Combined Federal Campaign CFC FAQs

Bonafide chapters or affiliates of a larger 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, but must provide its own pro forma IRS Form 990 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 parent organization verifying the physical address of the subordinate organization named in the application; and stating that the local charitable organization operates as a bonafide chapter or affiliate in good standing of the parent organization and is covered by the national organization's 501(c)(3) tax-exemption, IRS Form 990, and audited financial statements. A copy of the parent organization's 501(c)(3) letter must accompany the CEO's certification.

OPM does not set a monetary goal for the CFC nationally. The Local Federal Coordinating Committee (LFCC) may set a monetary goal for its CFC zone. Each federal agency or military installation may also set monetary goals.

No. Your organization’s tier and AFR are determined using the total revenue reported on the IRS Form 990 that you submitted to the Internal Revenue Service or the pro forma IRS Form 990 you complete for CFC purposes only. The organization’s IRS Form 990 (or pro forma IRS Form 990) must be for the same fiscal period as the audited (or reviewed) financial statements submitted with the CFC application.

The application fee is charged to the organization to process the application to become a CFC charity. The listing fee will be applied to all charities approved for participation. These charities will not be listed in paper or electronic Charity Lists, and CFC contributions will not be processed on their behalf, if they do not submit the listing fee prior to the annual date set by OPM.

Local organizations must certify that the organization address submitted with the application is the primary location from which the organization's services are rendered and/or its records are maintained. A local organization may apply to as many campaign zones for which this certification can be made. A different five-digit CFC Universal Code, i.e. CFC Code, will be issued for each campaign zone to which an organization applies.

No. Key Workers, Outreach Coordinator (OC) 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.

Charity lists can be found on the CFC Pledging System. In CFC zones where printed versions of the charity list are printed, charity lists can be through your local Outreach Coordinator (OC). Campaign contact information can be found through the Campaign Locator.

Starting with the 2017 application period, organizations that choose to apply to the CFC program must pay the application fee when submitting an application via the online application system. Listing fees are only paid by organizations approved to participate in the campaign.

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

Application fees are due at the time of the filing of the application or the application deadline, whichever occurs last. An organization that has not paid the full application fee at that time may not participate in the CFC that campaign year. Listing fees will be applied to all organizations approved for participation. If the listing fee is not submitted prior to the annual date set by OPM, the approved charity will not be listed in the paper or electronic Charity Lists and CFC contributions will not be processed on their behalf.

This is not required by the IRS. Please see IRS Publication 526 (page 18) for the required documentation. If using take preparation software that should happen to require an address in order for it to accept the information, please use the address for the local campaign in your area. The address may be found using the Campaign Locator.

Every applicant must submit an IRS Form 990 (or pro forma IRS Form 990) with its CFC application. If the Internal Revenue Service does not require the organization to file the IRS Form 990 ("long form"), it must complete and submit a pro forma IRS Form 990 with its CFC application. IRS Forms 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-N, and other comparable forms will not be accepted. Organizations that file these forms must submit a pro forma IRS Form 990.   The organization's revenue can be found on page 9, line 12, column A of the IRS Form 990 (or pro forma IRS Form 990).

At a minimum, the request should include the following:

• background on the emergency or disaster that is being addressed by the special solicitation;
• information on the agency(ies) and location(s) where the special solicitation will be conducted;
• dates on which the special solicitation will be conducted; and
• information on the charitable organization(s) that will be the recipient(s) of special solicitation funds.

To expedite the request, OPM recommends that the requesting department, agency, or component fax it to (202)606-5056. OPM urges departments and agencies to contact OPM's Office of the CFC at (202)606-2564 or cfc@opm.gov for assistance in the development and implementation of any special solicitation.

No.