TLDR
Corporate matching gift programs offer nonprofits an opportunity to double or triple some donations at no additional cost, but most of the value goes unclaimed because donors don't submit the paperwork. A systematic approach - prompting at the moment of donation, following up in acknowledgments, and tracking match status in your CRM - can materially increase revenue from your existing donor base.
Corporate matching gift programs represent real money that most nonprofits leave on the table. The mechanism is simple: an employee donates to a nonprofit, their employer matches the gift (typically 1:1 or 2:1, up to an annual cap), and the nonprofit receives two or three times the original donation.
The breakdown happens at the submission step. Donors don’t submit matching gift requests for many reasons - they don’t know the program exists, they don’t know your organization qualifies, the submission process is inconvenient, or they simply forget. Your job as a development operation is to reduce every one of those barriers.
How Corporate Matching Programs Work
The mechanics vary by company, but the general structure is:
- An employee makes a donation to a qualifying nonprofit
- The employee logs into their company’s giving portal (often hosted by platforms like Benevity, YourCause/CyberGrants, or Double the Donation) and submits a match request with proof of their donation
- The company verifies the donation with the nonprofit (usually via email to a development or finance contact)
- If verified, the company issues a matching gift to the nonprofit - either directly or through their third-party platform
Match ratios vary. A 1:1 match doubles the original gift. Some companies offer 2:1 or 3:1 matches for specific causes or employee categories (executives sometimes have higher caps). Most programs have per-employee annual caps - commonly $1,000-$10,000 in company matching per calendar year per employee.
The process is usually straightforward once started. The friction is on the donor side: knowing the program exists, knowing your organization qualifies, and actually submitting the paperwork.
The Scale of Unclaimed Matching Gifts
Matching gift research consistently finds that a substantial portion of available matching dollars go unmatched each year - not because the programs don’t exist, but because employees don’t submit requests. The reasons are predictable: employees don’t know their company has a program, don’t realize the nonprofit they gave to qualifies, or don’t get around to filling out the form.
For individual organizations, the unclaimed matching gift opportunity is proportional to how many donors work for companies with matching programs and how actively you prompt them to submit. An organization with strong corporate employee donor base that does no matching gift outreach may be missing 10-20% of potential revenue from matched gifts.
Nonprofit Eligibility Requirements
Most corporate matching programs require the receiving organization to be:
- A 501(c)(3) public charity
- Not a private foundation
- Not a political organization
Some companies exclude specific categories:
- Religious organizations (some companies exclude churches; many do not)
- Healthcare organizations that aren’t serving the general public
- Organizations outside the U.S.
Each company sets its own eligibility rules. The most efficient way to verify whether a specific employer matches to your organization is to use a matching gift database (see below) or to look up the company’s giving portal directly.
Which Companies Have Matching Programs
The majority of Fortune 500 companies have employee matching gift programs. Mid-sized and large employers in technology, finance, professional services, and healthcare are also commonly represented. Smaller employers vary widely - some have robust programs, many do not.
You don’t need to know which companies match before building a matching gift program. The goal is to prompt every donor to check whether their employer matches, not to pre-screen by employer.
How to Educate Your Donors: The Three Moments
Moment 1: The donation form
The donation form is the highest-leverage point for matching gift prompting. Adding a single line - “Does your employer match charitable gifts? Many companies will double or triple your donation. Check with your HR department or enter your employer below to find out.” - with an optional employer search field captures employer information at the optimal moment: when the donor has just made a giving decision and the transaction is fresh.
If your online giving platform supports integration with a matching gift search tool, add it. If not, the text prompt alone increases matching gift submissions.
Moment 2: The acknowledgment letter
Every acknowledgment letter should include a standard matching gift reminder. Position it after the IRS language, not before - it’s a helpful note, not the lead. Language like:
“Did you know many employers match employee charitable contributions? If your employer has a matching gift program, your donation of $[amount] could be worth twice as much to us. Contact your HR department or check your company’s giving portal for details.”
This language costs nothing to add to your standard templates and captures donors who missed the prompt on the donation form.
