Explore current corporate philanthropy trends and discover how nonprofits and companies can drive value through corporate giving.

8 Trends in Corporate Philanthropy for 2024: How to Tap In

Corporate philanthropy programs like matching gifts, volunteer grants, employee giving campaigns, and corporate sponsorships evolve constantly to meet the needs of companies, nonprofits, and supporters. But external factors are at play that impact trends in corporate philanthropy, too.

For instance, when the economy seems rocky, many worry that corporate matching gifts will be negatively impacted. But luckily, that’s not been the case this year. Instead, many corporations have historically expanded their giving programs in the face of economic downturns to help combat the negative effects on nonprofits.

In this guide, we’ll dive into this year’s CSR trends—particularly those pertaining to workplace giving. We’ll take a close look at what we’re currently seeing and what we expect to continue into the future. Specifically, we’ll cover:

If you’re looking for the Too Long; Didn’t Read version, it’s this⁠: corporate philanthropy programs like matching gifts are thriving, and we don’t expect them to go away anytime soon. For a more in-depth look, however, keep reading to find the latest industry developments and what they mean for your nonprofit.

Click to demo 360MatchPro and see how it can help your nonprofit tap into these trends in corporate philanthropy.

8 Trends in Corporate Philanthropy To Pay Attention To

With the explosive growth of giving initiatives comes a number of new patterns and trends in corporate philanthropy worth exploring. Here’s what’s currently shaping the corporate philanthropy landscape:

This infographic and the text below explore eight trends in corporate philanthropy for 2024.

1. More small and mid-sized companies are participating.

Historically, primarily enterprise-level corporations have offered programs like matching gifts. Companies needed a big budget to get started⁠, not to mention the time and energy required to run the program.

Today, our analysis shows that over 65% of Fortune 500 companies still provide matching gifts⁠, but the number of small and mid-sized businesses following suit is also growing rapidly. The introduction of a number of dedicated corporate giving platforms designed for smaller teams has made this change possible for organizations with limited budgets.

Now, just about any employer can hop in on this corporate giving trend, get started with matching gifts, and see a substantial return on their investment! All in all, that means organizations are seeing more match-eligible donors⁠, with 26+ million individuals working for companies that match employee gifts thanks to this CSR trend.

This statistic proves one of the top trends in corporate philanthropy, which is that companies are maintaining and heightening CSR programs.

2. Year-round giving programs are becoming mainstream.

In the last few years, an increasing number of companies have expanded their corporate philanthropy programs—going from one-off annual giving campaigns to year-round employee-matching programs.

This is due in part to an increased focus on corporate social responsibility from both employees and consumers. U.S.-based consumers have realized the need for philanthropy and want the companies the work for and buy from to take part. Additionally, businesses realize that the benefits of year-round corporate philanthropy on their bottom line are significant!

That said, we can expect to see continued growth in year-round and recurring corporate giving. In fact, according to studies, 94% of major U.S. corporations plan to heighten or maintain their current level of philanthropy in the next few years. With the workplace giving trends we’re seeing, we estimate that a notable portion of that increased giving will be contributed through employee-driven initiatives, like matching gifts. This means your donors will be in the driver’s seat—so keep up your outreach!

3. Nonprofits are proactively seeking matching gifts.

Even with an increasing number of companies offering matching gifts, eligible employees being unaware of the programs available to them remains a significant roadblock. Research even shows that less than 19% of companies include adequate information on matching gift programs in easily accessible employee-facing materials.

The result? 78% of donors do not know whether their company matches gifts. Thus, available matches are going unclaimed⁠—so nonprofits are taking it upon themselves to promote matching gifts to their audiences proactively. That way, they can grow awareness and be on the positive side of this workplace giving trend. Education can take many forms but often consists of:

One trend in corporate philanthropy is proactive matching gift promotions from nonprofits.

With these efforts and other strategic matching gift outreach, nonprofits can increase the number of donors who are aware of their employers’ corporate philanthropy programs—therefore boosting the amount of matched donations they receive.

4. Companies are being more generous with matching gifts.

Today’s businesses recognize that matching gift programs incentivize employees to be charitable, and being as generous as possible can inspire greater participation in workplace philanthropy. That’s why generosity in matching gifts has gradually become a corporate philanthropy trend.

We’ve noticed that more companies are experimenting with these strategies:

  • Matching donations at higher ratios
  • Lowering minimum donation amounts
  • Increasing maximum donation amounts

By simply promising to match donations at higher rates, companies can grow employees’ impact and make it more worthwhile for employees to submit a match request. Currently, our CSR research shows that around 93% of companies have a minimum match requirement of less than or equal to $50. Having fairly cheap match requirements lowers barriers to participation since even modest donations will be eligible for matching.

The same goes for increasing maximum donation amounts. Our corporate giving statistics page explains that when companies match larger employee donations, more employees will engage. In fact, programs with $1,000 maximums see a 12% employee engagement rate, those with maximums between $1,001 and $10,000 have an 18% engagement rate, and any maximum beyond $10,000 sees an engagement rate of up to 40%.

5. Companies are prioritizing disaster relief and crisis response.

Many companies’ giving initiatives have prioritized disaster relief philanthropy. According to Candid’s analysis of public corporate announcements, companies donated $3.6 billion to disaster-related funding in 2020, and recent trends in corporate philanthropy indicate that it’s still a top priority.

With this year’s increase in climate-related emergencies like hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts, there’s clearly a need for this kind of philanthropy. Companies and their employees alike are making an effort to provide relief by participating in crowdfunding, volunteering, and matching gift initiatives.

6. More companies and nonprofits are forming partnerships.

Corporate philanthropy initiatives like matching gifts involve a few key stakeholders—namely, the companies offering the programs and the nonprofits receiving associated funds. To make the process as simple and direct as possible, the two parties are forming tighter partnerships.

One example of this corporate philanthropy trend is our innovative matching gift auto-submission functionality. Auto-submission within 360MatchPro enables employees at forward-thinking companies like CheckrInnovative Discovery, and more to submit their matching gift requests right from their favorite organizations’ giving pages. Check out this overview of how this feature works for nonprofits:

 

It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s all handled behind the scenes⁠. Thus, it minimizes complications for nonprofits, companies, and donors alike, driving more matching gifts to completion and contributing to this workplace giving trend.

