COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Department of Human Resources

 

DATE:

May 21, 2007

BOARD MEETING DATE:

June 5, 2007

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Donna Vaillancourt, Human Resources Director

SUBJECT:

2007 Combined Charitable Contributions Campaign

 

RECOMMENDATION:

Accept this report on the 2007 Combined Charitable Contributions Campaign.

 

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Realize the potential of our diverse population.

Goal 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):

2005 Actual Amount of
Contributions

2006 Actual Amount of
Contributions

2007 Amount of
Contributions Pledged

$130,709

$115,892

$121,057

 

BACKGROUND:

San Mateo County, as an employer, has a long history of participating in the Combined Charitable Contributions 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 biweekly.

DISCUSSION:

Each year a different department is asked to take charge of the Combined Charitable Contributions Campaign. This year, the Human Resources Department was given the privilege to take the lead and the 2007 Combined Charitable Contribution Campaign Committee is pleased to report that County employees contributed a total of $121,057 as summarized by the chart below. Of this total, $2,392 was raised as one-time donations through publicity events such as the pumpkin carving and pie baking competitions that were held at the County Government Center and at the San Mateo Medical Center Campus. Employees voted for the winners in each category. There was fierce bidding at the pie auction with bids reaching $160.00 for a single pie.

This year, the campaign went “paperless” and an intranet site was created where employees could connect to learn all about the various charities and download forms. This effort resulted in a reduction in campaign printing expenses and a savings to the participating charities of more than $8,000. The Department of Human Resources looks forward to passing along to the next Campaign Committee all that it has learned about conducting a successful campaign.

Charity

Total 2007 Contributions

Children's Fund

$ 25,743

Chope Champions

$ 22,232

Meals on Wheels

$ 11,528

United Way of the Bay Area

$ 13,093

Community Health Charities of CA

$ 9,932

Homeless Fund

$ 10,575

Adult Fund

$ 8,738

County Library Fund

$ 6,797

Earth Share of California

$ 6,862

Parks and Recreation Foundation

$ 5,554

Total - All Contributions

$121,057

 

Thank you to all of the County Departmental Coordinators for their help in making this campaign a success as well as to all County employees for their generous contributions to these important charities.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The total amount raised by the Combined Charitable Contribution Campaign for 2007 is $121,057. These voluntary employee donations are collected and disbursed over the course of the year.