This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

8961

Vol. 60, No. 32

Thursday, February 16, 1995

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 950

RIN 3206–AG50

Solicitation of Federal Civilian and

Uniformed Service Personnel for

Contributions to Private Voluntary

Organizations

AGENCY: Office of Personnel

Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) is issuing proposed

regulations governing the solicitation of

Federal civilian and uniformed services

personnel for contribution to private

voluntary organizations under the

authority of Executive Order 12353

(March 23, 1982). Private voluntary

organizations and OPM’s Inspector

General have indicated a need for

clarifying or changing current

procedures for soliciting Federal

employees in the workplace. These

regulations propose a number of

changes to improve procedural

operations and accountability for the

annual charitable solicitation campaign

conducted by Federal personnel in their

Government workplaces and set forth

ground rules under which charitable

organizations may receive contributions

from Federal personnel through the

Combined Federal Campaign.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before April 17, 1995.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning

these proposed regulations should be

addressed to Gerri Mason Hall, Counsel

for Extragovernmental Affairs, U.S.

Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E

Street NW., Room 6H28, Washington,

DC 20415.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeffrey C. Lee, Assistant Counsel for

Extragovernmental Affairs, (202) 606–

2564.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These

regulations are proposed to implement a

number of procedural changes to the

operations of the Combined Federal

Campaign (CFC). These proposed

changes to the regulations include, but

are not limited to:

More clearly defining the scope and

meaning of workplace solicitations in

the Federal government;

Identification of the circumstances

where the Director may authorize

solicitations of Federal employees in the

workplace outside of the CFC;

Clarification of procedural

requirements for charitable

organizations seeking participation in

the CFC;

Expanding local eligibility by defining

and enumerating criteria for

organizations that provide services on a

statewide basis;

Authorizing the use of a ‘‘perpetual’’

payroll allotment (pledge card) that,

once completed, would remain in effect

until changed or cancelled by the donoremployee;

Removing all general designation

options not required by statute.

Expanding the solicitation methods

and the pool of potential donors.

These proposed regulations are

consistent with the restrictions placed

on OPM by section 618 of the Treasury,

Postal Service, and General Government

Appropriations Act for 1988.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that these regulations will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

because it will only effect those

charitable organizations that participate

in the CFC.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The collection of information

requirements in this part have been

approved by the Office of Management

and Budget and assigned OMB control

number 3206–0131.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 950

Administrative practice and

procedures, Charitable contribution,

Government employee, Military

personnel, Nonprofit organizations,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Office of Personnel Management.

Lorraine A. Green,

Deputy Director.

Accordingly, OPM proposes to revise

5 CFR part 950 as follows:

PART 950—SOLICITATION OF

FEDERAL CIVILIAN AND UNIFORMED

SERVICE PERSONNEL FOR

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PRIVATE

VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS

Subpart A—General Provisions

Sec.

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.

Subpart B—Eligibility Provisions

950.201 National list eligibility.

950.202 National list eligibility

requirements.

950.203 Public accountability standards.

950.204 Local list eligibility.

950.205 Appeals.

Subpart C—Federations

950.301 National federations eligibility.

950.302 Responsibilities of national

federations.

950.303 Local federations eligibility.

950.304 Responsibilities of local

federations.

Subpart D—Campaign Materials

950.401 Campaign and publicity materials.

950.402 Pledge card.

950.403 Penalties.

Subpart E—Distribution of Undesignated

Funds

950.501 Applicability.

950.502 Distribution of undesignated funds.

950.503 Review by the Director.

Subpart F—Miscellaneous Provisions

950.601 Release of contributor names.

950.602 Solicitation method.

950.603 Sanctions.

950.604 Records retention.

Subpart G—DoD Overseas Campaign

950.701 DoD overseas campaign.

Subpart H—CFC Timetable

950.801 Campaign schedule.

Subpart I—Payroll Withholding

950.901 Payroll allotment.

Authority: E.O. 12353 (March 23, 1982), 47

FR 12785 (March 25, 1982). 3 CFR 1982

Comp., p. 139. E.O. 12404 (February 10,

1983), 48 FR 6685 (February 15, 1983), Pub.

L. 100–202, and Pub. L. 102–393 (5 U.S.C.

1101 Note).
8962 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules

Subpart A—General Provisions

§ 950.101 Definitions.

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.

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 in the

overseas area or primarily on behalf of

non-U.S. citizens in the overseas area.

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, nonprofit, 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.

§ 950.102 Scope of the Combined Federal

Campaign.

(a) The CFC is the only authorized

charitable fundraising drive in the

Federal workplace. 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 in support of victims

of 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 permission will be

granted for such solicitations during the

period September 1 through December

15.

(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 41 CFR 101–

20.308, government ethics regulations 5

CFR part 2635, and any other applicable

laws and/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 and rulings

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.

§ 950.103 Establishing a local campaign.

(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

will also include, wherever possible,

representatives of employee unions and

other employee groups. The LFCC Chair

should be rotated among its members.

For continuity, each LFCC should

appoint a Vice Chair who would be

expected to serve as the Chair in the

following year.

(c) The agency head to 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.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules 8963

(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 may make single

contributions to the CFC through check

or money order. Retired Federal

employees may also make single

contributions to the CFC through check

or money order.

(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.

§ 950.104 Local Federal Coordinating

Committee responsibilities.

(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 for 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

found by the Director to be nationally

eligible to participate in all local

campaigns is reproduced in the local

brochure in accordance with these

regulations.

(5) Ensuring that the local brochure

and pledge card are produced in

accordance with these regulations and

instructions for 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.

(7) Establishing a thorough 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 should be responsible

for information employees of the proper

channels for pursuing such complaints.

(13) Notifying the Director of any

other significant problems or

controversies concerning the campaign

that the LFCC can not resolve by

applying these regulations. The LFCC

must abide by the Director’s decisions

on all matters concerning the campaign.

(14) Ensuring the PCFO selected or

retained 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 ministerial 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 the

administrative fee described in

§ 950.106(d) and reimbursement of only

those campaign expenses that are

legitimate CFC costs and are adequately

documented. Total documented

expenses may not exceed the approved

campaign budget by more than 10

percent.

(c) The LFCC must annually solicit

applications for the PCFO via public

notice no later than February 1 of each

calendar year. Costs 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.

(d) A federated group(s) or charitable

organization may be barred from serving

as PCFO for 1 year if found 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.

§ 950.105 Principal Combined Fund

Organization (PCFO) responsibilities.

(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,
8964 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules

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 to the LFCC no later than

March 1 of each year an application 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 in accord with paragraph

(d)(3) of this section.

(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 § 950.502. 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.

(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 noncoercion. Awards to Federal agencies or

employees by individual federations or

organizations for CFC accomplishments

is prohibited.

(12) Communicating to all local

applicants the date, time, and place of

the open public meeting where the

LFCC will announce eligibility

decisions.

(13) Producing any documents or

information requested by the LFCC and/

or the Director within 10 calendar days

of the receipt of that request.

