and Excel formats to LFCCs and PCFOs via email by Monday, July 31.

As campaigns prepare their listing of local charities approved for participation, we bring to your attention changes in the formatting of each charity listing. Specifically, each field must be separated by one space, with the exception of the four-digit code number. Note that the dash between the Employer Identification Number (EIN) and 25-word description has been removed. Also, the taxonomy codes, which are new this year, will be placed after the administrative and fundraising rate and are separated by a comma. Campaigns should take steps to insure that all listings in the CFC brochure contain all of these fields and are formatted in this same manner.

Example:

0000     Name of Organization (legal name of organization, if applicable) (202)555-1234 www.yourcharity.org EIN#12-3456789 The description will contain no more than 25 words. It should be worded so the donor understands the program services provided. 4.2% B,V,O

Taxonomy Codes

CFC applicants were asked to provide up to three National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) codes as part of the 2006 application. The printing of the codes for local, national, and international charities in the 2006 brochure is mandatory for all campaigns. While submission of this information was not a condition of participation, campaigns should take steps to insure that each approved charity has provided at least one code. Failure to provide a code will put the organizations at a disadvantage in web-based searchable brochures. Those that do not provide the codes are to be listed with a "Z" for "Other". Campaign personnel are not authorized to select codes (other than "Z") for non-responsive charities.

CFC Charity Verifications

Verification of CFC Participating Charities with U.S. Government List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Supporters of Terrorism

LFCCs should undertake reasonable steps to ensure appropriate screening of member charities against the organizations that appear in the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) "Specially Designated Nationals List" (http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/index.html)

IRS Tax-Exemption Suspension/Revocation

In an effort to verify that CFC participating charities are recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt public charities under 26 U.S.C. §501(c)(3), to which contributions are tax-deductible under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code, campaigns should periodically (at least quarterly) review the listing of charities that no longer qualify as organizations to which contributions are tax-deductible. These are generally identified as "Deletions from the Cumulative List (Pub.78)" and can be viewed at www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=141466,00.html. Similarly, campaigns should periodically consult the IRS list of "Suspensions pursuant to Code §501(p)", which may be found at www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=141459,00.html.

The most current information on suspension and revocation of tax-exempt status may be found in Internal Revenue Bulletin announcements which are set forth at www.irs.gov/businesses/lists/0,,id=98230,00.html.

For questions or additional information please contact your assigned regional CFC Operations officer.

Attachments

Agencies Paid by National Finance Center
Agencies Paid by DFAS
Agencies Paid by NBC
Agencies Paid by GSA
 
2006 Model CFC Pledge Form 
The CFC pledge form is made available to campaigns from our website for the sole purpose of downloading and printing the document to make the hard copy pledge forms for the annual campaign.