NIH Exceeds $2.2 Million Goal in 2018 CFC Program

NCATS’s Bekah Geiger (r) passes the torch and the CFC banner to NEI’s Jessica Ryan

NIH has done it again. That was the main message of the appreciation and awards ceremony that wrapped up NIH’s 2018 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). The ceremony, which recognized each institute and center based on participation, amount of money raised and overall campaign achievements, was held Mar. 6 at Lister Hill Auditorium, Bldg. 38A.

IH exceeded its goal for the CFC, raising more than $2.2 million for charities in the U.S. and abroad. The CFC is the federal government’s largest workplace giving campaign. This year, some 8,000 charities participated in the National Capital Area CFC.

“At a time of seemingly endless fractiousness, it was a pure delight to see the NIH community do what it does best—truly caring for others,” said campaign co-chair and NCATS director Dr. Christopher Austin. NCATS served as the lead NIH agency for the 2018 campaign. The theme, for the third year in a row, was “Show Some Love.”

This year’s partial government shutdown presented a unique challenge. “We at NIH only had a very small segment of the employee base furloughed, but the furlough still affected us,” said NIH director Dr. Francis Collins. Many NIH employees have spouses and other family members who were furloughed during the shutdown. The uncertainty about whether they would ever be paid for the unexpected time off made committing to charitable donations difficult.

“Even in the face of those challenges, we did it,” Collins said. “This speaks to NIH’s commitment to this important endeavor.” In addition, he noted, colleagues in other parts of the federal government were receiving benefits from some of the same charitable organizations that the CFC supports.

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From left: NCATS director Dr. Christopher Austin, Debra Gale, Monica Hanson, NIH director Dr. Francis Collins and Geiger pose with NIH’s award from the CFC National Capital Area.

The NIH’s Got Talent event was a particular hit in this year’s campaign. NIH staff showed off skills in everything from hula-hooping to harp playing. Collins noted with amusement that the competition’s winner was also a co-chair: Austin, who amazed the crowd with his opera skills, singing an aria from Carmen.

At the end of the ceremony, the CFC banner and a cardboard torch were passed to NEI, which will be the lead for the 2019 campaign.