RRIO-GRANDE-VALLEY_SECC2016_DIRECTORY.indbIO-GRANDE-VALLEY_SECC2016_DIRECTORY.indb 1 77/12/2016/12/2016 66:22:01:22:01 PPMM 22016016 SStatetate EEmployeemployee CCharitableharitable CCampaignampaign serving the campaign area of RRIOIO GGRANDERANDE VVALLEYALLEY HHONORARYONORARY CCAMPAIGNAMPAIGN CCHAIRHAIR Lt. Governor Dan Patrick LLOCALOCAL EEMPLOYEEMPLOYEE CCOMMITTEEOMMITTEE Hope Noble (Chair) Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Lopez and Segovia Unit Norma Cantu (Vice Chair) Texas Department of Public Safety Lizette Moreno (Past Board Chair) South Texas College Carla Lopez University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley Mary Prepejchal Texas State Technical College Anna Rangel Texas Office of Attorney General Marinna Reyna Texas Department of Aging and Disability Gustavo Salinas Texas Department of Family & Protective Services your support of the SECC is voluntary If you feel you are being coerced to donate money at any time during this campaign, please submit a written complaint to: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, P.O. Box 13528, Capitol Station, Austin, Texas 78711-3528. RRIO-GRANDE-VALLEY_SECC2016_DIRECTORY.indbIO-GRANDE-VALLEY_SECC2016_DIRECTORY.indb 1 77/12/2016/12/2016 66:22:21:22:21 PPMM The table of contents SStatetate EEmployeemployee general information about the SECC ...........................................................2 the benefits of payroll deduction ................................................................4 CCharitableharitable CCampaignampaign what will my gift provide (giving guide) .......................................................4 a case for leadership giving .......................................................................5 is the only statutorily authorized 2015 leadership givers .............................................................................6 2015 SECC award winners ......................................................................11 workplace campaign for state explanation of each charitable listing’s content ..........................................11 how to give to another region in Texas .......................................................11 agency and higher education local charitable organizations .........................12 employees throughout Texas. statewide charitable organizations Charitable organizations belonging to a statewide federation, which provide local services only, are listed in the local section of the directory. In 2015, the SECC marked its ABC – America’s Best Charities ................................................................14 Adopt-A-Beach ......................................................................................18 22nd year by raising more than America’s Charities ................................................................................18 Assistance to Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking .................................19 $8.485 million Community Health Charities ...................................................................19 EarthShare of Texas ................................................................................20 for charitable organizations Fund for Veterans’ Assistance ..................................................................21 Global Impact ........................................................................................21 throughout the Lone Star state. Local Independent Charities of Texas ........................................................22 Neighbor To Nation ................................................................................23 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Save Texas History .................................................................................24 Texas Match the Promise Foundation ........................................................24 For more information about the SECC: Texas State History Museum ....................................................................24 secctexas.org index ............................................................................................26 RRIO-GRANDE-VALLEY_SECC2016_DIRECTORY.indbIO-GRANDE-VALLEY_SECC2016_DIRECTORY.indb 1 77/12/2016/12/2016 66:22:21:22:21 PPMM 2 S what is the SECC? Thanks to legislation that created the State Employee Charitable Campaign in 1993, employees of state agencies, junior and community colleges, and universities throughout Texas enjoy the benefit of giving to many of their favorite charities through an annual workplace giving campaign which features the convenience of payroll deduction. WE CAN BE PROUD THAT THE CAMPAIGN HAS GROWN SO MUCH IN 22 YEARS … donations exceeded $8.485 million for charitable organizations in 2015. does it work? It’s not hard to see why how Each fall, we get the opportunity to learn about the charities in the SECC, employees of the Friendship choose which ones we want to help, and then fi ll out a pledge form to indicate State have responded so how much we wish to donate to which groups. We can make a one-time gift by cash or check. Or, even better, our gift can be deducted from each paycheck enthusiastically to the SECC: beginning at the fi rst of next year. • It’s an easy, effective The campaign runs from September through October. During this time period, you can expect to attend an informational meeting or be approached by a and cost-efficient way co-worker with information and a pledge form. This directory provides to give to charities. information on all the charities in the campaign — a great resource not only for helping you make your choices, but also for fi nding help if you need it yourself. • Our contributions help improve the quality of life for people in communities what charities are involved? locally, across the country One of the great benefi ts of the SECC is the wide variety of charities and causes represented — there’s something for everyone. They range from small and around the world. local organizations to large and well-known national and international groups. • The campaign supports Those charities that wish to participate must meet stringent legal requirements, a wide variety of vital and then be scrutinized by teams of state employees to ensure: health and human services. • They are recognized by the IRS as 501(c)(3) nonprofi t organizations and registered with the Secretary of State. • All charities in the • They are audited (or reviewed) annually by an accountant in accordance campaign must meet with generally accepted auditing standards. strict eligibility criteria. • They provide direct or indirect health and human services. • They spend no more than 25 percent of funds raised on administration. RRIO-GRANDE-VALLEY_SECC2016_DIRECTORY.indbIO-GRANDE-VALLEY_SECC2016_DIRECTORY.indb 2 77/12/2016/12/2016 66:22:22:22:22 PPMM S 3 who governs and runs the SECC? why Committees of state employees govern the SECC at two levels — statewide and locally. They ensure the campaign is conducted fairly and equitably under a strict should I give? set of guidelines that give donors confi dence in both the charities that benefi t and the methods used to solicit. • To help those who are less At the state level, a committee of state employees called the State Policy Committee fortunate through no fault of (SPC) provides governance and oversight. Three members are appointed by the their own. Governor and three each by the Lieutenant Governor and the Comptroller of Public Accounts. They are responsible for a campaign plan, a budget and ensuring the • To support a favorite cause or eligibility of statewide organizations. The SPC also hires a State Campaign Manager charity on a regular basis. to administer the campaign. At the local level, Local Employee Committees (LECs) provide similar oversight. • It’s the right thing to do. The SPC appoints the LEC chair, which then recruits a local committee of up to 10 • It will make you feel great. members. They hire a local campaign manager to administer the campaign locally. • It’s tax deductible. how are funds distributed? Contributions made by state agency employees are distributed by the State Comptroller to participating federations, who then send the funds along to their members. Each university distributes funds to federations through its own payroll system. At the local level, the Local Campaign Managers distribute the funds the same way. But because it is almost impossible to account for donations lost through such things as an employee leaving or transferring, a percentage method is used to distribute funds. At the end of each year’s campaign, the percent of funds pledged to each charity is calculated. Each charity then receives that percentage of what is eventually collected. Undesignated pledges are shared with all participating charities using the same percentage. Each charity also pays its share of the cost of running the campaign (printed materials, etc.) based on the same percentage. how much should I give? with a low How much to give is totally up to you; your personal generosity is no one’s business but your own and remains confi dential. Still, many of us like to have some idea overhead of what is appropriate to consider as a gift. FIRST … you might consider participating as a leadership giver — one of of 10% statewide the many people who like to do a little more by donating at the leadership giving levels described later. more of your contribution SECOND … you might consider one of the standards used in campaigns gets to the charities like this throughout