Click here to explore how matching gift auto-submission enables you to tap into these corporate philanthropy trends.

7. Employees want greater value, flexibility, and transparency in workplace giving.

Flexibility and support are emerging as essential for employee engagement in workplace giving. An employee giving study from Fidelity Charitable uncovered this trend in workplace giving. Employees who are active in workplace giving programs enjoy participating but cited the following as ways to improve these programs:

Trends in workplace giving point to employees' rising expectations for companies.

  • 40% want an increase in the value of the benefit (e.g., higher corporate match)
  • 39% prefer their employers to offer a wider variety of programs
  • 39% wish companies would allow greater flexibility in when employees can participate
  • 36% want greater flexibility in the causes they can support
  • 34% wish employers would provide more information about their programs and how to get involved
  • 30% want greater transparency about how donations are used

Employees want more than a paycheck from their employers. They want to feel like they’re making a difference. Meanwhile, employees are also balancing a lot, both in and out of the workplace. To inspire participation in workplace giving, companies need to be flexible with the opportunities they offer, ensure those workplace giving options are valuable, and regularly report on impact. That way, they can hop in on this trend in workplace giving expectations among employees.

8. Businesses are using volunteering to grow employee skills and satisfaction.

Corporate volunteering is a wonderful way to grow workplace satisfaction and lower turnover rates for companies. In fact, 87% of employees who engage in corporate volunteering reported an improved perception of their employer. And this isn’t all for nothing! According to that same resource, 92% of HR executives encourage volunteering since it can improve employees’ professional skills.

For this CSR trend, let’s take a look at a real-world example. Bombas is a comfort-focused premium basics brand and a wonderful example of a socially responsible company. Their company is so committed to using workplace philanthropy as a way to increase employee satisfaction that it was actually named one of the best places to work in the U.S.

100% of its employees reported feeling good about how the company contributes to the community. One of the top ways the company gives back is by organizing 10 to 15 volunteering opportunities for employees each month.

For companies, follow in Bombas’ footsteps if you want to get in on this trend in corporate philanthropy. Nonprofits can tap in by looking for companies like this and forming partnerships when their missions align with the business’s CSR initiatives.

Recent Industry Developments in Matching Gifts

Tons of companies contribute to these corporate philanthropy trends by matching employee gifts. Our matching gift database contains records of over 24,000 companies’ program guidelines.

We work to provide the most comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date source of information on the topic, and recently, we can attest that programs’ potential is continuously trending upward⁠. Specifically, new, reinstated, and expanding matching gift initiatives are driving growth. Let’s take a closer look at these developments.

New programs

These are the logos of two companies, discussed below, that started new matching gift programs this year to participate in corporate philanthropy trends.

New companies are rolling out matching gift programs every day! Check out these examples of businesses that have recently incorporated matching gifts into their ongoing corporate giving strategies:

  • Russell Reynolds Associates: In 2022, Russell Reynolds Associates established RRA Gives Back, a philanthropic program that encourages RRA colleagues to support charitable causes and get their contributions matched by the company.
  • Kraft Group: The Kraft Group and its subsidiaries have long participated in various philanthropic activities. One of their newest initiatives is matching employee donations, doubling employees’ impact when they donate.

Another trend in corporate philanthropy we’re seeing more and more of is employees advocating for matching gift programs to their employers. So if a number of your donors are not eligible for matching gifts, don’t fret! Instead, provide resources that can help them champion gift-matching on your behalf.

Knowing their employees want a matching gift program can be a significant motivator for rolling out such an initiative. In exchange, companies can look forward to increased employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Reinstated programs

These are the logos of the four companies discussed below, which reinstated matching gift programs and influenced current CSR trends.

Thanks to the significant value that companies see in their corporate social responsibility efforts, many businesses have recently reinstated their matching gift programs. Companies recognize philanthropy as an integral aspect of their businesses.

For example, here are a few companies that are matching gifts again after a brief intermission in their programming:

  • Booz Allen Hamilton: Previously suspended in 2021, Booz Allen Hamilton’s matching gift program is once again live as of 2023. Both full-time and part-time team members are encouraged to join the company in supporting their favorite charitable causes.
  • Kimray Inc.: Kimray Inc. resumed matching donations of up to $2,000 per team member per year to eligible nonprofit causes. Though they’ll match many organizations and educational institutions, Kimray places a special emphasis on missions related to youth programming, culture, and their local communities.
  • International Business Machines (IBM): IBM paused match operations while switching to a new system. However, the program is now live, and IBM employees are able to request matching gifts of up to $10,000 per year!
  • United Parcel Service (UPS)Though it stopped matching employee gifts for a period, UPS has been back and matching since late 2022. Facilitated through the UPS Foundation, UPS’s matching gift program is designed to empower team members to make a difference through workplace giving.

These companies may have reinstated their programs because they’re in a better place financially, but it’s also likely that they recognized that matching gifts are a long-term investment in their communities. Regardless of the reasoning, we’re glad these companies are back!

Expanding programs

These are the logos of the three companies discussed below that contributed to current corporate philanthropy trends by expanding matching gift programs.

Companies with existing matching gift programs are also expanding their efforts⁠ by increasing their matching gift ratio and/or upping their maximum match amount per year. Here are a few examples of companies recently making these changes:

  • American Eagle Outfitters: Quadrupling their maximum match amount (from $500 to $2,000 per team member per year), American Eagle continues to offer a best-in-class matching gift program! They also upgraded from a paper request form to an online submission portal⁠, making it simpler than ever for employees to get involved.
  • The Hartford: With an increasing match ratio from 0.5:1 to matching on a dollar-for-dollar basis, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. empowers employees to give by doubling individual donations.
  • Chicago Community Trust: Not only did the Chicago Community Trust increase its matching gift ratio from 2:1 to 3:1⁠ (effectively quadrupling individual donations⁠), but it also heightened the maximum gift amount to $7,500.

