COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Health Department

DATE:

April 29. 2005

BOARD MEETING DATE:

June 7, 2005

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Charlene A. Silva, Director, Health Department

SUBJECT:

2005 Combined Charitable Contributions Campaign

RECOMMENDATION:

Accept this report on the 2005 Combined Charitable Contributions campaign.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Realize the potential of our diverse population.

Goal(s) 2. Civic Engagement – including voting, public service, volunteerism and participation in public discussions of important issues – is uniformly high among the diverse population.

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

2003

Actual

2004 Actual

2005 Actual

Number of contributors

1018

1053

1030

Amount of contributions

$120,005

$133,235

$130,709

BACKGROUND:

San Mateo County, as an employer, has a long history of participating in the Autumn Combined Charitable Giving campaign. That effort provides employees with a mechanism to make regular contributions to community-based organizations by using the biweekly payroll deduction feature of the County’s payroll system. The employees can designate the recipient charity or fund to meet their own community commitment. The Controller’s office facilitates the pass-through of the designated amount and administers any changes throughout the year. The payments to the charities are made bi-weekly.

DISCUSSION:

The 2005 campaign had a very good participation rate, and sustained most of the growth achieved with the 2004 campaign. Promotional activities included pie baking contests, chili competition and pumpkin carving contests. Enthusiasm and support for the campaign was great. Many employees volunteered their own time and money to make the kick-off a success. The activities were held in County Government Center and at the San Mateo Campus.

The pie contest had two elements: one was the competition for the Best Pie, and that competition was fun and good natured. The other element was the Pie Auction. The Redwood City kick-off had 25 pie contributors and the San Mateo kick-off had 11 contributors. In addition to the employees who baked and contributed the pies, 36 more employees paid a good deal of money to buy them: County staff paid $100 and more for some of the pies, and all of the funds went to the Combined Charitable Contributions Campaign

The pumpkin carving contest was also well received. There were 21 entries of exquisitely carved pumpkins submitted in Redwood City and 10 more submitted in San Mateo. In addition, there was a bonus competition in San Mateo: nine employees contributed their time and money for a chili competition. The winners were selected by popular vote.

The actual campaign was a success. In addition to the more traditional recipients such as the Community Health Charities and United Way, many staff made contributions that directly improve the quality of life for County residents and clients of County programs in ways that would otherwise not be possible. County staff made contributions of their own money to these County programs and funds: The Adult Fund, the Children’s Fund, Chope Champions, County Library Fund, Homeless Fund, and the Parks and Recreation Foundation.

We can be very proud of the contributions made by County staff to support the community and those in need.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The total amount of the Combined Charitable Contributions Campaign is $130,709. The funds are collected and disbursed over the course of the calendar year.