The Ultimate Fundraising Guide to Corporate Giving Programs
The Ultimate Fundraising Guide to Corporate Giving Programs
What is a Corporate Giving Program?
Corporate Giving Definition
Corporate giving programs allow companies of all sizes to make investments in social good. These programs are a form of corporate philanthropy that facilitates charitable giving to nonprofit causes and are often driven by employee giving. In other words, the more employees contribute to nonprofit organizations, the more their company will donate.
Types of Corporate Giving Programs
Matching Gifts
Matching gifts occur when a company matches the donations made to a nonprofit by its employees. Usually, companies will match donations at a 1:1 ratio. However, some companies will match gifts up to a 4:1 ratio!
Volunteer Grants
Volunteer grants are corporate giving programs that encourage employees to volunteer their time and effort at nonprofit organizations to help their community. For this type of corporate giving program, companies provide monetary grants to nonprofits their employees regularly volunteer with.
In addition to these main types of corporate giving programs, there are many others that can also benefit nonprofits. Check out the complete list below:
| Types of Corporate Giving Programs | Fundraising Potential |
|---|---|
| Matching Gifts | ✔✔✔ |
| Volunteer Grants | ✔✔✔ |
| Fundraising Matches | ✔✔ |
| Community Grants | ✔ |
| Dollars for Doers | ✔✔ |
| Team Volunteer Grants | ✔✔ |
| Volunteer Support Programs | ✔ |
| Annual Giving | ✔✔ |
| Automatic Payroll Deductions | ✔ |
| Annual Grant Stipends | ✔ |
| Internal Employee Fundraising | ✔ |
| Employee Product Donations | ✔ |
| Scholarships | ✔ |
| Sponsorships | ✔✔ |
- Matching Gifts
- Volunteer Grants
- Fundraising Matches
- Community Grants
- Dollars for Doers
- Team Volunteer Grants
- Volunteer Support Programs
- Annual Giving
- Automatic Payroll Deductions
- Annual Grant Stipends
- Internal Employee Fundraising
- Employee Product Donations
- Scholarships
- Sponsorships
Benefits of Corporate Giving Programs
Corporate giving programs are extremely impactful for nonprofits, providing them with another potential source of revenue. In fact, the top ten corporations donate over $2 billion annually in cash to nonprofits.
Some of the additional benefits associated with corporate giving programs include:
- Diversified funding sources. By diversifying their funding sources with corporate giving programs, nonprofits will be in a more financially stable position. These programs allow nonprofits to rely less on donations, which reduces uncertainty and helps them secure their future.
- Increased volunteer recruitment. Some corporate giving programs, particularly volunteer grants, incentivize employees to give back to the community by volunteering with nonprofits. This gives those organizations access to a larger pool of volunteers, helping them to more efficiently power their purpose.
- Enhanced outreach and visibility. Corporations usually choose specific nonprofits to partner with for their giving programs. Through a successful partnership, the employees of that corporation will naturally learn more about the nonprofit, resulting in increased visibility for the organization’s mission.
- Networking and connections. Much like any other type of sponsorship, a corporate giving program allows nonprofits to network with companies that have a focus on social good. This creates a network of like-minded organizations that the nonprofit can partner with in other ways in the future.
Corporate giving programs aren’t just advantageous for the nonprofits involved—they are also helpful for the companies that create them. Some of the benefits of corporate giving programs for companies include:
- Tax benefits. Companies can receive tax benefits on the funds that they donate to nonprofit organizations, as many of them are tax-deductible. This creates a financial incentive for them to create corporate giving programs—it will help them reduce costs while helping nonprofits raise more funds.
- Improved reputation. When corporations demonstrate their commitment to social good and corporate citizenship, potential employees and customers will see them in a more positive light. This improves their reputation and differentiates them from their competitors, helping them attract more customers.
- Increased employee engagement. Introducing corporate giving programs is a great strategy for keeping employees engaged and committed to their company. Plus, it’s a way for companies to relate to their employees. After all, 44% of Millennial and Gen Z employees say that they have resigned because a company’s values did not align with their own, making it more important than ever for companies to have corporate giving programs.
