Definition of Matching Gifts
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Source/Author:The Foundation Centre

What are employee matching gifts?
"Employee matching gifts" are contributions from a corporate employer that match contributions to a charitable organization by a corporate employee. Sometimes called "matching funds" and defined as grants that are made to match funds provided by another donor, some funders require the match in order for them to give.

Characteristics of employee matching gifts include the following:

Companies frequently match their employees' monetary contributions to particular charities.

Companies may also contribute financially to match employees' volunteer efforts.

Many corporations offer employee matching gift programs in higher education to stimulate their employees to give to the college or university of their choice (usually their alma mater).

Many foundations have matching gift programs for their officers and directors.
Consult the following resources for information on employee matching gifts or matching funds:

The National Directory of Corporate Giving and The Foundation Directory Online.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) publishes an annual directory called Matching Gift Details (also available online as Details Online) that includes information on more than 8,600 corporate matching gift guidelines.

Meyer, Harvey. "Smart Business: Employee Volunteer Programs Come of Age." Volunteer Leadership (Spring-Summer 2004) p. 44-8. Numerous examples of successful initiatives are described.

Meyerson, Debra E. "The Tempered Radicals." Stanford Social Innovation Review 2 (Fall 2004) p. 14-22. A "tempered radical" works from within a business to encourage positive change in corporate behavior. Numerous examples from the field are given, related to employment practices, environmental issues, and worker safety. Strategies that employees can adopt to create internal movements are outlined.

Peterson, Erin. "In Search Of: Fifty Years After Their Debut, Corporate Matching Gift Programs Continue to Evolve." Currents 31 (January 2005) p. 32-7.

Tucker, Paige (ed.) A Guide to Investing in Volunteer Resources Management: Improve Your Philanthropic Portfolio. Atlanta, GA: UPS Foundation, [2003?]. Published in collaboration with the Points of Light Foundation and the Association for Volunteer Administration.
For more books and articles on employee matching gifts programs, try searching our Catalog of Nonprofit Literature (CNL), the Center's bibliographic database. You could start searching on the subjects "Matching gifts" or "Corporate philanthropy, employee programs".

Many of the books and articles found through CNL can be located in Center Libraries and Cooperating Collections. It is best to call ahead to verify a specific library's holdings.

See also our FAQ "Where can I find information on corporate giving?" for a list of general resources on corporate philanthropy.

To learn more about corporate giving, attend our Introduction to Corporate Giving, a free one-hour class.


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