[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR2635.808]

[Page 602-604]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
                CHAPTER XVI--OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
 
PART 2635_STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH--
 
                      Subpart H_Outside Activities
 
Sec. 2635.808  Fundraising activities.

    An employee may engage in fundraising only in accordance with the 
restrictions in part 950 of this title on the conduct of charitable 
fundraising in the Federal workplace and in accordance with paragraphs 
(b) and (c) of this section.
    (a) Definitions. For purposes of this section: (1) Fundraising means 
the raising of funds for a nonprofit organization, other than a 
political organization as defined in 26 U.S.C. 527(e), through:
    (i) Solicitation of funds or sale of items; or
    (ii) Participation in the conduct of an event by an employee where 
any portion of the cost of attendance or participation may be taken as a 
charitable tax deduction by a person incurring that cost.
    (2) Participation in the conduct of an event means active and 
visible participation in the promotion, production, or presentation of 
the event and includes serving as honorary chairperson, sitting at a 
head table during the event,

[[Page 603]]

and standing in a reception line. The term does not include mere 
attendance at an event provided that, to the employee's knowledge, his 
attendance is not used by the nonprofit organization to promote the 
event. While the term generally includes any public speaking during the 
event, it does not include the delivery of an official speech as defined 
in paragraph (a)(3) of this section or any seating or other 
participation appropriate to the delivery of such a speech. Waiver of a 
fee for attendance at an event by a participant in the conduct of that 
event does not constitute a gift for purposes of subpart B of this part.

    Note: This section does not prohibit fundraising for a political 
party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political 
group. However, there are statutory restrictions that apply to political 
fundraising. For example, under the Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1993, 
at 5 U.S.C. 7323(a), employees may not knowingly solicit, accept, or 
receive a political contribution from any person, except under limited 
circumstances. In addition, employees are prohibited by 18 U.S.C. 607 
from soliciting or receiving political contributions in Federal offices, 
and, except as permitted by the Hatch Act Reform Amendments, are 
prohibited by 18 U.S.C. 602 from knowingly soliciting political 
contributions from other employees.
    Example 1: The Secretary of Transportation has been asked to serve 
as master of ceremonies for an All-Star Gala. Tickets to the event cost 
$150 and are tax deductible as a charitable donation, with proceeds to 
be donated to a local hospital. By serving as master of ceremonies, the 
Secretary would be participating in fundraising.

    (3) Official speech means a speech given by an employee in his 
official capacity on a subject matter that relates to his official 
duties, provided that the employee's agency has determined that the 
event at which the speech is to be given provides an appropriate forum 
for the dissemination of the information to be presented and provided 
that the employee does not request donations or other support for the 
nonprofit organization. Subject matter relates to an employee's official 
duties if it focuses specifically on the employee's official duties, on 
the responsibilities, programs, or operations of the employee's agency 
as described in Sec. 2635.807(a)(2)(i)(E), or on matters of 
Administration policy on which the employee has been authorized to 
speak.

    Example 1: The Secretary of Labor is invited to speak at a banquet 
honoring a distinguished labor leader, the proceeds of which will 
benefit a nonprofit organization that assists homeless families. She 
devotes a major portion of her speech to the Administration's Points of 
Light initiative, an effort to encourage citizens to volunteer their 
time to help solve serious social problems. Because she is authorized to 
speak on Administration policy, her remarks at the banquet are an 
official speech. However, the Secretary would be engaged in fundraising 
if she were to conclude her official speech with a request for donations 
to the nonprofit organization.
    Example 2: A charitable organization is sponsoring a two-day tennis 
tournament at a country club in the Washington, DC area to raise funds 
for recreational programs for learning disabled children. The 
organization has invited the Secretary of Education to give a speech on 
federally funded special education programs at the awards dinner to be 
held at the conclusion of the tournament and a determination has been 
made that the dinner is an appropriate forum for the particular speech. 
The Secretary may speak at the dinner and, under Sec. 2635.204(g)(1), 
he may partake of the meal provided to him at the dinner.

    (4) Personally solicit means to request or otherwise encourage 
donations or other support either through person-to-person contact or 
through the use of one's name or identity in correspondence or by 
permitting its use by others. It does not include the solicitation of 
funds through the media or through either oral remarks, or the 
contemporaneous dispatch of like items of mass-produced correspondence, 
if such remarks or correspondence are addressed to a group consisting of 
many persons, unless it is known to the employee that the solicitation 
is targeted at subordinates or at persons who are prohibited sources 
within the meaning of Sec. 2635.203(d). It does not include behind-the-
scenes assistance in the solicitation of funds, such as drafting 
correspondence, stuffing envelopes, or accounting for contributions.

    Example 1: An employee of the Department of Energy who signs a 
letter soliciting funds for a local private school does not ``personally 
solicit'' funds when 500 copies of the letter, which makes no mention of 
his DOE position and title, are mailed to members of

[[Page 604]]

the local community, even though some individuals who are employed by 
Department of Energy contractors may receive the letter.

    (b) Fundraising in an official capacity. An employee may participate 
in fundraising in an official capacity if, in accordance with a statute, 
Executive order, regulation or otherwise as determined by the agency, he 
is authorized to engage in the fundraising activity as part of his 
official duties. When authorized to participate in an official capacity, 
an employee may use his official title, position and authority.

    Example 1: Because participation in his official capacity is 
authorized under part 950 of this title, the Secretary of the Army may 
sign a memorandum to all Army personnel encouraging them to donate to 
the Combined Federal Campaign.

    (c) Fundraising in a personal capacity. An employee may engage in 
fundraising in his personal capacity provided that he does not:
    (1) Personally solicit funds or other support from a subordinate or 
from any person:
    (i) Known to the employee, if the employee is other than a special 
Government employee, to be a prohibited source within the meaning of 
Sec. 2635.203(d); or
    (ii) Known to the employee, if the employee is a special Government 
employee, to be a prohibited source within the meaning of Sec. 
2635.203(d)(4) that is a person whose interests may be substantially 
affected by performance or nonperformance of his official duties;
    (2) Use or permit the use of his official title, position or any 
authority associated with his public office to further the fundraising 
effort, except that an employee who is ordinarily addressed using a 
general term of address, such ``The Honorable,'' or a rank, such as a 
military or ambassadorial rank, may use or permit the use of that term 
of address or rank for such purposes; or
    (3) Engage in any action that would otherwise violate this part.

    Example 1: A nonprofit organization is sponsoring a golf tournament 
to raise funds for underprivileged children. The Secretary of the Navy 
may not enter the tournament with the understanding that the 
organization intends to attract participants by offering other entrants 
the opportunity, in exchange for a donation in the form of an entry fee, 
to spend the day playing 18 holes of golf in a foursome with the 
Secretary of the Navy.
    Example 2: An employee of the Merit Systems Protection Board may not 
use the agency's photocopier to reproduce fundraising literature for her 
son's private school. Such use of the photocopier would violate the 
standards at Sec. 2635.704 regarding use of Government property.
    Example 3: An Assistant Attorney General may not sign a letter 
soliciting funds for a homeless shelter as ``John Doe, Assistant 
Attorney General.'' He also may not sign a letter with just his 
signature, ``John Doe,'' soliciting funds from a prohibited source, 
unless the letter is one of many identical, mass-produced letters 
addressed to a large group where the solicitation is not known to him to 
be targeted at persons who are either prohibited sources or 
subordinates.

[57 FR 35041, Aug. 7, 1992; 57 FR 48557, Oct. 27, 1992; 61 FR 50691, 
Sept. 27, 1996]