Lawsuit Spurs Government to Let Charity Solicit Federal Workers

The Make-a-Wish Foundation of America has won a fight to participate in the fall Combined Federal Campaign, the government’s annual charity drive.

Last spring, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the federal agency that oversees the Combined Federal Campaign, told the Make-a-Wish Foundation, in Phoenix, that the national organization did not qualify for this year’s drive.

The federal agency said the charity, which aims to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, had been spending too much — 38 percent — of its total revenue on administrative and fund-raising expenses.

Federal regulations require that participating charities spend no more than 25 percent of their revenue on such expenses, unless they can explain why their expenses are reasonable and submit formal plans to reduce them.

Last month, the Make-a-Wish Foundation went to federal court in Washington, to seek reinstatement in the federal drive. The national Make-a-Wish organization works with 74 separately incorporated local chapters.

Make-a-Wish said that the Office of Personnel Management had allowed it to participate in the 2003 and 2004 federal campaigns, even though the organization had exceeded the 25-percent threshold, because the charity had submitted acceptable explanations and plans for reducing costs.

The Make-a-Wish Foundation said that in May it provided the government with its latest informational tax return, which showed it had reduced expenses to 24.1 percent of revenue in 2004. The charity said the government replied that it could not review the information because the deadline had passed for charities to participate in the 2005 campaign.

At a court hearing in August, a federal judge urged the charity and the government to settle the case. In response, the Office of Personnel Management agreed to allow the Make-a-Wish Foundation’s national organization to participate in this year’s drive.

It agreed to tell local managers of the Combined Federal Campaign to include the Make-a-Wish Foundation in booklets provided to employees that list charities that they can support in the drive.