Executive Order  No. 272: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employees Campaign (COMEC)

WHEREAS, Commonwealth employees share the same feelings of civic responsibility as their non-governmental neighbors, and deserve the same opportunity to discharge that responsibility through a convenient and responsible system of voluntary charitable giving to sup- port private non-profit social, health and welfare organizations, and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has an interest in assisting its employees in their charitable giving by the establishment of a single state employee campaign which minimizes the disruption of the government workplace while maximizing contributions to these organizations; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has as well an obligation to assure these organizations are accountable in the uses of the funds so raised; and

WHEREAS, such charitable giving is all the more important because of the financial strain to these organizations and the individuals they serve due to the uncertainty of continued federal support for social service programs;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Michael S. Dukakis, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Supreme Executive Magistrate, particularly Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 180, Section 17B, do hereby revoke Executive Order No. 243 and issue this Order authorizing and implementing a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employees Campaign which fulfills the foregoing objectives:

ARTICLE I. RESOLUTION

Deductions on payroll schedules of state employees may be distributed to non-profit social health and welfare organizations that meet the criteria and follow the authorization for participation process set forth in this Order.

ARTICLE II. PLACEMENT

The process of the payroll deduction campaign will fall under the authority of the Secretary of Administration and Finance. Under the direction of the Secretary of Administration and Finance and the Treasurer, the Local Campaign Manager (see Article IV, Section 2) shall provide and administer the central receipt and accounting function for all cash and payroll deduction pledges. One check will be sent by the Treasurer's office each pay period, in the gross amount of deductions on the basis of current authorizations, to the Local Campaign Manager. The Local Campaign Manager will be responsible for the distribution of all cash and payroll deduction amounts, less administrative costs (see Article VI), quarterly and on a fixed schedule to the participating organizations or the federated agencies a participant organization has designated to represent them. Contributions and pledges obtained during a period of organized solicitation in the fall of each year will be for disbursement during the ensuing calendar year.

ARTICLE III. PARTICIPATION

The following criteria shall be used to determine whether any individual organization or united fund, community chest or federated agency is eligible for participation in the campaign and receipt of funds contributed to it by state employees in the communities it serves:

1. A demonstrated ability and willingness to prepare and present in writing, individually or by joining submission through a united fund or community chest or federated agency, sufficient organizational financial and programmatic information with which to evaluate the criteria listed in sections (2) through (9) here below. In order to be considered a united fund, community chest or federated agency, an entity must have no fewer than ten eligible, participant organizations as members.

2. Incorporation or authorization to do business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a private non-profit organization reporting annually to the Office of the Attorney General. 3. Status as a 501-C-3 tax exempt entity pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code and applicable laws of the the Commonwealth.

4. Adoption of standard accounting and financial reporting systems commonly used by voluntary, non-profit health and welfare organizations, and preparation of an annual financial report. Agencies with gross receipts in excess of $100,000 shall also be required to provide an annual external audit duly certified by a public accountant.

5. A demonstrated ability to limit administrative and fund- raising expenses.

6. Direction by a volunteer Board of Directors, which meets regularly, the majority of whose members serve without compensation.

7. A stated policy of non-discrimination in regard to all persons, irrespective of their race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual preference, age or handicap, and compliance with all requirements of law and regulations respecting non-discrimination and equal employment opportunities with respect to its officers, staff, employees and volunteers.

8. The provision of programs or services directed towards service, research, special education, advocacy or advancement of the following common human needs within a community:

• Health and human services:
• Civil and human rights;
• Social adjustment, counselling, rehabilitation, and job training;
• neighborhood and community organizing:
• housing, shelter and emergency relief;
• food and nutrition;
• recreation; 
• programs or services for school age children with special needs;
• day, foster, protective, adoption and shelter care for children, adults and families
• or a combination of programs or services specifically designed to meet the needs of children and youth, the ill and infirm, the mentally and physically handicapped, the elderly, the poor, minorities or women.

