Write-ins are not allowed. No other charity benefits from an employee s gift. Employees can give by having a little deducted from each paycheck, or by making an immediate gift of cash or check. In most cases this is the local United Way. Within each agency or military base, a volunteer keyworker helps run the campaign.
Federations help their members stay eligible, promote themselves and collect donations.
They charge a fee that varies according to the federation. Charities must apply every year, during the winter. The eligibility of local and statewide charities are determined by a Local Federal Coordinating Committee, which includes federal employees and federal employee union representatives. In both cases, eligibility decisions are based on a series of criteria laid out in regulations that were revised in 1995. In 1999, there were more than 2800 charities eligible in the DC-area CFC, the nation s largest.