Federal staff annual charity drive sees 40% drop in donations as layoffs below Trump left hundreds out of labor | EUROtoday

An annual charity drive by federal workers is bringing in 40 p.c fewer donations this yr after the Trump administration decimated the federal workforce and began the drive late after contemplating scrapping the yearly occasion.

Office of Personnel Management officers mentioned final week that this yr’s Combined Federal Campaign for charities could be prolonged by January, however in response to The Washington Post, charities that often depend on the annual effort for fundraising are involved that the extension gained’t be efficient as a result of OPM just isn’t extending contracts for staff who assist run the mission annually.

As of final weekend, the Post discovered that the annual marketing campaign has taken an enormous hit from the Trump administration’s effort to slash the federal workforce — firing nearly 300,000 individuals since taking workplace in January — in addition to the knock-on results of the 43-day authorities shutdown that ended final month.

Fundraising information confirmed that federal staff solely donated $23 million as of final weekend — a steep drop from the greater than $40 million the final three years’ campaigns had introduced in by the identical level.

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The annual marketing campaign for presidency staff brings in wanted income for hundreds of charities, together with many within the Washington, D.C. space and Mid-Atlantic area.

The Combined Federal Campaign has raised over $9 billion for charities from federal staff for the reason that Nineteen Sixties.

Ann Hollingsworth, vp of presidency affairs on the Nonprofit Alliance, advised the Post that the choice to not lengthen the contracts of organizers might make an enormous distinction in how a lot cash the marketing campaign brings in, even with the four-week extension.

“If the contractors in the final four weeks in January are not allowed to do their work, it’s a question of how successful can we make the CFC campaign after we’ve already been hit with a delay because of the shutdown and are dealing with other constraints in the nonprofit community,” she mentioned.

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A spokesperson for OPM, McLaurine Pinover, mentioned the company is establishing “ “more cost-effective ways for federal employees to donate to charities than the current CFC.”

“We are not paying them additional monies for the extension period because we do not believe that is a good use of donor dollars,” she added.

OPM delayed beginning the annual marketing campaign due to the federal government shutdown and regarded scrapping it totally, however officers later determined to host it as a result of collaborating charities had already paid the required charges to take part.

Scott Kupor, the rich enterprise capitalist who serves because the company’s director, complained in regards to the annual drive’s $22 million estimated price in a publish on the OPM weblog the place he mentioned he was additionally “evaluating changes to the CFC for 2026 (including whether to continue the program).”