THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, October 31, 1994               TAG: 9410310074
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY RICHARD GRIMES, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

GIVING TO CHARITY ISN'T SUCH A SIMPLE CHOICE

For Ron Hughes, the decision to give $1,000 to the charity of his choice, the American Cancer Society, was easy. But deciding just how to make the contribution proved problematic.

One option was to give a lump sum to the United Way campaign and designate that it be given to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.

Another would be to make the contribution at work through the Combined Federal Campaign, and designate that it go to the United Way general fund. Or, he could use the federal campaign to give directly to the American Cancer Society.

Welcome to the world of charitable giving, where three different campaigns - the United Way, the Combined Federal Campaign and the Combined Virginia Campaign - have launched simultaneous efforts to reach Hampton Roads donors.

In an effort to give donors control over their contributions, each organization provides an array of options.

The key to sorting this out, says Laura Sanford, vice president of marketing and communications for the United Way, is to understand that the United Way is not the Combined Federal Campaign or Combined Virginia Campaign, and vice versa.

``It's three separate, distinct campaigns, but are all under one combined $15.2 million goal,'' Sanford said.

Though the United Way is the financial agent for all three campaigns, each is separate and targets a specific type of donor:

The federal campaign maintains a system that gives active-duty military members and civil service people options for donating.

The Virginia campaign gives Virginia state employees a similar outlet.

The United Way covers the community in general and businesses in particular, so that people not covered by the federal or state campaigns have a chance to contribute.

Hughes, a civil service worker at the Fleet Industrial Supply Center in Norfolk, opted to use the federal campaign to give most of his donation to the National Chapter of the American Cancer Society.

``There are a lot more cancer sufferers nationally than locally. I felt I'd just give it to them and it would go where it would go,'' Hughes said.

KEYWORDS: CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS by CNB