1. 2019 Charity Outreach Briefing
How to Make the Most Out of Your CFC Participation
cfccharities.opm.gov

2. Thank You
First of all, let me thank you all for coming today and for choosing to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign. Your work empowers and inspires the generosity of the federal community and we are thrilled to be able to partner with you this year. Your involvement in our local campaign activities is critical to the CFC’s success. We need your help to tell your story and motivate federal employees to make a pledge.

3. Agenda How the CFC Works 2019 Theme and Materials CFC Events
Engaging Federal Donors
Here is what I plan to cover today. We will start by talking a little about the CFC – what it is, how it works, and what the advantages are for you. Next, I will show you some of the 2019 plans, including our campaign theme. Then, I will talk about an important way for you to get the most out of the CFC – participating in campaign events! And finally we will go over some other ways you can encourage federal donors to choose your organization through the CFC.

4. How the CFC Works for Charities
The CFC is a federal tradition that facilitates charitable giving within all federal workplaces. The CFC has been around for 58 years and has generated more than $8.3 billion in pledges. The CFC groups charities into three categories: local, national, and international. The CFC itself is divided into 36 regional zones.
Here’s how the CFC works from a charity perspective. You apply to participate in the campaign. Your application is reviewed and vetted by federal employees. Once approved, you are in the charity list for that campaign year. During the campaign, you will be invited to participate in campaign events and other activities in our local zone. This is your opportunity to meet face to face with the generous federal community and tell your story. During today’s presentation, I will also be providing you with other ways to engage the federal community.

5. How the CFC Works for Campaign Workers
Next, we train and motivate campaign workers to invite their colleagues to make a pledge.

6. How the CFC Works for Donors
Finally, members of the federal community choose their causes and charities and make their pledge either through the online pledge portal or via a paper pledge form. Pledges are processed by the Central Campaign Administrator (CCA) and then are distributed back to you throughout the year so that you can do your life-changing work. Pretty great, right?

7. Advantages of the CFC for Charities
Reach millions of potential federal donors
Steady source of unrestricted funds
Track your received donations
Federal employees can pledge volunteer hours in addition to dollars
Now that we have reviewed how the CFC works, lets talk about what’s in it for you. The CFC offers participating charities some serious advantages. First, you will be able to get your charity in front of millions of potential federal donors with one annual application. That means that even if you are a local charity in our zone, donors from the other 35 zones will be able to pledge to you via the online charity search. AND federal retirees anywhere in the world can pledge to your charity via an allotment from their retirement annuity.
The CFC provides a steady source of unrestricted funds coming to you throughout the year. Your distributions start in April following the campaign and continue through the following March and everything is consolidated through the Central Campaign Administrator (CCA) system.
You can access that system and see reports on donation amounts and distributions once they start.
Federal employees are also authorized to pledge volunteer hours in addition to dollars to charities that have indicated they will accept volunteer hours. Volunteers are generally high value donors, so capitalizing on this generosity is important!

8. 2019 Campaign Theme Cause focused Expanded color palette
Illustrated approach
The 2019 campaign theme evolves the popular Show Some Love from previous years through the addition of several new colors (turquoise, yellow, and magenta) and a fun illustrated approach to highlight federal employees’ causes.

9. 2019 Campaign Materials
Here is a sample of some additional materials so you can see how we are carrying the theme throughout. You can see all of the materials on our website: [local URL].

10. 2019 Combined Federal Campaign Calendar
One other important aspect of the 2019 campaign is our plan to highlight a cause of the week. This is the cause of the week schedule. Note where your organization falls on this schedule so you can be ready to help promote via social media, newsletters, communications, and events. This calendar and more information on Cause of the Week can be found on our website.

11. CFC Events Reasons to participate in campaign events
Tips for participating in campaign events
How to play by the rules
How to participate in campaign events
Now that you have an overview of how the campaign works and some of our specific plans for 2019, let’s talk about how you can get involved!

12. Reasons to Participate in Campaign Events
Get face-to-face with feds
Show Some Love to the federal community
Make campaign events fun and successful
Increase participation and donations for charities!
Participating in campaign events is so important! As I mentioned, one of the best opportunities you have to meet with the generous federal community face-to-face and tell the story of the important work you do is by participating in campaign events. We STRONGLY encourage you to get involved in the campaign and to make every effort to attend campaign events when invited. There is nothing worse than for a campaign worker to organize a charity fair that still has empty tables/booths.
In addition to getting face-to-face with federal employees, here are some other great reasons to attend events:
You have the chance to Show Some Love to the federal community. That could mean saying thank you to them for the support they have given you over the years, but it could also mean showing them the ways you can support them when they are in need. You are also showing some love to the hardworking federal employees serving as campaign workers who are taking their time to plan and execute events and ask their co-workers to pledge through the CFC.
You can help make campaign events fun and successful by bringing interesting activities, promo items, giveaways and information. Campaign events boost morale in the workplace, and by participating, you will be contributing to that.
Campaign events increase participation in the campaign and thereby increase donations for you, the participating charities. Remember, a rising tide raises all ships, so everything you can do to promote and encourage participation in the campaign will help everyone!

