5 C.F.R. Subpart A—General Provisions
Title 5 - Administrative Personnel
Administrative Expenses, PCFO Expenses, Campaign Expenses, or CFC Expenses means all documented expenses identified in the PCFO application relating to the conduct of a local CFC and approved by the LFCC in accordance with these regulations. Campaign Year means the calendar year in which Federal employees are solicited for contributions to the Combined Federal Campaign. Combined Federal Campaign or Campaign or CFC means the charitable fundraising program established and administered by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) pursuant to Executive Order No. 12353, as amended by Executive Order No. 12404, and all subsidiary units of such program. Designated Funds means those contributions which the contributor has designated to a specific charitable organization(s), federation(s), or general option(s). Director means the Director of the Office of Personnel Management or his/her designee. Domestic Area means the several United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. Employee means any person employed by the Government of the United States or any branch, unit, or instrumentality thereof, including persons in the civil service, uniformed service, foreign service, and the postal service. Federation or Federated Group means a group of voluntary charitable human health and welfare organizations created to supply common fundraising, administrative, and management services to its constituent members. International General Designation Option means that the donor wishes that his or her gift be distributed to all of the international organizations listed in the International Section of the campaign brochure in the same proportion as all of the international organizations received designations in the local CFC. This option will have the code IIII. International Organization means a charitable organization that provides services either exclusively or in a substantial preponderance to persons in non-domestic areas. Local Federal Coordinating Committee or LFCC means the group of Federal officials designated by the Director to conduct the CFC in a particular community. Organization or Charitable Organization means a private, non-profit, philanthropic, human health and welfare organization. Overseas Area means the Department of Defense (DoD) Overseas Campaign which includes all areas other than those included in the domestic area. Principal Combined Fund Organization or PCFO means the federated group or combination of groups, or a charitable organization selected by the LFCC to administer the local campaign under the direction and control of the LFCC and the Director. Solicitation means any action requesting money, either by cash, check or payroll deduction, on behalf of charitable organizations. Undesignated Funds means those contributions which the contributor has not designated to a specific charitable organization(s), federation(s), or the International General Designation Option. (a) The CFC is the only authorized solicitation of employees in the Federal workplace on behalf of charitable organizations. A campaign may be conducted during a 6 week period, as determined by the LFCC, from September 1 through December 15 at every Federal agency in the campaign community in accordance with these regulations. Except as provided in this section, no other solicitation on behalf of charitable organizations may be conducted in the Federal workplace. Upon written request, the Director may grant permission for solicitations of Federal employees, outside the CFC, in support of victims in cases of emergencies and disasters. Emergencies and disasters are defined as any hurricane, tornado storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, explosion, or other catastrophe in any part of the world. No such permissions will be granted for such solicitations during the period September 1 through December 15, except at the discretion of the Director upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances. (b) 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 as defined by the applicable Agency Head consistent with General Services Administration regulations and any other applicable laws or regulations. (c) The Director exercises general supervision over all operations of the CFC, and takes all necessary steps to ensure the achievement of campaign objectives. Any disputes relating to the interpretation or implementation of this part may be submitted to the Director for resolution. The decisions of the Director are final for administrative purposes. (d) 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. Such solicitations are not subject to these regulations, and therefore do not require permission of the Director. [60 FR 57890, Nov. 24, 1995, as amended at 63 FR 65637, Nov. 30, 1998] (a) The Director establishes and maintains the official list of local campaigns and the geographical area each covers. There is no prerequisite regarding the Federal employee population needed to establish or maintain a CFC. However, rather than establishing or maintaining small campaigns, OPM encourages mergers and expansions of campaigns to promote efficiency and economy. (b) The Director establishes an LFCC to govern the conduct of the local CFC. The LFCC will, whenever possible, be comprised of members of local Federal inter-agency organizations, such as Federal Executive Boards, Federal Executive Associations, Federal Business Associations or, in the absence of such organizations, self-organized associations of local Federal officials. These groups will include local Federal agency heads or their representatives. It may also include representatives of employee unions and other employee groups. Rotation of the LFCC Chair position among the LFCC members is encouraged. For continuity, each LFCC should appoint a Vice Chair who would be expected