Not to mention, the number of matching gift programs that will match to any nonprofit continues to grow, while programs that only match to a particular mission type have severely declined. This CSR trend continues to reflect a broader shift toward more inclusive corporate philanthropy as companies empower their employees to support causes that matter to them.

How Nonprofits Can Tap Into These Corporate Philanthropy Trends

Now that you’re up to date on all the latest trends, let’s dive deeper into what they mean for your nonprofit. Ultimately, these workplace giving trends are positive and mean that your nonprofit can continue to see the benefits of corporate philanthropy. But there’s more you can do to tap in!

Our number one piece of advice for leveraging these trends in corporate philanthropy is to take a proactive approach in marketing matching gifts to your audience. 

Remember, your donors may not be aware of their companies’ matching initiatives. To maximize funding and engagement from these programs, it’s crucial to spread the word across your marketing channels. Let donors know how to check their eligibility, why they should submit match requests, and how much impact they can make with matching gifts. Check out this video for more tips on how to promote matching gifts to your donors:

On top of increasing your matching gift marketing, use these additional tips to tap into corporate philanthropy trends:

  • Invest in matching gift software. With software like 360MatchPro, you can greatly simplify the matching gift request process for donors. When you employ functionalities like matching gift auto-submission, your team can sit back and enjoy matching gift revenue trending upward.
  • Expand your promotion of disaster relief campaigns. If your nonprofit participates in crisis response or disaster relief efforts, promote these campaigns directly to corporate audiences. Reach out to businesses and let your donors know their employers can magnify their impact on aiding disasters.
  • Seek out corporate partnerships. Companies want to partner with organizations like yours! Take advantage of this corporate philanthropy trend by continuing to develop relationships with specific businesses, seeking out sponsorship opportunities, and tracking companies that frequently match your donors’ gifts.

Taking these steps will help your organization get the most out of corporate philanthropy and raise more funds for your mission.

What These CSR Trends Mean For Companies

Staying on top of trends in workplace giving isn’t only essential for nonprofits. Companies should also monitor the landscape and pay special attention to their employees’ engagement with their programs. That way, they can stay connected with increased expectations from their employees, prospective workers, investors, and customers.

Based on the corporate giving trends we’re currently seeing, this is what we suggest companies do to make a genuine impact:

  • Be generous with workplace giving programs. It’s not enough to simply engage in corporate giving. Instead, businesses should provide a wide variety employee giving opportunities, including everything from matching gifts to volunteer opportunities to charitable giving stipends.
  • Form partnerships with nonprofits. Consistently supporting one nonprofit can help grow impact while also indicating the company’s values. Companies should select reputable nonprofit partners that align with their missions.
  • Put special emphasis on matching gifts. Corporate matches are one of the most convenient yet powerful ways to give back. Companies should develop a generous program with low minimum donation requirements, high maximum donation requirements, and generous ratios. Then, they should make sure employees know about the opportunity.

Being serious about corporate giving is a great way for businesses to show they recognize their duty to give back to the communities that support them. While these tips reflect current CSR trends, we don’t expect these standards to change anytime soon.

Trending Onward & Upward

Corporate philanthropy continues to be a priority for businesses and employees everywhere. Thus, we encourage nonprofits to make the most of the opportunities at hand.

Interested in learning more about corporate philanthropy trends to be aware of? Check out these additional Double the Donation resources:

Interested in learning more about how to continue fundraising through difficult times? Check out our immersive webinar on the topic!

How to Fundraise During Economic Uncertainty

Click to demo 360MatchPro and learn how to harness these corporate philanthropy trends with matching gift software.

Learn the ins-and-outs of CSR reporting software for businesses.

CSR Reporting Software: An Introductory Guide for Businesses

As companies like yours strive to meet their sustainability goals, track their environmental impact, and demonstrate their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), the need for efficient and effective reporting software has never been more crucial. That’s where CSR reporting software comes in.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about CSR reporting software, including:

Whether you’re a small business looking to get started with CSR reporting or a multinational corporation seeking to enhance transparency and accountability for your existing programs, these insights will help you maximize the value of your chosen software.

Check if your CSR platform integrates with 360MatchPro to maximize the ease and effectiveness of your program via auto-submission.

Understanding CSR Reporting Software: 3 FAQs

Before we dive into the specifics of CSR reporting software, explore these frequently asked questions to ensure you have all the foundational knowledge you need:

What is CSR reporting software, and why do companies use it?

CSR reporting software refers to a set of specialized tools designed to help organizations track, manage, and report on their philanthropic initiatives.

Companies of all sizes use CSR software and reporting features to streamline the process of collecting and analyzing data related to these efforts. It enables them to generate comprehensive reports that showcase their commitment to responsible business practices, transparency, and accountability.

Is CSR reporting mandatory?

In most countries, companies are not legally obligated to produce reports related to their philanthropic, ethical, and environmental initiatives. However, many organizations still choose to engage in CSR reporting to demonstrate their commitment to becoming a more socially conscious organization.

Keep in mind that regulatory landscapes can change over time, so it’s important for companies to stay informed on CSR standards in their jurisdictions and industries.

How can CSR reporting software benefit my organization?

CSR reporting software offers several benefits, including:

  • Enhanced efficiency: These tools streamline data tracking, management, and analysis, reducing manual effort and the risk of errors.
  • Data-driven insights: The software provides valuable insights into CSR performance, helping your business identify areas for improvement.
  • Stakeholder engagement: CSR reports can be shared with stakeholders, including investors, customers, and employees, to demonstrate responsible business practices and build trust.

While implementing new software requires an investment of time and resources on your company’s part, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

4 Features to Look for in CSR Reporting Software

Prioritize these four features in your search for the best CSR reporting software:

A graphic listing the four features to look for in CSR reporting software, listed in the text below.
1. Customization

Every organization’s CSR initiatives, objectives, and data requirements are unique. Customizability allows your company to tailor the software to align with your specific sustainability goals, industry standards, and regulatory compliance needs.

Work with developers to ensure that the software can accommodate your operational nuances. For example, if your organization decides to focus on environmental sustainability, you might require custom fields to track greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and water usage to assess and reduce your environmental impact.