13. Be Memorable and engaging
Here are a few other tips. Tip #1: Be memorable! Be engaging with your display area! The more creative you are, the better. Consider incorporating an activity, game, or props. But remember to double-check with the event coordinator to ensure whatever you are planning is allowed in that particular agency. Photography may be restricted and raffles, drawings, or any promotion that could be construed as gaming or gambling may be prohibited.
Tip #2: Tell your story. Be compelling, but brief. Prepare a 30- to 60- second elevator speech about your organization and its impact. Be sure to promote participation in the CFC and not just promote your own organization, especially if you are invited to speak at the event.
Tip #3: Bring giveaways. Who doesn’t love free stuff? Also, allowing federal employees to take something back to their desk will keep your organization top of mind when they prepare to make their pledge. Make sure your giveaway has your 5-digit CFC code on it!
Tip #4: Be engaging. Be outgoing and friendly. Don’t wait for employees to come talk to you. Welcome them and invite them over to your table or booth. People may walk through the event to have a break from their work, but don’t let them return to their desk without having learned about your organization.

14. Tell your story! Tell your story!
Tip #2: Tell your story. Be compelling, but brief. Prepare a 30- to 60- second elevator speech about your organization and its impact. Be sure to promote participation in the CFC and not just promote your own organization, especially if you are invited to speak at the event.

15. Come bearing gifts Come bearing gifts! If you can bring owls,
always bring owls!
Tip #3: Bring giveaways! Bring snacks! Bring prizes! (Note: these things should be modest in nature to avoid conflict with federal agency ethics regulations.) But, who doesn’t love free stuff? Also, allowing federal employees to take something back to their desk will keep your organization top of mind when they prepare to make their pledge. Make sure your giveaway has your 5-digit CFC code on it!

16. Play by the Rules RSVP to event invitation
Only attend events with confirmed RSVP
If you RSVP, show up
Follow the instructions – have proper identification
Arrive at the time requested
Use only the display area allotted
Promote overall giving
Do not collect money or names at the event
Be professional at all times
Participating in campaign events in federal workplaces does come with its own set of rules and restrictions. I am passing around now a full list of rules to follow which you will need to sign before you can be allowed to attend events. But here is a quick review:
Attend only the events you are invited to attend. Do not show up unannounced, please!
If you RSVP’d that you would attend an event, please show up!
Follow the security guidelines provided by the agency hosting the event – ensure you have proper identification.
The event confirmation will state the requested arrival time in order to allow time for security screeening
Use only the display area allotted.
Promote overall participation in the campaign, not just your own organization – remember the rising tide raises all ships!
Do not sell anything, collect names, or accept donations at the event.
Dress and act professionally and treat everyone with respect.

17. Event Process in our Zone
Step 1
We build a charity invite list.
Step 2
Agencies request charities.
Step 3
Initial invite sent to randomized invitee list.
Event Process in our Zone
Step 4
Charities RSVP.
Step 5
Charity details sent to RSVP list.
Step 6
Invited charities follow the instructions to attend the event.
Now that I have made the case for why charity participation in events is important, and how you can make the best of your time there, let’s talk about how you can apply to attend events in our local CFC zone.
The first step in the process is that we send an to national and international federations asking them to identify if they have a presence in our zone and if they would be able to attend events. We add the ones that say yes to our local list of federations and charities to build our charity event invitation list.
Second, event organizers in federal agencies let us know they are planning an event by completing a form on our website. They identify how many charities can participate and whether or not there are any speaking opportunities.
Third, we use digital randomization to send the initial invitation to a group of charities from our list. This will come from address. So you might want to add that address to your outlook to avoid it being captured as spam.
Fourth, those charities will have 2-3 days to rsvp to this invitation to secure a spot at the event. If all of the spots are not filled, we will invite another group of charities and allow the event to fill on a first come-first served basis.
Fifth, a second will be sent to the charities that RSVP’d “yes” to the invitation. This second will have all of the event details: location, instructions, and outline any special security requirements. Agency security requirements vary, so be watchful if you need to take further action or provide additional information.
And finally, you attend the event and garner lots of donations for your organization and the CFC overall! As I mentioned previously, if you RSVP, it is really important that you attend the event. It is disheartening for event organizers and attendees, not to mention unfair to other charities that might have wanted to attend the event, to see an empty table at the event. And in many cases, you can’t just ask someone else at your organization to attend on your behalf because of the security clearance requirements that you had to submit several days in advance. We do understand that sometimes it is unavoidable, so if you absolutely cannot attend the event, please DO let us know as soon as you can.

