2007 Combined Federal Campaign Innovators

Coastal Georgia CFC

The key issue affecting the 2007 Coastal Georgia CFC was the deployment of over 14,000 soldiers for Operation Iraqi Freedom during the campaign solicitation period. Despite a nearly 50% decrease in the donor-base, two Kick-Off events and charity fairs were planned. The Local Federal Coordinating Committee's (LFCC) developed a strategy to saturate the remaining military personnel and Federal civilians with CFC information and pledge materials. The Commanding General, Major General Rick Lynch, provided a hard-hitting two minute video which was repeatedly aired on the post's closed circuit television. Several information articles were also written by General Lynch and the Fort Stewart-Hunter garrison command sergeant major. The Fort Stewart newspaper, Frontline, printed a color thermometer each week as a visual reminders to readers of the campaign's progress. In addition, an increased effort was devoted to making contact with the Federal civilian employees and reaching out to previously unsolicited workplaces.

To reduce campaign costs, the LFCC approved a two-phase approach to donor gift purchases. Initially, sufficient gifts were obtained for display in Federal workplaces. After the campaign, in conjunction with local specialty suppliers, a precise order was filled within two weeks and distributed to deserving donors.

The campaign achieved 129% of its goal, raising $515,752. Of this total, the participation rate increased to 36% with a record number of leadership-level donors. The campaign learned that frequent contact with military and civilian Key Workers by holding workplace mini-rallies throughout the area proved to be beneficial and that the effective use of print media, visual reminders and closed circuit television were key to exceeding the goal. Further, campaign costs can be minimized by the phased ordering of donor gifts that reduces possibility of surplus items.

Kitsap and Mason Counties CFC

Continuing the tradition of raising awareness and promoting participation, the LFCC took the 2007 theme "Changing the World One Gift at a Time" to an unprecedented level. They organized a "Changing the World One Dance Step at a Time" dance contest modeled after the "Dancing with the Stars" television show. Over 50 couples participated and 250 employees attended the final "dance off" event. They also implemented a "Poker Run", which literally took the campaign "on the road" around Kitsap and Mason Counties. These events were so well attended that plans are in place to make them annual events.

The dedicated individuals overseeing the 2007 CFC looked outside the box for ways to spark enthusiasm and involve the greatest number of participants as possible. Continuing on the previous year's success were various sporting events (dodge ball, softball and golf tournaments), as well as local station events such as Jail & Bail, Classic Car Show, Chili Cook Off, and CFC auction. Participation from CFC charities is key to the success of the events.

The campaign website introduced an electronic version of the pledge form in 2007 and offered a searchable Charity List and a video highlighting local CFC beneficiary' success stories. The campaign also garnered the support and involvement of participating commands' leadership by increasing their awareness of the work of the CFC.

Cost-saving measures, such as the use of the website, led to the campaign coming in $10,000 under budget. The website also increased employee exposure to scheduled activities, events and success stories. The LFCC also learned that success cannot be achieved without participation by division leads/participating commands on the LFCC.

CFC of the National Capital Area

For the second year, the CFC of the National Capital area (CFC-NCA) implemented a creative strategy around a theme of "Be a Star in Someone's Life" to fuel its $60 million goal. The marketing plan focused on the beneficiaries of CFC funds, creation of targeted messages for different Federal employee age groups, and an element of fun. There was a marketing effort to encourage donors to use the new five-digit codes. The "Power of Five" campaign also worked to communicate all the public aspects of the new Federal rules that went into effect in 2007.

The campaign's video used the motifs of baseball and sports movies to connect with donors. Inspired by the movie "Field of Dreams", the main character hears voices telling him things like "Build it and they will come", "Be a star", and "Go the distance." At first he thinks he is going crazy, but slowly learns that these phrases are tied to the CFC and are teaching him about all of the good work the campaign is providing in his community and across the globe. By the end of the film, he watches a group of visually impaired youth play a game called Beep Ball in which the ball emits a beeping sound that allows them to hear the beep and know where to either swing the bat or the location where it was hit. The character realizes that the voices he heard were referring the field where their game was played and that his CFC donation helped to build the community center that made it possible.

Keeping with this theme, the campaign kickoff was held at a Washington Nationals baseball game. Prior to the game, Admiral Thad Allen, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the CFC Honorary Chairman, threw the ceremonial first pitch in honor of the 2007 campaign. The Coast Guard provided the anthem singer, color guard and a Coast Guard rescue helicopter flyover. More than 600 campaign managers, loaned executives, keyworkers and friends attended the event, in addition to the crowd of 35,000. The Nationals mascot, Screech, was present at the CFC-NCA Leadership Conference as well as numerous agency kickoffs and rallies.

The campaign theme has given Federal agencies and departments great latitude when it came to marketing their fund drives. But just as importantly, it provided them with an excellent opportunity to interject fun and enthusiasm in their campaigns.

New York City CFC

The New York City CFC created a Memorial/Gift card to increase interest in and donations to the campaign. The card introduced an entirely new avenue for contributions and encouraged a new kind of donor. Examples of ways donors used it to make pledges in memory of others included employee groups raising funds in memory of firefighters killed fighting forest fires the previous year, honoring lost pets killed during a hurricane, and recognizing parents and other loved ones.

As a Gift Card, it also provides the perfect gift for the person who has everything. This is done by making a CFC pledge to someone's favorite charity, making it the perfect gift for the person who has everything.

52 donors utilized the cards in 2007, honoring fellow Federal employees or a special person in their lives. All honorees who have given their permission will be acknowledged on the CFC website and the back of the 2008 CFC Charity List. The campaign believes this will generate further use of the cards and encourage endless possibilities for pledges.

CFC Overseas

The Overseas CFC (CFC-O) believes that the military members and Department of Defense civilian employees serving our great nation in the Middle East deserve the same simple, cost-effective opportunity to make charitable contributions as their counterparts serving elsewhere in the world. However, communication, logistical, operational and geographical challenges have often prevented the CFC from reaching its full potential in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) region. Therefore, the CFC-O examined the unique needs of this region and completely reorganized the campaign structure to make the campaign more effective, while at the same time ensuring no interruption to the demanding military mission.

All previous CFC-O structure elements were abandoned. The area was divided into eight different components; six of which were headed by a Component Manager, a newly created position for CFC-O CENTCOM. Community/Area Project Officer (CAPO) levels were then established under each of the components. This restructuring resulted in 94 separate CAPO levels throughout CENTCOM - a marked increase over the 22 CAPO locations during the 2006 campaign. These structural changes also required a complete overhaul to the CFC-O's online reporting system and internal record-keeping databases requiring hundreds of man-hours from the CFC-O staff.

Total revenue in the region increased over $1 million from 2006 to 2007 and significant increases in the average gift and participation were realized. The increased number of CAPO locations resulted in more manageable areas of responsibility for our campaign project officers and their unit level volunteers. Due to the involvement of the newly created Component Managers, CFC-O staff members were able to meet with leadership in several key areas, and for the first time ever, received a CFC Public Service Announcement from the CENTCOM AOR that aired on AFN.

The campaign learned that flexibility is vital when working in CENTCOM - things constantly change. Dividing the campaign into smaller, more manageable units results in more thorough identification of units; allows for better direct customer service interaction between CFC-O staff & volunteers and makes the job easier for our hardworking volunteers.

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