2. Integration

Integration allows for a seamless exchange of data between CSR reporting software and other systems. Combining financial, operational, and sustainability data can provide a more complete picture of your CSR performance and facilitate improved decision-making.

Prioritize integrations that are relevant to your CSR-related goals. For instance, businesses that have robust matching gift programs should ensure that their CSR software integrates with a nonprofit-facing matching gift platform with auto-submission capabilities, such as 360MatchPro. Auto-submission streamlines the process of requesting, submitting, and reporting on matching gifts. As a result, you can increase your company’s philanthropic impact in less time.

For more information on matching gift auto-submission, watch this video:

3. Automation

Prioritize automation in your search for CSR reporting software, as it can significantly streamline the reporting process, enhance data accuracy, and save valuable time and resources. This makes it easier to meet reporting deadlines and focus on strategic sustainability initiatives.

Consider investing in software that has AI-driven analytics and reporting tools that can identify trends and insights automatically, reducing the need for manual data analysis. It’s also important to seek references or testimonials from current users who can attest to the software’s automation capabilities and its effectiveness in simplifying their CSR reporting processes.

4. Scalability

As your business evolves and expands, your CSR reporting needs may increase. Scalable software can handle large data volumes, accommodate additional users, and adapt to changing reporting requirements without compromising performance or data integrity.

Start by clearly defining your current and future reporting needs. Consider factors like the number of data sources, the volume of data, the complexity of reporting, and any potential growth projections.

Then, review the software’s architecture. Scalable software should be designed to handle increased loads by distributing resources efficiently. Prioritize cloud-based solutions as they can often handle large amounts of data without significant performance degradation.

How to Make the Most of CSR Reporting Software

If CSR reporting software seems like it would be a positive investment for your organization, follow these tips to ensure that its implemented correctly.

Define Clear Objectives and Metrics

Before using CSR reporting software, define clear objectives for your reporting efforts. Determine what you want to achieve through CSR reporting, whether it’s improved transparency, compliance with reporting standards, or better stakeholder engagement.

Then, identify key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that are relevant to your organization’s CSR goals. These may include:

  • Number of volunteer hours: Track the total number of hours volunteered by employees to understand their level of commitment to your corporate volunteerism initiatives.
  • Donations raised: Determine how much money has been raised through your CSR initiatives, whether that be through fundraising events, donation drives, or employee matching gifts.
  • Organizations or causes supported: Keep track of the number of organizations or causes supported through volunteering efforts to demonstrate the full extent of your impact.
  • Employee engagement: Measure employee satisfaction with and participation in CSR initiatives to understand how these initiatives have affected your work environment and morale.

When measuring the impact of CSR initiatives, a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics can provide a comprehensive understanding of your programs’ outcomes.

Leverage Data Visualization Tools

Most CSR reporting solutions come with data visualization tools that allow you to create visually appealing charts, graphs, and dashboards. These visuals can help stakeholders understand your performance at a glance.

Keep these tips in mind as you visualize data:

  • Choose the right visualization type. Selecting the appropriate visualization type is crucial for effectively conveying information. Consider the nature of the data and the story you want to tell. Common visualization types for CSR reporting include bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, maps, and infographics. Each type has its strengths and is suitable for different types of data.
  • Keep it simple and clear. Avoid cluttering the visualizations with excessive information or unnecessary design elements in your reports. Keep the visuals clean, uncluttered, and easy to understand.
  • Add context and storytelling. Use visualizations to tell a compelling story about your CSR initiatives. Incorporate narratives or descriptions to provide additional context and explanations for the data being presented. Use annotations, titles, and captions to guide the viewer’s attention and highlight key insights.

Remember that your choice of visualization techniques should align with the specific data and objectives of your CSR reporting.

Provide Comprehensive Training

Take these steps to ensure that your company’s staff members are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively use your CSR reporting software:

  • Provide comprehensive training materials. Develop training materials that cover all aspects of using the CSR reporting software. Consider providing both written and visual resources to accommodate diverse learning preferences, such as user manuals, video tutorials, step-by-step guides, and FAQs.
  • Hands-on training and practice. Offer hands-on training sessions where employees can actively engage with your CSR reporting software. Provide opportunities to practice inputting data, generating reports, and navigating different features. Address any questions or challenges that arise during the training sessions.
  • Ongoing support and resources. Establish a support system to assist employees after the initial training. This can include a dedicated help desk or support team that they can reach out to for assistance or troubleshooting.

Effective training is a continuous process. Regularly assess staff needs, gather feedback, and refine training materials and sessions accordingly.

A Final Note About CSR Reporting Software

As you embark on your journey toward effective CSR reporting, remember that the right software is not just a tool—it’s a strategic asset that can drive positive change and elevate your organization’s reputation in an increasingly socially conscious world. Use this foundational knowledge to guide your search and invest in the right solution for your organization.

For more information on CSR, check out these additional resources:

Check if your CSR reporting software integrates with 360MatchPro to maximize the ease and effectiveness of your program via auto-submission.

This guide will cover nine year-round employee giving campaign ideas and real examples.

9 Exciting Employee Giving Campaign Ideas & Real Examples

Thanks to the growing movement toward increased corporate citizenship, combined with innovative new technology, many companies are stepping up their employee-giving game like never before.

Businesses interested in creating or improving their workplace giving programs—as well as nonprofits eager to engage donors and corporate partners in new ways—will find inspiration in these versatile employee giving campaign ideas.

This guide will cover:

Before we dive into ideas your business can use for employee giving, let’s explore the basics.

Click to read more about how matching gift auto-submission improves engagement for employee giving campaigns.

The Importance of Employee Giving

The framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly popular across many sectors. It’s even inspiring employers to provide a variety of ways for their company to give back to the community in the form of philanthropic donations, volunteerism, and proactive policies that put people and the environment first.

Take a look at these statistics to understand the power of CSR:

This image lists three CSR statistics that show the importance of employee giving, also detailed in the text below.

  • 77% of consumers aim to support socially responsible companies.
  • 93% of employees believe companies must lead with purpose.
  • 92% of consumers would buy a product that supports a good cause.