18. Building Security & Other Expectations
Government Issued ID required
Expect airport style screening (body and/or baggage scanners)
Electronic (phones/laptops) may be prohibited
Vehicle Information
Possible PII (Social Security #’s and birth dates)
We wanted to touch a little more on building security and other expectations for events at Federal facilities.
Please be prepared with government issued ID for entry into most facilities. You might also encounter airport style security screenings including body and/or baggage scanners. Electronics policies vary by agency and can require an individual to turn any cell phones, laptops, etc. for the duration of the visit.
Other security requirements for building entry can include name and vehicle information. A few agencies also require what we call PII, Personal Identifier Information. This will include information such as social security numbers & birthdates. When PII is required for security purposes, charities attending events will receive communication directly from an agency representative to collect this information. CFC Staff will not collect this information for the agency.
Charities will be notified of the security requirements per event. This information will be located within event confirmations.

19. Engaging Federal Donors
As we discussed, participating in campaign events is crucial. But, here are some other ways to engage the federal audience:

20. Market your CFC involvement
Print your 5-digit CFC code on your materials
Incorporate the Show Some Love theme
Target earned and paid media during the campaign season
Market and make the most of your CFC involvement.
Print your 5-digit CFC code on materials you plan to hand out at campaign events. You can even print and bring pledge forms to the event with your CFC number pre-filled in and hand them out to interested federal employees. Don’t forget to promote your CFC involvement on your digital materials too and put your 5-digit CFC code on your website, newsletters, and signatures.
Incorporate the Show Some Love theme where you can, for example in newsletters, social media, and your website. You can download the 2019 Style Guide from our website for more information. We also have the Show Some Love circles available for download.
Target earned and paid media to the federal audience during the campaign season. Especially remember to talk about how you help the federal community in times of need.

21. Reach out through messaging
Plan communications during the CFC season
Remind federal retirees they can give via annuity
Encourage current supporters to spread the word
Say thank you to previous donors
“Show Some Love to [cause] by giving to [charity name] through the CFC. Our designation number is [5-digit CFC code].”
Plan or schedule communications ( s, newsletters, mailers) during the CFC season and be sure to include your CFC 5-digit code. Remind federal retirees of their ability to pledge via their annuity.
Encourage your current supporters and advocates to spread the word about your organization in their networks.
Say thank you to previous donors (via social media, direct mail outs, s, at events, etc.) so they remember you this year when making their designation.

22. Promote Volunteer Opportunities
Identify volunteer opportunities
Reach out to those who pledged volunteer hours last year
Produce volunteer materials/messaging
Consider hosting a volunteer activity or day of service
If your organization indicated you accept volunteer pledges during the CFC application process, here are some ways to promote your opportunities:
Identify volunteer opportunities for federal employees so you can answer questions at events, etc. This could even include virtual volunteering (accepting administrative help from volunteers who aren’t physically in your office).
Reach out to those who pledged volunteer hours the previous year (and released their contact information). You can get this information from the pledge system.
Produce materials/messaging about your volunteer programs.
Consider hosting a volunteer activity or day of service for campaign workers or members of a federal agency.

23. Connect through Social Media
Engage with the national CFC and local campaign zone accounts by liking and commenting on posts and sharing content
Promote your CFC involvement on your own social media channels – be sure to use #ShowSomeLoveCFC
Share your success stories, photos, and videos with the CFC national marketing team and via your own channels
Connect with Us
[Facebook.com/localCFC]
[Twitter.com/localCFC]
There are a lot of federal guidelines and restrictions we have to follow on our social media pages, but you don’t have to! We can’t mention specific charity names to avoid showing favoritism, but if you engage with us on our social media accounts (by liking, commenting, and sharing posts), your name will naturally appear on our page.
In addition to interacting with our social media, don’t forget to promote your CFC involvement on your own channels. Share content from our pages, post about events you attended, participate in the cause of the week activities, and promote your own participation in the campaign. Be sure to use #ShowSomeLoveCFC.
Finally, share your success stories, photos and videos with the CFC national marketing team. You should have received an invitation from them with instructions on how to submit your stories and photos for social media and other communications and videos for the Virtual Charity Fair on our website.

24. Questions?