Both businesses and nonprofits stand to gain through corporate giving programs. These partnerships foster a shared commitment to social good, allowing both organizations to work together to pursue meaningful change.
Our Top Corporate Giving Program for Donors: Matching Gifts
As mentioned earlier, matching gifts are a type of corporate philanthropy where companies match donations that their employees make to nonprofits. These are a great way for nonprofits to maximize their donation revenue and for donors to maximize their impact.
How do matching gifts work?
The matching gift process generally follows these steps:
- The donor makes a donation to a nonprofit.
- The donor determines if their donation is eligible for a company match using a matching gift database.
- If their employer will match their donation, the donor can click on the link to the online forms provided by the database and submit the request.
- The donor’s employer reviews the forms and follows up with the nonprofit to confirm the donation.
- The employer makes a matching donation.
Nonprofits can receive twice as many donations as they normally would due to matching gift programs. It takes little effort on the employees’ end and companies can contribute to a cause their employees care about. The biggest obstacle to acquiring matching gift funds is a lack of awareness about the program. As a result, it’s important to actively promote matching gifts to employees who work at businesses with such programs.
STEP 1:
Access the matching gift database.
STEP 2:
Search for your employer.
STEP 3:
View the results.
Our Top Corporate Giving Program for Volunteers: Volunteer Grants
Volunteer grants are corporate giving programs through which companies provide monetary grants to nonprofits where their employees regularly volunteer. And, since about 30% of employees volunteer, this is a valuable program for you to pursue.
How do volunteer grants work?
Volunteer grants come in two forms:
- A monetary donation for every hour an employee volunteers.
- A set grant amount once employees have volunteered a certain number of hours.
The volunteer grant process generally follows these steps:
- The volunteer gives their time to a nonprofit.
- The volunteer determines if their time spent is eligible for a volunteer grant using a volunteer grant database.
- If it’s determined that their employer does offer volunteer grants, the volunteer can use the database to find and submit their company’s forms.
- The volunteer’s employer will review the forms and verify with the nonprofit that the employee volunteered. Companies typically provide grants to one nonprofit per employee per year.
- The employer will send the nonprofit a monetary grant.
Volunteer grants provide extra support to nonprofits as a result of their established volunteers. If your organization has a regular cohort of volunteers, it’s worthwhile to have them check and determine if their companies offer volunteer grant programs.
STEP 1:
Access the volunteer grant database.
STEP 2:
Search for your employer.
STEP 3:
View the results.
Other Types of Corporate Giving Programs
Fundraising Matches
Fundraising matches, like matching gifts, provide nonprofits with donations after an employee has donated time or effort to the nonprofit through a fundraising event. Examples include walk-a-thons, fun runs, or bicycle events, where participants receive donation pledges from their peers based on certain performance metrics like duration or distance traveled. The participant’s employer will match the money they raise through these pledges or other donations.
Community Grants
Nonprofits can request community grants, such as disaster relief grants, from companies that want to see a positive impact in their communities. This corporate giving program differs from others in that the nonprofit must pursue them. They often require extensive paperwork, making the application process time-consuming for social good organizations.
Dollars for Doers
Dollars for Doers is a common corporate philanthropy program offered by employers. Also called “individual volunteer grants,” Dollars for Doers rewards employees who donate their efforts to a nonprofit. If you have dedicated groups of volunteers who work at the same businesses, this is a great corporate giving program to leverage.
There are usually certain thresholds that must be met for a nonprofit to qualify for this corporate giving program. For instance, a company might offer $250 to a nonprofit for every 15 hours that an employee volunteers there.
Team Volunteer Grants
Team volunteer grants are a type of corporate philanthropy program where companies reward groups of employees who volunteer at a nonprofit together. Employees fill out a volunteer grant request form to have the funds donated to the organization at which they volunteer.
This is a great team-building activity that can benefit all parties involved. Nonprofits receive both volunteered time and money, employees feel accomplished by volunteering for a great cause, and companies get to demonstrate their philanthropy and interest in bettering the community.
Volunteer Support Programs
Volunteer support programs are great corporate giving programs that allow companies to offer their products and services to those in need. For instance, companies may donate computers, consulting services, food, or marketing strategies.
