October 30, 2008
Rob Brown: Helping make the Combined Fund Drive a success
Editor’s note: Every other week through the duration of the Combined Fund Drive campaign, University Week will spotlight members of the UW community who help make the campaign a success.
Name: Rob Brown
UW job: Assistant Compliance Officer, UW Medical Center.
CFD-related activity: Chair of UW Medical Center Combined Fund Drive campaign.
For how long? I am in my third year as chair of the UWMC CFD campaign.
Why this work? Like many people, I want to make a positive difference in our community, but as the working father of two kids under 7, I don’t always have the time to personally volunteer. The Combined Fund Drive gives me an opportunity to contribute some focused time and energy that I hope will translate into greater participation by Medical Center employees.
A campaign goal for 2008: One of our goals this year is to increase participation. I recently read that two-thirds of U.S. households make charitable contributions. We know that people are contributing, and we want to encourage people to make those contributions through the CFD because of the power of consolidating and regularizing the payments to individual charities — charities much prefer one regular check that they can count on — it helps them reduce their overhead and avoid many of the “hidden” costs of fundraising that they must otherwise pay when they receive individual donations.
Satisfaction in coordinating the CFD: I enjoy being part of a team and seeing the amazing things we can do when we work together and pool our resources. Washington state’s CFD is one of the nation’s best state-run charity drives. Witnessing all the creativity and leadership within our ranks is truly inspiring and humbling. Volunteering always reaffirms my faith in society and community–it is time well spent. I believe any investment into our community is likely to benefit us all.