A welcome shift from the “greed is good” mindset of past generations, corporate citizenship promotes commitment to sustainability both inside and outside corporate office walls.

Employee giving (also called workplace giving) is one of the most popular CSR strategies. It creates opportunities for everyone in a corporate environment to support charitable organizations and causes in a collective effort, making a much greater impact than what most individuals can do alone. From annual fundraisers and donation drives to giving days and volunteer programs, employee giving campaigns will (and should!) look different in every workplace, depending on your unique company culture and values.

However, there is one aspect of employee giving every workplace campaign should include: matching donations.

When individual employees give from their own pockets to eligible nonprofits, their companies should match those donations. Through matching gift programs, companies can double their employees’ impact on the causes they care about. This kind of support and commitment builds buy-in, signals to employees that their company is just as committed to this work as they are, and affirms that their participation is seen and celebrated.

The Benefits of Workplace Giving Campaigns

Employee giving initiatives backed by matching donations can do a whole lot of good—and not just for your nonprofit beneficiaries and the communities they serve.

A company’s public image, for example, can undoubtedly improve with well-documented charitable contributions. Plus, the tax incentives for large philanthropic gifts are nothing to shrug at. Still, it’s the impact that workplace giving campaigns have on employee morale that cannot be understated.

Generosity, science tells us, is tied to human happiness. Creating meaningful opportunities for employees to build relationships and contribute to good causes alongside their peers leads to a greater sense of belonging, stronger engagement in future activities and projects, and higher staff retention. It’s a win-win-win!

With the help of automated systems, giving can become an integral part of the culture of your workplace. Imagine an environment where giving is as much a part of your work week as logging into your email in the morning—not just once a year, but throughout! That’s achievable by implementing matching gift programs and hosting regular employee giving campaigns.

9 Employee Giving Campaign Ideas to Try Throughout the Year

We’ve gathered some of our favorite workplace giving campaign ideas you can implement year-round at your office. Plus, each idea features an example from a real nonprofit that nailed it.

Every workplace is different, so think creatively about how you can customize and adjust these ideas based on your company’s size, time constraints, interests, and areas of specialty. The possibilities are endless—just like your potential for making a positive impact in your community.

This image lists nine employee giving campaign ideas your business can implement, covered in more detail in the text below.

1. Prepare for winter with in-kind donations.

Winter is a particularly difficult time of year for many nonprofit beneficiaries, especially if they’re individuals experiencing homelessness or poverty. Encourage your employees to make in-kind donations, which are any non-monetary gift, to organizations that need them. This is an especially great idea for employees with tighter budgets who may not be able to justify a monetary donation.

To make the donation process easier for your employees, partner up with one or a few specific nonprofits. Ask them what donations would be most helpful to them, and then provide your employees with that list of items. Organizations might be searching for items that directly help their beneficiaries, such as canned food or winter clothing, or they might be searching for items to empower them to more effectively help their beneficiaries, such as computers, printers, or fundraising event decorations.

This image shows an example of Second Helpings Atlanta’s employee giving campaign initiatives.

Real-world example: Second Helpings Atlanta is a nonprofit food rescue organization whose mission is to reduce hunger and food waste in the Metro Atlanta area. It rescues healthy, nutritious, surplus food and distributes it to those in need.

They’ve created a network with over 75 food donor organizations across Atlanta, including businesses such as Chick-Fil-A, Mercedes Benz, Pizza Hut, and Publix. These businesses work with Second Helpings Atlanta as part of their CSR and employee giving initiatives to use food for good in the local community.

2. Lean into the competitive spirit for Giving Tuesday.

Year-end is a popular time of year for nonprofit fundraising, and it all begins with Giving Tuesday. This global day of generosity happens the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is meant to channel the shopping madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday toward a worthy cause instead.

A virtual peer-to-peer or team fundraising Giving Tuesday campaign is an easy and fun way to foster friendly competition as individuals or staff teams try to out-raise one another for their cause.

The secret to a successful peer-to-peer fundraiser? Keep spirits high and be a cheerleader for your fundraisers! Celebrate everyone’s hard work by shouting out teams at various times throughout the campaign and offering prizes for the teams with the most donations, the highest amount raised, or even the most team spirit.

This image shows an example of a Giving Tuesday employee giving campaign for the Downtown Women’s Center.

Real-world example: For the Together Housed campaign, participants created personal or team fundraising pages to raise money over three weeks for women in Los Angeles experiencing homelessness.

This virtual effort raised over $155K for the Downtown Women’s Center and culminated in a live-streamed celebration to thank individual fundraisers and corporate sponsors.

3. Turn your holiday party into an opportunity to give back.

The holidays bring out the giving spirit in even the Grinchiest among us—especially if the food and drinks are free. If you’ve already budgeted for a staff gathering or outing for the holidays, think about adding on a party-worthy fundraising element like a silent auction to benefit a local nonprofit. This is also an excellent time to celebrate your Giving Tuesday teams or winners with silly prizes or awards!

Depending on the size of your staff, a team can volunteer to source auction items or request that everyone (CEO included) contribute an item, experience, or basket to auction off during the party.

Sourcing items can be work-intensive, so make the rest of the process easy on your team by using an online silent auction platform that partygoers can use to bid right from their smartphones. Mobile bidding also makes it easy to create a hybrid or virtual auction experience if your remote employees want to start a bidding war for a good cause.

This image shows an example of a holiday fundraiser for the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation as an employee giving campaign.

Real-world example: The Ultimutt Auction fundraiser for the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation offered bidders a range of fun experiences and items from local businesses. To reach a wider audience and build momentum to raise more funds, the organizers had the online auction open for a week, enabling them to raise over $21K!

4. Kick off the new year with a monthly giving program.

With everyone energized by your Giving Tuesday and holiday party success (and hopefully some time off), build on this momentum to get employees excited about giving back regularly.

A great place to start is by hosting a casual “Lunch and Learn” once a month, where a guest speaker or representative from a local nonprofit gives an informal presentation about their impact and need.

