JBER kicks off Combined Federal Campaign; goal of $280,000 Published Oct. 2, 2014 By Air Force Airman 1st Class Kyle J. Johnson JBER Public Affairs JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The Combined Federal Campaign begins on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Oct. 6 and wraps up Nov. 15. This year's motto is "Give For Good." Since the CFC was established in 1961, it has provided opportunites for federal employees to give to charities. The CFC is like a one-stop shop of charities federal employees can sift through and pick which ones to donate to. The website also functions as a shopping cart; interested parties can select charities and set up payments directly. Simply use the search field to find a keyword like "dog" and a list of appropriate charities will show up, said Senior Master Sgt. Aaron Beckman, deployment flight superintendent with the 773d Logistics Readiness Squadron and the JBER CFC representative. The charities supported through the CFC range from community groups to large, well-known charities, according to www.opm.gov. Through the CFC, federal employees are able to set up pay allotments to donate a little bit of money to one charity, or several charities on a regular basis, without the pain of a large lump-sum donation. However, Beckman said it is also possible to do a lump sum donation. "If only half of the federal employees in the state of Alaska donated $10 a paycheck, the campaign would raise $4 million. The goal for JBER donations this year is $280,000," Beckman said. "Give what you can, every little bit helps." Many people may be interested in donating, but are leery of donating to charities they are not familiar with. Through alaskacfc.org, they can get information on charities they've found through the search function and descriptions of the charity's missions, Beckman said. This way, if someone is unsure of what charity to donate to, he can find out a little bit more about how the charity is run and decide whether to donate, or choose a new charity, Beckman said. "Donate to something that is important to you," Beckman said. Donations can be made through CFC Pledge Cards, myPay and online at www.alaskacfc.org. Contact your unit CFC representative for more information.