Federal Charity Drive Goes Forward For 2025 But Future in Doubt

The annual federal charity drive known as the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) will move forward in 2025, after the Trump Administration had temporarily delayed the program and was weighing cancellation for the year. 

In a news release, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said the CFC will run from October 1 through December 31, 2025. The CFC allows federal employees to make charitable donations via payroll deductions, one-time gifts, volunteering, and text to give. 

However, OPM Director Scott Kupor said this year’s edition is only going forward “because many charities have already spent time and money preparing for this over the course of this year.”

And the program’s long-term future is in doubt.

“OPM is concerned about excessive administrative costs associated with the CFC, along with steadily declining participation, and it is evaluating changes to the CFC for 2026 (including whether to continue the program),” said Director Scott Kupor.

Director Kupor also elaborated on some of the challenges with the CFC, noting that participation has continued to decline from its peak in 2009. That year saw $282 million in donations. In the past few years CFC donations hovered around $65-$70 million annually.

Kupor also noted that administrative costs are rising, with OPM estimating that the program will cost $22 million in outside contractors and listing fees this year. 

“This means for every $1 a federal employee donates, about $0.33 (or 33%) does not reach the charity for which it was intended. Rather, dollars that could be deployed to help sick children, help veterans in need, or help victims of natural disasters get back on their feet, are instead diverted to overhead,” wrote Director Kupor. 

Charities Asked for Program to Continue

Charitable organizations who benefit from CFC take a much different view. While the administration was deciding whether to cancel the 2025 CFC, nearly 400 charities wrote to the administration urging that the CFC continue. 

“This substantial public benefit, delivered without burdening the federal budget, demonstrates a remarkable return on investment that validates the program’s efficiency and civic value,” wrote the Nonprofit Alliance. “The potential elimination of the CFC would create devastating consequences extending far beyond the immediate loss of charitable funding.”

The CFC began in 1964 and has given approximately $9 billion to charities around the world.