The actual giving part can happen in a few different ways:

  • A monthly stipend from the company that employees can donate
  • Informal monthly contributions matched by the company
  • Automated payroll deductions (also matched by the company)

Build buy-in by providing incentives like a catered lunch for those who attend and asking staff to nominate organizations or community groups that are meaningful to them. National celebrations like Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May), etc., can be a great guidepost for causes to highlight if you’re not sure where to start.

Be sure that your company’s matching gift program is set up before you begin your new monthly giving program. That way, you’ll be able to engage your employees through philanthropy and increase the impact of gifts to your local nonprofits.

This image shows rue21’s employee giving campaign, which is an annual giving staff fundraiser.

Real-world example: Clothing retailer rue21’s annual giving campaign organizes staff fundraising teams by department (Marketing, Merchandising, Human Resources, and so on). Each year, they have raised more funds for their nonprofit partner organization, Foster Love Project, which serves youth in foster care.

Click to learn more about how matching gift auto-submission increases generosity for employee giving campaigns.

5. Spring into volunteering.

Financial contributions aren’t the only way to make a difference in your place of work. Harness the power of your team’s talents to give back through volunteer hours or pro bono projects in partnership with a local nonprofit, school, or other community organization.

Volunteering can be skill-based work (graphic design, tutoring, or even accounting!) or just helping with whatever is needed (envelope stuffing, serving meals, or checking people in). It’s all about meeting the needs of your particular community partner.

The key to success here is to incentivize volunteering, which can happen in many ways.

Some companies, including 40% of the Fortune 500 list, give volunteer grants to employees who put in a certain number of hours, and others offer perks like additional vacation time. You can even liven things up by making it a competition to see who can give the highest number of hours by a specific date.

This image shows an example of a volunteer-based employee giving campaign by Chicago-based software company Sprout Social.

Real-world example: Chicago-based software company Sprout Social organized Philanthropy Week, which combined volunteering and team-based fundraising for local nonprofits.

Teams of employees chose an organization in their community, created fundraising pages, and volunteered on-site to foster deeper connections with their partners.

6. Create your own workplace giving day in May.

Aside from being a great help to nonprofits, volunteering is also one of the most effective team-building activities. Hosting a workplace giving day can empower your company to build connection and belonging amongst your staff—and contribute to a good cause at the same time.

As the weather warms up, partner with a local nonprofit that needs a lot of hands for a park cleanup, meal prep, material assembly, mural painting, or other beautification projects. Make sure everyone on your staff is able and incentivized to attend, get t-shirts made for the occasion, and cap it all off with a celebration and big group photo.

If all goes well, try to make it an annual event that employees look forward to, your nonprofit partners can plan around, and the entire community can feel proud of.

This image shows an example of a workplace giving day as an employee giving campaign, hosted by Presence Marketing.

Real-world example: When pandemic restrictions made in-person activities impossible, Presence Marketing organized a virtual 5k and complementary fundraiser in partnership with a charitable foundation to help build a Kindergarten in the West African nation of Togo.

The event was so successful that they organized a second annual day of giving the following year to benefit another charity project!

7. Celebrate summer with sponsorship.

June is the start of summer and Pride Month, a great time to support organizations that serve the LGBTQ+ community. Give your coworkers a special night out together and raise some serious money by sponsoring a fun fundraising event, like a standup comedy, drag show, or a combination of the two!

Planning events is a lot of work, so if that’s not something you can take on, seek out a nonprofit partner already planning a benefit event that you can sponsor. Or enlist the help of a local venue that can help match you with a good cause. If a virtual or hybrid event can help you reach your community better, livestream it!

This image shows an example of a corporate sponsorship hosted by Platinum Top 50 as an employee giving campaign.

Real-world example: Platinum Top 50, an industry organization for real estate professionals in Texas, organized a comedy show fundraiser featuring standup and improv from some talented local realtors. In addition to ticket sales, extra donations from individuals and corporate sponsorships helped them to raise over 200% of their original goal for their hunger-fighting nonprofit partner.

8. Go virtual with a back-to-school drive.

Drives for essential items like jackets, toys, and perishable goods are popular for workplace giving campaigns for many reasons. For one, those who are making donations can immediately see the real-life impact of their gifts, which is sometimes harder to communicate with solely monetary asks.

With a virtual drive, donors can still understand exactly where their money is going and, at the same time, give the nonprofit beneficiary more oversight and flexibility to order the items they need and get them directly to the people who need them.

This campaign idea is also great for remote office teams, as virtual drives open up donations to a broader pool of people and save the time and energy it can take a team of employees to collect, organize, and transport items.

This image shows an example of a virtual back-to-school drive hosted by Teachers’ Treasures as an employee giving campaign.

Real-world example: With several businesses participating, Teachers’ Treasures organized the Gr8 Paper Push Virtual School Supply Drive and enabled donors to select specific classroom items or just make a flat donation to the campaign.

This campaign also had an added team fundraising element. Local businesses competed with one another to raise the most, which created a lively, fun atmosphere.

9. Make a No Shave November everyone can join in on.

Movember and No Shave November, popular social challenges to see who can grow the most facial hair, were created to raise awareness and funds for men’s health and cancer prevention. Anyone can play on this idea for a good cause of their choosing—just make sure to take lots of photos!

This image shows an example of a No Shave November employee giving campaign, hosted by Windham County Safe Place.

Real-world example: For their annual Let It Grow! campaign, Vermont-based victims’ services agency Windham County Safe Place engaged teams from the police departments, hospitals, and legal groups that they work with for a light-hearted competition. Each team was encouraged to grow facial hair or rock colorful hair extensions and bright nails for the month. Inclusivity for the win!

Every participant received a special pin for joining the campaign. They created their own individual or team fundraising page, donated $25 or more, and encouraged their friends and family to help them reach their goal. The top three earners even won a special prize at the end of the competition! The novelty of this campaign drew attention to their cause from local media and helped them to raise thousands of dollars.

Additional Resources

From selling tickets and making donations to administering payroll deductions and matching contributions, automating as much of your workplace giving campaigns as possible will save you a lot of time and energy. CSR platforms can free you up to focus on what really matters—engaging your workplace community and creating meaningful ways to give back together.

Looking for more inspiration? Dive deeper into these additional resources:

Click to learn more about matching gift auto-submission and how it helps your employee giving campaigns.

