Raskin, Van Hollen and Alsobrooks to Trump Administration: Save the World’s Largest Workplace Giving Program

Today, Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) are rallying 40 of their colleagues to save the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the world's largest workplace giving program. The CFC, which was formally established by President Reagan in 1982, connects federal public-spirited employees with charities in need of donations.

In a letter to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor, the lawmakers called on him to preserve the CFC as its sudden termination would have disastrous consequences for the hospitals, disaster relief providers, food banks and other charitable organizations it serves across the country.

"For decades, the CFC has provided tremendous value to our nation's charities and vulnerable populations ranging from sick children to families on the brink of poverty," the lawmakers wrote. "By supporting the needs of such populations through voluntary employee contributions as opposed to traditional federal spending, the program has also saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars."

The CFC supports more than 4,400 charitable organizations and has saved the federal government an estimated $400 million over the past five years. Since its inception under the Reagan Administration, the CFC has raised more than $9 billion for thousands of nonprofits. Notably, participating charitable organizations are charged fees for participating in the CFC, passing no operational burden onto American taxpayers. The CFC has in fact saved the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars by directing voluntary contributions to community needs that might typically require federal spending. In August, OPM issued a stop-work order halting all preparations for the CFC's 2025 funding cycle, alarming organizations that depend on charitable giving from federal workers. In the months since, OPM has decommissioned the program's charity portal and issued a warning that the program's website 'may be taken offline at any moment.'

"By harnessing the generosity of federal employees, the Combined Federal Campaign has strengthened charities' capacity to address local, regional and national needs that might have otherwise necessitated the use of taxpayer resources," the lawmakers wrote. "...Ending the program will disrupt and destabilize the valuable work of charitable organizations - and cause substantial harm to students with disabilities, hungry families and other populations that depend on their work."

Charitable organizations that benefit from the CFC include some of the nation's largest nonprofits such as the Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Red Cross. Local and regional charities, such as the North Texas Food Bank and United Way of the National Capital Area, also receive critical support through the CFC.

The letter was also signed by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Don Beyer (VA-08), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Johnny Olszewski (MD-02), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Adam Smith (WA-09), Eugene Vindman (VA-07), Timothy Kennedy (NY-26), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Andriano Epsaillat (NY-13), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Mark Pocan (WI-02), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Analilia Mejia (NJ-11) James Walkinshaw (VA-11), Danny Davis (IL-07), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Bobby Scott (VA-03), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Ed Case (HI-01), Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Andre Carson (IN-07), Gabe Evans (CO-08) and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07).

The lawmakers' letter is endorsed by the Nonprofit Alliance, a national coalition of nonprofits that has played a leading role in advocacy on behalf of the CFC.

Read the full letter to Director Kupor here and below.

The Honorable Scott Kupor

Director

Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW

Washington, DC 20415

Dear Director Kupor:

We write with grave concern about the potential termination of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the largest workplace giving program in the world. For decades, the CFC has provided tremendous value to our nation's charities and vulnerable populations ranging from sick children to families on the brink of poverty. By supporting the needs of such populations through voluntary employee contributions as opposed to traditional federal spending, the program has also saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has taken several actions to undermine the CFC. The recent decommissioning of online portals for participating charities and donors represents a significant threat to their work, and we are concerned that the program now faces imminent closure. In light of the strong return on investments delivered by the CFC and the lifeline it represents for charities across the nation, we urge you to preserve this vital program.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan issued an executive order establishing the modern-day CFC. Writing to federal agencies, he reaffirmed the program's role in upholding American traditions of social responsibility and in his own words, "individual giving for good causes." Today, over 4,400 charitable organizations participate in the CFC, and to date, the program has raised nearly $9 billion for food banks, veteran support, disaster relief and other important causes. The CFC has also saved the federal government an estimated $400 million over the past five years. Such savings are the result of empowering federal workers to donate to community needs that would otherwise require taxpayer dollars.