(14) Responding in a timely and

appropriate manner to reasonable

inquiries from participating

organizations.

§ 950.106 PCFO expense recovery.

(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 in the fall 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.

(d) In addition to recovering campaign

expenses, PCFO’s shall also collect a fee

of 15 percent of the undesignated funds

in each local campaign for performing

the functions of PCFO.

§ 950.107 Lack of a qualified PCFO.

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.

§ 950.108 Preventing coercive activity.

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
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules 8965

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 noncontributors.

(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.

§ 950.109 Avoidance of conflict of interest.

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

organizations, there could be or appear

to be a conflict of interest under any

statutes, 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.

§ 950.110 Prohibited discrimination.

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.

Subpart B—Eligibility Provisions

§ 950.201 National List eligibility.

(a) The Director shall annually:

(1) Determine the timetable and other

procedures regarding application for

inclusion on the national list,

(2) Determine which organizations

among those that apply qualify to be

part of the national list and then provide

the national list of qualified

organizations to all local campaigns.

(b) The national list shall be

reproduced in all local brochures in

accordance with these regulations. The

list will include each organization’s

national list number code. These

number codes must be faithfully

reproduced in the local brochures.

(c) An organization on the national

list may elect to be removed from the

national list and have its local affiliate

or subunit listed on the local list of

organizations in its stead. For the local

affiliate or subunit to be listed in lieu of

the organization on the national list, the

following procedures must be followed:

(1) The organization must send a

letter to the local affiliate or subunit in

that particular CFC waiving its listing

on the national list so that is eligible

local affiliate or subunit on the local list

of organizations will appear as that

organization’s sole list in the CFC

Brochure.

(2) The local affiliate or subunit will

include in its application to the LFCC a

copy of the letter authorizing the

removal of the organization from the

national list as well as all the required

materials for completing a local

organization application.

(3) Upon finding the local

organization eligible, the waiver letter

from the organization on the national

list authorizes the LFCC to delete that

organization from the national list.

§ 950.202 National List of eligibility

requirements.

All organizations seeking national list

eligibility must:

(a) Certify that it provides or conducts

real services, benefits, assistance, or

program activities, in 15 or more

different states or a foreign country over

the 3 year period immediately preceding

the start of the year involved. This

requirement cannot be met on the sole

basis of services provided through an

‘‘800’’ telephone number or by sending

materials via the U.S. Mails or a

combination thereof. In addition, this

requirement cannot be met by providing

a service, benefit, assistance or program

activity in only one state to recipients

who live in a different state. A schedule

listing those states (minimum 15) or the

foreign countries (minimum 1) where

the program activities have been

provided and a detailed description of

the activities in each state or foreign

country must be included with the

application. Clear evidence must be

submitted that the services, benefits,

assistance or activities were provided in

each state or foreign country.

(b) Certify that it is recognized by the

Internal Revenue Service as tax-exempt

under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) and to which

contributions are tax-deductible

pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 170. A copy of the

letter from the Internal Revenue Service

granting tax-exempt status under the

Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C.

501(c)(3) must be included with the

application.

(c) Certify that the organization has no

expenses connected with lobbying and

attempts to influence voting or

legislation at the local, State, or Federal

level or alternatively, that those

expenses would classify the

organization as a tax-exempt

organization under 26 U.S.C. 501(h).

§ 950.203 Public accountability standards.

(a) To insure organizations wishing to

solicit donations from Federal

employees in the workplace are

portraying accurately their programs

and benefits, several standards and

certifications must be met annually by

each organization seeking national list

eligibility. Each organization wishing to

participate must:

(1) Certify that the organization is a

human health and welfare organization

providing services, benefits, or

assistance to, or conducting activities

affecting, human health and welfare.

The organization’s application must

provide documentation describing the

human health and welfare benefits

provided by the organization within the

previous year.

(2) Certify that it accounts for its

funds in accordance with generally

accepted accounting principles and that

an audit of the organization’s fiscal

operations is completed annually by an

independent certified public accountant

in accordance with generally accepted

auditing standards. Such audit must

show expenses by function. A copy of

the organization’s most recent annual

audit must be included with the

application. The audit must cover the

fiscal year ending not more than 18

months prior to the January of the

campaign year to which the

organization is applying. For example,

the audit included in the 1994
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application must cover the fiscal period

ending on or after June 30, 1992.

(3) Provide a completed copy of the

organization’s IRS Form 990, including

signature, with the application

regardless of whether or not the IRS

requires the organization to file this

form. IRS Forms 990EZ, 990PF, and

comparable forms are not acceptable

substitutes. The IRS Form 990 and audit

must cover the same fiscal period and,

if revenue and expenses on the two

documents differ, these amounts must

be reconciled in an accompanying

signed statement by the certified public

accountant who completed the audit.

(4) Provide a computation of the

organization’s percentage of total

support and revenue spent on

administration and fundraising. This

percentage shall be computed from

information on the IRS Form 990,

submitted pursuant to § 950.203(a)(3),

by adding the amount spent on

‘‘management and general’’ (line 14) to

‘‘fundraising’’ (line 15) and then

dividing the sum by ‘‘total revenue’’

(line 12).

(i) If an organization’s administrative

and fundraising expenses exceed 25

percent of its total support and revenue,

it must certify that its actual expenses

for administration and fundraising are

reasonable due to special circumstances.

It must provide an explanation with its

application and also include a formal

plan to reduce these expenses below 25

percent.

(i) The Director may reject any

application from an organization with

fundraising and administrative expenses

in excess of 25 percent of total support

and revenue, unless the organization

demonstrates to the satisfaction of the

Director that its actual expenses for

those purposes and its plan to reduce

them are reasonable under the

circumstances. Failure to reduce the

expenses to the 25 percent level within

one application year will render the

organization ineligible for the

succeeding campaign.

(5) Certify that the organization is

directed by an active and responsible

governing body whose members have no

material conflict of interest and, a

majority of which serve without

compensation. A list of the

organization’s Board of Directors and a

description of each Directors’

participation in the conduct of the

organization’s affairs, such as official

positions and committee memberships,

must be included with the application.

(6) Certify that the organization’s

fundraising practices protect against

unauthorized use of its CFC contributor

lists as described in § 950.601(d).

(7) Certify that its publicity and

promotional activities are based upon

its actual program and operations, are

truthful and non-deceptive, and make

no exaggerated or misleading claims.

(8) Certify that contributions are

effectively used for the announced

purposes of the charitable organization.

(9) Certify under which governmental

entity the charitable organization is

chartered, incorporated or organized

(congressionally chartered or the state in

which it is registered).

(10) Certify that the organization has

received no more than 80 percent of its

total support and revenues from

government sources as computed by

dividing line 1c by line 12 from the IRS

Form 990 submitted pursuant to

§ 950.203(a)(3).

