1% Club

I wanted to tell you all a little bit about the Governor's 1% Club.  These are State Employees who donate 1% of their gross pay to the Charitable Fund.  On the Charitable Fund website records for the 1% Club begin in 2004, which included 204 State employees and $117,000 in donations. The highest year for the 1% Club was 2007 when 237 State employees donated $159,000.  Dues to the recent recession the numbers have gone down, but hopefully we can start seeing an increase again.

During Campaign 2010 the following occurred:

·         203 State employees gave 1% or more of their annual gross pay (with special thanks to the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, and Workforce Services, who had twenty or more 1%ers.)

·         $132,366.42 in donations came from the 1% Club.

·         31% of total donation dollars came from the 1% Club.

·         The 1% Club is 11% of total donors.

Last year the Commerce Department had 8 employees that were in the Governor’s 1% Club; it would be great if we are able to increase that number this year.

In his letter to all State employees Governor Herbert included a mention of the 1% Club.

“In an effort to recognize our state employees who contribute a greater amount to the Campaign, I will recognize and commend employees who contribute 1% or more of their base annual pay. This is known as the "Governor's 1% Club." I look forward to seeing your name on such a commendation list this year.”

In the spring following the campaign all employees that are members of the Governor’s 1% Club receive a thank you letter and a small gift from the Governor.  This years gift will be a GP3100 Jumbo Desktop Wall Clock.  This silver and black, large LCD display clock can be mounted on the wall or stand on a desk. The fantastic features include an alarm clock, snooze, calendar, and thermometer. 

If you are currently contributing through a payroll deduction each pay period, you may consider increasing that amount over the next couple of years with the goal of reaching the 1% of your gross pay.  The average amount given by the employees in the 1% club is about $25.00 per pay period. And as with other deductions taken from your pay, it seems easier if you never have the money, as opposed to writing a check every two weeks. When I first started donating to the Charitable Fund I think I contributed the equivalent of a days’ pay.  I was not aware of the 1% Club at that time, but one of my co-workers received the letter and gift from the Governor.  I thought that was pretty cool and increasing my contribution the next year did not make a big difference in my take home pay.  I choose to contribute to one organization and it is a great feeling to know that money is making a difference to those they serve.

How easy is it to become a 1% member?

Take your current hourly rate and multiply it by the number of hours being paid in the current  fiscal year (2,080-The is the amount that is available on the pay plan for the current fiscal year), then find 1% of that total gross amount and divide it by 26 pay periods.  If you have any questions your Division Coordinator will be able to answer them.

Helpful table to simplify your calculation:   http://www.usecf.state.ut.us/Docs/1percent.pdf

By Carolyn Roll