News and Knowledge

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the federal government’s annual charitable campaign and one of OAR’s greatest sources of support, kicks off this month. This year’s program may be getting off to a later start, but donors have until January 12, 2018 to make their pledges.

“It is to military service members and federal employees what the United Way is to people who work in the private sector,” says Mike Maloney, OAR executive director. “They and employees in comparable state campaigns have generously supported autism research and OAR over the years.”

Last year, members of the U.S. military and federal employees around the world pledged $38,506 to OAR. However, our workplace campaign success did not end with the CFC. Employees in several state and municipal charitable drives, along with others in private corporate workplace campaigns, contributed more than $32,917, resulting in a total of $71,424 in CFC/workplace campaign pledges last year. OAR began receiving these funds in monthly distributions in May 2017 and will use them immediately to support its ongoing research and information programs.

“The donations we receive through the CFC significantly increase our capacity to deliver quality information and resources to the people who need them,” says Maloney. “For example, in just the past year, we have put more than 1,000 copies of ‘Life Journey through Autism: A Guide for Military Families’ into the hands of parents, military medical professionals, and Exceptional Family Member Program staff in the United States and overseas.”

As a national charity, OAR participates as a member of the Health and Medical Research Charities of America federation. OAR has once again met all the qualifying standards for the CFC this year and will participate in the campaign this fall.

To qualify for the CFC, a charity must apply and meet a series of standards each year. Principal among these is to have a ratio of expenses to revenues of less than 25 percent; for national eligibility, an organization must demonstrate viable program services in at least 15 states over the last three years. OAR consistently provides program services in more than 15 states and has a qualifying ratio of 13 percent for this year’s CFC campaign. In addition to meeting the standards required to participate in the CFC, OAR is proud to have received a four-star rating on Charity Navigator for the past three consecutive years.

“OAR has earned a reputation for being an excellent steward of the funds it receives,” says Maloney. “We are very proud of that.”

For more information on OAR’s participation in the CFC or in state and local charitable campaigns, please contact Kristen Essex, business manager, at 703-243-9717 or via email.