Corporate Volunteer Grant Programs: Learn the Basics
Corporate Volunteer Grant Programs: Learn the Basics!
Top 10 Corporate Volunteer Grant Programs
| COMPANY | VOLUNTEER GRANT AMOUNT | LEARN MORE |
| ExxonMobil | $500 for every 20 hours (Max $2,000) | ExxonMobil’s volunteer grant program |
| Aetna | $300 for every 20 hours | Aetna’s volunteer grant program |
| Coinstar | $15 per hour | Coinstar’s volunteer grant program |
| Verizon | $750 for every 50 hours (Max $1,500) | Verizon’s volunteer grant program |
| ConocoPhillips | $500 for every 20 hours (Max $1,000) | Conoco Phillips’ volunteer grant program |
| Microsoft | $25 per hour | Microsoft’s volunteer grant program |
| Dell | $150 for every 10 hours | Dell’s volunteer grant program |
| RealNetworks | $15 per hour (Max $900) | RealNetworks’ volunteer grant program |
| WarnerMedia | $500 | WarnerMedia’s volunteer grant program |
| Allstate | Either $500 or $1,000 depending on role | Allstate’s volunteer grant program |
Volunteer Grants: Your Questions Answered
What are volunteer grants?
Volunteer grants are corporate giving programs that encourage volunteerism in communities where employees live and work. Through these programs, companies provide monetary grants to organizations where employees regularly volunteer.
Many nonprofits are eligible to receive volunteer grants, and these programs effectively turn supporter time and effort into tangible funds.
Why are volunteer grants important?
Volunteer grants are essentially “free money” that can easily be overlooked. This is because there’s often limited information on where volunteers work and a lack of knowledge on whether each specific company offers volunteer grant programs.
If your nonprofit has a dedicated group of volunteers, it’s important that they determine if there are volunteer grant opportunities through their employers. Through effective volunteer management, you’ll pinpoint these opportunities and be sure not to miss out on easy funding.
Where can I get a volunteer grant?
You can get a volunteer grant by using a volunteer grant database! First, you’ll use the database to determine your eligibility by searching for your employer. Once you confirm that you’re eligible for a volunteer grant through your company, you can submit your volunteer grant application using the forms found in the database. The company will then process the application and make a monetary donation to the nonprofit you volunteered with.
Promote volunteer grants using our preferred paid advertising agency.
How to Get a Volunteer Grant
The volunteer grant process can be completed in less than five minutes with the help of a corporate giving database. It’s important to ensure volunteers know if their company will provide volunteer grants when they devote their time to a nonprofit, and to provide them with the forms or links they need to submit their volunteer grant applications.
Marketing these corporate giving programs is essential in order to obtain more revenue for your nonprofit.
Here is how the volunteer grant process works:
Step #1: Individual Volunteers
The individual volunteers with the nonprofit on a regular basis. The nonprofit may recommend that they check their eligibility for a volunteer grant through their company using a corporate giving database.
Step #2: Volunteer Grant Eligibility
The individual researches their company using a corporate giving database to determine if they’re eligible for a volunteer grant.
Step #3: Forms Submitted
Using the links to the forms in the corporate giving database, the individual submits their application for a grant request to their company, either electronically or using a paper form.
Step #4: Company Review
The company reviews the volunteer grant application and confirms with the nonprofit that the individual has volunteered with them.
Step #5: Funds Granted
The company sends a check to the nonprofit.
Marketing Volunteer Grants to Supporters
Corporate giving research estimates that about 77 million Americans (30% of the adult population) volunteer their time and talents to nonprofits.
That can equate to a ton of additional revenue in the form of volunteer grants. However, many organizations don’t promote the opportunity to supporters, which results in missing revenue!
Luckily, it’s easy to close this gap and make your donors aware of volunteer grants! Create a multichannel marketing strategy using some of the platforms your team already uses on a regular basis.
Your Website
Your website is the hub of all things related to your nonprofit. That makes it the perfect place to promote volunteer grants!
Start by including a snippet on your volunteer page about these programs. That way, prospective volunteers know it’s an opportunity even before they sign up to help out. Include information about the basics of these programs, including how the process works and how to find their employers’ guidelines.
You might even create a separate corporate giving page where you can summarize different opportunities like matching gifts, payroll deductions, donation challenges, or other types of corporate matching grants, too. Both pages are ideal sports to include our employer search tool!
Paid Advertising
Once you’ve created content on your website about volunteer grants, you can amplify it using paid advertising.
