Step 4 (continued). Workplace Giving

Workplace Giving allows employees to make donations to charities through a payroll deduction. Donors pledge a certain amount per pay period, which is deducted from their paycheck and donated to a designated charity.

There are three ways that an organization can participate in workplace giving campaigns:

1. Joining a state environmental federation:
   A federation is a coalition of individual charities with similar missions that align to minimize administrative costs and coordinate activities. Joining a federation allows the organization to participate in a variety of federal, state, municipal, and corporate workplace giving campaigns.
2. Joining a local social action fund:
   A social action fund is a multi-issue federation that takes in members from across the public interest spectrum. Joining a social action fund also allows the organization to participate in a variety of federal, state, municipal, and corporate workplace giving campaigns.
3. Participating in workplace fundraising as an independent organization:
   This involves applying to the Combined Federal Campaign and other workplace giving programs as an unaffiliated organization.

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC)

The federal government's Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the largest workplace giving campaign. To be eligible to participate in the CFC, each charity must:

• Be a tax-exempt nonprofit organization as designated under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
• Provide specific information about their auditing, governance and program functions.
• Provide a completed and signed copy of their IRS Form 990 for their most recent fiscal year.

Charities may apply to participate in the CFC individually (as an unaffiliated organization), or they may be represented by a federation or social action fund. If a federation or social action fund to which a charity belongs is approved for CFC participation, the member charity need not apply individually. However, it will likely still need to meet these criteria because they are used by most federations and social action funds.