Matching gifts are a charitable branch of the corporate world, which encourages and supports employee charitable giving. Many businesses match employee donations or volunteer hours to nonprofit organizations. Corporate matching gifts programs are a potential (and free!) source of income for nonprofits that is often overlooked and not explored by the board.
Your nonprofit organization already works so hard to grow its individual donor base, so looking into your donors’ employer matching gifts programs is worth a shot for additional funding. Many businesses of all sizes offer matching gifts programs to nonprofit organizations for each donation made by their employees. Most businesses contribute to a broad spectrum of nonprofits, matching donations at a standard 1:1 ratio, however other ratios are quite common as well. Combining the power of individuals and companies might double your revenue!
In order to receive a matching gift from a company, you would need to inform your donors about this opportunity. Nonprofits that encourage their donors to submit matching gift requests to their companies have a great success with receiving the corporate contributions. You may promote the corporate matching gifts on your donor forms, communications, and other social media, emphasizing how each donor can double the impact at no cost.
It generally takes less than 5 minutes for the donor to submit a matching gift request. First of all, the donor must find out if his/her employer offers such a program. If the information regarding matching gifts programs cannot be found on the corporate website, then a simple phone call to the human resources department will do the work.
When submitting the matching gift request, the donor should be aware of the employer’s submission deadlines (some employers require all requests to be submitted the end of the fiscal year, some companies will only accept requests within a certain time frame after the donation has been made).
Once you receive each corporate matching gift check, don’t forget to send a recognition notice/email/letter to your donor notifying them that the matching funds have been received and how much you appreciate their efforts. Letting them know that you are tremendously grateful will encourage your donors to keep donating to your organization and submitting matching gift requests to their employers for years to come.
There are a few companies that can help you find matching gift providers and simplify the process for your donors, such as Double the Donation and HEP Development.
Wishing you fruitful results!