Rules Change Influences Applications for Federal Charity Drive

The federal government’s revised rules governing its charity drive for federal workers have changed the types of nonprofit groups seeking to solicit government employees, reports The Washington Post.

Last year the government said it would no longer limit participation to groups with overhead expenses of 25 percent or less. A look at the first set of applications to the campaign in the Washington area suggests that many charities that spend more than 25 percent on overhead are applying. The newspaper said of the first 800 applications, 141 had overhead expenses greater than 25 percent.

Charity experts said the full effects of the change might not be seen until 2008, because many nonprofit groups don’t realize the government has dropped the overhead requirement.

The change has been controversial, prompting criticism from numerous lawmakers.

Read The Chronicle’s most recent article on the criticism of the change.

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