to serve at the conclusion of the Chair's term. (c) The agency head at each Federal installation within a campaign area shall: (1) Become familiar with all CFC regulations, (2) Cooperate with the representatives of the LFCC and PCFO in organizing and conducting the campaign, (3) Initiate official campaigns within their offices or installations and provide support for the campaign, and (4) Assure the campaign is conducted in accordance with these regulations. (d) Once a campaign has been established, agency heads may not discontinue solicitation of Federal employees within their organization without the written approval of the Director. (e) Any change in the geographical boundaries of local campaigns may be made only upon the express written permission of the Director. (f) Each year the LFCC must establish the 6 week time period to solicit employees. Each campaign should not be conducted for more than a 6 week period. However, in unusual circumstances the LFCC may extend the campaign as local conditions require. The solicitation may not begin before September 1 and in no event will it extend beyond December 15 of each year. (g) Current Federal civilian and active duty military employees may be solicited for contributions using payroll deduction, checks, money orders or cash. Contractor personnel, credit union employees and other persons employed on Federal premises, as well as retired Federal employees, may make single contributions to the CFC through check or money order. These non-Federal employees may not be solicited, but are to be provided the opportunity to participate in the CFC. (h) A Federal employee whose official duty station is outside the geographic boundaries of an established CFC may not be solicited in that CFC. A Federal employee may participate in a particular CFC only if that employee's official duty station is located within the geographic boundaries of that CFC. (a) All members of the LFCC should develop an understanding of campaign regulations and procedures. The LFCC is the central point of information regarding the CFC among Federal employees. (b) The responsibilities of the LFCC include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) Maintaining minutes of LFCC meetings and responding promptly to any request for information from the Director. (2) Naming a campaign chairperson and notifying the Director when the chairperson changes. (3) Determining the eligibility of local organizations that apply to participate in the local campaign. This is the exclusive responsibility of the LFCC and may not be delegated to the PCFO. (4) Ensuring that the list of charities determined by the Director to be nationally eligible to participate in all local campaigns is reproduced in the local brochure in accordance with OPM instructions. (5) Ensuring that the local brochure and pledge card are produced in accordance with these regulations and instructions from the Director. (6) Encouraging local Federal agencies to appoint loaned executives to assist in the campaign. Federal agency heads are encouraged to grant administrative leave to all loaned executives appointed to assist in the conduct of the CFC. Federal loaned executives are prohibited from working on non-CFC fundraising activities during duty hours. (7) Establishing a network of employee keyworkers and volunteers and participating in interagency briefing sessions and kick-off meetings. (8) Ensuring that, to the extent reasonably possible, every employee is given the opportunity to participate in the CFC, and ensuring employee designations are honored. (9) Ensuring that the PCFO includes in keyworker training instructions to encourage employees to designate the charitable organizations they wish to receive their donations and specific information on how general designation monies are distributed. (10) Ensuring that contributions are distributed in accordance with the method described in these regulations. (11) Ensuring that no employee is coerced in any way to participate in the campaign. (12) Bringing allegations of coercion to the attention of the Director and the employee's agency and providing a mechanism to review employee complaints of undue pressure and coercion in Federal fundraising. Federal agencies shall provide procedures and assign responsibility for the investigation of such complaints. Personnel offices shall be responsible for informing employees of the proper channels for pursuing such complaints. (13) Notifying the Director of any significant problems or controversies concerning the campaign that the LFCC cannot resolve by applying these regulations. The LFCC must abide by the Director's decisions on all matters concerning the campaign. (14) Ensuring the PCFO does not use the services of consulting firms, advertising firms or similar business organizations to perform the policy-making or decisionmaking functions in the CFC. A PCFO may, however, contract with entities or individuals such as banks, accountants, lawyers, and other vendors of goods and/or services to assist in accomplishing its administrative tasks. (15) Ensuring that the activities and functions required of the PCFO are kept separate from any non-CFC operations of the organization. The LFCC must verify that the PCFO keeps and maintains CFC financial records and interest bearing bank accounts separate from the PCFO's non-CFC financial records and bank accounts. (16) Monitoring the work of the PCFO, and inspecting closely the annual audit required of the PCFO pursuant to §950.105(d)(9) for compliance with these regulations. (17) Authorizing to the PCFO reimbursement of only those campaign expenses that are legitimate CFC costs and are adequately documented. Total reimbursable expenses may not exceed the approved campaign budget by more than 10 percent. (18) Determining whether each local federation, federation member, and unaffiliated organization that