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Va. Charity Campaign Strives To Meet Goal In Spite Of Salary Freeze

By: Jonathan Wilson // December 20, 2010
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State employees' donations to Virginia's annual charity drive are down, but the campaign's director says there's still time to meet this year's goal.

State employees have contributed approximately $2.5 million so far to the Commonwealth of Virginia campaign, says its manager, Anne Dinterman. The campaign supports 1,300 charities across the state.

So far the state is about $300,000 short of what had been collected at this time last year, but Dinterman says four of the top giving government agencies -- the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth University and William and Mary -- have yet to report their final totals.

The goal for 2010 is about $4.2 million, and Dinterman says most donations come in between Dec. 15 and Jan. 15. The deadline for donations is Jan. 20.

The campaign fell $50,000 short of its goal last year, but still raised $4.1 million. Dinterman says giving remains impressive, considering state workers haven't received a pay increase in three years.

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