Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Coalition for Charitable Choice (CCC)?
- What is a federation?
- How do charities and non-profit organizations benefit from membership in a federation?
- What is a fund or foundation?
- Why should I give through payroll deduction at my workplace?
- Can employees donate to non-CCC agencies through the CCC?
- What percentage of the donations does the CCC retain?
- What is the cost to the member federations and funds for the services provided by the CCC?
- Ten federations and funds and 300 member charities? It’ll be too confusing for the employees, not to mention all the paper!
- Won’t it be too confusing with two separate pledge forms?
- This change will really complicate things for Payroll. We don’t want to send out 11 checks —10 to your federations and one to the other federation that we’ve worked with for years. It’s easier the way it is.
- So how will this work in Payroll?
- Why would I want to give to a federation or fund, instead of designating directly to an organization?
- What happens if donors designate specifically for the CCC?
- What services does the CCC provide to make our campaign easy, efficient and successful?
- How do I know that my money is getting to the organization that I donate to?
- What is the overhead of each of the CCC’s federations or funds?
- If I want to donate to an agency without having a federation or fund take a percentage, shouldn’t I just donate directly to that agency?
- By what process do you assess the federations and funds to insure their legitimacy?
What is the Coalition for Charitable Choice (CCC)?
Established in 1987 to diversify employee options in workplace giving campaigns, the Coalition for Charitable Choice (CCC) is an alliance of ten federations and funds. Each federation is a partnership of five or more non-profit organizations united for fundraising around a common area of need. Our two funds provide funding via grants to organizations that fit their criteria. Our federations and funds are active in a variety of areas, including: the environment, food services, medical research, international relief, equality and human rights, faith-based initiatives, human services, education, and housing. They deliver services at the local, national, and international levels and are not eligible for funding by traditional workplace giving federations that only partner with local social service agencies. The ten member federations and funds are listed on our home page.
We are a small organization with only 1.5 FTE employees and a ten-member board of directors.
What is a federation?
A federation is a partnership of non-profit organizations united for fundraising and marketing around common areas of need and activity. Federations help make fundraising more cooperative and cost-efficient. By giving to a federation, donations can support every organization in its membership. Some CCC federations have formed around specific issues such as hunger or the environment; others represent a broader range of charitable groups. Federations can be local, national, or even international in scope.
How do charities and non-profit organizations benefit from membership in a federation?
Federations are used by non-profit agencies to perform marketing and fundraising functions that the organizations may be ill-equipped to perform on their own. Federations provide agencies with a common mission, collegial support, and strength in numbers. In addition, they can assist with non-profit registration, fulfillment of requirements, operational challenges, and advocacy. Federations often represent their charities in fundraising campaigns, allowing them to reach wider audiences, and enabling them to focus on their core missions of providing services.
What is a fund or foundation?
A fund or foundation is an organization that gives monetary grants to non-profit groups. Most funds have specific criteria for what types of projects they support, such as issue area, activity, or geographic region. Decisions are generally made by a volunteer board of directors, and grants are awarded periodically, often on an annual or a semi-annual basis. The CCC currently has two fund members: King County Library Foundation and Social Justice Fund.
Why should I give through payroll deduction at my workplace?
Workplace giving campaigns offer a number of advantages for both you, as a donor, and for non-profit organizations. They are efficient: Raising money at a workplace is many times cheaper than direct mail. With lower fundraising costs, more money can go to programs and activities. They are convenient: Once a year, you decide which issues you want to support, and your donations come right out of your paychecks! Payroll deduction provides organizations with a consistent income which allows them to plan and operate more efficiently. They insure accountability: The member charities of the CCC’s federations have met strict accountability standards, including low administrative costs. And finally, they help to educate donors about unfamiliar issues or organizations.
Can employees donate to non-Coalition for Charitable Choice(CCC) charities through the CCC?
In a couple of workplace campaigns, the CCC is the desginated fiscal agent and will transfer funds to any non-profit designated. For other campaigns, the CCC just supports the the collection and distribution for CCC federation/fund, and member charities.
What percentage of the donations does the Coalition for Charitable Choice (CCC) retain?
None. The CCC is supported directly from its member federations and funds and does not take a percentage from the donations it passes on to federations and funds that are current members of our collective. Each CCC member group is responsible for a share of the CCC’s expenses and that fee is becomes part of the non-profits’ administrative overhead. In a couple of workplace campaigns, the CCC is the fiscal agent for all donations and charges a small administrative fee for passing through pledges to non-profits outside of the CCC member network.
What is the cost to the member federations/funds for the services provided by Coalition for Charitable Choice?
The member federations and funds contribute to the CCC’s operational budget. Members pay a set percentage each year based on the amount of funds raised through the CCC workplace giving campaigns in the previous fiscal year.
Ten federations/funds and 300 member charities? It’ll be too confusing for the employees, not to mention all the paper!
On the contrary, the federations or funds are generally organized around issue areas that are already familiar to donors — issues involving the environment, food services, medical research, international relief, equality and human rights, faith-based initiatives, human services, education, and housing — and are all listed in one easy-to-read brochure.
Won’t it be too confusing with two separate pledge forms?
Campaigns with two pledge forms can be confusing, and a waste of paper too. That is why the CCC recommends that you create your own corporate pledge form listing all federation participants in an equal manner. This has been done numerous times at workplaces where the CCC works alongside other causes/federations embraced by the particular workplace. Your individualized corporate pledge form makes the campaign your campaign, putting credit where it is due. The Coalition for Charitable Choice has a number of excellent samples that you can adapt, or we will design a form for you to use, based on your needs.