(11) Certify that the organization

prepares and makes available to the

public upon request an annual report

that includes a full description of the

orgranization’s activities and supporting

services and identifies its directors and

chief administrative personnel. A copy

of the organization’s annual report must

be included with the application. The

annual report must cover the fiscal year

ending not more than 18 months prior

to January of the campaign year to

which the organization is applying. A

more frequently published document,

such as a quarterly newsletter, may be

used to meet this requirement provided

that such document is available to the

general public upon request and

describes the organization’s activities

and supporting services and identifies

its directors and chief administrative

personnel.

(12) Provide a statement that the

certifying official is authorized by the

organization to certify and affirm all

statements required for inclusion on the

national list.

(13) Provide a statement in 25 words

or less describing the program activities

of the charitable organization. The 25-

word statement need not include the

organization’s name. In addition,

organizations must provide a telephone

number, dedicated solely for the

organization’s use, through which the

donors may receive further information

about the organization. Except as

provided in § 950.401(k), this

information will be included in the

campaign brochure listing of agencies

along with the organization’s

administrative and fundraising

percentage computed pursuant to

§ 950.203(a)(3).

(b) The Director shall review these

applications for accuracy, completeness,

and compliance with these regulations.

Failure to supply any of this

information may be judged a failure to

comply with the requirements of public

accountability, and the charitable

organization may be ruled ineligible for

inclusion on the national list.

(c) The Director may request such

additional information as the Director

deems necessary to complete these

reviews. An organization that fails to

comply with such requests within 10

calendar days from receipt of the

request may be judged ineligible.

(d) The required certifications and

documentation must have been

completed and submitted prior to the

application filing deadline.

Applications received that are

incomplete may not be perfected during

the appeal process described in

§ 950.205.

(e) The Director may waive any of

these standards and certifications upon

a showing of extenuating circumstances.

§ 950.204 Local list eligibility.

(a) The LFCC shall establish an

annual application process consistent

with these regulations for organizations

that wish to be listed in the local

brochure.

(b) The requirements for an

organization to be listed in the local

brochure shall include the following:

(1) An organization must demonstrate

to the satisfaction of the LFCC, that it

has a substantial local presence in the

geographical area covered by the local

campaign, a substantial local presence

in the geographical area covered by an

adjacent local campaign, or substantial

statewide presence.

(i) Substantial local presence is

defined as a staffed facility, office or

portion of a residence dedicated

exclusively to that organization,

available to members of the public

seeking its services or benefits. The

facility must be open at least 15 hours

a week and have a telephone dedicated

exclusively to the organization. The

office may be staffed by volunteers.

Substantial local presence cannot be

met on the basis of services provided

solely through an 800 telephone number

or the U.S. Mails or a combination

thereof.

(ii) Substantial statewide presence is

defined as providing or conducting real

services, benefits, assistance or program

activities covering 30 percent of a state’s

geographic boundaries or providing or

conducting real services, benefits,

assistance or program activities affecting

30 percent of a state’s population.

Substantial statewide presence cannot

be met on the basis of services provided

solely through an 800 telephone number

or the U.S. Mails or a combination

thereof.
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(2) An organization seeking local

eligibility also must meet all

requirements for national list eligibility

in § 950.202 and § 950.203, with the

following two exceptions:

(i) Local charitable organizations are

not required to have provided services

or benefits in 15 states or a foreign

country over the prior three years,

(ii) Local charitable organizations

with annual revenue less than $100,000

are not required to be audited in

accordance with generally accepted

auditing standards and, hence, are not

required to submit an audit report.

Annual revenue is determined by line

12 of the IRS Form 990 covering the

organization’s most recent fiscal year

ending not more than 18 months prior

to the January of the campaign year to

which the organization is applying.

(3) An organization seeking local

eligibility based upon a substantial

statewide presence, need only submit a

complete application to the LFCC of the

largest campaign in the state, as

determined by OPM. OPM will annually

publish a list of the largest campaigns in

each state. The decision of the

aforementioned LFCC, or OPM in the

event of an appeal, is binding upon all

other campaigns in the state. The

applicant organization must forward a

copy of the LFCC’s decision to any other

campaigns in which it would like to

participate as a statewide organization.

(c) Family support and youth

activities certified by the commander of

a military installation as meeting the

eligibility criteria contained in

§ 950.204(d) may appear on the list of

local organizations and be supported

from CFC funds. Family support and

youth activities may not participate in

the CFC as a member of a federation.

(d) A family support and youth

activity must:

(1) Be a nonprofit, tax-exempt

organization that provides family

service programs or youth activity

programs to personnel in the Command.

The activity must not receive a majority

of its financial support from

appropriated funds.

(2) Have a high degree of integrity and

responsibility in the conduct of their

affairs. Contributions received must be

used effectively for the announced

purposes of the organization.

(3) Be directed by the base NonAppropriated Fund Council or an active

voluntary board of directors which

serves without compensation and holds

regular meetings.

(4) Conduct its fiscal operations in

accordance with a detailed annual

budget, prepared and approved at the

beginning of the fiscal year. Any

significant variations from the approved

budget must have prior authorization

from the Non-Appropriated Fund

Council or the directors. The family

support and youth activities must have

accounting procedures acceptable to an

installation auditor and the inspector

general.

(5) Have a policy and practice of

nondiscrimination on the basis of race,

color, religion, sex or national origin

applicable to persons served by the

organization.

(6) Prepare an annual report which

includes a full description of the

organization’s activities and

accomplishments. These reports must

be made available to the public upon

request.

(e) Within 15 business days after the

closing date of the application period,

the LFCC shall communicate its

eligibility decisions at an open public

meeting. The open public meeting date,

place, and time must be communicated

to local applicant organizations during

the application process and in the

public notice section of principal local

newspaper(s). The open public meeting

is the only notification local

organizations will receive regarding

their original applications. At the

meeting, LFCC’s must provide written

explanations to an organization for its

denial of its application and the

procedures and deadline for appealing

the decision. LFCC’s may authorize

PCFO’s to release eligibility

determinations to applicant

organizations via telephone, after the

open public meeting. This has no affect

on the deadline for LFCC’s to receive

local appeals. Applicants denied

eligibility may appeal in accordance

with § 950.205.

(f) No LFCC may print the campaign

brochure while there are appeals of

eligibility decisions from their campaign

pending with the Director. LFCC’s are

obligated to check with OPM 21

calendar days after the mailing of the

local appeal decision as to whether the

Director is on notice of a pending timely

appeal.

§ 950.205 Appeals.

(a) Organizations who apply and are

denied eligibility for inclusion on the

national list will be notified of the

Director‘s decision by registered or

certified mail of the U.S. Postal Service.

Organizations may appeal the Director’s

decision by submitting a written request

to reconsider the denial to the Director.

This request must be received within 10

business days from the date of receipt of

the Director’s decision to deny

eligibility and shall be limited to those

facts justifying the reversal of the

original decision. Petitions for

reconsideration may not be used to

supplement applications that had

missing or outdated documents, and any

such documents submitted with the

petition will not be considered.

