RAFM Airmen dig deep into pockets, reach CFC halfway mark

  • Published
  • By Geoff Janes and Senior Airman Clark Staehle
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL --  The 2007 Combined Federal Campaign is well underway at RAF Mildenhall and has reached just over 69 percent of its $205,000 goal. So far, you have raised about $143,000 for various charities around the community and world. This is your chance to make a difference for the community and shatter the goal.

CFC is an annual fundraising drive that allows nearly 4 million federal employees and servicemembers to contribute to thousands of local and national nonprofit organizations.

"The people who have been in the Air Force a while know what the Combined Federal Campaign is," said Capt. Christopher Saettel, 100th Operations Support Squadron and 100th Operations Group CFC point of contact. "At this point in the drive, we're out to get the people who don't know what it is."

CFC happens once a year, typically in the fall for overseas locations and covers a nine-week period. It allows participants to select a charity from more than 1,500 they'd like to donate to. The donations can then be made in a lump sum or taken out of a pay check as an allotment.

Donors simply decide which charity, or charities, they wish to support and complete a CFC pledge card. The charities may be found in the CFC booklet or the CFC website and contributions can be in cash, check, or payroll deductions.

In addition to the charities listed in the CFC booklet, people can also donate directly to RAF Mildenhall's family support and youth programs.

On average, one in four federal employees or their family members will benefit from CFC charities this year, but success depends on participation.

One of the major changes to CFC this year is the change in charity codes from four digits to five.

Federal fundraising goes back to 1948 with the Federal Personnel Council. The FPC tried to add structure to fundraising within government agencies, but was replaced by the CFC when legislation regulating fundraising was signed in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Combined campaigns were first seen in 1964.

For more information, contact your unit's representative.