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Nonprofits often strive to maximize their donations, as an increase in funds can lead to better programs and a greater impact on the communities they serve. That’s why corporate giving is such a valuable tool—profitable companies can empower nonprofits with various types of donations. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about corporate giving. Let’s take a closer look at how your nonprofit can get started!
What is Corporate Giving?
Corporate Giving Definition
Corporate giving is a form of philanthropy in which corporations contribute to nonprofit causes. This can be in the form of both monetary and non-monetary contributions.
Often driven by employee giving, a company’s philanthropic endeavors can be broken down into various program types. Through these programs, nonprofits may receive monetary donations, volunteer efforts, tangible goods, and other types of contributions.
Companies may initiate corporate giving as part of their dedication to corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is an effort to hold the business accountable to itself and its community. This means that CSR efforts go beyond corporate philanthropy, including employee engagement initiatives, environmentally-conscious practices, and other socially responsible practices to positively impact its community.
Corporate Giving Statistics
Aside from receiving much-needed support, corporate giving can benefit nonprofits in many other ways, including:
- Diversified funding sources: Nonprofits can rely less on donations for financial stability when they have various fundraising channels.
- Increased visibility: Corporate giving puts nonprofit missions in front of corporate audiences, allowing them to reach even more members of the community.
- Expanded network: Connecting with like-minded companies secures support for a specific project while also forging a strong partnership that can be depended on in the future.
Corporate giving is also beneficial for the company lending support! Businesses can see the following benefits from implementing a corporate giving program:
- Philanthropic reputation: A commitment to social good helps employees, customers, and community members see a company in a positive light.
- Employee engagement: Employees value working for socially responsible companies. This means corporate giving can make employees feel more committed to their jobs.
- Community impact: At its core, corporate giving is a surefire way for a company to give back to the community that has given it business and profitability.
Understanding the potential impact that corporate giving can have is essential if you want to raise more for your organization. Your nonprofit can point out these benefits to potential partners to secure corporate support. You’ll also be well-equipped to make the most out of your corporate gifts when you know the power they hold.
Corporate Giving Statistics
Still not convinced about the power of corporate giving? The numbers don’t lie. Consider the following corporate giving statistics:
- On average, $20 to $26 billion is donated to nonprofits by corporations annually. This number continues to increase each year.
- In the U.S., 85% of companies have a formal corporate giving program.
- 39% of companies have plans to expand their workplace giving programs.
- Workplace giving is a growth strategy for 49% of nonprofits.
The top 10 corporations donate more than $2 billion annually in cash to nonprofits, and a large portion of this is through employee matching gift programs. Let’s explore matching gifts and other types of corporate giving programs.
Types of Corporate Giving Programs
Matching Gifts
A matching gift program is a top corporate giving initiative wherein a company will match donations made by their employees to a nonprofit organization. Many companies will match at a 1:1 ratio, though some match at a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio!
Here’s how the matching gift process works:
- An individual donates to a nonprofit.
- The donor uses a matching gift database to determine whether their donation is eligible for a company match.
- If eligible, the donor can access the forms via the database to submit a match request.
- The donor’s company will review the forms and confirm the donation with the nonprofit.
- The company will match the donation.
To make the process even simpler, your nonprofit can leverage an auto-submission tool that automatically checks donors’ eligibility and sends a matching gift request to their employer. That way, your donors will truly be able to maximize their donations without any extra steps!
An estimated $4-7 billion goes unclaimed in matching gift revenue each year, even though more than 18 million individuals work for companies with matching gift programs. This is generally due to donors simply being unaware that their company offers such a program.
However, matching gifts are essentially free money that, with the right tools and resources, your organization can leverage as part of your fundraising strategy. To maximize your matching gift revenue, consider investing in a matching gift automation platform. This will streamline much of your promotional efforts and help you identify donors who are match-eligible.
Volunteer Grants
Volunteer grants are another top corporate giving program through which companies provide monetary grants to organizations where their employees volunteer. This is an excellent fundraising area to pursue if your nonprofit has any number of volunteers!
Here’s how the volunteer grant process works:
- A supporter volunteers with a nonprofit.
- The supporter uses a volunteer grant database to determine if they’re eligible for a volunteer grant.