(b) Applicants denied listing in the

local brochure must first appeal in

writing to the LFCC to reconsider its

original decision. Such an appeal must

be received by the LFCC within the 7

business days from the date of the open

public meeting announcing local

eligibility decisions. The LFCC must

consider all timely appeals and notify

the appealing organization within a

reasonable time period, not to exceed 22

business days from the date of the open

public meeting. Denial of the appeal by

the LFCC must be sent via U.S. Postal

Service certified or registered mail with

a return receipt (PS Form 3811).

Approval of local appeals may be sent

via U.S. Postal Service regular first class

mail.

(c) A local applicant which is

unsuccessful in its appeal to the LFCC

may appeal to the Director. All appeals

must:

(1) Be in writing;

(2) Be received by the Director within

10 business days of the date of receipt

of the letter from the LFCC denying

eligibility on appeal;

(3) Include a statement explaining the

reason(s) why eligibility should be

granted;

(4) Include a copy of the letter from

the LFCC disapproving the original

application, the organization’s appeal to

the LFCC, and the letter from the LFCC

denying the appeal.

(d) If an organization fails to file a

timely application or a timely appeal of

an adverse eligibility determination in

accordance with these regulations, such

application or appeal to OPM will be

dismissed as untimely.

(e) Appeals to the Director may not be

used to supplement original

applications that had missing or

outdated documents. Any such

supplemental documents will not be

considered. Such appeals shall be

limited to those facts justifying the

reversal of the original decision.

(f) The Director’s decision is final for

administrative purposes.

Subpart C—Federations

§ 950.301 National federations eligibility.

(a) The Director may establish

national federations that conform to the

requirements of these regulations and

are eligible to receive designations.

(b) By applying for inclusion in the

CFC, federations consent to allow the

Director complete access to it and its

members’ CFC books and records and to
8968 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules

respond to requests for information by

the Director.

(c) An organization may apply to the

Director for inclusion as a national

federation to participate in the CFC if

the applicant has, as members of its

proposed federation, 15 or more

charitable organizations that meet the

eligibility criteria of § 950.202 and

§ 950.203. The initial year an

organization applies for federation

status, it must submit the applications

of all its proposed member

organizations in addition to the

federation application. Federations must

re-establish eligibility each year,

however, the applications of its member

organizations need not accompany the

annual federation application once an

organization has obtained federation

status, unless requested by the Director.

(d) After an organization has been

granted federation status, it may certify

that its member organizations meet all

eligibility criteria of § 950.202 and

§ 950.203 to be included on the national

list. Federation status in a prior

campaign is not a guarantee of

federation status in a subsequent

campaign. Failure to meet minimum

federation eligibility requirements shall

not be deemed to be a decertification

subject to a hearing on the record.

(e) An applicant for national

federation status must annually certify

and/or demonstrate:

(1) That all member organizations

seeking participation in the CFC are

qualified for inclusion on the national

list. Applicants must provide a

complete list of those member

organizations it certified.

(2) That its financial records, practices

and procedures conform to generally

accepted accounting principles and that

it is annually audited by an

independent certified public accountant

in accordance with generally accepted

auditing standards. A copy of the audit

must be included with the application.

The audit must verify that the federation

is honoring designations made to each

member organization. The audit

requirement is waived for newly created

federations operating for less than a

year.

(3) That it does not employ in its CFC

operations the services of private

consultants, consulting firms,

advertising agencies or similar business

organizations to perform its policymaking or decision-making functions in

the CFC. It 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 ministerial tasks.

(f) The Director will notify a

federation if it is determined that the

federation does not meet the eligibility

requirements of § 950.301(e). A

federation may appeal an adverse

eligibility decision in accordance with

§ 950.205.

(g) The Director may waive any

eligibility criteria for federation status if

it is determined that such a waiver will

be in the best interest of the CFC.

(h) Two organizations—American Red

Cross and United Service

Organization—are exempt from the 15-

member requirement of § 950.301(c).

§ 950.302 Responsibilities of national

federations.

(a) National federations must ensure

that only those member organizations

that comply with all eligibility

requirements included in these

regulations are certified for participation

in the CFC.

(b) The Director may elect to review,

accept or reject the certifications of the

eligibility of the members of the

national federations. If the Director

requests information supporting a

certification of national eligibility, that

information shall be furnished

promptly. Failure to furnish such

information within 10 business days of

the receipt of the request constitutes

grounds for the denial of national

eligibility of that member.

(c) The Director may elect to decertify

for up to one campaign year a federation

which makes a false certification,

subject to the requirement that any

federation that the Director proposes to

decertify shall be offered the

opportunity to have a hearing on the

record on the proposed decertification,

followed by a written decision stating

the grounds for the decertification. False

certifications are presumed to be

deliberate. This presumption may be

overcome by evidence presented at the

hearing.

(d) The failure of a national federation

to respond in a timely fashion to a

request by the Director for required

information or cooperation in an

investigation or a settlement of

disbursements may be grounds for

decertification, provided that a decision

to decertify is preceded by a hearing on

the record and communicated in

writing.

(e) Each federation, as fiscal agent for

its member organizations, must ensure

that Federal employee designations are

honored in that each member

organization receives its proportionate

share of receipts based on the results of

each individual campaign.

§ 950.303 Local federations eligibility.

(a) LFCC’s must approve local

federations that conform to the

requirements of these regulations.

(b) By applying for inclusion in the

CFC, federations consent to allow the

LFCC and Director complete access to it

and its members’ CFC books and records

and to respond to requests for

information by the LFCC, the Director.

(c) An organization may apply to the

LFCC for inclusion as a local federation

if the applicant has as members of its

proposed federation, 15 or more

charitable organizations that meet the

eligibility criteria of § 950.202,

§ 950.203, and § 950.204. The initial

year an organization applies for

federation status, it must submit to the

LFCC applications of all its proposed

member organizations in addition to the

federation application. Federations must

re-establish eligibility each year,

however, the applications of its member

organizations need not accompany the

annual federation application once an

organization has obtained federation

status.

(d) After an organization has been

granted federation status, it may certify

that its member organizations meet all

eligibility criteria of §§ 950.202, 950.203

and 950.204 to be included on the Local

List. The LFCC or the Director may

require any member organization of a

local federation to supply independent

evidence of its eligibility. Federation

status in a prior campaign is not a

guarantee of federation status in a

subsequent campaign. Failure to meet

minimum federation eligibility

requirements shall not be deemed to be

a decertification subject to a hearing on

the record.

(e) An applicant for local federation

status must certify and/or demonstrate:

(1) That all member organizations

seeking participation in the CFC are

qualified for inclusion on the Local List

and provide a complete list of those

member organizations it certified.

(2) That its financial records, practices

and procedures conform to generally

accepted accounting principles and is

annually audited by an independent

certified public accountant in

accordance with generally accepted

auditing standards. A copy of the

annual audit must be included with the

application. The audit must verify that

the federation is honoring designations

made to each member organization. The

audit requirement is waived for newly

created federations operating for less

than a year.

(3) That it does not employ, in its CFC

operations, the services of private
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules 8969

consultants, consulting firms,

advertising agencies or similar business

organizations to perform the policymaking or decision-making functions in

the CFC. It 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 ministerial tasks.