9. A direct and substantial presence in the local campaign community so that the programs and services of the organization provide specific assistance to the employees or the families of the employees within the solicitation area, provided that federated agencies and individual voluntary organizations whose services are rendered exclusively or in substantial preponderance overseas but otherwise meet all of the eligibility requirements contained in paragraphs 1 - 8 above shall be eligible to participate in the campaign.

ARTICLE IV. CAMPAIGN PROCEDURES

1. The Secretary of Administration and Finance or the Secretary's designee shall, after consultation with persons and organizations active in prior employee campaigns and with those expressing interest in inclusion in the upcoming campaign, identify the campaign communities within the Commonwealth where there will be a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employees Campaign, hereafter referred to as COMEC.

2. The Secretary of Administration and Finance or the Secretary's designee shall select a local campaign manager to conduct and manage the annual COMEC in each area. The Secretary or the Secretary's designee shall select whichever applicant organization or other agency he assesses will most effectively and fairly provide the campaign services and administrative support necessary for a successful campaign. The responsibilities and powers of the Local Campaign Manager are described in Section 3 here below.

3. The Local Campaign Manager is expected to manage the campaign fairly and equitably; to conduct organization operations and accounting separately from other voluntary agency operations; to consider advice from, seek input from and to be responsive to reasonable requests for information from other participants and State employees; and to be subject to the ultimate oversight of the Secretary.

Activities for which the Local Campaign Manager is responsible include but are not limited to:

a. the establishment, following notice and opportunity for comment from participating federations and agencies, and publication of a campaign timetable and program which clearly sets forth application deadlines, review procedures, publication and distribution of campaign materials, training and promotion of the actual campaign which shall be distributed to the preceding year's participant organizations and other interested parties;

b. receipt of applications from interested organizations, review of each application to determine whether the organization complies with the criteria set forth in Article III; presentation of a report on these activities for review by the Employees Campaign Committee; and preparation of timely notice to unsuccessful applicants as to which of the articulated criteria it fails to meet, and procedures to be followed for appeal of the denial to the Employees Campaign Committee;

c. development and printing of a pledge card and a promotional brochure which lists each campaign's participating organizations using a format and system consistent with those developed and approved by the Secretary of Administration and Finance, and designed to group and highlight united funds, community chests and federations:

d. conduct of the actual campaign, including timetable development, training of solicitors, arrangements for rallies, group solicitations and report meetings, management of agency coordinators, plans for post-campaign recognition, etc. provided that the following standards for campaign development and conduct are adhered to:

(i) Employees will be permitted to designate money to united funds, community chests, or federated agencies as well as to individual organizations:

(ii) A pledge card and promotional brochure shall be distributed to each state employee being solicited for the campaign:

(iii) Each individual or federated participant organization shall have timely opportunities to submit to the Local Campaign Manager and to the Employees Campaign Committee its ideas and suggestions for campaign procedures, materials, and marketing.

(iv) For any meeting of the Employees Campaign Committee at which a final decision is to be made on any major campaign policy issue, including but not limited to, participant eligibility, campaign promotional materials, and the distribution of undesignated funds, notice of such meeting shall be given at least seven calendar days prior to such meeting to the designated representative of each united fund, community chest, federation or any individual participant requesting such notice: such meeting will be open to the public with reasonable participation permitted by individual or federated participant organizations. Materials shall be ready 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

e. processing, accounting, reporting and distribution of all funds contributed locally, including receipt of cash and bill-directs from donors and of lump sum payroll deduction payments from the Treasurer;

f. preparation and submission, following each campaign, to the Secretary of Administration and Finance, the Treasurer and the Comptroller, of a final report detailing the amounts of designated and undesignated contributions and their distribution to campaign participants and summarizing campaign costs, uncollectibles and interest apportionment; a synopsis of this report shall be distributed to each participant organization or its designated representative federation; further, a brief summary of how the prior year's contributions were distributed shall be included in the current year's campaign brochure;

g. provision upon the reasonable request by any organization applying for participation in an area's campaign of full information on the systems and standards used by the Local Campaign Manager in fulfilling the responsibilities delineated above;

4. The Secretary of Administration and Finance or the Secretary's designee shall select for each campaign community, an Employees Campaign Committee of no fewer than 10 but no more than 20 state employees representing a cross- section of the agencies and departments that will be participating in the area campaign. The size of the Employees Campaign Committee shall be determined in proportion to the number of state employees working in each campaign region. The responsibilities and powers of the Employees Campaign Committee are described in Section 5 here below.

