The Trump administration will move forward with the annual Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the nation's largest federal charity drive, after initially pausing plans and weighing whether to end the decades-old program due to potential waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) confirmed in a memo that this year's drive — which raised nearly $70 million for thousands of charities in 2024 — will launch next month despite concerns over declining participation and $22 million in administrative costs.
OPM said it will review "whether to continue the program" in 2026, after it expects to spend $22 million to administer it this year, according to the memo from Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor.
"Over the years, participation in the program has continued to decline from its peak – donations have been hovering around $65-70 million over the past few years," his memo read. "At the same time, the costs to administer the program have continued to increase. This year, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) estimates the program will consume $22 million in outside contractor fees and listing fees to administer the program.
"This means for every $1 a federal employee donates, about $0.33 (or 33%) does not reach the charity for which it was intended. Rather, dollars that could be deployed to help sick children, help veterans in need, or help victims of natural disasters get back on their feet, are instead diverted to overhead.
"And that's of course before the charities themselves use some of those monies to support their own administrative activities – in general, about 25-35% of donations go to overhead to support the administrative functions of a charity. As a result, if you are a federal employee who donates via the CFC, only 47 cents of every dollar you donate makes it to the intended beneficiary."
The reversal comes after strong opposition from charities, which warned of "devastating consequences" if the campaign were canceled.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had been behind President Donald Trump's review of the program having found potential waste, fraud, and abuse.
In a letter signed by The Nonprofit Alliance and nearly 400 organizations, groups highlighted the drive's support for disaster relief, healthcare, environmental protection, education, and veterans' services, The Washington Post reported.
Rosie Allen-Herring, president of United Way of the National Capital Area, said ending the campaign would have strained food banks and nonprofits already struggling with higher demand.
"We don't know how many have been impacted, meaning how many federal workers who are now departing that would have been participants," Allen-Herring told the Post.
Jennifer Ward, a retiree who helps oversee the campaign, confirmed OPM officials told organizers to proceed, though some delays are expected after the pause.
"We don't know about any future campaigns, but we are a go for this year," she told the Post.
MP May Inc. President and CEO Mike May, whose firm has coordinated CFC outreach for 35 years, welcomed the decision.
"We are in the business of helping people and helping charities," May told the Post in a statement. "It's great to be back at work with our federal family we have been working with for 35 years."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.