Retired Army Colonel Julie Martin perfectly summed up the importance of the Combined Federal Campaign when she wrote, "It represents the annual opportunity for military and federal employees and retirees to ‘give where they live' to their favorite charity."

Well aware of the hardships the current pandemic has had on many Americans, particularly in the area of employment, the former deputy commander for administration at the Madigan Army Medical Center added, "As federal government workers, we're fortunate to be employed and the CFC is a great way to show compassion to your fellow Americans."

The world-wide CFC is divided into 36 local CFC zones; each zone (this area is the Cascadia Zone) is governed by a Local Federal Coordinating Committee, or LFCC. A LFCC is comprised of federal employees and military members, both active and retirees.

"LFCCs serve as a board of directors for the campaign zone. LFCCs are responsible for selecting an Outreach Coordinator (OC) to implement the CFC in the local zone and monitoring their work," explained Martin.

"The LFCC members also review the applications made by the charitable organization that would like to be included in the CFC."

During her military career, her involvement with the CFC was as a campaign manager; however, during an assignment at Madigan in 2004, she was designated to serve on the Local Federal Coordination Committee (LFCC) for the CFC.

"I found serving on the LFCC gave me a broader perspective and appreciation for the regional impact of the campaign as well as an understanding of how the campaign is organized," she continued.

"Participating in the fund-raising events and meeting local charity organizations has kept me involved over the years, since I see how much support is provided to military families."

Helping to make the local CFC a success, the LFCC works with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Kaptivate, a project management and marketing consulting company which provides CFC training, marketing and outreach services.

"OPM reaches out to federal retirees on a national level through emails and DFAS newsletters," explained Martin.

"Kaptivate reaches out to federal retiree organizations and does a targeted email direct response campaign to a curated group of federal retirees."

Martin said that retiree giving in the Cascadia zone has increased 14 percent from $56,420 in 2019 to $64,299 in 2020. 

In that same year,?the federal community nationally pledged?nearly $83.6 million for local, national, and international charities.

"We invite all federal employees and retirees to join us and ‘Be the Face of Change' for charities who need help now more than ever," Martin concluded.

To pledge, visit www.GiveCFC.org.