Given the wide reach of the CFC, we are worried that its sudden termination would impose broad human costs. The program benefits rural nonprofits, faith-based charities, and other service-oriented organizations in regions across the country. Ronald McDonald House, for example, serves critically ill children in states as diverse as California, Alabama, and Maine. At Ronald McDonald Houses, children and their families benefit from home-cooked meals, supportive staff and crucially, proximity to the hospitals where they can access the lifesaving care they need. Donations generated through the CFC contribute to these services, enabling children to undergo vital medical treatment and ensuring they can remain with their families as they do so. CFC contributions benefit nonprofit hospitals directly as well. In one story shared by a children's cancer research hospital, a Marine Corps staff sergeant in Florida had been a consistent donor through the CFC. Little did he know that one day, his five-year-old daughter would be diagnosed with a kidney tumor and in need of care at the same hospital to which he had been donating for years.

According to the North Texas Food Bank, which fills kitchen pantries throughout the region, every dollar it receives through the CFC enables it to provide access to three nutritious meals. For families who do not know where their next meal may come from, this food assistance represents a critical form of relief. The Maryland Food Bank, a major supplier for hundreds of the state's soup kitchens, shelters and faith-based organizations, has similarly highlighted the significance of the funding it receives from the CFC. Especially in the face of recent cuts to federal grants, the organization has warned that the termination of the CFC may introduce new budgetary challenges.

Despite the CFC's proven track record of success, OPM issued a stop-work order halting all preparations for the launch of the 2025 cycle on August 26, 2025. The directive came mere days before the website for the 2025 CFC was set to be activated on September 2, 2025, and charities participating in the drive had already paid the requisite application and listing fees. In the midst of the uncertainty, organizations across the country mobilized and obtained assurances that OPM would proceed with the 2025 CFC. Yet in a memo issued to federal agencies on September 10, 2025, you clarified that OPM continued to assess the future of the CFC, including a possible end to the program altogether. Not to be discouraged by this looming threat, charities displayed remarkable resilience throughout the 2025 CFC cycle, overcoming federal layoffs and a government shutdown to raise an estimated $40 million for disaster survivors, people facing housing insecurity and other individuals in need of assistance.

On February 20, 2026, OPM notified participating charities that the website portal they used to apply for the CFC and track donations would be decommissioned on March 4, 2026. A similar message was posted on the public-facing CFC website, with language indicating that the portal for federal employee donors would also be decommissioned in March. At present, only the charity portal appears to have been taken offline, but the public-facing website now warns donors to download their tax receipts since their portal - and the website itself - "may be taken offline at any moment." Additionally, the website specifies that "the decommissioning process began on March 4."

According to your September 2025 memo, your concerns about the value of the CFC are due to "excessive administrative costs." This statement, however, omits crucial facts about the structure and long-term benefits of the CFC. For one, charities are charged various fees throughout their participation in the program. The funds collected are then used for operating costs, and taxpayers are left unburdened. Moreover, far from requiring a significant infusion of taxpayer resources, the CFC has saved the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars by directing voluntary contributions to community needs that might typically require federal spending.

If there are changes OPM can make to further increase the efficiency of the CFC, we encourage you to explore them in consultation with longstanding charity partners. But a unilateral decision to dismantle the program altogether is not the solution. Many charities rely upon the funds they raise through the CFC to operate. The loss of such resources would force them to scale back their programming, making it exceedingly difficult for them to meet the needs of the disadvantaged communities they serve. As a result, the federal government would likely have to devote additional resources toward addressing the needs of these communities.

By harnessing the generosity of federal employees, the Combined Federal Campaign has strengthened charities' capacity to address local, regional and national needs that might have otherwise necessitated the use of taxpayer resources. In addition to considering the taxpayer savings associated with the CFC, we urge you to take seriously the human toll of moving forward with its termination. Ending the program will disrupt and destabilize the valuable work of charitable organizations - and cause substantial harm to students with disabilities, hungry families and other populations that depend on their work. For the sake of the charitable community and the vulnerable populations they serve, we urge you to preserve the CFC.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to your response.

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