You work hard for every dollar raised in online giving. What if you could double or triple those funds? Corporate matching gift and volunteer grant programs provide a (largely untapped!) fundraising opportunity you need to learn more about.
Corporate matching gifts and volunteer grants are donations made by a company to a nonprofit that an employee has already supported. These programs aren’t kept secret, but employees don’t always know whether their donations qualify for matching gifts or how easy it is to claim a matching gift.
Post-Giving Tuesday, end-of-year, and end-of-fiscal year are great times to solicit matching gifts and ramp up volunteer recruitment; matching gifts rarely count on event tickets, instant items, raffles, restricted gifts, peer-to-peer funds raised, or auctions. They can usually only be matched to general donations.
Some corporate matching gift programs focus on just a few initiatives, such as education, girls in STEM, dignified housing, and others; some companies offer broader matching opportunities.
The process for requesting and receiving matching gifts and volunteer grants is not complicated. An excellent place to start is understanding where there is an overlap in your donor data and available corporate matching gift programs. Here is a short list of companies with matching gift and/or volunteer grant programs:
Don’t limit yourself to just these corporations. Hundreds of international, regional, and even local companies offer matching gift programs. Connect with your board of directors and other high-level volunteers and just ask!
Let’s break down what these 15 companies offer so you can better develop your matching gift program strategy and solicitation cadence. Companies often update their matching gift and volunteer grant programs, so verify this information and revisit it annually.
1. 3M
Why We Love 3M’s Matching Gift Program
3M not only matches cash, checks, and online gifts, but it also matches securities exchanges, allowing for more flexibility and tax benefits for employees. They make payroll deductions simple so employees can truly automate their giving (and the match!). 3M also donates $20/employee volunteer hour, up to $500, per calendar year.
2. American Express
Why We Love American Express’s Matching Gift Program
Though American Express typically matches gifts using a 1:1 ratio, they encourage more nonprofit involvement from employees. For example, if an employee serves on a nonprofit board or volunteers for more than 50 hours a year, the first $1,000 donated to that nonprofit will be matched at a 2:1 ratio.
3. Anheuser Busch
Why We Love Anheuser Busch’s Matching Gift Program
Anheuser Busch has thousands of employees all over the U.S. and has matched over $211 million in employee donations. While they match a broad range of giving, Anheuser Busch focuses on emergency response, environmental stewardship, responsible drinking, and economic impact.
4. Apple Inc.
Why We Love Apple’s Matching Gift Program
There is basically no minimum that needs to be met to qualify for a matching gift; if an employee gives just $10, Apple will match the donation. No minimum number of volunteer hours is required to qualify for a volunteer grant. Every hour qualifies for a $25 volunteer grant. Steve Jobs’ philanthropic spirit lives on in Apple’s corporate matching gift and volunteer grant programs.
5. Bank of America
Why We Love Bank of America’s Matching Gift Program
Bank of America allows employees to request matching gifts and volunteer grants through March 31 of the following year, offering a set timeline for your organization to solicit unmatched Bank of America donors. Organizations then have until May 15 to verify any employee’s donation.
There is an opportunity to engage in a matching gift strategy all year round. Double the Donation joined our fundraising experts to highlight how nonprofits can grow their impact with matching gifts. They also gave listeners an exclusive look at their integration with GiveSmart. Watch the on-demand webinar today.
6. BP
Why We Love BP’s Matching Gift Program
BP not only matches direct donations, but it also matches money that an employee raises via any peer-to-peer campaign. This encourages all employees to be more involved in their communities, and gives nonprofits a significant opportunity for a targeted reach out to their supporter base for peer-to-peer ambassador recruitment.
7. Coca-Cola
Why We Love Coca-Cola’s Matching Gift Program
Since 1984, Coca-Cola’s matching gift program has donated over $1 billion to nonprofits. Coca-Cola’s favorite causes to support with its 2:1 ratio include women’s empowerment, clean water, education, youth development, and community building. They also have a generous matching gift request deadline of February 28 of the year following the initial donation.
8. Deloitte
Why We Love Deloitte’s Matching Gift Program
Deloitte is exclusively committed to higher education and matches gifts to community colleges, four-year universities, and graduate programs, and Deloitte also matches scholarship programs. There are other requirements, which are clearly laid out in its guidelines.
9. Google
Why We Love Google’s Matching Gift Program
In addition to its generous donation matching, Google matches employees volunteer hours. Google designates 20 hours of annual volunteer PTO, on top of offering volunteer grants matching those hours. For every hour an employee volunteers, Google will donate $10 to the nonprofit organization. ception in 1983, Microsoft employees have donated more than $1 billion, including their matched gifts.
10. Grainger
Why We Love Grainger’s Matching Gift Program
Grainger generously offers a 3:1 match for employee donations, including securities. So if a Grainger employee gives $100, it is matched with $300 from Grainger. They also have one of the more generous approval processes, where employees can request a match verification up to a year after the initial donation. With over 26,000 employees across the U.S., having the right tools and donor data can truly support this untapped revenue opportunity. s in 19 U.S. communities.
11. Home Depot
Why We Love The Home Depot’s Matching Gift Program
A beneficial aspect of The Home Depot’s corporate matching gift program is that it distributes matching gifts to organizations monthly. Plus, donors can track the real-time status of their pending match(es) through their Home Depot Foundation online account.
12. Microsoft
Why We Love Microsoft’s Matching Gift Program
Its employee participation rate sets Microsoft apart, with three out of four employees reportedly participating. In 2023, U.S. employees raised $250 million for 35,000 nonprofits and educational institutions and volunteered over 1 million matched hours. Microsoft’s matching gift program was founded in 1983, making it a long-time change agent for nonprofits.
13. Schneider Electric
Why We Love Schneider Electric’s Matching Gift Program
Schneider Electric offers a 1:1 match for all employee donations. It increases it to a 1.5:1 match for organizations where an employee is actively involved as a volunteer or a board member. In 2023, they matched over $1.1 million and donated over $5.5 million more in goods, services, and company-sponsored gifts.
14. Starbucks
Why We Love Starbucks’s Matching Gift Program
Starbucks created a philanthropic program called “Partner Match” for their U.S. employees. This program matches gifts up to $1,000. The volunteer grant amount is $5/hour, and employees are given an annual 20 hours of volunteer PTO.
15. State Farm
Why We Love State Farm’s Matching Gift Program
State Farm has a long-standing history of matching associates’ donations, as well as offering a Good Neighbor Grant Program. With associates all over the country, State Farm supports thousands of U.S. nonprofits. They have also started special relief matching gift programs for moments of reactive giving.
Understanding these matching gift and volunteer grant programs is just one step your organization can take toward bettering your corporate engagement strategy. The timing of payouts varies wildly. Some pay out monthly, while other companies pay out annually.
By following up with donors who work at the companies listed above and others you discover, your organization will build relationships with donors and high-level volunteers you already know to be match-eligible. It is worth your staff’s time to develop a matching gift and volunteer recruitment strategy; not going after these matches leaves money on the table.
GiveSmart integrates with Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro. It’s now easier than ever for your donors to see if they are eligible for matching gifts or volunteer grants, and your staff don’t have to waste time with routine follow-up due to Double the Donation’s innovative automation.
Connect with our fundraising experts today, to hear how using GiveSmart can help you leverage matching gift revenue.
