October 11, 2007
CFD: What would you give to change the world?
This year, the Combined Fund Drive (CFD), Washington State’s workplace giving campaign, asks would-be donors, “What would you give to change the world?”
This year’s campaign began Oct. 2 and will run until Dec. 7. The opportunities to give are many and the change you can make is great, say organizers of the UW’s annual donation drive. You can learn more or begin your donations by visiting online at http://www.washington.edu/uwcfd/.
“The University of Washington is the number one giver of funds to the Combined Fund Drive,” said Kerri Everly, UW program manager for the CFD. “We make a tremendous impact on our communities — and the charities rely on the money we raise here at the UW.”
The myriad ways in which your donations can help are demonstrated at the UW Charity Fair, to be held this year from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 16, in the Mary Gates Hall Commons. There, about 50 nonprofit agencies who receive help through the CFD will be on hand to discuss their work. In all, more than 2,600 charities benefit from donations to this annual campaign.
The Charity Fair also, for the first time, will offer door prizes and a raffle. So, in addition to helping your community by donating, by attending the fair you might win four tickets to the next Apple Cup, a gift package for dining at El Gaucho or a night at the W Hotel. Raffle tickets are $1 each.
Last year’s drive raised a total of about $1.68 million, and the wish this year, of course, is to beat that total. But in addition, Everly said she hopes to increase the overall participation rate, which is around 17 percent. “It’s wonderful that more than 4,500 UW employees gave nearly $1.7 million, but we’d really like to see more people involved.”
Contributions to the CFD are tax-deductible. You can donate automatically through payroll deduction, and you can choose the charity to which you wish to contribute — even a college or unit of the UW, if you wish.
So what’s your answer: What would you give to change the world?
CFD profile: Sponsor, donor gives to food banks, homeless
Name: Mindy Kornberg
UW job: Vice President, Human Resources
Relation to CFD campaign: UW executive sponsor and donor
Reasons for giving: “My passion for giving to the homeless and to food banks probably goes back to high school. I just think that in a country as rich as the United States, the fact that we have anybody homeless or without food is staggering to me.”
Kornberg said there are 24,000 homeless people in King County alone, and that both Seattle and Washington State unfortunately rank high nationwide in the number of homeless. She said that through the Combined Fund Drive she donates to Northwest Harvest, which provides meals for the needy, and to King County United Way, which works to end homelessness.
“There are so many opportunities to give, to folks all over, so many entities to give to … so whether it’s giving back to the UW for research or giving to whatever your favorite nonprofit is — I just think it’s so important as a community member to give back.”
Give to the sock drive: Another way members of the UW community can help the homeless, Kornberg said, is by donating to a sock drive she is overseeing for the UW, in conjunction with United Way of King County. Bring new socks to the Combined Fund Drive’s Charity Fair on Oct. 16 in Mary Gates Commons or arrange a donation through your CFD coordinator any time through Oct. 26. The socks will figure in a United Way event to help the homeless in mid-November.
Kornberg takes over leadership of the UW Combined Fund Drive this year as its executive sponsor, and said she is is looking forward to the challenge. “I was thrilled to take on the responsibility because of my personal feelings that we all live in this community and need to take care of each other.
About Northwest Harvest: Formed in 1967, it is the only statewide hunger relief agency in the State of Washington and supplies food, free of charge, to about 300 food banks and meal programs. The agency provides about half a million meals to people in need — many of them children and the elderly — every month, according to its Web site. Learn more at http://www.northwestharvest.org/.