In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of corporate volunteerism and walk you through how to start your own program.

Corporate Volunteerism: A Guide for Purpose-Driven Companies

Your company accomplishes great things through the combined efforts of its leadership, managers, and employees. To stand out in today’s world, however, you need to harness this power to achieve more than just profits. One way to do this is through corporate volunteerism.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a rising priority among modern companies due to its profound influence on reputation, employee engagement, and the welfare of society as a whole. By incorporating volunteerism into your company’s CSR strategy, you can directly involve employees in your philanthropic efforts and connect with local communities.

To set your corporate volunteer program up for success, we’ll cover everything you need to know in the following sections:

Ready to build meaningful, lasting relationships with employees, customers, nonprofit partners, and other community members? Whether you’re just starting out or looking to improve an existing corporate volunteer program, having a thoughtful strategy will maximize your results.

Learn how you can use matching gift tools like auto-submission to engage employees beyond corporate volunteering and boost your philanthropy results.

Corporate Volunteerism: FAQs

Before we delve into specific tips and tactics, let’s set the stage by walking through some frequently asked questions about corporate volunteerism:

What is corporate volunteerism?

Corporate volunteerism is an aspect of corporate philanthropy that involves encouraging employees to commit their time and skills to charitable causes in their communities. To do this, companies establish corporate volunteer programs that formalize these activities and track their overall impact.

While each company’s volunteer program differs depending on its goals, resources, and employees, having one in place is a first step toward demonstrating your commitment to bettering the world around you.

What are the benefits of employee volunteer programs?

Corporate volunteerism brings a host of benefits to everyone involved—your company, employees, and nonprofits. By opening up more opportunities for employees to volunteer for charitable causes, you contribute more resources to the community and empower nonprofits to better serve their beneficiaries.

For business-specific benefits, creating a corporate volunteer program allows you to:

  • Engage more employeesMany employees need more than just a regular paycheck to feel invested and fulfilled in their roles. Corporate volunteering initiatives allow them to develop a sense of pride in working for your company since they’re able to contribute to positive change within their communities.
  • Attract more top talent. According to PwC, 65% of people around the globe want to work for an organization with a powerful social conscience. Creating and publicizing your company’s employee volunteer program guidelines is an excellent way to catch the attention of socially conscious job seekers.
  • Enhance your reputation. These days, customers expect more from companies than just stellar products or services. They want to know that your business strategy involves more than making profits. Through corporate volunteerism, your company can prove its commitment to social good and bring in more customers as a result.
  • Develop employee skills. Through volunteering, employees can gain experience and develop abilities they can later apply on the job. This can be anything from leadership skills to technical expertise, like coding. Plus, by organizing team-wide volunteering events, you can foster improved collaboration and communication within the workplace.
  • Improve employee well-being. According to the Mayo Clinic Health System, volunteering can improve a person’s physical and mental health, reducing stress and decreasing the risk of general illness. By encouraging employee volunteering, your company can ensure that they report to work each day feeling ready and eager to put in their best efforts.

However, it takes more than just starting a corporate volunteer program to secure these benefits. First, you need to get your employees excited to participate. To do so, create initiatives that resonate with their specific preferences and interests. At the same time, avoid placing pressure on employees to get involved—employee volunteering should be an option at your company, rather than a requirement.

What are the different types of corporate volunteering?

Corporate volunteerism comes in several shapes and sizes. Consider these popular types of employee volunteering to include in your program:

This image illustrates seven common types of corporate volunteerism, explained in more detail below.

  • Direct Service Volunteering. Through this type of volunteering, employees directly interact with nonprofit beneficiaries and community members. For example, they may provide tutoring sessions to local students, walk dogs at an animal shelter, or serve meals to people without permanent housing.
  • Indirect Service Volunteering. Indirect service volunteering does not involve interactions with beneficiaries. Instead, employees can support their community by assembling care packages, participating in a beautification project, or creating marketing materials online.
  • Skills-Based Volunteering. Also called SBV, this type of volunteering allows employees to make use of their professional skills to advance nonprofit missions. For instance, employees at a law office may provide pro bono legal services to a charitable organization, while those at a web development company may revamp a nonprofit’s website for free.
  • Volunteer Grants. A volunteer grant program rewards employees for committing their time and skills to causes they care about. Typically, once they’ve volunteered a minimum number of hours with a nonprofit, they can submit a volunteer grant request to your company. Then, you donate a certain amount of money to that nonprofit, depending on how many hours the employee volunteered.
  • Volunteer Time Off. You can think of Volunteer Time Off, or VTO, as an employee internship in the short term. Companies generally offer their staff between 8 and 40 hours each year to spend participating in volunteer activities⁠—such as direct, indirect, or skills-based volunteering⁠—while still receiving their regular paycheck.
  • Team Volunteering. These volunteer opportunities double as team-building events for your company. Many nonprofits need larger teams of corporate volunteers to assist them with projects, from constructing houses to participating in a local cleanup activity.
  • Mentorships. Through mentorships, employees can make a direct impact on an individual community member’s life. This may involve supporting a student’s personal goals and academic performance or helping a young professional along their career path.
  • Employee Internships. Some companies lend their employees to nonprofit organizations by allowing them to participate in internships, enabling employees to provide their skills to the nonprofit long-term. During these internships, your business will continue paying employees’ salaries. Patagonia, for example, permits any employee within the company to spend up to two months working for an environmental group of their choosing.


Each type of corporate volunteering varies in the level of commitment expected from your employees. Micro-volunteering opportunities, like translating a single document or drafting a letter, can take only an hour or so, while initiatives such as employee internships can last several months. Be sure to offer several options that appeal to different employees at your company.

7 Corporate Volunteering Statistics You Should Know

If your company is ready to become a leader in corporate volunteerism, explore the following statistics to inform your approach:

This infographic summarizes the following seven statistics on corporate volunteerism.

