Is your Nonprofit Maximizing Matching Gift Programs?

Posted on April 28, 2014 by | 1 comment
Hundred Dollar Bills

Matching Gifts

Who doesn’t love free money? Don’t forget matching gift programs, a valuable source of donations often overlooked by nonprofits. Companies that value the philanthropic interests of their employees encouraged them to contribute.

 

Doublethedonation.com defines matching gift programs as “charitable giving programs set up by corporations in which the company matches donations made by employees to eligible nonprofit organizations.” Pretty simple.

 

The website points out that 65% of Fortune 500 offer matching gift programs — “That means millions of individuals work for companies that match donations from employees.” Companies like Bank of America, Google, and GE offer fantastic matching gift programs. Google not only matches employee donations to nonprofits, they also match any personal funds employees raise for charity.

 

Check out the complete list of employers with matching gift programs for more information.

 

When considering companies to engage, start with your volunteer directory. You may notice many of your volunteers and supporters work at the same place. Encourage them to seek out or to initiate a matching gift program at work.

 

The Foundation Center also offers great resources for finding companies with matching gift programs: Foundation Directory Online and National Directory of Corporate Giving. Also check out Double the Donation or HEP Development’s databases and services for nonprofits to find matching gift providers and make the process easier for their donors.

Don’t miss this related post: Bang for Your Donor’s Buck- The Benefit of Corporate Giving Programs

  • http://doublethedonation.com/ Adam Weinger

    Hi Sarah,

    It’s Adam, Double the Donation’s President. Thanks for the shout-out in your article!

    You’re absolutely right that matching gift programs are a valuable source of donations that are often overlooked by nonprofits and their individuals donors.

    It’s often due to the overall lack of awareness and know-how around these programs. It’s always a shame to speak with an individual who made a donation that was match eligible yet didn’t submit the matching gift which could double the value of the contribution.

    Regardless of whether a nonprofit subscribes to our service we recommend all organizations evaluate their current fundraising efforts to see if there’s a way to better incorporate matching gift programs into their overall messaging.

    Here’s a section of our website which has a wide variety of ideas, strategies, and examples on how other nonprofits are promoting employee matching gift programs to donors - https://doublethedonation.com/marketing-matching-gifts/

    Hope your readers take a few minutes to look through it and see if they can better promote matching gifts to donors.

    Adam

    -
    Adam Weinger
    President of Double the Donation
    http://doublethedonation.com
    Connect with me on LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjweinger

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