5. The local Employees Campaign Committee shall provide advice and leadership during the campaign with reference to campaign operations, education, motivation, and other activities supporting the goal of an efficient and successful campaign. The Local Employees Campaign Committee will have the following specific duties: a. review and make final determination, following a report with recommendations by the Local Campaign Manager, of which organizations will be accepted and which rejected for participation in the local campaign; b. assist in the development and conduct of the annual campaign through a network of campaign representatives selected by the heads of each facility in that area; c. inform campaign representatives of the function and authority of the Employees Campaign Committee.

6. In addition to a Local Campaign Manager and a Local Employees Campaign Committee for each region, the Secretary of Administration and Finance shall establish a State-wide Employee Campaign Committee responsible for generic campaign issues including final approval of the campaign timetable, brochure and pledge card.

This Committee will consist of one member from each of the Local Employee Campaign Committees and one representative of each of the participating Federations; the latter will serve as ex-officio members, in an advisory capacity and will have no voting privileges.

Each federation will notify the Secretary of Administration and Finance of the name of the representative who will serve on this State-wide Employees Campaign Committee.

In the event an organization applying to participate in or an eligible participant in an area campaign is aggrieved by a certification, distribution or any other decision of the Local Campaign Manager, that decision may be appealed within a reasonable time, reasonableness to be defined with reference to the campaign timetable mandated in Section IV 3(a) above, to the Local Employees Campaign Committee. If not satisfied by the review of the Local Employees Campaign Committee, the organization may, once it has exhausted its recourse to such Committee, appeal for further review by the State-wide Employees Campaign Committee. The State-wide Employees Campaign Committee's decision shall be final. The decision by a Local Employees Campaign Committee shall not be overturned by the State-wide Employees Campaign Committee unless determined to be arbitrary and capricious or not supported by substantial evidence.

ARTICLE V. DISTRIBUTION OF UNDESIGNATED DOLLARS

The distribution of Undesignated Dollars will be based on the total dollars expended on programs and services. All participants in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employees Campaign will be eligible to submit to the Local Campaign Manager the total dollars spent on programs and services. In the case of local agencies or federations, the services and programs must be provided in the campaign area. In the case of agencies or federations whose programs or services are rendered exclusively or in substantial preponderance overseas, they shall submit 1/50th of the total dollar amount spent on all programs and services overseas. This amount will be applied to the Region I program and services formula. The total dollars spent on programs and services will be added together for each agency or federation to form a dollar base. The Undesignated Dollars from the campaign will be distributed pro rata from this base of programs and service dollars. The percentage use for agencies or federations whose programs and services are rendered exclusively or in substantial preponderance overseas in Region I will then be used as the percentage base in all the other regions in the Commonwealth.

ARTICLE VI. COSTS, UNCOLLECTIBLES AND INTEREST

Campaign costs, uncollectibles and interest shall be apportioned to participants in direct proportion to their receipts. Costs, uncollectibles and interest itemization shall be part of each Local Campaign Manager's report to the Secretary of Administration and Finance, Treasurer, the Comptroller, and participant organizations or their designated representative federation following the campaign.

ARTICLE VII. REMOVAL

The Secretary of Administration and Finance will have the authority to remove from participation in the campaign any organization which ceases to comply with the Articles of this Order.

ARTICLE: VIII. SUMMARY

The Secretary of Administration and Finance will retain final authority over adherence to this Order and all decisions not expressly left to other parties herein.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this Thirteenth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America two hundred and eleven.

MICHAEL S. DUKAKIS, GOVERNOR
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY
SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH