Matching gift

A matching gift, also known as a matching fund or matching donation is a charitable gift made toward a non-profit organization by a matching donor (e.g., an employer) under the provision that an original donor (e.g., an employee) first makes a gift toward that organization.

Typical procedure

As an example scenario, an employee of a bank which matches gifts decides to make a gift to his or her charity of choice. Since this bank is a matching gift corporation, it will match the donor's $100 gift to the charity at a 1:1 ratio, for a total of $200. In this manner, this donor increases the value of his or her gift simply by participating in the matching program, and will be recognized at that giving level by the charity.

In order to procure the matching funds, this employee would submit a form to his or her employer's human resources department.

Unfortunately eligible donations often go unmatched due to donors either being unaware of their company's corporate giving programs or lacking some of the required information (receipts, contact information, nonprofit Tax ID, etc.) for their nonprofit. Nonprofits can boost matching gift receipts by taking a proactive approach and notifying donors of their eligibility while providing them with the information necessary to have their gifts matched. Services such as Double The Donation and HEPData are options for nonprofits looking to boost their matching gift and volunteer grant revenue.

Less common matching gift situations

Usually, matching gifts are equal to the amount given by the original donor, i.e. a 1:1 ratio. For example, if a donor makes a gift of $100 to an organization, the matching company will also give $100, making the total gift worth $200. While 1:1 matches are the most common, matching gifts can be of a variety of ratios, including 0.5:1 (the matching company giving $50 for every $100 given by the donor) and 3:1 (the matching company giving $300 for every $100 given by the donor).

Some matching gift corporations offer matching gift programs to the spouses of their company employees and retirees from their companies.

In lieu of a formal matching gift program, some well-known corporations such as Apple provide other charitable support, such as donated computers, to their non-profit organizations of choice.

Some companies also match gifts for employees’ volunteer work. In these cases, companies will donate either X dollars per hour of volunteering that an employee did on their own time or Y dollars after say 50 hours. This can be a major source of fundraising for a non-profit.

Non-profit organizations sometimes receive "challenge matches," wherein a given donor, rather than giving a large gift outright, offers to give the organization a large donation with the stipulation that only as much as is raised from other donors within a certain span of time will be actually given to that organization.

Results

Non-profit organizations encourage more giving and generally raise more funds when matching gifts are offered to prospective donors, due to the increased incentive associated with the match. It can be a challenge for non-profits to identify which companies offer matching gift programs, but effectively managing those interactions between donors and employers can materially impact a non-profit's fundraising results.

Services such as Double The Donation and HEPData provide assistants to donors and nonprofits to maximize matching gift and volunteer grant receipts.

A matching gift, typically a one-time charitable gift made by an employee and matched by the employer, should not be confused with an employer matching program, which has to do with the employee's 401(k) plan and retirement.

External links

• DoubleTheDonation.com database of companies that offer matching gifts and volunteer grants
• MatchingGifts.com database of companies that offer matching gifts
• Indian Asha for Education list of companies that offer matching gifts
• Corporate matching gifts programs in the US

See also

• Employer matching program