(f) The LFCC will notify a federation

if it is determined that the federation

does not meet the eligibility

requirements of § 950.301(e). A

federation may appeal an adverse

eligibility decision in accordance with

§ 950.205.

(g) The Director may waive any

eligibility criteria for federation status if

it is determined that such a waiver will

be in the best interest of the CFC.

§ 950.304 Responsibilities of local

federations.

(a) Local federations must ensure that

only those member organizations that

comply with all eligibility requirements

included in these regulations are

certified for participation in the CFC.

(b) LFCC’s may elect to review, accept

or reject the certifications of the

eligibility of the members of local

federations. If the LFCC requests

information supporting a certification of

local eligibility, that information shall

be furnished promptly. Failure to

furnish such information within 10

business days of the receipt of the

request constitutes grounds for the

denial of local eligibility.

(c) The Director, upon

recommendation by the LFCC, may elect

to decertify a federation which makes a

false certification for up to one

campaign year, subject to the

requirement that any federation that the

Director proposes to decertify shall be

offered the opportunity to have a

hearing on the record on the proposed

decertification, followed by a written

decision stating the grounds for the

decertification. False certifications are

presumed to be deliberate. The

presumption may be overcome by

evidence presented at the hearing.

(d) The failure of a local federation to

respond in a timely fashion to a request

by the Director or the LFCC for required

information or cooperation in an

investigation may be grounds for

decertification, provided that a decision

to decertify is preceded by a hearing on

the record and communicated in

writing.

(e) Each federation, as fiscal agent for

its member organizations, must ensure

that Federal employee designations are

honored in that each member

organization receives its proportionate

share of receipts based on the results of

each individual campaign.

Subpart D—Campaign Materials

§ 950.401 Campaign and publicity

materials.

(a) The specific campaign and

publicity materials, such as the official

brochure, will be developed locally,

except as specified in these regulations.

All materials must be reviewed by the

LFCC for compliance with these

regulations and will be printed and

supplied by the PCFO. Any disputes

over local materials will be resolved by

the LFCC. All publicity materials must

have the approval of the LFCC before

being used. Federations must notify the

PCFO in writing of their desire to

participate in the development of

campaign and publicity materials. The

PCFO must respond in a timely manner

to a federation’s request to participate in

the development of campaign and

publicity materials. Federations must

also respond in a timely fashion in the

development of campaign and publicity

materials.

(b) During the CFC solicitation period,

participating CFC organizations may

distribute bona fide educational

materials describing its services or

programs. The organization must be

granted permission by the Federal

agency installation head, or designee to

distribute the material. CFC

Coordinators, Keyworkers or members

of the LFCC, are not authorized to grant

permission for the distribution of such

materials. If one organization is granted

permission to distribute educational

materials, then the Federal agency

installation head must allow any other

requesting CFC organization to

distribute educational materials.

(c) Organizations and federations are

encouraged to publicize their activities

outside Federal facilities and to

broadcast messages aimed at Federal

employees in an attempt to solicit their

contributions through the media and

other outlets.

(d) LFCC’s are further authorized to

permit the distribution by organizations

of promotional pamphlets to Federal

personnel in public areas at or near

Federal workplaces in connection with

the CFC, provided that the manner of

distribution accords equal treatment to

all charitable organizations furnishing

such pamphlet for local use, and further

provided that no such distribution shall

utilize Federal personnel on official

duty or interfere with Federal

government activities. LFCC members

and other campaign personnel are to be

particularly aware of the prohibition of

assisting any charitable organization or

federated group in distributing any type

of literature, especially during the

campaign period. Nothing in this

section shall be construed to require an

LFCC to distribute or arrange for the

distribution of any material other than

the Campaign Brochure and the pledge

card.

(e) The Campaign Brochure and

pledge card is the official CFC

information package and shall be made

available to all potential contributors.

All CDC Brochures must inform

employees of their right to make a

choice to contribute or not to contribute;

to designate or not to designate; and to

give a confidential gift in a sealed

envelope.

(f) Campaign materials must

constitute a simple and attractive

package that has fundraising appeal and

essential working information. The

package should focus on the CFC

without undue use of charitable

organization symbols and logos or other

distractions that compete for the donor’s

attention. Extraneous instructions

concerning the routing of forms, tallying

of contributor’s receipts, and similar

reports, which are primarily for

keyworkers must be avoided.

(g) The following applies specifically

to the campaign brochure:

(1) Contributor’s Information Section

will include:

(i) A description of the CFC

arrangement and explain the payroll

deduction privilege. It will clearly state

that the Federal donor can direct his or

her gift to specific charitable

organizations or federations of his or her

choice, or to the international general

designation option, and urge them to do

so. It will further explain that failure to

designate a specific organization or

federation will result in the

undesignated donation being distributed

proportionately to all recipient

organizations in the local campaign,

minus a 15 percent administration fee to

the PCFO.

(ii) A statement that the donor may

only designate charitable organizations

or federations that are listed in the

brochure and that write-ins are

prohibited.

(iii) Instructions as to how an

employee may obtain more specific

information about the programs and the

finances of the organizations

participating in the campaign.

(iv) A description of employees’ rights

to pursue complaints of undue pressure

or coercion in Federal fundraising

activities. The Campaign Brochure will

advise civilian employees to consult

with their personnel offices and military

personnel with their commanding

officers to identify the organization
8970 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules

handling such complaints in their

respective Federal agencies.

(2) Organization Listing Section.

(i) The listing of organizations shall be

in three major divisions. The first is

referred to as introductory pages, the

second shall be labelled national list

and will consist of a faithful

reproduction of the list of national and

international organizations provided by

OPM as described in § 950.201(b). The

third division will consist of the Local

List. In odd-numbered campaign years

the Local List shall appear before the

national list and after the introductory

pages. In even-numbered campaign

years the national list shall appear

before the Local List and after the

introductory pages. The order of the

listing of the federated and unaffiliated

organizations within the National and

Local Lists will be determined by a

random drawing. The order of

organizations within each federation

will be determined by the federation.

The order of organizations within the

unaffiliated lists will be alphabetical.

Absent specific instructions from OPM

to the contrary, each participating

organization and federated group listing

must include a description, not to

exceed 25 words, of their services and

programs, plus a telephone number for

the Federal donor to request further

information about the group’s services,

benefits, and administrative expenses.

Each listing will include a statement of

the percentage of the organization’s total

receipts and revenues that are used for

administration and fundraising. Neither

the percentage of administrative and

fundraising expense, nor the telephone

number count toward the 25-word

statement.

(ii) Each national federation and

charitable organization will be assigned

a code number by OPM. Local

federations and local charitable

organizations will be assigned code

numbers by the LFCC. At the beginning

of each federated group’s listing will be

the federation’s name, code number, 25-

word statement, percentage of

administrative and fundraising

expenses, and telephone number. The

sections of the brochure where the

unaffiliated agencies are listed will

begin with the titles National

Unaffiliated Organizations, International

Unaffiliated Organizations and Local

Unaffiliated Organizations respectively.