applies to participate in the local campaign has completed the sanctions compliance certification required pursuant to §950.605. The LFCC must deny participation to any federation or organization that has not completed the sanctions compliance certification. (c) The LFCC must annually solicit applications for the PCFO via public notice no later than February 1 of each calendar year. The PCFO application period must be open a minimum of 14 calendar days. Cost incurred in providing the public notice should be added to the PCFO budget for the current campaign year as an administrative cost. The LFCC shall select a PCFO to act as its fiscal agent and campaign coordinator on the basis of presentations made to the local committee as described in §950.105. The LFCC shall consider the efficiency and effectiveness of the campaign as the primary factors in selecting a PCFO. [60 FR 57890, Nov. 24, 1995, as amended at 70 FR 67341, Nov. 7, 2005] (a) Only federations, charitable organizations or combinations thereof may serve as the PCFO. (b) the primary goal of the PCFO is to conduct an effective and efficient campaign in a fair and even-handed manner aimed at collecting the greatest amount of charitable contributions possible. Therefore, PCFO's should afford federated groups and agencies with representatives in the local campaign area adequate opportunity to offer suggestions relating to the operation of the campaign, printed campaign material, and training. If requested in writing to either the LFCC or PCFO, federated groups and agencies must be given the opportunity to attend all campaign meetings, kick-off events, and training sessions. The PCFO must provide representatives of federated groups, agencies and the general public the opportunity to review at the PCFO office all reports, budgets, audits, training materials, and other records pertaining to the CFC. (c) Any federation, charitable organization or combinations thereof wishing to be selected for the PCFO must submit a timely application in accordance with the deadline set by the LFCC, that includes: (1) A written campaign plan sufficient in detail to allow the LFCC to determine if the applicant could administer an efficient and effective CFC. The campaign plan must include a CFC budget that details all estimated costs required to operate the CFC. The budget may not be based on the percentage of funds raised in the local campaign. (2) A statement signed by the applicant's local director or equivalent pledging to: (i) administer the CFC fairly and equitably, (ii) conduct campaign operations, such as training, kick-off and other events, and fiscal operations, such as banking, auditing, reporting and distribution separate from the applicant's non-CFC operations, and (iii) abide by the directions, decisions, and supervision of the LFCC and/or Director. (3) A statement signed by the applicant's local director or equivalent acknowledging the applicant is subject to the provisions of §950.403 and §950.603. (d) The specific responsibilities of the PCFO include but are not limited to: (1) Honoring employee designations. (2) Helping to ensure no employee is coerced in any way regarding participation in the campaign and that allegations of coercion are brought to the attention of the appropriate Federal officials. (3) Training agency loaned executives, coordinators, and keyworkers in the methods of non-coercive solicitation. This training must be completely separate from training given for other types of charitable campaign drives. Additionally, keyworkers should be trained to check to ensure the pledge card is legible on each copy, verify arithmetical calculations, and ensure the block on the pledge card concerning the release of the employee's name and address is completed fully. (4) Ensuring that no employee is questioned in any way as to his or her designation or its amount except by keyworkers, loaned executives, or other non-supervisory Federal personnel. (5) Preparing pledge cards and brochures that are consistent with these regulations and instructions by the Director. (6) Honoring the request of employees who indicate on the pledge card that their names not be released to the organization(s) that they designate. (7) Maintaining a detailed schedule of its actual CFC administrative expenses with, to the extent possible, itemized receipts for the expenses. The expense schedule must be in a format that can be reconciled to the PCFO's budget submitted in accordance with paragraph (c)(1) of this section. (8) Keeping and maintaining CFC financial records and interest-bearing bank accounts separate from the PCFO's internal organizational financial records and bank accounts. Interest earned on all CFC accounts must be distributed in the same manner as undesignated funds pursuant to §950.501. All financial records and bank accounts must be kept in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. (9) Submitting to the LFCC an audit of collections and disbursements for each campaign managed no later than June 15 of the year in which the last disbursement is made. For example, for the 1994 CFC the audit of the 1994 campaign must be submitted to the LFCC no later than June 15, 1996. The audit must be performed by an independent certified public accountant in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and OPM guidance. (10) Absorbing the cost of any reprinting of campaign materials due to its noncompliance with these regulations, embezzlement, or loss of funds. A PCFO must also absorb campaign costs exceeding 10 percent of the approved budget. (11) Designing and implementing CFC awards programs which are accessible to all employees and which reflect the Government's commitment to non-coercion. Awards to Federal agencies or employees by individual federations or organizations for CFC accomplishments is prohibited. (12) Producing any documents or information requested