San Rafael, CA – Fueled by the holiday spirit of giving, County of Marin government employees demonstrated their ongoing community spirit by committing nearly $92,000 to the 2019 Marin County Employees Combined Charities Campaign, known internally as the Heart of Marin. Since 2007, employees have contributed more than $926,000 through the annual nonprofit fundraiser.
“We have set ourselves up nicely to eclipse the $1 million mark next season, which definitely will be a cause for celebration,” said Liza Massey, Chief Information Officer, and this year’s Heart of Marin campaign chair.
The campaign, which took place in November, allows employees to make biweekly paycheck deductions or one-time donations toward the annual program. The employees contribute to nonprofit federations that assist a variety of charities or hand pick charities of their choice. This year the federations included United Way Bay Area, America’s Best Local Charities, Community Health Charities of California, EarthShare California, and Global Impact Charities.
“Many of our employees chose to donate to regional wildfire relief funds too, because they either know people affected by wildfires or were affected themselves,” Massey said. “County employees have a lot of compassion.”
The Heart of Marin campaign provides a convenient way for County employees to learn about and support the participating organizations. By giving at the office, the program saves charities the time, effort, and expense of seeking out and processing individual donations. Payroll deductions create a reliable way for the nonprofits to predict contributions and plan for consistent revenue streams.
Among the County’s 23 departments, the County Counsel’s Office had a 100 percent participation rate. The Public Defender came in second followed by Child Support Services. Massey’s Department of Information, Services and Technology had the largest increase in the dollar amount of donations and the highest amount overall.