This corporate philanthropy program allows nonprofits to benefit from free products and services, and companies can also feel pride in knowing they’ve helped a worthy cause.
Annual Giving
As part of this corporate giving program, companies encourage their employees to donate at certain times of the year. Keep track of these corporate giving programs to maximize donation revenue. While the timing for every company varies, the most common time for companies to promote annual giving is at the end of the year. This is because employees have a better idea of how much they can donate to charitable causes at this time.
Automatic Payroll Deductions
Automatic payroll deductions are one of the easiest corporate giving programs to take part in. As the phrase implies, employees can arrange to have a portion of their paycheck regularly contributed to a nonprofit.
One thing to note is that companies typically limit the type of nonprofit their employees can contribute to. For example, a company that has an interest in the environment might restrict donations only to nonprofits whose missions focus on protecting the environment. However, once a nonprofit is on the company’s list of approved organizations, automatic payroll deductions are an excellent way for the organization to receive funds.
Annual Grant Stipends
Annual grant stipends, though not as common, are a great way for nonprofits to benefit from companies and their employees. This corporate giving program is essentially an allocated amount of money that is given each year to employees, who then donate the money to the nonprofit of their choice. Volunteer hours are not required, and the company makes the donation for its employees.
Usually, the stipends are not incredibly large, but nonprofits can still benefit from these extra funds.
Internal Employee Fundraising
It’s easier to cultivate a relationship with people you know, rather than start a new one. Through internal employee fundraising, nonprofits can encourage their own employees to volunteer to support their cause, therefore increasing their chances that others will follow suit. By looking internally, nonprofits can receive even more donations and volunteer efforts without putting in too much extra effort.
Employee Product Donation Programs (EPDP)
As part of their corporate philanthropy programs, many companies encourage employees to give by offering discounts on their products, which can then be donated to nonprofits. While mostly popular at technology companies, these programs are also found in other industries. Companies may have restrictions on who can receive these products, but this is still a program that can benefit the greater community.
Scholarships
This type of corporate giving program is best suited for nonprofits that work with students. Essentially, a business will decide to help students by providing the funds for tuition, books, living expenses, food, and other education costs. Some of these programs require the individual in need of aid to apply directly for the scholarship.
While your nonprofit may not be able to do the heavy lifting on behalf of your beneficiaries, you can create a list of organizations that offer scholarships so students know where they can apply for aid.
Sponsorships
When a business decides to sponsor a nonprofit, they’re most likely choosing to support a specific event, activity, or project rather than donating funds that the nonprofit can allocate wherever they choose. This corporate giving program is most useful when an organization needs a specific amount of funds to ensure that a project succeeds.
For example, if a nonprofit needs $10,000 to host a fundraising event, it can negotiate sponsorships with businesses. In return for the funds, the sponsor may be featured in promotional materials and thanked in an end-of-event speech.
How Can a Company Start a Corporate Giving Program?
The most powerful corporate giving programs can also be complex. But you can get started by following Crowd101’s fundamental steps for starting a corporate giving program:
- Decide which programs you want to pursue
- Set a minimum and maximum per employee
- Decide which employees and causes are eligible
- Establish your submission process and tech
- Promote your programs to your employees
- Add your program to the Double the Donation database
After you create your charitable giving policy, it might take some time for your corporate giving program to take shape. Consider consulting a corporate giving expert or using a corporate giving management software solution to keep your program on track, so you can start impacting your community.
Top Companies for Corporate Giving Programs
Corporate social responsibility is on the rise and, as a result, many companies now offer corporate giving programs. These programs range from matching gifts and/or volunteer grants to a variety of other programs. Check out the top 10 companies for corporate giving:
| COMPANY | MAXIMUM MATCH AMOUNT | LEARN MORE |
| Disney | $25,000 | Disney’s corporate giving program |
| Apple | $10,000 | Apple’s corporate giving program |
| The Home Depot | $3,000 | The Home Depot’s corporate giving program |
| IBM | $10,000 | IBM’s corporate giving program |
| $10,000 | Google’s corporate giving program | |
| General Electric | $5,000 | General Electric’s corporate giving program |
| Bank of America | $5,000 | Bank of America’s corporate giving program |
| BP | $5,000 | BP’s corporate giving program |
| Microsoft | $15,000 | Microsoft’s corporate giving program |
| Intuit | $5,000 | Intuit’s corporate giving program |
Corporate Giving Software for Nonprofits
Too many charitable donations go unmatched each year. In fact, an estimated $4-$7 billion in matching gift funds goes unclaimed annually. So how can your organization change this?