Moment 3: A follow-up email (30 days post-gift)
For donors who gave above a threshold ($100 or $250 is common), a dedicated follow-up email 30 days after the gift specifically focused on matching opportunities is worth the effort. This email:
- Thanks them again for their gift
- Explains matching gift programs in plain terms
- Provides a direct link to a matching gift search tool (Double the Donation’s free or paid tiers both provide this)
- Gives them your EIN and contact information for the match verification step
This email can be automated in most donor management systems.
Matching Gift Databases: Double the Donation
Double the Donation is the primary third-party platform for nonprofit matching gift program information. It maintains a database of corporate matching program details for thousands of employers, including match ratios, eligibility rules, submission instructions, and portal links.
For nonprofits, Double the Donation offers:
- An employer search widget you can embed on your donation form
- A searchable database your staff can use to look up employer programs before reaching out to donors
- Automated matching gift follow-up email sequences
- Tracking of match request status
The platform is not free, but it’s the most widely used tool for nonprofits building systematic matching gift programs. Mentioning it to donors or printing it in your communications - “Use Double the Donation to check your employer’s matching program” - is common practice in the sector.
Alternatives exist but are narrower in scope. Many major corporate giving portals (Benevity, YourCause) have their own nonprofit verification flows - if you’re already registered in those platforms as a recipient organization, you’ll receive match requests directly through them.
How Matching Gift Submission Works from the Nonprofit’s Side
When a company verifies a matching gift, they typically need confirmation from the nonprofit that:
- The employee made the stated donation
- The organization is a qualifying 501(c)(3)
- The gift date, amount, and donor name are accurate
This verification may come via:
- A direct email asking you to confirm the gift
- A portal login where you confirm match requests (Benevity and YourCause work this way)
- A form signed by an authorized representative of the organization
Assign someone to manage matching gift verifications. A backlog of unverified requests delays payment and can cause the match window to expire - many programs have a deadline (often six months to one year after the gift date) after which unsubmitted requests are no longer honored.
Registering Your Organization in Corporate Giving Portals
If significant numbers of your donors work at major corporations, proactive registration in the company’s giving portal can streamline the matching process. Benevity, YourCause/CyberGrants, and similar platforms allow nonprofits to create verified accounts that handle verification, payment processing, and reporting.
Registration typically requires:
- Your 501(c)(3) determination letter
- Your EIN
- Bank account information for direct deposit
Check whether the major employers in your donor base use one of these platforms and register proactively. It reduces friction on the donor side and speeds up match payment to you.
How to Track Matching Gifts in Your CRM
Matching gift revenue should be attributed in your donor management system in a way that:
- Connects the match to the original donor who triggered it
- Records the match as a separate gift (from the corporation, not the individual)
- Tracks match status (requested, pending verification, paid) so you can follow up on outstanding matches
The attribution question matters for stewardship: the individual donor should be thanked for triggering the match, not just for their personal gift. A note in their acknowledgment saying “your $500 gift resulted in a $500 match from [Employer] - your total contribution impact was $1,000” deepens their investment in the relationship.
The corporate match itself should be recorded as a gift from the company with a note linking it to the original donor. This gives you accurate reporting on both individual and corporate revenue sources.
Unresolved matching gift requests older than three months should be in an active follow-up queue. Either the donor needs to submit the request, or the company needs to process the verification. Your staff should be nudging both.
Measuring the Impact
Track matching gift metrics as a distinct revenue category:
- Total matching gifts received (by year)
- Total matching gifts pending
- Estimated uncaptured matching gift potential (based on employer information in your database)
- Match request submission rate (what percentage of donors who indicated employer eligibility actually submitted a request)
As your matching gift program matures, submission rate is the operational metric most worth improving. An improvement from 30% to 60% submission rate on eligible donors doubles your matching revenue without any change in your donor base.
GrantPipe tracks matching gift status alongside your donor records - so you can see which donors have outstanding match requests, which have been verified, and which resulted in payments. The soft-credit tracking feature attributes matched gifts correctly, and donor retention reporting lets you segment by employer affiliation to understand your matching gift opportunity at scale. Start a free trial to see how it connects to your existing development workflow.
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