- If their eligibility is confirmed, the supporter can use the database to find and submit the grant request forms.
- The supporter’s company will review the forms and confirm they volunteered with the nonprofit.
- The company will send the nonprofit a monetary grant.
Employees can even team up to earn a team volunteer grant, which can double as a significant nonprofit contribution and an effective team-building exercise!
About 63 million Americans volunteer each year, totaling 7.7 billion hours, which is worth approximately $175 billion annually. Tapping into this network of volunteers within your organization can help catapult your revenue.
Even more, if you leverage corporate giving software that comes with a company search tool, you’ll make it easier for your volunteers to determine whether their employers offer a volunteer grant program.
Fundraising Matches
Instead of matching individual gifts, some companies may choose to match the total amount of money raised in a nonprofit fundraiser. Nonprofits raise funds through special events, such as walkathons or runs. Then, the company will match the money raised through one, large donation.
Community Grants
Rather than asking supporters to request donations from their employers, nonprofits may request community grants directly from a corporation. These grants may support specific nonprofit initiatives, such as environmental issues. They can also support disaster relief efforts.
Automatic Payroll Deductions
Instead of manually making donations, employees may opt into automatic payroll deductions. Through this program, a portion of employees’ paychecks are extracted automatically and contributed to a nonprofit organization.
Annual Grant Stipends
Though less common, annual grant stipends allocate a set amount of money to employees for philanthropic purposes. After receiving the stipend, employees can donate it to a nonprofit of their choice.
Annual Giving
Nearly one-quarter of a nonprofit’s yearly revenue is raised in December. To capitalize on this, some employers will push a year-end giving campaign to encourage employees to donate. Your nonprofit can track companies that take part in annual giving to make sure you’re the recipient of this fundraising.
In-Kind Donations
Aside from monetary donations, many companies have products and services that can be of great use to nonprofits. For example, a technology company might offer much-needed equipment, such as computers and cameras, to a nonprofit’s marketing team. These donations may be given at little or no cost to nonprofits.
Top Corporate Giving Companies
Several corporations offer top corporate giving programs. For that reason, understanding your donor base and their connections to these companies is crucial so your organization can raise more.
Check out these top 10 companies for corporate giving:
| Apple | $10,000 | Visit Apple’s corporate giving page. |
| $10,000 | Visit Google’s corporate giving page. | |
| The Home Depot | $3,000 | Visit The Home Depot’s corporate giving page. |
| Disney | $25,000 | Visit Disney’s corporate giving page. |
| Coca-Cola | $20,000 | Visit Coca-Cola’s corporate giving page. |
| General Electric | $5,000 | Visit GE’s corporate giving page. |
| BP | $5,000 | Visit BP’s corporate giving page. |
| Microsoft | $15,000 | Visit Microsoft’s corporate giving page. |
| JPMorgan | $1,000 | Visit JPMorgan’s corporate giving page. |
| Verizon | $5,000 | Visit Verizon’s corporate giving page. |
Corporate Giving Trends
Corporate Giving Trend #1:
Expanded Nonprofit Eligibility
Many companies are expanding their matching gift programs to include any type of 501(c)(3) nonprofit or educational institution, rather than focusing on specific categories of nonprofits. This is an excellent advancement that makes employees happy and helps even more organizations serve their missions.
Examples of Expanded Nonprofit Eligibility
Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s largest construction equipment manufacturer. The company previously only matched donations to higher education institutions. However, this year they have expanded to match donations to all 501(c)(3) organizations.
The Caterpillar Foundation offers a year-round matching gift program at a 1:1 ratio, and each employee can request an annual combined total maximum match of $2,000 per calendar year.
Pioneer Natural Resources is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company. The company previously only matched donations to higher education institutions, but in recent years, they have expanded to also match donations to all 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
Pioneer Natural Resources will match a maximum of $5,000 at a 1:1 ratio per year for active employees.
Corporate Giving Trend #2:
Increased Monthly Giving
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in recurring monthly gifts from corporations and individual employees. Monthly giving has proven to be a great way for large corporations to engage their employees and encourage participation in corporate giving.
Recurring monthly giving also leads to more giving overall. It’s a steady source of revenue for nonprofits and results in employees donating more overall, as they can spread their donations over time.
