Ned Cullom, program manager at the Office of Human Resources, is enthusiastic about giving back to his community.

He is even more enthusiastic about getting his fellow faculty and staff members of Ohio State to give back through the Community Charitable Drive.

The Community Charitable Drive, also known as Bucks for Charity, is a voluntary program that allows faculty and staff members at OSU to donate money to various charities. Cullom manages Bucks for Charity, which has become increasingly successful since it began in 1997.

Cullom is also in charge of Operation Feed, an event that takes place in the spring. He sees Bucks for Charity as OSU’s opportunity to support central Ohio and a way to promote charitable giving among faculty and staff.

“Ohio State is such a large employer and major institution. OSU is always looking for support from the community and it’s very important to give back,” Cullom said.

Cullom encourages faculty and staff to have fun in order to make contributing to charity an enjoyable process.

“We want to make it convenient, painless and easy as possible,” said Cullom.

Each college and office within OSU has yearly fund-raising goals based on size of the college or office and previous records of giving. Each year OSU surpasses its goal, Cullom said. This year the goal is $800,000.

Faculty and staff can contribute to Bucks for Charity in various ways, including cash donations, payroll deductions and participating in fund raising events.

In the past, colleges and offices have hosted events such as auctions, luncheons, bake sales and prize drawings to raise money.

Others have devised more creative methods. This year the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences hosted a hog roast and compiled “A Cookbook for an Epicurean Soul,” a book comprised of about 200 of the faculty and staff’s favorite recipes for appetizers, breads, soups, main courses, casseroles and desserts, which is being sold for $10.

Wendy Michel, office assistant for the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, said the school was brainstorming different ideas to bring in money for Bucks for Charity and get the agricultural community involved.

“It was something that we did to help reach our goal. We had great support getting the cookbook together and it has been doing great,” Michel said.

Other colleges and offices have hosted annual events to raise money for Bucks for Charity.

Today, the College of Engineering will host its fourth annual Turkey Feast, a pre-Thanksgiving luncheon for the faculty and staff of the college, who are charged $7 for the meal.

“We usually get a pretty good turnout. People look forward to it year to year,” said Carol Scott, coordinator of outreach and special programs at the College of Engineering.

The Bucks for Charity drive began this year on Oct. 1 and is scheduled to end Wednesday. However, Cullom said faculty and staff are encouraged to continue contributing through December.

Bucks for Charity is a program that consolidates more than 200 charities within eight major organizations into one drive. The organizations participating include The United Ways of Franklin County, Delaware County and Fairfield County; The Black United Fund of Ohio; Community Health Charities of Ohio; Community Shares of Mid Ohio; Earth Share of Ohio and The United Negro College Fund.

Rewards are also at stake for the most generous supporters of Bucks for Charity. Faculty and staff can become members of the Leaders Circle by donating a certain percentage of earned salary or by being actively involved in the fund-raising process. This year’s members of the Leaders Circle will attend the performances of Aretha Franklin and Sinbad on Dec. 5.