Donation Matching Basics

There are different types of donation matching programs, and we’ll address each of them below. Matching donations are an easy way to make your gift go further. Donors can double (or even triple) their contributions to Children’s Medical Center Foundation by simply asking your employer if they have an existing program.

How Does Donation Matching Work?

Donation matching is a way companies financially match donations that their employees make to nonprofit organizations. However, not all companies have matching gift programs. We recommend asking your human resources representative for more information about your employer’s matching gift program, and/or you can see if your employer will match your donation on our donation form.

Donation matching benefits Children’s Medical Center Foundation because it maximizes the impact of donor gifts with the support of their employers. It doubles (or even triples) a donor’s contribution to make life better for children.

There are different ratios for donation matching. Some companies do a direct 1:1 ratio, but others have different standards. Sometimes minimum donation requirements must be met before a gift is matched, which is why it is important to contact your human resources representative and to do your research prior to making a donation.

Donation matching can be broken down into four steps:

1. Employee makes an initial donation
2. Employee submits matching gift request to employer, or they can use their company’s matching gift program criteria to inform how they’ll make their donation
3. Employer confirms eligibility of donor, donation and the nonprofit organization
4. Children’s Medical Center Foundation receives a matched donation from the employer (check or electronic, based on company preference

Here's how donation matching works: Taylor works for Generic Company and makes a $100 donation to Children’s Medical Center Foundation. Taylor knows that Generic Company does a standard 1:1 match. Taylor submits a gift matching request to Generic Company. Children’s Medical Center Foundation receives an additional $100 from Generic Company.

What Are the Types of Donation Matching?

While the standard corporate match is the most popular type of matched donation, there are four different types of donation matching.

• Corporate Employee Matches
• Volunteer Matching Gifts & Grants
• Matching Gift Challenges
• Board Matching

Corporate Matching

Corporate matching is when an employee donates to a nonprofit and their company makes a matching donation to the same organization. In other words, an employee makes a gift to an organization of their choice, they submit paperwork or a matching donation request to their employer which their employer verifies with the receiving nonprofit, and once verified, the company sends a check or electronic donation, typically though a third-party giving platform like Benevity or YourCause and they in turn send a check to the organization. The match may be 1:1, 2:1 or even 50 cents on the dollar. Each company is different so it is best to check with your employer on what they offer each year to employees. Some companies have caps on how much they can match by an employee each year. It’s good to verify this first before making a donation.

Here's how corporate donation matching works: Taylor works for Generic Company and makes a $100 donation to Children’s Medical Center Foundation. Taylor knows that Generic Company does a standard 1:1 match. Taylor submits a gift matching request to Generic Company. Children’s Medical Center Foundation receives an additional $100 from Generic Company

Volunteer Matching

Volunteer matching is another form of corporate matching. However, instead of focusing on monetary donations, the company responds to their employee’s donation of time and service with a gift. The policies around this type of donation matching vary widely. It may be a one-time gift or paid at an hourly rate.

When an employee volunteers their time with Children’s Medical Center Foundation, they track their time. These hours are totaled and submitted to their employer, who verifies the employee’s service. Once verified, the company sends a check typically through a third-party giving platform like Benevity or YourCause, and they in turn send a check to Children’s Medical Center Foundation to match the employee’s gift.

Here's how volunteer matching works: Taylor works for Generic Company and volunteers 10 hours at Children’s Health. Taylor knows that Generic Company does volunteer matching. Taylor tracks her volunteer time and submits the total hours to Generic Company, who verifies her service. Once verified, Generic Company sends a check to Children’s Medical Center Foundation to match Taylor’s volunteer time.

Donation Matching Challenges

Donation matching challenges are usually special one-day challenges, like GivingTuesday or North Texas Giving Day. These challenges are used to inspire and increase giving and are commonly called a challenge grant. This unique donation match may come from a company, a foundation or an individual.

For a donation matching challenge, the matching donor(s) is solicited for a gift, usually related to a particular event such as a giving day. The matching donor usually commits to make a gift up to a pre-defined amount. The final total of the gift is dependent on matching others’ donations. Children’s Medical Center Foundation then launches a campaign, often corresponding with special events like GivingTuesday, North Texas Giving Day, or other notable events, to inspire others to donate. All donations are automatically matched if they meet the criteria that is established before the donation matching challenge is launched.

Here's how donation matching challenges work: Taylor learns that Generic Company has pledged to match others’ donations at a dollar-for-dollar rate to Children’s Medical Center Foundation up to $10,000. Taylor makes a $100 donation. Taylor’s gift is automatically matched if it meets the criteria that is established before the donation matching challenge is launched.

Board Matching

Sometimes companies make a donation on behalf of an employee if they serve on a nonprofit board or advisory committee. This can be in addition to an employee making a donation and the company matching their gift. Check with your human resources representative to see if your employer offers this benefit.

What Are the Benefits of Matching Donations?

Matching donations through your employer is a great way to maximize the impact of your gift to Children’s Medical Center Foundation.

This means that your donation will fund twice the number of patients, programs and services by supporting areas like clinical research, behavioral and mental health and the growing pediatric population of North Texas.

Children’s Health specific programs that have benefited from matching donations:

• Children’s Pediatric Research Institute
• School TeleBehavioral Health
• Plano Campus Expansion

Frequently Asked Questions About Donation Matching

• Why do companies match donations?

  Companies match donations because they want to encourage their employees to give back to their communities. Donation matching creates greater motivation for charitable giving. Also, it creates trust in companies. A donation matching program generates trust in the company by their employees and the community. When you see a company match a donation, you’re more likely to have an affinity for that company.

• How do I know if my employer will match my donation?

  We recommend talking with your human resources representative to find out if your company has a corporate matching gift policy. Or you can check if your company is listed on our gift form.

• What are matching ratios?

  Most companies match donations at a dollar-for-dollar rate, otherwise known as a 1:1 ratio. Some companies will give $.50 for every dollar donated and others will give as much as $4 for every $1 that an employee donates.

• How does a company set up a matching gift program?

  A company first sets a budget for a pilot or test donation-matching program, then they decide on the employee matching gift rate, eligibility criteria and then they choose a department to use as a pilot.