Employee Matching Gift Programs – An Untapped Source of Fundraising
Did you know that thousands of companies offer employee matching gift programs? In fact, over 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer matching gift programs to their employees!
What are employee matching gift programs?
Corporate matching gift programs are charitable giving programs created by corporations in which the company matches donations made by employees to eligible nonprofit organizations.
They started in 1954 when the GE Foundation created the Corporate Alumni Program, the first corporate gift-matching program. At the time, GE only matched to educational institutions, but today, the GE Foundation matches over $35 million annually to all 501(c)(3) organizations and accredited educational institutions (including K-12). (Source: GE’s Employee Giving Program)
Who offers the best matching gift programs?
All corporations which offer employee matching gift programs should be recognized for giving back to organizations which their employees are passionate about. That being said, a few companies stand out for offering generous limits, high matching ratios, easy to use online submission forms, and unique benefits. A few examples include:
- Johnson & Johnson offers a 2:1 match for current employees and a 1:1 match for retirees.
- Soros Management Fund offers a 3:1 matching ratio up to $300,000 annually per employee.
- British Petroleum offers a 100% match on all funds raised by employees for nonprofit walks, runs, etc.
- Microsoft donated $48 million in 2011 through the company’s matching gift program.
Click here for a list of additional companies that offer employee matching gift programs.
How can my organization increase fundraising from employee matching gift programs?
Taking advantage of existing employee matching gift programs is straightforward. It involves two steps: Raising awareness, and making it easy for donors.
Raising Awareness
Unfortunately, most individuals who aren’t involved in the nonprofit sector have either never heard of matching gift programs or have no idea whether their company offers the program. In these cases, the odds are slim that an employee will submit a matching gift form to their employer. Nonprofits should raise awareness by:
- Explaining matching gift programs
- Sharing how the organization can benefit from this untapped source of money
- Providing donors with a list of companies that offer these programs
Raising awareness can be summed up by figuring out how to get donors to ask themselves, “Is there a chance my donation could be matched by my or my spouse’s company?”
Making It Easy
At the most basic level, nonprofits should ask donors to check with HR. If you really want to see an increase in matching gift donations, invest time to research employers who offer matching gift programs. Nonprofits should prevent donors and volunteers from getting hung up looking for information. Provide them with as much of the following as possible:
- Up-to-date company policies
- Printed forms or links to the online submission process
- Contact information for the nonprofit’s. For example, the tax ID number, address, and a fundraising contact
Making it easy is all about helping donors complete the matching gift request, which can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars per an additional donation. Reducing the burden on donors is one of the most effective ways to increase donations from these sources.
Employees / donors clearly want to help. They’re already passionate enough about your organization to donate out of pocket, so make it easy for them to submit matching gift requests and your nonprofit will see an increase in corporate donations.
Readers: What have you done to tap into funding from employee matching gift programs?
3 Comments
Barbara Talisman, CFRE · September 10, 2012 at 15:25
This is a great post! And you are so right! Matching gifts are an untapped revenue stream for sure. I encourage clients to add a check box on all response forms on and off line asking if they have a matching gift program at work. Or “I will be submitting my matching gift form.” And if folks haven’t accessed HEP Services it allows you to put a searchable database of matching gift companies on your website. Click click and te donor has everything they need to submit their matching gift request. And let’s not forget companies who also match for employee volunteer time!! Depending on level of volunteer and number of hours a company provides $ for volunteer time.
Thanks again for great and timely post S year end appeals approach!
Barbara
Adam Weinger · September 10, 2012 at 23:11
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for the insightful comment! Adding a check box or matching gift comment is a great first step for organizations looking to raise more money from employee matching gift programs. Two hurdles organizations must overcome is how to raise awareness and make it easy for donors. Prompting donors with an “I will be submitting my matching gift form” line is a great way to help raise awareness.
I encourage you to check out Double the Donation’s website. Similar to HEP, we integrate our database of companies which offer matching gift programs into a custom page for nonprofits. We also incorporate company specific volunteer grant information into each company’s record. I’m happy to chat with you if you’d like to learn more.
Here are a few additional resources that you may find useful:
– National employers with matching gift programs
– National employers with volunteer grant programs
Hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions about employee matching gift or volunteer grant programs.
Adam Weinger
President of Double the Donation
(404) 913-0589
Adam@doublethedonation.com
Double the Donation
Joan Graham · September 11, 2012 at 12:29
Thanks Barbara for the mention. HEP works with over 6,000 non-profits and are the leader in providing matching gift data to non-profits. Our E-Match link gives clients access to a searchable database of over 17,000 matching gift companies. This allows donors to instantly verify if their gift is match eligible directly from a client’s web site. We also have a complete suite of data cleansing solutions. We can help client’s find employment information on the donors. We also have email append, phone append, cell append, NOCA and deceased identification. Combining data cleansing and implementing a matching gift program is sure to increase donations while simultaneously reducing costs. Data cleansing is a most. Any questions, please contact Joan Graham at Joan@hepdata.com