Combined Fund Drive staff with Gov. Inslee. (Photos courtesy of CFD)

State employees in Washington continue to show their generosity and willingness to help their communities.

For 12 years, state employees have given more than $5 million annually through the Washington State Combined Fund Drive. This incredible trend continued in 2015, with donors pledging another $5.2 million to local, national and global charities.

More than 17,000 donors pledged to give through their paychecks, making it the highest number of donors since 2010. The CFD disbursed funds to more than 1,700 charities last year, including 74 that received at least $10,000.

“I’m so pleased to see such a high number of donors in our Combined Fund Drive,” said Secretary of State Kim Wyman. “It shows a strong willingness by many state and higher education employees in Washington to give. This makes a big difference in our local communities and throughout the world. Let’s do even better this year!”

The CFD program is part of Wyman’s office.

Once again, the University of Washington topped all higher education institutions by bringing in more than $2.2 million in pledges. The Huskies were one of several higher education institutions that saw increases during their fundraising campaign. Centralia College, South Puget Sound Community College, Western Washington University, Whatcom Community College, Yakima Valley Community College and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges either raised their participation percentage or total dollars pledged.

CFD volunteers at Central Washington University.

The Department of Social and Health Services again topped the list of state agencies, with more than $510,000 in total pledged dollars, a 16 percent increase in the percentage of employees who donated via the CFD. The Department of Commerce, Department of Early Learning, House of Representatives, Puget Sound Partnership, Department of Retirement Systems, Washington Technical Solutions, Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board and our own Office of Secretary of State were among the agencies with the sharpest increases in the percentage of employees who contributed.

Go here to see how state agencies and higher ed institutions did with their CFD pledges last year.