This year, giving to the Combined Federal Campaign is easier than ever for service members, who can now give through their myPay account with Defense Finance Accounting Services, having a specified amount deducted from each pay period.

Service members and civilians alike can still give through the CFC Nexus website, www.cfcnexus.org, or using hard-copy donation slips, and donations can be made as lump sums by cash or check, or, more typically, by a deduction from each paycheck.

The CFC, which allows charitable organizations to solicit donations from federal government employees, kicked off Sept. 1 and runs through Dec. 15. Brochures laying out all the eligible charities are now being distributed around Marine Corps Base Quantico.

“In the brochures, you have different charities, and it’s up to the person which organizations they would like to donate to,” said Capt. Tyvon Petway, Quantico’s base adjutant and CFC Committee chair, adding that donors also have the option to make their contributions undesignated, in which case they are “spread-loaded to all the charities.”

Normally, the base raises its goal for total contributions each year, but Petway said, “The base commander committed to a $650,000 goal this year because he wanted it to be the same as last year, due to the impact of the furlough.”

Nonetheless, he noted the base has consistently and substantially exceeded its goals. Last year, for example, the installation raised more than $800,000 through the campaign. This was almost two-thirds of the total funds raised by the Potomac CFC, which also includes Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren and Army Fort AP Hill, as well as offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Postal Service, the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Quantico’s total includes employees of the base and all tenant activities except the FBI Academy.

“For our total, we definitely depend on Quantico,” said Tammi Ellis, manager of the Potomac CFC. “Quantico is very important and we are very happy to have it in our region.”

She said the regional campaign, too, is taking federal budget cuts and uncertainty into account. Last year, the region just missed its goal of $1.3 million, and it has set a goal this year of $1.1 million.

Each civilian and military unit on the base has a CFC unit representative responsible for assisting with and collecting donations, Petway said. “They can walk the service members or civilians through how to use the Nexus program, as well as myPay.”

Even if donating cash or checks, donors need to fill out a hard-copy or online form to give to their unit representative. The representatives drop off all cash and check donations at Lejeune Hall every Wednesday, beginning Oct. 2.

— Writer: mdicicco@quanticosentryonline.com