(iii) Preceding any other listing of the

eligible organizations, the Organization

Listing Section will begin with the

heading Definition of a Federation

followed by this definition of a

federation: A federation is a group of

voluntary charitable human health and

welfare organizations established for the

purpose of providing common

fundraising, administrative, and

management services to its members.

Federations may be either national,

representing national and/or

international organizations,

international, representing only

international organizations; or local,

representing local and/or regional

organizations. If you wish to designate

all or some portion of your contribution

to a federation, record that federation’s

corresponding code number in one of

the boxes on your pledge card.

Contributions designated to a federation

will be shared in accordance with the

federation’s policy.

(iv) In even-numbered campaign

years, immediately following the

definition of a federation will be the

heading National Federations which

will be followed by the list of all the

national federations. Following the list

of national federations will be the list of

all the international federations.

Immediately following the end of that

list the heading, Local Federations will

begin the list of local federations. In

odd-numbered campaign years, the local

federations will immediately follow the

definition of a federation. After each

federation will be the statement,

Federation and federation member

listings begin on page lll.

(v) Immediately following the list of

federations will be the heading,

Unaffiliated Organizations. This section

will inform the donor on which pages

the list of national, international and

local unaffiliated organizations begins.

(vi) Immediately following the

unaffiliated section will be the heading,

International General Designation

Option. This option will include the

following explanation and the code for

designating it: ‘‘IIII—All Organizations

in the International Section of the

national list. I request that my gift be

shared among all the international

organizations listed in the International

Section of the Organization Listing in

the same proportion that they received

designations.’’

(vii) Immediately following the

International General Designation

Option will be the heading

Undesignated Funds. Beneath this

heading the following explanation of the

distribution of undesignated funds will

appear: ‘‘Even if you choose not to

designate to a specific organization or

federation, your contribution will still

be accepted. These undesignated funds

will be distributed to all organizations

in the brochure in the same proportion

that the organizations and federations

received designations in the CFC.’’

(viii) The international general

designation option on the introductory

pages will be printed in the same format

and font as the organizations listed in

the brochure. No special prominence or

emphasis may be placed on the

federations listed.

(h) Pledge Card. The pledge card as

described in § 950.402 will be

distributed with the campaign Brochure.

(i) Omission of an eligible charitable

organization from the Brochure may

require that all Brochures be reprinted

and redistributed. The Director or LFCC

may direct that the cost of such

reprinting and redistribution be borne

by the PCFO or charged to CFC

administrative expenses.

(j) Dual listing. Listing of a national

organization, as well as its local affiliate

organization, is permitted. However, a

national organization may only waive

its listing in the national section of the

brochure in favor of its eligible local

affiliate. The local affiliate must include

in its application the written waiver

from its national organization.

(k) Multiple listing. Each national or

local organization must individually

meet all of the eligibility criteria and

submit independent documentation as

required in § 950.202, § 950.203 or

§ 950.204. Once an organization is

deemed eligible, it is entitled to only

one listing in the CFC Brochure,

regardless of the number of federations

to which that organization belongs.

(l) The LFCC may omit the 25-word

program description from the CFC

Brochure if, in the immediately

preceding campaign year, contributions

received in the local CFC totalled less

than $100,000.

§ 950.402 Pledge card.

(a) The Director will make available

each campaign year at least one model

pledge card which shall be faithfully

reproduced at the local level. This will

be the only authorized pledge card for

use in that year’s CFC.

(b) Campaigns may incorporate

additional giving levels to the Director’s

authorized pledge card. Campaigns may

also include their award recognition

program. No further modifications to the

pledge card are permitted unless

approved in advance by the Director.

(c) An employee may not make a

designation to an organization not listed

in the Brochure. In addition, an

employee may not make a CFC

contribution to an organization listed in

the Brochure of a campaign covering a

geographic location different from the

campaign where the employee works.

Designations made to organizations not

listed in the Brochure are not invalid,

but will be treated as undesignated

funds and distributed accordingly.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules 8971

(d) In the event the PCFO receives a

pledge card that has designations that

add up to less than the total amount

pledged, the PCFO must honor the total

amount pledged and treat the excess

amount as undesignated funds. In the

event that a PCFO received a pledge

card that has a total amount pledged

that is less than the sum of the

individual designations, the PCFO must

honor the designations by assigning a

proportionate share of the total gift to

each organization designated. For

example, if an employee indicates a

total gift of $100 in the upper portion of

the pledge card, but designates $25 each

to five organizations in the lower part of

the pledge card, the PCFO must adjust

each organization’s designation to $20.

§ 950.403 Penalties.

A PCFO’s failure to comply with

subpart D of these regulations may

result in either disqualification from

future service as PCFO, disqualification

as a participating federation, or both

penalties. These penalties may only be

imposed after a hearing on the record

and communication of the Director’s

decision in writing.

Subpart E—Distribution of

Undesignated Funds

§ 950.501 Applicability.

The distribution of undesignated

funds described in § 950.401(g)(2)(vii)

and § 950.502 applies to all domestic

area campaigns. It does not apply to the

DOD Overseas Campaign.

§ 950.502 Distribution of undesignated

funds.

The PCFO shall collect from

undesignated funds a 15 percent

administration fee for performing the

services of PCFO as set forth in

§ 950.106(d). All remaining

undesignated funds shall be distributed

to all of the organizations in the CFC

Brochure in the same proportion that

they received designations in the

campaign.

§ 950.503 Review by the Director.

The Director may alter an LFCC’s

distribution of undesignated funds:

(a) To reverse any allocation to

ineligible organizations;

or

(b) To enforce the distribution method

described in §§ 950.401(g)(2)(vii) and

950.502.

Subpart F—Miscellaneous Provisions

§ 950.601 Release of contributor names.

(a) The pledge card, designed

pursuant to § 950.402, must allow an

employee to indicate if the employer

does not wish his or her name and home

address forwarded to the charitable

organization or organizations

designated. A PCFO’s failure to honor

an employee’s wish may result in the

decertification of the PCFO.

(b) The pledge card will direct an

employee to provide his or her complete

home address on the pledge card should

he or she wish his or her name and

home address released to organizations

receiving their donations.

(c) It is the responsibility of the PCFO

to forward the names and addresses of

employees who have indicated that they

wish their names be forwarded, to the

recipient organization directly, if the

organization is unaffiliated, and to the

organization’s federation if the

organization is a member of a

federation. The PCFO may not make any

other use of these employees’ names

and addresses.

(d) Recipient organizations that

receive the names and addresses of

employees must segregate this

information from all other lists of

contributors. This segregated list may

not be sold or in any way released to

anyone outside of the recipient

organization. Federations may not use a

member organization’s list for its own

purposes or share its member’s lists

among federation members. Failure to

protect the integrity of this information

may result in penalties up to and

including permanent expulsion from the

CFC.

(e) Organizations must cooperate fully

with OPM investigations into the care

and appropriate use of these lists.

