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MEMBERSHIP FAQS

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. See How to Join for eligibility requirements..

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 $100,000. Others interest a more limited population, and their total pledges will be commensurately smaller.

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 as applications, tracking and reporting pledges to individual members, and helping to distribute donated funds are all delegated to a federation by its members. 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 what services we offer.

DO FEDERATIONS CHARGE A FEE?
Yes.  Federation fees offset the cost of federation operations, and they vary widely. We are transparent about our fees. If you contact us, we can estimate MRC's fee based upon a hypothetical pledge amount.

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.

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 usually we can get a good sense of whether or not you will 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.

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 administrative burden of 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 a federation member pay lower fees to OPM. In addition, if we recommend your organization to OPM and OPM rejects your application, we will refund the initial OPM fee. The risk is ours. 
This information alone may be enough to help you decide whether federation membership makes sense for you. Naturally, we’re happy to talk with you as well. Contact Us.

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 so you can see what you would net. This breakdown will detail reductions due to unfulfilled pledges, administrative overhead, and our own fee. You will then be able to compare our costs with those of your current federation.

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