This year, the Colorado Combined Campaign (CCC) marks 20 years of state employees giving to charities around the state. The CCC was established by the governor's office in 1987 to provide state employees a simple and annual opportunity to assist their communities though charitable giving. The idea was twofold—offer employees an opportunity to give to Colorado charities through easy payroll deduction and protect employees from the barrage of charitable requests they were constantly receiving.

Over the course of the past 20 years, the employee-run advisory board for the Colorado Combined Campaign has succeeded in providing a charitable campaign that provides state employees a wide variety of charitable giving opportunities. In 2007, there are more than 700 not-for-profit organizations participating in the campaign, giving employees the opportunity to support everything from the arts to wildlife in every part of the state. Participating agencies are reviewed to make sure that their administrative costs are low and that all money donated through the CCC stays in Colorado. The campaign itself also operates with extremely low overhead costs, running under 10 percent for the last several years.

The entire University of Colorado System leads the state in giving to the Colorado Combined Campaign, with the sum of campus contributions adding up to the largest single donor to the campaign statewide. The Boulder campus is first in "leadership" giving, a trend that will hopefully continue this year. However, don't forget that little gifts can add up to a lot of support. For example, if every employee on the Boulder campus gave five dollars a month to support the charities of their choice, we would raise over $400,000 for Colorado not-for-profits.

The CU-Boulder Colorado Combined Campaign kicks off Oct. 24 and runs through November. When you receive your pledge materials this year, please take the time to look through the materials and find an organization with which you connect. Giving through payroll deduction or with a one-time gift is simple, and your support of the CCC will help "Create a Better Colorado." For more information, visit the CU-Boulder CCC website.