State Employees

To get started, be sure that you’ve signed up for an account with Cal Employee Connect first. Login between October 1 and December 31 to find the “Click to Enroll” button on your User Profile page. Complete the registration process on the new Our Promise Online Giving Portal. 

Then ask yourself, “What am I passionate about?” Visit our Certified Nonprofit List to review a list of more than 1,800 certified nonprofit partners.

All certified nonprofits are valid 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and are in good standing with the Registry of Charitable Trusts to operate or to solicit for charitable purposes in California. Certified status is not an endorsement.

You may also give to your local United Way leading the campaign in your area or any 501(c)(3) nonprofit not listed in the guide.

After you’ve explored causes that you’re passionate about, decide how much you’d like to donate per monthly pay period. Login to your new Our Promise Online Giving Portal account to complete your e-Pledge.

Here you can indicate which nonprofit(s) you wish to support and how much you wish to donate monthly or make a one-time gift. If you are an existing donor, you’ll be able to make changes, make a one-time gift, or cancel your payroll deductions.

Lawfully established in 1957, CA Govt Code §14659.09, Our Promise gives state employees the right to donate to their chosen nonprofits directly through payroll deduction.

Even with contributions as little as $5/month, you can have a significant impact in communities through the nonprofits you choose to give to. 

Payroll deductions provide nonprofits with consistent cash flow, facilitating their operations and services. On average, payroll deduction gifts are six times greater than one-time donations.

For questions about your current deduction and/or designation(s), visit Cal Employee Connect and login to your ePledge portal.

The contribution is post-tax, therefore net pay.

Yes! The minimum is $5 and can be designated to any nonprofit of their choice. One-time donations will be available via debit or credit card on the online e-pledge portal

After an employee has made their contribution, the individual employee receives a confirmation and then Our Promise processes the donation. The employee/donor can choose to remain anonymous if they don’t want their designated nonprofit to know. If they are not anonymous, then we share their name with the designated nonprofit.

If you do not wish to participate in the campaign or would like to opt-out/decline, you do not need to take any action.

If you’re an existing donor, you will need to stop your donation by logging into your Our Promise ePledge account through Cal Employee Connect and clicking the ‘Cancel All Donations’ button.

Please login to your ePledge giving portal during the campaign season.

Retirees may continue donating by filling out a pledge form. There is currently no online retiree giving. Click here to learn more.

Our Promise has an overhead of 13.5%. Of that total, United Way California Capital Region is the processor that receives 8% to cover campaign costs and process the thousands of designations. The other 5.5% goes to the local United Way in where the employee works since they are the local fundraiser.

Through Our Promise you can donate to any valid 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If the nonprofit of your choice is not listed on the website, you may utilize the “Write-In Nonprofit” section on ePledge. Required information includes the nonprofit’s name, tax ID number, and address so we can confirm their 501(c)(3) status.

Nonprofits apply on an annual basis in January to have an opportunity to be listed on the Our Promise website for the following Fall campaign. They can find more information here on how to get started or can sign up to receive a notification on when the application process will become available.

All certified nonprofits must be valid 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and be in good standing with the Registry of Charitable Trusts to operate or to solicit for charitable purposes in California. 

When a nonprofit does not have the required IRS 501(c)(3) filing to receive charitable donations, we will make every effort to contact the donor so they can pick another valid 501(c)(3) nonprofit to the direction their donation to, or stop their contribution.

If we do not hear back from a donor after one month of time, or cannot reach them because of a lack of contact information, the portion designated to the ineligible organization will be directed to the donor’s local PCFD (aka local United Way).

The Our Promise Campaign each year from October 1 – December 31. However, there are things going on behind the scenes all year. Here’s a look:

January: Payout to nonprofits for October – December deductions. Donations become effective on January 1. New, Changed, or Deleted payroll deductions from donations pledged during the previous Fall campaign begin.

February: Nonprofit certification is open from January to February. Approved nonprofit partners are solidified for the Fall campaign.

March: Campaign results are announced, and the Thank You event occurs to celebrate 

April: Payout to nonprofits for January – March deductions made. One-time gifts will also be distributed at this time.

May: Volunteer recruitment begins for the upcoming campaign season. This is your chance to get involved as a Leaders United Executive!

June: Volunteer recruitment continues for the upcoming campaign season. This is your chance to get involved as a loaned executive!

July: Payout to nonprofits for April – June deductions made. We’re also preparing for the upcoming campaign season.

August: Leaders United Executives and Campaign Liaisons are trained for their roles in the upcoming campaign.

September: Preparation continues for the Our Promise Kick Off Event in the beginning of October.

October:  The campaign officially begins on October 1. The Kick Off Event occurs on the Capital Steps on October 4th. State employees either create or log into their Cal Employee Connect(CEC) profile to start or change their monthly deductions. Payout to nonprofits for July – September deductions made.

November: The campaign continues.

December: The last day of the campaign is December 31.