by the LFCC and/or the Director within 10 calendar days of the receipt of that request. (13) Responding in a timely and appropriate manner to reasonable inquiries from participating organizations. (e) A federated group(s) or charitable organization may be barred from serving as PCFO for 1 year if determined by the Director to have violated these regulations. A federated group(s) or charitable organization serving as PCFO will be notified of the Director's intent to bar and have an opportunity to submit written comments prior to its becoming effective. The Director's decision as to debarment shall be communicated in writing to the LFCC and PCFO, and the LFCC shall not consider an application from such group(s) or organization to serve as the PCFO during terms of debarment. (a) The PCFO shall recover from the gross receipts of the campaign its expenses, approved by the LFCC, reflecting the actual costs of administering the local campaign. The amount recovered for campaign expenses shall not exceed 10 percent of the estimated budget submitted pursuant to §950.105(c)(1) unless approved by the Director. (b) The PCFO may only recover campaign expenses from receipts collected for that campaign year. Expenses incurred preparing for and conducting the CFC cannot be recovered from receipts collected in the previous year's campaign. The PCFO may absorb the costs associated with conducting the campaign from its own funds and be reimbursed, or obtain a commercial loan to pay for costs associated with conducting the campaign. If the commercial loan option is used, the amount of a reasonable rate of interest is an allowable campaign expense, subject to the approval of the LFCC when the PCFO budget is submitted. (c) The campaign expenses will be shared proportionately by all the recipient organizations reflecting their percentage share of gross campaign receipts. There is no authority in statute or regulation for an LFCC or any Federal official or employee to assume the duties and responsibilities of the PCFO. In the event that there is no qualified PCFO, the LFCC Chairman will promptly inform the Director in writing. The Director will assist the LFCC in merging the campaign with an adjacent campaign that has a qualified PCFO or identifying an eligible organization to function as the campaign's PCFO. If the LFCC's of the adjacent campaigns elect not to merge and a qualified PCFO cannot be found, the local CFC will be canceled. No workplace solicitation of any Federal employee in the campaign area is authorized and payroll allotments cannot be accepted and honored during the duration of the cancellation of the CFC. True voluntary giving is fundamental to Federal fundraising activities. Actions that do not allow free choices or create the appearance employees do not have a free choice to give or not to give, or to publicize their gifts or to keep them confidential, are contrary to Federal fundraising policy. Activities contrary to the non-coercive intent of Federal fundraising policy are not permitted in campaigns. They include, but are not limited to: (a) Solicitation of employees by their supervisor or by any individual in their supervisory chain of command. This does not prohibit the head of an agency to perform the usual activities associated with the campaign kick-off and to demonstrate his or her support of the CFC in employee newsletters or other routine communications with the Federal employees. (b) Supervisory inquiries about whether an employee chose to participate or not to participate or the amount of an employee's donation. Supervisors may be given nothing more than summary information about the major units that they supervise. (c) Setting of 100 percent participation goals. (d) Establishing personal dollar goals and quotas. (e) Developing and using lists of non-contributors. (f) Providing and using contributor lists for purposes other than the routine collection and forwarding of contributions and allotments, and as allowed under §950.601. (g) Using as a factor in a supervisor's performance appraisal the results of the solicitation in the supervisor's unit or organization. Any Federal employee who serves on the LFCC, on the eligibility committee, or as a Federal agency fundraising program coordinator, must not participate in any decisions where, because of membership on the board or other affiliation with a charitable organization, there could be or appear to be a conflict of interest under any statute, regulation, Executive order, or applicable agency standards of conduct. Under no circumstances may an LFCC member affiliated with an organization applying for inclusion on the local list, participate in the eligibility determinations. Discrimination for or against any individual or group on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or political affiliation is prohibited in all aspects of the management and the execution of the CFC. Nothing herein denies eligibility to any organization, which is otherwise eligible under this part to participate in the CFC, merely because such organization is organized by, on behalf of, or to serve persons of a particular race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap.
Title 5: Administrative Personnel
PART 950—SOLICITATION OF FEDERAL CIVILIAN AND UNIFORMED SERVICE PERSONNEL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO PRIVATE VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS
Subpart A—General Provisions
§ 950.101 Definitions.
§ 950.102 Scope of the Combined Federal Campaign.
§ 950.103 Establishing a local campaign.
§ 950.104 Local Federal Coordinating Committee responsibilities.
§ 950.105 Principal Combined Fund Organization (PCFO) responsibilities.
§ 950.106 PCFO expense recovery.
§ 950.107 Lack of a qualified PCFO.
§ 950.108 Preventing coercive activity.
§ 950.109 Avoidance of conflict of interest.
§ 950.110 Prohibited discrimination.