Paid advertising can add up over time. Luckily, Google and Microsoft both offer programs that provide free access to their paid advertising platforms to help nonprofits boost their important web pages. Google offers up to $10,000 per month in ad credits, while Microsoft offers $3,000.
A lot goes into understanding these platforms and creating winning ads. That’s why most nonprofits turn to professional paid advertising managers. We recommend Getting Attention! Their experts work full-time to understand the program’s requirements, so you can get set up and promote important content like your volunteer grant page in no time.
Social Media
Social media opens up the door to a world of prospects. Whenever you post about volunteer opportunities, include a snippet about volunteer grants. Link back to your corporate giving page on your website, encouraging followers to look there for more information.
Thanks to comment sections and direct messaging capabilities, you can also enable two-way conversations and answer followers’ questions about the process. The result will be more volunteer grants for your cause!
Email has the highest ROI of any marketing platform, according to fundraising research. Don’t leave it out of your volunteer grant promotion!
You could go all out by creating an email entirely about volunteer grants, what the process entails, and how to research eligibility. You can even embed our search tool to make it super convenient for volunteers to research their eligibility. Then, send it out to your volunteers.
You can also do something as simple as including a snippet in your monthly newsletter. You might even spotlight a volunteer who made a big difference by completing the volunteer grant process! Doing this can be a great way to inspire other types of supporters to volunteer when they see their potential impact, too.
Promote volunteer grants using our preferred paid advertising agency.
Understanding the Volunteer Grant Process
When researching volunteer grants, there are many key considerations to take into account. By using a volunteer grant database, you can look up your company and determine the pieces you need to apply for one. These include:
Eligibility Requirements
Make sure your employment status with your company (full-time, part-time, or retired) is eligible for the volunteer grant.
Restrictions
Check that there are no restrictions, such as the type of nonprofit you can earn a volunteer grant for. For instance, some corporations will only allow grants for nonprofits that share their values (be it the environment/sustainability, etc.). However, companies generally have few restrictions and state that any 501(c)(3) nonprofit or school is eligible.
Submission Deadlines
Deadlines will vary by company, so be sure to check when you need to submit your volunteer grant request by. Standard volunteer grant submission deadlines include end of the calendar year, a set number of months after meeting the hour threshold, or the end of January, February, or March in the year subsequent to when the individual volunteered.
Hours Required
Companies may have a minimum hour requirement for volunteering. Some companies will provide grants to nonprofits per hour volunteered, or once a threshold number is reached.
Corporate Donation Amount
Determine the amount that will be granted to the nonprofit after the hours are completed, and also be sure you understand how many grants the company offers per employee per year.
80% of companies with volunteer grant programs offer between $8-$15 per hour volunteered with a nonprofit.
Logging Hours
Companies will have their own process of having employees log their hours. Look for a link on the volunteer grant database to find the forms (printed or electronic) that allow you to log your hours and request the volunteer grant.
Take this information into account when researching volunteer grants for your company. It’s essential that you follow the right guidelines, submit by the appropriate deadlines, and otherwise ensure that you’re eligible for the volunteer grant.
Volunteer Grant Database: Learn More About Double the Donation
Double the Donation is the leading corporate giving database for both employees and nonprofit organizations. Our comprehensive and up-to-date database provides matching gift and volunteer grant information about thousands of companies across the US, Canada, and UK. All of the information is centralized in one straightforward tool that you can place on your website and incorporate into your donor or volunteer software.
Double the Donation company profiles indicate:
- Minimum hours
- Value of volunteer grants
- Links to electronic guidelines and forms
- Company-specific instructions
- And more!
Our tool makes it easy for volunteers and nonprofits to maximize their volunteer grant capabilities.
Additional Volunteer Grant Resources
Corporate Giving and Matching Gift Statistics
Few organizations know about matching gifts and volunteer grants, much less how to begin tapping into corporate philanthropy. However, you can make yourself aware.
Explore these statistics to learn more about the potential impact that corporate giving programs can have.
Double the Donation’s Comprehensive Database
Volunteer grant programs can bring in extra money for your organization. Learn more about what Double the Donation’s database can tell you about volunteer grant programs.
Use this comprehensive database to learn more about the volunteer grant programs that are available.
The Top Volunteer Grant Companies
As a direct result of corporate social responsibility, many companies provide generous grants to nonprofits where their employees volunteer.
Learn who some of these companies are and more about their guidelines for requesting a volunteer grant.
