Charity FAQs

The State Employee Charitable Campaign is an open campaign and encourages any and all qualified organizations to apply.

Applying charitable organizations must provide direct or indirect health and human services in Texas, per the statutory definition. They must also not spend more than 25% of their annual revenue for administrative/fundraising expenses and be in good financial standing to be potentially eligible to participate in the SECC.

There are other requirements in order for charities to participate in the campaign.

Applications for next year's campaign will open in January 2022 for charities providing statewide services and for charities providing services in one local region of Texas.

Check this page for application instructions. Next year’s application will be posted in January 2021 for charities providing statewide services and March 2021 for charities providing services in one local region of Texas.

“Statewide” charities provide services to two or more non-contiguous metropolitan areas of Texas. “Local” charities are those that provide services within just one SECC region (see map).

Note: An organization wishing to apply as a statewide organization must be apply through one of the statewide federations.

If your organization provides services to one local region, please contact your Local Campaign Manager to apply. Need to know which SECC region you serve, check the map.

To participate, charities must meet stringent legal requirements and be reviewed by teams of state employees to ensure that:

  • They are recognized by the IRS as 501c(3) nonprofit organizations or registered with the Secretary of State;
  • They are audited (or reviewed) annually by an accountant in accordance with generally-accepted auditing standards;
  • They provide direct or indirect health and human services, per the statutory definition;
  • They spend no more than 25 percent of funds raised on administration and fund raising — unless they qualify for an exception due to special circumstances;
  • And other requirements (see sample application and instructions).