Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO) has served as the charitable arm of County employees since 1956. It provides grant funding to local non-profit organizations and County employees in crisis.

CECO is entirely employee-directed and employee managed – from collecting applications and donations to determining who receives funding. It is run by an Executive Committee, and a Board of Directors that consists of one representative from each of the departments/offices in the County. Members of these two entities volunteer their time or get release time during working hours. That means that 100% of donations to CECO go directly to local non-profit organizations, and active and retired County employees in crisis through the Government Employees’ Crisis Fund. In addition, CECO has held special fundraising drives to help County employees –active and retired - who lost their homes in the 2003 and 2007 wildfires.
Since its founding in 1956, CECO has distributed over $20 million in the San Diego region through this grassroots program. Donations are collected through automatic payroll deductions and one-time contributions by County and Superior Court active and retired employees. The donations provide local agencies with grants that help them serve more people or expand and improve their existing services. CECO also provides seed money or matching funds to allow new ideas to develop in our community.

Part of the money raised for CECO is allocated to a special fund, the Government Employees’ Crisis Fund. The Fund helps active and retired employees who lack the financial resources to cope with a one-time unanticipated emergency. Necessities covered through the Fund include, but are not limited to, food, shelter, utilities, funeral expenses and transportation. In 2007, CECO allocated $32,000 to assist 42 employees.

Over the years much of the money has gone to provide the following assistance to people in need located throughout the County: food for the needy and homebound; dental and health care for the uninsured and under-insured; elder care; and youth camps and education materials for low-income or sick children.

CECO provides funding to organizations that provide the much needed health and social safety net for vulnerable populations in the region. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been touched in the 52 years CECO has been in existence thanks to the generous donations of County active and retired employees. For instance, as a result of the 2007 Campaign contributions, CECO was able to distribute over $280,000.00 to 89 local non-profit organizations and $30,000 to employees with a one-time emergency. Click here for a list of the organizations and programs CECO funded with the $302,413.99 raised in the 2007 Campaign.

United Way of San Diego County: For more than 90 years, United Way of San Diego County has been a locally governed, non-profit fundraising organization that focuses on bringing together people and resources to create positive, lasting change in the lives of San Diegans. Like more than 1,400 other United Ways across the country, it is governed by a local volunteer board of directors. United Way of San Diego County pays nominal dues to United Way of America in exchange for cost-saving services such as staff training, community research information, campaign support, and ongoing consultation. United Way of San Diego County is focused on making measurable impact in:

• Stopping Child Abuse and Neglect
• Promoting Financial Stability and Independence
• Homeless Outreach and Prevention

CHAD stands for “Combined Health Agencies Drive” and is an acronym originally from the days when the member health agencies ran an independent campaign. “Combined Health Agencies” is a federation of 25 non-profit health organizations that provide services for 1) children and adults suffering from a variety of illnesses; 2) public and professional education; and 3) local medical and scientific research projects. Almost everyone is touched, directly or indirectly, by one or more of the many diseases these local organizations work to eradicate. The 25 member organizations of CHAD are as follows:

Every year, CECO and United Way/CHAD conduct a combined fundraising campaign. The two campaigns are conducted simultaneously to maximize employee outreach and contributions to non-profit organizations. The campaigns are the perfect compliment to one another because while United Way/CHAD contributions fund programs’ ongoing operational costs CECO contributions fund programs’ tangible items and provide aid to County employees and retirees in need.

Organizations and programs helped by donations to CECO and United Way/CHAD touch almost every employee, directly or indirectly. Additionally, employees can have a greater impact in the community with a donation to CECO and United Way/CHAD because their individual contribution is combined with the contributions of thousands of other donors. Finally, giving through payroll deductions is a painless way to make a difference in the region while it reduces costly and time-consuming fundraising efforts for the agencies that provide community services.

CECO and United Way-CHAD carefully review each funded agency to ensure the donations do the most good and results are achieved. If you know of a local non-profit agency interested in applying for funding please direct them to the CECO website at www.sdceco.org where they can get an application.

United Way used to distribute all donations to more than 130 different agencies. That spread the money out too thinly to completely address, let alone solve, the region’s major problems. In 2007, United Way moved to a Community Impact Model and the Campaign focuses on three major issues: Stopping Child Abuse & Neglect; Homeless Outreach & Prevention; Promoting Financial Stability and Independence. When you choose to make a contribution to United Way, you have the option of donating to one or more of these Focus Areas. .

Yes, but only through United Way/CHAD. CECO no longer accepts designations. Employees can designate all or part of their United Way donation to a non-profit organization of their choice, even one outside of the region. United Way does charge approximately 18% overhead on any designation to cover the additional cost of distributing the donations.

Subject to IRS restrictions, your donation is tax-deductible if you itemize on your tax return.