Membership FAQs

1. HOW DO I BECOME A MEMBER OF YOUR ORGANIZATION?
Membership in our federation is limited to tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations that qualify for the Combined Federal Campaign. An organization is considered a member once its application to the CFC is accepted.

2. HOW MUCH MONEY WILL MY ORGANIZATION RAISE?
Each CFC donor decides how much to pledge and which charities to support. That means it’s impossible to know in advance how much an organization will raise. Some charities appeal to a wide range of individuals and attract substantial support, often exceeding $10,000. Others interest a more limited population, and their total pledges will be commensurately smaller.

3. WHAT IS A FEDERATION?
In the CFC, a federation is a group of charitable organizations that enter the campaign together. A CFC federation is required to perform certain administrative operations on behalf of all the charities, or "members," that elect to affiliate with it. Such tasks include reviewing applications, tracking and reporting pledges to individual members, and helping to distribute donated funds. Beyond these core functions, federations are free to offer other services as well. These ancillary services vary greatly from one federation to the next. See What We Do to learn about our services.

4. DO FEDERATIONS CHARGE A FEE?
Yes.  Federation fees offset the cost of federation operations, and they vary widely.

We set our fees in advance and disclose them to charities as they apply.  The Animal Welfare Fund charges its members 5% of received donations (not pledges), with a maximum of $1,000.  

5. CAN ANY CHARITY PARTICIPATE IN THE CFC?
No. Eligibility standards for CFC participants are some of the most rigorous in the charitable-giving community. Because the CFC is a government-wide program, its rules are written in the form of federal regulations. All CFC participants must conform to these rules and meet their eligibility requirements.

6. I AM INTERESTED IN APPLYING, BUT I’M NOT SURE IF WE QUALIFY. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
We’re happy to discuss your particular situation by phone. In a fairly brief conversation we can help you figure out if you qualify. If you prefer, you can send us copies of your IRS determination letter (confirming tax-exempt status), your most recent tax return (IRS Form 990), the opinion letter from your most recent audit, and a brief description of the work you do. We’ll review these documents and get in touch with you. (Please note, however, that our initial impressions may change as we get deeper into your application.) See Contact Us to find our phone number, fax number, e-mail and snail-mail address.

7. WE’VE BEEN IN THE CFC WITHOUT JOINING A FEDERATION. WHY SHOULD WE CHANGE?
Perhaps you shouldn’t. As you know, joining a federation is not required for participation in the CFC. However, most CFC charities choose to affiliate with a federation for key reasons: 
  • Admissions support. Federations assist groups in preparing their applications. While eligibility requirements are public, preparing a successful application may not be intuitive. Federations can help applicants understand what is required, spot application weaknesses early in the process, and advise on ways to address them.
  • Increased visibility. Most federations are organized around a specific theme. Thematic federations make it far easier for donors to find and support groups they are interested in. Campaign directories are often quite lengthy: In the CFC the directory of approved groups has about 100 pages. Federations are usually listed at the front of these directories in the table of contents, so donors interested in supporting a specific kind of work can easily find a focused list of relevant organizations.
  • Fiscal services. Federations reduce the CFC's administrative burden by processing pledges and donations, reporting to members, tracking payments, and making regular, lump-sum distributions of donated funds. 
  • Lower OPM fees - and our guarantee. Organizations applying to the CFC as federation members pay lower fees to OPM. In addition, if we recommend your organization for the CFC and OPM rejects your application, we will refund the initial OPM fee. The risk is ours. 
Please contact us if you have questions.

8. WE’VE BEEN IN THE CFC AS A MEMBER OF ANOTHER FEDERATION. CAN WE APPLY WITH YOU? WHAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT IF WE DID?
Normally, nonprofit organizations decide each year which federation to join for purposes of the CFC. See What We Do for an overview of our services. If you wish to compare cost, we’ll gladly provide an estimate based upon a hypothetical pledge amount.

9. DO YOU ENTER CAMPAIGNS OTHER THAN THE CFC?
While our federation participates only in the CFC, we will be happy to help you participate in state, municipal and other public sector campaigns. We work closely with a sister federation, Partners for a Better World, which facilitates entry into many of these campaigns. We help maintain a Campaign Links page that leads to information about these campaigns so you can determine whether they make sense for your organization.