Employer Matching Gifts

Want to Help UAH?

Increasing revenue with matching gifts isn’t too tricky, but we need our donors’ help. You can help us by searching for your own match-eligibility. Access detailed information about your employer’s corporate giving program by searching our database of companies.

Matching Gift and Volunteer Grant information provided by

What are corporate matching gift programs?

Employee matching gift programs are a type of corporate philanthropy set up to encourage employees to give back to their communities. These companies encourage community outreach by making donations to the same nonprofits that their employees have donated.

These programs have become quite widespread, but many donors have not heard of them or aren’t aware of their own match-eligibility. $4-7 billion in matching gift revenue is left on the table each year, and we want to work with our donors to claim some of it.

The specifics of these programs vary from company to company, but the elements that shape these guidelines are always the same:

Match ratio: This defines what kind of donation the company will make in relation to the employee’s initial contribution. A 1:1 ratio indicates that the company will donate the exact same amount, doubling the contribution to the employee’s chosen nonprofit.

Minimum and maximum: The minimum refers to the amount an employee must donate to qualify for a matching gift. The maximum is the total amount that a company will donate in matching contributions per employee annually.

Employee status: Sometimes, the employee’s role at the company can affect the match for which they qualify. For example, a company may offer a $1,000 maximum to part-time employees and a $10,000 maximum to Senior VPs.

Nonprofit eligibility: Some programs offer different matches based on the type of nonprofit.

Deadline: Every program identifies a deadline when the matching gift request must be submitted by the employee. This deadline can be either a firm date (December 31st is common) or a threshold based on the date of the initial donation (90 days after donation is made).