By Grant Williams

Washington

Federal employees last year pledged $273.1-million to the Combined Federal Campaign, the government’s annual charity drive.

The total is more money than has ever been raised in the appeal but is only a slight increase over the previous year.

The campaign raised about $1.5-million — or less than 1 percent — more than 2006’s total of $271.6-million, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the campaign. The increase did not exceed the inflation rate of 4 percent for 2007.

Federal civilian employees, members of the military, and U.S. Postal Service workers each year make pledges through individual campaigns worldwide.

The Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area, in Washington, raised the most of any campaign in 2007, with $60.8-million in commitments.

The Combined Federal Campaign-Overseas, whose contributors include troops deployed abroad, had the second largest tally, with pledges of nearly $15.8-million.

Those two campaigns together accounted for about 28 percent of the total dollars raised in the federal government’s annual charity drive. They are managed by Global Impact, a nonprofit organization in Alexandria, Va.

The Office of Personnel Management said that the Combined Federal Campaign has raised more than $6-billion since its inception in 1961.