Governor Gregoire Announces Record Year For Combined Fund Drive Giving

For Immediate Release: February 17, 2006

OLYMPIA � Governor Gregoire today announced that state employees and city of Seattle employees, along with public agency retirees, pledged a record $5.63 million to more than 1,000 charities during the 2005 Washington State workplace giving campaign.

�I�m very proud of our employees,� said Governor Gregoire. �This outpouring of generosity demonstrates once again how public employees and retirees continue to be of service to their communities.�

Combined Fund Drive Program Director Randy Ryan was also pleased with this year�s campaign.

�We appreciate the support from leadership and employees as we celebrate another record-setting campaign of giving,� he said.

Ryan attributed partial credit for the record year to a first-time online giving option for donors, accessible on the Combined Fund Drive�s (CFD) web site. The online Giving Station is among the first online giving systems in the nation for a public workplace program.

�The online Giving Station streamlines our operations, is more efficient and will allow more donor dollars to reach charities,� said Ryan.

The 2005 donations will be distributed quarterly throughout 2006. Since the inception of the CFD workplace-giving program more than 20 years ago, employees and retirees have pledged more than $73.7 million to charities throughout Washington State and the world.


###