2006 Combined Federal Campaign Innovators

CFC of the National Capital Area

After three years of successfully using the "Superheroes" theme, the CFC of the National Capital Area set out to develop a new creative strategy that would support the goal of raising $58 million. They came up with a new theme, "Be a Star in Someone's Life." At the core of the marketing plan was a locally produced video that would use the outline of the plot from "It's a Wonderful Life." In that original story, the star wishes he had never been born and is shown by an angel what the world would be like if that occurred.

The video focuses on a Federal employee who tells a bus driver about how she was named the CFC Campaign Manager even though she already has a busy schedule. When she wishes the CFC would just go away, the bus driver grants her wish and takes her on a ride that shows her what life would be like without programs that are funded through the CFC. Disturbed by what she has seen, the new Campaign Manager renews her commitment to helping the community through the CFC.

From the cover of the Catalog of Caring, to posters, tent cards and the web site, CFCNCA developed a core group of materials which supported this theme in a number of ways with references to new and old movies.

The campaign says that the lesson learned is that although the CFC can be an interruption in the work environment, making it fun injects many positive social interactions into the workplace.

CFC of the Pikes Peak Region

Using regional and national campaign statistics and awards criteria as the foundation for the campaign theme, the CFC of the Pikes Peak Region created a paradigm shift for donors as they considered giving. The awards program is based on one hour of pay per pay period. 95% of the Pikes Peak federal personnel are military, and have a once-a-month allotment. Breaking down the criteria to a daily gift, it equated to approximately 2 minutes of time per day. Incorporating this concept with local and national statistics, if everyone gave just two minutes of their time each day to charity, the campaign could raise roughly five times the amount currently raised - that adds up to an astounding extra $1 Billion just from the Federal and Military personnel. It was marketed on the cover of the campaign brochure, on the pledge forms, campaign posters and thank you gifts. The theme was further equated with the types of things employees typically spend two minutes of their work day doing.

The Air Force Academy was in the midst of a passionate football season, so the CFC equated the importance of 2 minute drills on the football field with the importance of the 2 minute drills of effective campaign execution. The effort was led by football coach Fisher DeBerry.

At Fort Carson, the troops were preparing for re-deployment to Iraq with a focus on survival training. Creating a Survivor-like contact, participants were picked randomly from the audience and had to maneuver through a two minute drill that draws attention to the charities. The challenge included a tire obstacle course, a rock climbing wall and a paint gun shoot out of disease, illiteracy, and homelessness.

These efforts led to the second consecutive year the campaign crossed the $2 million mark while increasing the participation, per capita giving and average gift rates.

Kitsap & Mason Counties CFC

The Kitsap & Mason Counties Local Federal Coordinating Committee (LFCC) has been on a mission to increase participation and results for the campaign. Through the use of technology and innovative activities and events they have grown their campaign by 46% since 2000. The LFCC is a great blend of representatives from both military and civilian communities. While they tend to have yearly personnel turnover, the generation of new and fresh ideas has allowed them to continue to improve and expand. They held numerous activities and events, such as golf, dodgeball, & softball tournaments, classic car shows, and cutest pets contests that potential donors look forward to each year. Their participation in the e-brochure pilot program during the 2006 CFC increased the CFC's exposure and provided more information to potential donors. Their web site included a searchable charity listing and 25 word statements thereby improving a potential donor's ability to find the information or charity they were interested in.

Another important component to the Kitsap and Mason Counties CFC is a locally produced video that includes real life personal stories from local beneficiaries of the charities which really brought the giving message home.

The campaign activities and events alone raised $84,000 in 2006 and made participation in the CFC fun. Through the increased use of technology to reach donors, printing costs were reduced nearly $4,000 from budgeted amount, increasing dollars distributed directly to charities.

Southwest Georgia CFC

The 2006 Southwest Georgia CFC was driven by three key principles - span of outreach, organizational involvement, and charity focus. Building on the success of the 2005 campaign, the LFCC strove for continuous improvement. It expanded its outreach by consolidating with a neighboring campaign and almost doubling the federal workforce and area landmass it covered.

The campaign emphasized partnering and visibility with local charities. Although introduced in 2005, the Campaign hosted several charity fairs on base with booths and refreshments, including a "CFC" (Coke, Fries, Chicken) day. To improve on this activity, they created roadshows and added new locations to bring charity fairs to the workforce instead of requiring workers to come to the event. In addition, 2006 was the first time they sponsored a CFC fun run at Moody AFB.

Their efforts resulted in the fourth consecutive year of growth in campaign pledges and average contribution.

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