Should an organization ignore or fail to

respond to OPM’s requests for

cooperation or hamper an investigation,

the Director may propose that the

organization be suspended or expelled

from the CFC. The Director will

consider any response in issuing a

decision.

§ 950.602 Solicitation methods.

(a) Employee solicitations shall be

conducted during duty hours using

methods that permit true voluntary

giving and shall reserve to the

individual the option of disclosing any

gift or keeping it confidential. Campaign

kick-offs, victory events, awards, and

other non-solicitation events to build

support for the CFC are encouraged.

(b) Special CFC fundraising events,

such as, raffles, lotteries, auctions, bake

sales, carnivals, athletic events, or other

activities not specifically provided for

in these regulations are prohibited

unless approved by the appropriate

agency head or government official

consistent with agency ethics

regulations.

(c) In all approved special fundraising

events the donor must have the option

of designating to a specific participating

organization or federation or be advised

that the donation will be counted as an

undesignated contribution and

distributed according to these

regulations.

§ 950.603 Sanctions.

(a) Sanctions not specifically

provided for elsewhere in these

regulations, may be imposed on an

organization, federation or PCFO for

violating any provisions of these

regulations, other applicable provisions

of law, or any directive or instruction

from the Director. The Director will

determine the appropriate sanction, up

to and including permanent expulsion

from the CFC, based on a progressive

schedule which is related to the severity

of the violation. In determining the

appropriate sanction, the Director will

consider all elements such as previous

violations, harm to Federal employee

confidence in the CFC, and any other

relevant factors. The Director shall

provide written notification to the

organization, federation or PCFO

regarding the alleged violation and of

the intent to impose a sanction. Prior to

implementation of sanctions under this

section, the organization, federation or

PCFO shall be provided an opportunity

to address in writing why the sanctions

should not be imposed. This submission

must be received within 10 calendar

days from the date of receipt of the

Director’s notification letter.

(b) At the Director’s discretion,

PCFO’s and Federations may be directed

to suspend distribution of current and

future CFC donations from Federal

employees to recipient organizations.

Federations and PCFO’s shall

immediately place suspended

contributions in an interest bearing

account until directed to do otherwise.

§ 950.604 Records retention.

Federations, PCFO’s and other

participants in the CFC shall retain

documents pertinent to the campaign

for at least three (3) campaign years.

Documents requested by OPM must be

made available within 10 business days

of the request.

Subpart G—DoD Overseas Area

§ 950.701 DoD overseas campaign.

(a) A Combined Federal Campaign is

authorized for all Department of Defense

(DoD) activities in the overseas areas

during a 6 week period in the fall.

Organizations that may participate in

the Overseas Campaign will consist of
8972 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules

organizations found nationally eligible

by OPM.

(b) The DoD must select an

organization or combination of

organizations to serve as PCFO as it

deems in the best interests of the

overseas campaign.

(c) Federal civilian agencies with

overseas personnel may elect to have

these employees participate in the DoD

campaign or in the National Capital

Area campaign.

(d) The overseas campaign brochure

shall not include the All International

Organizations Designation Option-IIII.

(e) Family support and youth

activities established in overseas

locations may be supported from CFC

funds.

(f) Undesignated funds contributed in

the Overseas Campaign equal to up to 6

percent of the gross campaign

contributions will be allocated to the

Overseas family support and youth

activities. No other funds may be used

for this purpose. If the undesignated

funds exceed 6 percent of the gross

campaign contributions, this excess

shall be distributed to all other

organizations in the same proportions as

designations.

(g) Overseas family support and youth

activities shall not be charged any share

of campaign costs. All other

organizations participating in the

Overseas Area CFC will be charged for

campaign costs in the same proportion

that they received gross campaign

receipts, net of that amount of receipts

set aside for family support and youth

activities.

(h) The overseas campaign brochure

must explain the allocation policy

utilized by each of the military services

to allocate funds received from the

Overseas campaign to their overseas

family support and youth activities.

Subpart H–CFC Timetable

§ 950.801 Campaign schedule.

(a) The Combined Federal Campaign

will be conducted according to the

following timetable.

(1) During one 30-calendar day period

between January and March, as

determined by the Director, OPM will

accept applications from organizations

seeking to be listed on the national list.

(i) Included with the annual notice of

the campaign schedule and OPM

guidance will be a list of the LFCCs

responsible for making statewide

determinations for local eligibility.

(ii) Organizations seeking statewide

recognition must contact the applicable

LFCC for detailed information on the

local application process.

(2) Within 35 calendar days of the

closing of the receipt of applications,

the Director will issue notices to each

national applicant organization of the

results of the Director’s review.

(3) Local Federal Coordinating

Committees must select a PCFO no later

than March 15.

(4) The Director will issue a national

eligibility list to all local campaigns by

June 30.

(5) Local Federal Coordinating

Committees must accept applications

from organizations seeking local

eligibility for 30 calendar days as

determined by the LFCC, and must issue

notice of its eligibility decisions within

15 business days of the closing date for

receipt of applications.

(b) The Director will annually issue a

timetable for accepting and processing

national applications.

Subpart I—Payroll Withholding

§ 950.901 Payroll allotment.

The policies and procedures in this

section are authorized for payroll

withholding operations in accordance

with the Office of Personnel

Management Pay Administration

regulations in part 550 of this chapter.

(a) Applicability. Voluntary payroll

allotments will be authorized by all

Federal departments and agencies for

payment of charitable contributions to

local CFC organizations.

(b) Allottees. The allotment privilege

will be made available to Federal

personnel as follows:

(1) Employees whose net pay

regularly is sufficient to cover the

allotment are eligible. An employee

serving under an appointment limited to

1 year or less may make an allotment to

a CFC when an appropriate official of

the employing Federal agency

determines that the employee will

continue employment for a period to

justify an allotment. This includes

military reservists, National Guard, and

other part-time and intermittent

employees who are regularly employed.

(2) Members of the Uniformed

services are eligible, excluding those on

only short-term assignment (less than 3

months).

(c) Authorization. (1) Allotments will

be totally voluntary and will be based

upon contributor’s individual

authorization.

(2) The CFC Pledge Card, in

conformance with § 950.402, is the only

form for authorization of the CFC

payroll allotment and may be printed or

purchased from a central source by each

PCFO. The Pledge Cards and Official

Brochure will be distributed to

employees when charitable

contributions are solicited.

(3) The original copy of each pledge

card (payroll allotment authorization)

should be transmitted to the

contributor’s servicing payroll office as

promptly as possible, preferably by

December 15. However, if pledge cards

are received after that date they should

be accepted and processed by the

payroll office.

(d) Duration. Authorization of

allotments will be perpetual or in the

form of a term allotment. A perpetual

authorization becomes effective the first

pay period beginning in January and

will remain in effect from year-to-year

until cancelled by the Federal

employee/donor. Perpetual

authorizations may only be changed

during the campaign solicitation period

as defined by the LFCC. Term

authorizations will be in effect for 1 full

year—26, 24, or 12 pay periods

depending on the allotter’s pay

schedule—starting with the first pay

period beginning in January and ending

with the last pay period that begins in

December. Three months of

employment is considered the

minimum amount of time that is

reasonable for establishing an allotment.

