February 25, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
In a sign that some pockets of the economy and the U.S. workforce have been relatively unaffected by the recession, a new report has found that federal employees in the Washington metropolitan area gave nearly $62.6-milllion to charities last year, an increase of about 3 percent over 2007.
More than 156,000 civil, military, and postal employees gave an average gift of $399, mostly through automatic deductions from their paychecks, to the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area.
The number of Washington-area donors who participated in the 2008 annual campaign grew by 9,000 federal employees; those donors accounted for more than 44 percent of federal employees in the region.
The Washington branch of the federal drive typically raises more than any other domestic or overseas unit representing government employees who give to the campaign, which has been held since 1961. All told, the Combined Federal Campaign raised $273.1-million last year.