Nonprofits can grow their funds by promoting matching gifts and volunteer grant programs to their supporters. Double the Donation provides several ways for organizations to integrate matching gifts and volunteer grants into their fundraising strategies.
Double the Donation offers the #1 matching gifts database, with more than 8,500 organizations using it. As the most comprehensive and up-to-date database, you can gain access to thousands of profiles that help you connect with companies offering matching gift and volunteer grant programs.
For large organizations bringing in $25,000+ in matching gift revenue annually, or for any size organization whose donation software integrates with Double the Donation, 360MatchPro by Double the Donation is an ideal option. This solution streamlines the entire matching gift process through automation.
How It Works
With 360MatchPro by Double the Donation, the information donors provide on donation forms is automatically scanned to determine their matching gift eligibility.
Here’s the basic process:
- Once a donor submits a donation to your nonprofit, 360MatchPro will automatically scan their information to determine whether they’re eligible for a match, typically through email domains or employer details.
- Depending on their eligibility, the platform will trigger emails to the donors advising them of the next steps to take to submit a match request.
- The platform will then track the matching gift submission process through to completion, offering your team insights and metrics you can effectively leverage.
Because 360MatchPro simplifies the process for you, your team won’t have to focus as much time and energy on tracking matching gifts.
Benefits
360MatchPro by Double the Donation comes with many benefits, including:
- More matching gift opportunities. Identify more match-eligible donors by automating your outreach efforts and boosting your matching gift revenue as a result.
- More completed matching gift submissions. Provide the right information to the right donors at the right time to drive more matches to completion.
- More time to focus on top opportunities. Because 360MatchPro automates your outreach methods, your team can focus on following up with your highest-value donors, rather than focusing on every small dollar-value match.
Using a platform like 360MatchPro will take the stress out of pursuing matching gift revenue and allow your team to focus its efforts on serving your mission.
Corporate Giving Software for Companies
Nonprofits aren’t alone when it comes to benefiting from corporate giving software. Because workplace giving takes so many forms, there’s a lot to keep track of on the company end, too. When corporate giving programs are effectively organized from the company’s standpoint, nonprofits get to reap the benefits via funding, volunteer hours, and more.
Simply put, a company’s corporate giving strategy has a direct impact on the nonprofits they’re meant to benefit. The easier it is for employees to participate, the more nonprofits will thrive.
That’s where corporate giving software for companies becomes important.
How It Works
When you think about all the corporate giving programs we’ve discussed, there are many elements to keep track of. These include:
- Employee donations/automatic payroll deductions
- Matching gift requests
- Volunteer hour logs
- Volunteer grant requests
- Volunteer opportunities
- Overall company goals and progress
When companies use software that allows them to manage donations, approve matches and grant requests, and track the overall impact of their corporate giving strategies, they will get the most out of the programs they’ve invested in. By streamlining all components of their corporate giving programs into one system, corporations can make it easier for employees to take part.
Companies should look for the right corporate giving software that meets their needs, makes it easy for employees to participate, and helps keep each part of their workplace giving program running smoothly.
Additional Corporate Giving Resources
Corporate Matching Gift Programs: Understanding the Basics
Matching gifts are a type of corporate giving in which companies match donations that their employees make to nonprofits. Our guide covers why matching gifts are valuable and how donors can take charge of the process.
Corporate Philanthropy: The Ultimate Guide to Giving
Corporate philanthropy is growing, and it has many different facets that can benefit your nonprofit. Learn more about what corporate philanthropy is, how much corporations donate, and why it’s important.
Corporate Giving and Matching Gift Statistics
Few organizations have a plan for maximizing matching gifts and tapping into corporate philanthropy. Explore these matching gift statistics to learn more about its potential impact.