Examples of Increased Monthly Giving
Many companies are taking advantage of automatic payroll deductions so employees can automatically donate directly from their paycheck every month and receive tax benefits.
Companies are also leveraging matching gift programs to further incentivize their employees to participate in monthly giving.
Corporate Giving Trend #3:
Higher Employee Participation
Today, more employees want to take part in corporate giving and are actively supporting and choosing to work for companies that share their values. This means more companies are measuring their impact as a way to further engage their employees and keep up their corporate giving programs.
Examples of Higher Employee Participation
Companies are using software to track the results of their campaign analytics, which they can then share with stakeholders. This software also allows companies to keep track of and monitor donations and/or volunteer hours, set yearly goals that everyone can work toward, and demonstrate to employees the impact they’re making. Friendly competition and activity feeds help increase the level of engagement and participation, as well!
For example, Microsoft has adapted its corporate giving and volunteer programs to further engage its employees. They have done this by making the programs more accessible to everyone, which has resulted in higher employee participation and rewards.
Corporate Giving Trend #4:
More Consumer Influence
In recent years, consumers have been demanding that companies address social issues, which has resulted in the heads of corporations speaking out about positive social change and motivating other companies and their employees to work with organizations to make these changes.
Examples of More Consumer Influence
Consumers are more inclined to purchase from companies that share their values and work to improve society. For that reason, companies have been adapting their corporate giving and volunteer programs in response to recent events and consumers so they can allow employees to support any charity they want.
Companies are also using data and analytics to determine which causes their employees care about. Using this information, they can further support their employees with grants, volunteering events, and matching gifts.
Corporate Giving Software:
Grow Your Revenue with Double the Donation Matching
If you’re a large nonprofit or university that generates more than $25,000 annually in matching gift revenue, you may still be missing out on even more room for growth.
Investing in corporate giving software helps to automate your entire process. This means you can more easily identify opportunities to receive company contributions.
How Double the Donation Matching Works
When it comes to matching gifts and volunteer grants, you may be low on staff members dedicated to driving in revenue from these areas. For that reason, Double the Donation Matching can serve as your own corporate giving team, making outreach and tracking metrics easier than ever.
Our auto-submission tool further simplifies the matching gift process, giving your team more time to focus on what’s most important: your mission. Here’s how it works:
- A supporter donates to the nonprofit of their choice.
- The platform asks for the supporter’s employer information. Donors can also search for their employer in a company name search tool widget on your site.
- If the donor is eligible for a matching gift, the platform will provide their employer’s matching gift guidelines explaining the next steps the supporter can take.
- The supporter will be asked to enter their email address.
- Finally, the matching gift request is processed!
The platform also tracks the progress of the match from start to finish, which allows you to better leverage the information from your matching gifts outreach.
Benefits of Double the Donation Matching
Whether you’re searching for ways to maximize your matching gift revenue or secure more volunteer grants, automating your process is an investment worth considering. Benefits of using Double the Donation Matching include:
- More matching gift revenue opportunities. Double the Donation Matching automatically collects matching gift eligibility from donors in multiple ways, which means more donors will learn about their eligibility and successfully submit a match request.
- More matches driven to completion. Because the right information is provided to the right donor at the right time, these targeted follow-ups will drive more completed submissions than ever before.
- More time for top opportunities. Rather than spending time on smaller-value matching gifts, Double the Donation Matching will automate this process and flag the highest-value opportunities, all so your team can personalize the follow-ups to the most valuable match-eligible donations.
Double the Donation Matching can help streamline your identification process and marketing outreach, as well as track the matching gift process through to completion. Leverage several metrics, such as email open rates and click-through rates, so you can track how your matching gift revenue is performing. Additionally, you can customize your email outreach using your organization’s branding and email domain, which means your donors will know the outreach came from you.
Additional Corporate Giving Resources
Matching Gifts: Your Guide to Automation
Want to learn more about matching gifts and automation in particular?
Check out our expert guide to matching gifts!
Top Matching Gift Companies: Find Your Match
Your donors may be linked to some of the top matching gift companies.
Identify some key giving opportunities!
Corporate Philanthropy: The Ultimate Guide to Giving
Corporate philanthropy makes a huge impact on all kinds of nonprofits.
Learn the basics with Double the Donation!
