PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. - Presidio of Monterey community members shattered their 2008 Combined Federal Campaign record of $228,000 by raising more than $254,000 for 2009.
"I was extremely humbled by the generosity of the students and personnel, especially during a recession year," said Liz Clark, CFC coordinator.
In addition, the number of Gold Eagle donors, those who donate more than $1,000, increased, breaking a record of 42 last year to 51 this year she said.
Going into the campaign, the economic circumstances caused some concern for Clark and key leaders involved with the campaign, especially with the $200,000 goal, set by the Presidio's command staff.
"I would have understood if we hadn't made it," Clark said. "But I was pleasantly surprised."
Clark also noted that the donations would help because of the depressed economy and "help our neighbors through these troubled times."
The CFC is the largest fundraiser in the world, which annually provides the opportunity for federal employees to donate to any individual local or worldwide charity. Donations are made by cash, check or payroll deductions.
Clark explained that payroll deductions are the most effective way to contribute to CFC because the payments would be continuous throughout any of the thousands of charities' budget.
But for all this to work, Clark said that the key leaders' involvement was vital to exceeding their $200,000 goal.
"Our official goal is 100 percent participation," said Clark, "and it's the key leaders (who) contact the individuals (in their units) and help those individuals find those one or two charities that get them to dig deep."
For the information on the CFC donation opportunities to reach personnel here, Clark said that it was mainly the key leaders who did all the leg work.
"I'm really just the nagger-in-chief," Clark joked about her duty as the CFC coordinator managing the key leaders' input.
"This is an extra duty for them, and they really put their hearts into it," Clark said. "It's the key leaders (who) should get the credit for making this year's (2009) campaign such a success."
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