(e) Amount. (1) Allotters will make a

single allotment that is apportioned into

equal amounts for deductions each pay

period during the year.

(2) The minimum amount of the

allotment will be determined by the

LFCC but will not be less than $1 per

payday, with no restriction on the size

of the increment above that minimum.

(3) No change of amount will be

authorized for term allotments. Changes

in amounts for perpetual allotments

may only occur during the solicitation

period, unless the donation is based on

a percentage of the employees pay.

(4) No deduction will be made for any

period in which the allotter’s net pay,

after all legal and previously authorized

deductions, is insufficient to cover the

CFC allotment. No adjustment will be

made in subsequent periods to make up

for missed deductions.

(f) Remittance. (1) One check will be

sent by the payroll office each pay

period, in the gross amount of

deductions on the basis of current

authorizations, to the Central Receipt

and Accounting Point (CRP) at each

local CFC location for which the payroll

office has received allotment

authorizations. The Director will

provide a list of the authorized CRP’s to

Federal payroll offices.

(2) The check will be accompanied by

a statement identifying the agency, the

dates of the pay period, and the total

number of employee deductions. There

will be no listing of allotters included or

of allotter discontinuances.

(g) Discontinuance. (1) Term

allotments will be discontinued
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Proposed Rules 8973

automatically on expiration of the 1 year

withholding period, or on the death,

retirement, or separation of the allotter

from the federal service, whichever is

earlier.

(2) An allotter may revoke a perpetual

or term authorization at any time by

requesting it in writing from the payroll

office. Discontinuance will be effective

the first pay period beginning after

receipt of the written revocation in the

payroll office.

(3) A discontinued allotment will not

be reinstated.

(h) Transfer. When an allotter moves

to another organizational unit served by

a different payroll office in the same

CFC location, whether in the same office

or a different Department or agency, his

or her allotment authorization should be

transferred to the new payroll office.

(i) Accounting. (1) Federal payroll

offices will oversee the establishment of

individual allotment accounts, the

deductions each pay period, and the

reconciliation of employee accounts in

accordance with agency and General

Accounting Office requirements. The

payroll office will accept responsibility

for the accuracy of remittances, as

supported by current allotment

authorizations, and internal accounting

and auditing requirements.

(2) The PCFO shall notify the

federated groups, national agencies, and

local agencies as soon as practicable

after the completion of the campaign,

but in no case later than February 15, of

the amounts, if any, designated to them

and their member agencies and of the

amounts of the undesignated funds, if

any, allocated to them.

(3) The PCFO is responsible for the

accuracy of disbursements it transmits

to recipients. It shall transmit at least

monthly for campaigns of $500,000 of

more or quarterly if less than that

amount, minus only the approved

proportionate share for administrative

cost reimbursement and the PCFO fee

set forth in § 950.106(d). It shall remit

the contributions to each organization or

to the federated group, if any, of which

the organization is a member. For

campaigns with gross receipts in excess

of $500,000, the PCFO will distribute all

CFC receipts beginning April 1, and

monthly thereafter. For campaigns with

gross receipts of $500,000 or less, the

PCFO will distribute all CFC receipts

beginning June 1, and quarterly

thereafter. At the close of each

disbursement period, the PCFO’s

amount shall have a balance of zero.

(4) The PCFO may make one-time

disbursements to organizations

receiving minimal donations from

Federal employees. The LFCC must

determine and authorize the amount of

these one-time disbursements. The

PCFO may deduct the proportionate

amount of each organization’s share of

the campaign’s administrative costs and

the average of the previous 3 years

pledge loss from the one-time

disbursement. This is the only approved

application of adjusting for pledge loss.

(5) Federated and national charitable

organizations, or their designated

agents, will accept responsibility for:

(i) The accuracy of distribution

amount the charitable organizations of

remittances from the PCFO; and

(ii) Arrangements for an independent

audit conducted by a certified public

accountant agreed upon by the

participating charitable organizations.

[FR Doc. 95–3821 Filed 2–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR PART 51

[Docket Number FV–94–302]

Bermuda-Granex-Grano Type Onions

and Onions (Other than BermudaGranex-Grano and Creole Type); Grade

Standards

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would

revise the United States Standards for

Grades of Bermuda-Granex-Grano Type

Onions and United States Standards for

Grades of Onions (Other Than BermudaGranex-Grano and Creole Type). The

proposal would set a minimum sample

size for consumer size packages, provide

a ‘‘Colossal’’ size classification,

eliminate Export size classifications and

designate a U.S. No. 1 Peeled Grade. It

would also include other technical

revisions to update the standards in

accord with current handling and

marketing practices.

DATES: Comments must be postmarked

or courier dated on or before April 17,

1995.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are

invited to submit written comments

concerning this proposal. Comments

must be sent to the Fresh Products

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division,

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box

96456, Room 2056 South Building,

Washington, DC 20090–6456.

Comments should make reference to the

date and page number of this issue of

the Federal Register and will be made

available for public inspection in the

above office during regular business

hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Frank O’Sullivan, at the above address

or call (202) 720–2185.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.

Department of Agriculture is issuing

this proposed rule in conformance with

Executive Order 12866.

Pursuant to the requirements set forth

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 601 et. seq.), the Administrator of

the Agricultural Marketing Service

(AMS) has determined that this action

will not have a significant economic

impact on substantial number of small

entities. This proposed rule for the

revision of U.S. Standards for Grades of

Bermuda-Granex-Grano Type Onions

and U.S. Standards for Grades of Onions

(Other Than Bermuda-Granex-Grano

and Creole Type) will not impose

substantial direct economic cost,

recordkeeping, or personnel workload

changes on small entities, and will not

alter the market share or competitive

position of these entities relative to large

businesses. In addition, under the

Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, the

use of these standards is voluntary.

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12778, Civil

Justice Reform. This action is not

intended to have retroactive effect. This

proposed rule will not preempt any

State or local laws, regulations, or

policies, unless they present an

irreconcilable conflict with this rule.

There are no administrative procedures

which must be exhausted prior to any

judicial challenge to the provisions of

this rule.

Agencies periodically review existing

regulations. An objective of the review

is to ensure that the grade standards are

serving their intended purpose, the

language is clear, and the standards are

consistent with AMS policy and

authority.

The United States Standards for

Grades of Bermuda-Granex-Grano Type

Onions was last revised February 20,

1985, and the United States Standards

for Grades of Onions (Other Than

Bermuda-Granex-Grano and Creole

Types) was last revised October 1, 1971.

In general, the Bermuda-Granex-Grano

Type (BGG) standard is applied to

southern grown onions that have thin

papery outer scales, are harvested in the

spring and summer and are not typically

kept in storage. The Other Than

Bermuda-Granex-Grano and Creole

Types (Other Than) standard is

generally applied to northern grown

onions that have thick outer papery

scales, are harvested in the fall and are