Corporate Matching Gift Programs – More than $4 – 7 Billion Left on the Table Annually

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people face joblessness, food insecurity, and loss of healthcare coverage.  In addition, organizations fighting for social justice and equality, underserved populations and communities of color need your help.  

We encourage people who wish to donate at this time, to take advantage of the billions of dollars in employer matching funds that get left on the table each year.

At least $4-7 billion in workplace matching funds go unclaimed each year; often, corporate employees do not even know about the opportunity for their employer to match their charitable gifts. In response, we’ve released the 2020 List of Top 100 Corporate Giving Programs.  People can look up their company to see if their donations will be matched.

“People can get their donations doubled in many cases by their employer,” said Perla Ni, CEO of GreatNonprofits.org.  “Matching donation programs are a big part of corporations’ social responsibility initiatives, but awareness of them is often shockingly low. As a result, billions of dollars that can go to deserving nonprofits, towards vital social programs, are never distributed.”

Employers typically match donations from their employees up to a certain dollar amount per employee per year.  All funds not utilized by employees by the end of the calendar year are never distributed to charities.

Workplace Giving Programs Can Be Easily Tripled

Workplace giving programs are responsible for about $4 billion in charitable giving each year, but greater awareness could lead to at least a tripling of that figure. GreatNonprofits’ list of companies offering matching funds includes some of the biggest names in American business–Ford, General Electric and Apple.

Use This List To Double Donors’ Contributions

“We are encouraging charities to use our list below to see if any of their donors work at these companies and encourage their donors to make use of the opportunities to double their donations,” Ni said.

See our entire list of top corporate matching programs below.

Nonprofits: How To Get Corporate Matching Gifts

Sometimes matching gifts lead to productive long-term relationships, but how do you get connected to a company with an exemplary matching program? And are your current donors taking full advantage of  any matching gift programs offered by their employers?

• Over 8 million individuals work for companies with matching gift programs.  Do any of your donors work at these companies above? Are they taking full advantage of any matching gift programs offered by their employers? You can copy this list of companies (yes, go ahead!) Feel free to use it on your website and social media, or send an email. Let your members know that their donations could be doubled by their employer!
• Urge your donors to check with their company’s HR department about starting a matching gifts program if one does not exist.
• Take a look at company profiles on LinkedIn. Know any connections to executives that work there? Perhaps they could make an introduction.

Did we miss a company that you have had a great matching experience with? Do you have any tips to add to help nonprofits acquire matching gifts? Let us know in the comments!