This change will really complicate things for Payroll. We don’t want to send out eleven checks — ten to your federations/funds and one to the other federation that we’ve worked with for years. It’s easier the way it is.
Actually, you would only be sending two checks — one to the Coalition for Charitable Choice and one to the other federation. As fiscal agent for its ten federations/fundsand their charities, the CCC will take care of distributing donor money to its member federations according to the donors’ wishes. CCC and other participating federations will each need copies of all the pledge forms at the end of the campaign.
So how will this work in Payroll?
If your payroll department is already set up to deduct taxes, payroll savings, retirement, or donations from employees’ paychecks, you already have mechanisms in place to add the Coalition for Charitable Choice.
In the case of a combined campaign that includes both the CCC and one or more other federations, representatives of each organization can come in at the end of the solicitation period and sort through the pledge forms with your payroll department to help determine which donations should be processed through the CCC and which through the other federations. Each pay period, Payroll will withdraw a sum from all paychecks for Coalition charities, and a sum for any other participating federation. Each pay period, each month or each quarter, whichever Payroll prefers. Payroll will send checks out, one to the CCC and one to each of the other participating federations.
Why would I want to give to a federation/fund, instead of designating directly to an organization?
A given donor may want to support a specific issue area such as international aid or the environment, but not be committed to one specific charity. In that case, if s/he gives a gift to a federation or fund, this organization will divide that money among its members. Each federation has its own formula for how it divides undesignated gifts: some disburse equally, others on a proportional basis. Funds provide grants to various groups in their network. For details, the donor should contact the federation/fund.
What happens if donors designate specifically for the Coalition for Charitable Choice?
Money designated directly to the CCC, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is applied to defer expenses of the CCC during the year that it is collected, and, hence, reduces the amount of dues that each member must pay.
What services does the Coalition for Charitable Choice provide to make our campaign easy, efficient and successful?
Campaign materials: CCC can help you tailor a campaign that meets your workplace’s unique needs. Services may include assisting in the design of your pledge form, organizing or staffing your campaign events, and targeting speakers that will address the specific interests of your employees. CCC will also provide posters (as available), brochures and giveaways from our federations and their member charities.
Fiscal Management: More charitable choices need not translate to more hassles for you or your payroll staff. When your active giving campaign is over, a representative of the CCC, usually in partnership with a representative of each other participating federation, can help you sort through the pledge forms to determine which donations should be processed through the CCC and which through the other participating federations. All routing of donations to the 300+ charities of the Coalition goes through one office and one bookkeeping system (a single point of contact).
How do I know that my money is getting to the organization that I donate to?
You will receive a thank-you/acknowledgement from the organization within about 60 days from the conclusion of the campaign, unless you specify that you don’t want your gift acknowledged.
What is the overhead of each of the Coalition’s federations/funds?
As non-profit organizations providing fund raising services to their member charities, our federations and funds keep their administrative and overhead costs to a minimum (ranging from 2.4 – 28.7% as reported in 2009 Form 990 taxes). Some federations and funds also provide cause advocacy or direct services in addition to raising funds for their member charities.
Our federations are the designated fiscal agents to their 300+ member charities. The member charities pay a small fee to their federations on donations solicited through CCC efforts. Fundraising through the workplace is an efficient process, so member agencies choose to join federations and reimburse federations for the costs of managing workplace campaigns and providing other outreach services. For specific information about these fees, please contact our member federations/funds.
In 2008, Coalition federations’ and funds’ administrative overhead percentages were as follows:
| America’s Charities | 4.9% | Housing Development Consortium | 12.4% | |
| Community Health Charities | 4.1% | King County Library System | 9.2% | |
| Earth Share of Washington | 4.6% | Neighbor To Nation | 2.5% | |
| Food Resource Network Federation | 5.3% | Pike Place Market Foundation | 7.0% | |
| Global Impact | 2.4% | Social Justice Fund (2008 percentage) | 28.7% |
If I want to donate to a charity without having a federation take a percentage, shouldn’t I just donate directly to that charity?
The CCC and its federations/funds would heartily encourage you to donate directly to any of their 300+ charities, enabling those agencies to retain 100% of your donation. If, however, you want to take advantage of the convenience of workplace giving – automatic payments deducted each month, allowing the donor to give over time without writing a single check – overhead fees will apply. Charities view overhead as a cost of doing business, a reimbursement to federations/funds for the costs of staging workplace campaigns and providing other outreach services. Agencies are also aware that when people give over time through the workplace, their donations are likely to be more significant than if they were paid in lump sum.
No money is taken out of the donor’s contribution for the CCC. Our non-profit organization is funded entirely by dues paid by the federations and funds. It is important to remember that the CCC passes on 100% of all donations to its ten federations and funds who represent 300+ member charities. The only fees taken out of any donations pass from the charities to their federations, also 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
By what process do you assess the federations and funds to insure their legitimacy?
The CCC assesses federations and funds for membership based on their fiscal accountability, their anti-discrimination policies, their willingness to work in partnership with other federations/funds, and the extent to which their missions broaden the appeal and potential effectiveness of the CCC as a catalyst for workplace giving.
(revised Apri 2010)