Slight drop in state worker giving; charities expected bigger decline
Giving by state government workers to their annual fundraising drive for charitable causes was down between 5 percent and 6 percent in late 2016 compared with the previous year.
The 5.7 percent drop in pledges to the State and University Employees Combined Appeal was smaller than anticipated by a Springfield United Way official who had feared that a state budget standoff lasting more than a year and union contract uncertainty would lead to a significant drop in giving.
"Following late donations and continued processing of pledge forms, the updated total is more consistent with trends from recent years," said Michael Theodore, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Central Management Services.
CMS administers the annual campaign, known as SECA, which gives state government employees in Springfield and elsewhere, as well as retirees, the opportunity to make one-time gifts or set up payroll deductions for 2017.
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