Matching Gift
Quick Definition
A corporate program where an employer matches an employee's charitable donation — effectively doubling (or sometimes tripling) the impact of the original gift.
What Is Matching Gift?
A matching gift is when a company agrees to match donations that their employees make to eligible nonprofits. If an employee donates $500 to your nonprofit and their employer has a matching gift program, the company sends an additional $500 (or sometimes more — some companies match 2:1 or even 3:1). The result: your organization receives $1,000 or more from a single $500 gift.
Matching gift programs are remarkably common — over 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer them — but shockingly underutilized. Studies estimate that $4-7 billion in matching gift funds go unclaimed every year because donors either don't know their employer offers a match or don't bother to submit the paperwork. Most programs are simple: the employee submits a matching gift request (often through an online portal), the company verifies the gift with your nonprofit, and the company sends a check.
Each company sets its own rules: minimum and maximum gift amounts, eligible nonprofit types, employee eligibility (full-time, part-time, retirees), and match ratios. Some companies match gifts to educational institutions at a higher ratio. A few even match volunteer time — donating a set dollar amount for every hour an employee volunteers.
Why It Matters for Nonprofits
Matching gifts are essentially free money that most nonprofits leave on the table. If you're not actively promoting matching gifts to your donors, you're almost certainly missing out on thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars in additional revenue.
The lift is surprisingly small. A simple line in your acknowledgment letters — "Does your employer match charitable gifts? You could double your impact" — with a link to a matching gift search tool (like Double the Donation) can capture significant additional revenue. Some nonprofits add matching gift prompts to their online donation forms, their email appeals, and their thank-you pages. The ROI on this effort is extraordinary.
Example
A donor gives $1,000 to a children's hospital during their year-end campaign. Your thank-you email includes: "Many employers match charitable gifts — check if yours does!" with a link to search. The donor discovers that Microsoft (their employer) matches gifts 1:1 up to $15,000 per year. They submit a matching gift request through Microsoft's Benevity portal. Two weeks later, the children's hospital receives a $1,000 matching gift check from Microsoft. Total impact from a $1,000 donation: $2,000. If even 10% of your donors work for matching gift companies and you convert half of them, a $200,000 annual fundraising campaign could yield an additional $10,000-$20,000 in matching funds.
Key Takeaways
- ✅ Over 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer matching gift programs — it's likely some of your donors are eligible
- ✅ $4-7 billion in matching gifts go unclaimed annually because donors don't know to ask
- ✅ Add matching gift prompts to donation receipts, thank-you emails, and online giving pages
- ✅ Tools like Double the Donation can automate matching gift identification and follow-up
How Holdings Helps
Holdings helps nonprofits track every donation source, making it easy to identify matching gift revenue and measure the ROI of your matching gift promotion efforts.
Related Terms
Donor-Advised Fund (DAF)
A charitable giving account managed by a sponsoring organization (like Fidelity Charitable or a community foundation) where the donor gets an immediate tax deduction but recommends grants to nonprofits over time.
In-Kind Donations
Non-cash contributions to your nonprofit — goods, services, or use of facilities — that have measurable value and must be properly recorded in your financial statements.
Endowment
A permanently invested pool of money where the principal is preserved forever and only the investment earnings are used to fund the nonprofit's work — creating a sustainable, long-term revenue stream.
Gift Acceptance Policy
A board-approved document that outlines what types of donations your nonprofit will (and won't) accept, and the procedures for evaluating non-standard gifts.
In-Kind Donations
Non-cash contributions to your nonprofit — goods, services, or use of facilities — that have measurable value and must be properly recorded in your financial statements.
Donor-Advised Fund (DAF)
A charitable giving account managed by a sponsoring organization (like Fidelity Charitable or a community foundation) where the donor gets an immediate tax deduction but recommends grants to nonprofits over time.
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