  • 71% of employees believe it’s important to work at a company that gives back through philanthropy and volunteering.
  • 96% of companies find that employees who volunteer are more engaged than those who don’t.
  • Companies see 52% less turnover among employees who participate in workplace giving programs, like volunteer days.
  • 60% of companies offer paid volunteer time off (VTO) to employees.
  • 40% of Fortune 500 companies offer volunteer grant programs.
  • 80% of companies with volunteer grant programs contribute between $8-$15 per hour volunteered.
  • Virtual volunteering was the most offered volunteer program by companies to both domestic and international employees.


Staying up to date on the latest corporate volunteerism and philanthropy trends ensures that your company is well-equipped to engage its employees in CSR and create a meaningful impact on society.

How to Start a Corporate Volunteer Program

A successful corporate volunteer program differs from company to company. After all, your guidelines and initiatives depend on your industry, business goals, and employees. Follow these seven steps to piece together your program:

This image illustrates seven steps for starting a corporate volunteer program, explained in more detail below.

1. Define your goals and priorities.

Identify your corporate volunteerism goals to secure support across all areas of your company. Focus on issues or causes that align with your overall mission and values. General Mills, for example, is a global food company that focuses its volunteerism efforts on supporting food banks and anti-hunger organizations such as Feeding America.

Additionally, send out surveys to your employees to find out which causes are close to their hearts, which skills they would like to apply, and which communities they’re most interested in supporting. Use these insights to guide your decision-making as you build your program.

2. Outline your corporate volunteerism program.

Based on your goals and employee feedback, determine which types of corporate volunteering to implement. If you’re hoping to engage and retain remote employees, for instance, you might promote virtual volunteering opportunities.

Formalize your decision-making by creating an official policy for your corporate volunteer program that lets employees know which organizations your program supports. In this document, you should include information such as:

  • Issues or causes supported by the program
  • Employee eligibility criteria for participation
  • Causes or types of nonprofits excluded from the program
  • Contact information for questions related to employee volunteering

Make this policy available to employees and other stakeholders alike. You can even create several versions depending on the audience. An employee-facing version might include more details about participation, while a public-facing version might feature information on how you’ll report the program’s impact.

3. Invest in CSR software tools.

comprehensive CSR software solution can facilitate your corporate volunteering initiatives and other philanthropic programs you might launch in tandem. Look for key features that empower your company to:

  • Share upcoming volunteer opportunities with employees.
  • Plan and manage company volunteering events.
  • Track volunteer participation and hours.
  • Process and follow through with volunteer grant requests.
  • Measure the impact of employee volunteering.

Beyond managing your corporate volunteerism, this software can streamline other aspects of your CSR strategy and workplace giving, such as matching gifts.

Check with your CSR provider to see whether your platform integrates with the latest matching gift tools, such as auto-submission, to maximize employee participation. With this feature, your employees will be able to automatically submit matching gift requests when donating to a nonprofit. Rather than checking their eligibility and filling out each required field in your application form, all they would need to do is input their company email address to kick off the matching process.

Learn how you can use matching gift tools like auto-submission to engage employees beyond corporate volunteering and boost your philanthropy results.

4. Reach out to potential nonprofit partners.

Develop long-term relationships with nonprofits in your community by seeking out partnerships with organizations that align with your mission and values. For instance, a company with a philanthropic goal of improving sustainability might partner with an environmental nonprofit by setting up employee volunteering opportunities with them throughout the year.

Your company can even go beyond corporate volunteering to sponsor the nonprofit’s events or programs. In return, the nonprofit will typically feature your company in its marketing materials to help boost your reputation, turning your support into a mutually beneficial partnership.

5. Promote your corporate volunteer program.

Once you’ve worked out all the details, start engaging employees in your corporate volunteer ideas by spreading the word about your program. Start by walking through your policy in a company-wide meeting, then host follow-up Q&As as necessary. Link to key documents in your employee portal so everyone can access the information they need to get involved.

Furthermore, you can encourage participation by appointing corporate volunteer ambassadors within your company. These individuals act as authoritative resources for employees interested in your program and serve as an example to inspire people to get involved.

6. Measure your corporate volunteering impact.

To ensure the long-term success of your corporate volunteer program, be sure to measure your results. For instance, some basic metrics to keep an eye on include:

  • Employee participation rate
  • Total number of volunteer hours contributed
  • Volunteer event attendance
  • Average amount of volunteer grants awarded

Share this information with your employees, customers, and nonprofit partners to maintain engagement and morale. Many companies compile their corporate volunteerism data into yearly impact reports containing their CSR progress and publish them on their websites to demonstrate their corporate citizenship.

7. Recognize your employees for participating.

Remember that your CSR impact is only possible thanks to your employees’ participation. With this in mind, develop a strategy for recognizing those who engage with your corporate volunteering activities. Some popular methods of employee recognition include:

This image summarizes several ways to recognize employees for participating in your corporate volunteerism, listed in the text below.

  • Sending a personalized eCard.
  • Creating social media shoutouts.
  • Spotlighting employees on your website.
  • Featuring employees in your email newsletter.
  • Giving out volunteer awards.

Ultimately, having a recognition program in place is beneficial to your company as a whole. Frequent appreciation can go a long way toward reinforcing excellent performance, improving engagement, and cultivating a sense of community in the workplace.

Click through to read how a leading company in philanthropy engages its employees in corporate volunteerism and matching gifts.

4 Top Corporate Volunteerism Examples

If you need a little more inspiration to create your corporate volunteer program, it’s always helpful to learn from other successful businesses. Take a look at these companies’ top-tier programs and consider how you can incorporate their strategies at your business’s scale:

Disney

The Walt Disney Company’s VoluntEARs program has logged around 13 million volunteer hours since its inception in 1983. Throughout the year, employees have the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities, such as:

  • Helping food banks deliver food to community members.
  • Creating handmade blankets for children’s hospitals and animal shelters.
  • Analyzing Great Barrier Reef images to aid conservation efforts.
  • Planting butterfly-friendly backyard habitats to support the Monarch butterfly population.
  • Recording Disney bedtime stories for children living in rural areas.

Furthermore, Disney offers volunteer grants to its employees, contributing up to $2,000 a year per employee based on the number of hours they volunteer.

AT&T

By 2030, AT&T plans to engage 50% of its employees worldwide in volunteering and giving. As of last year, it has succeeded in engaging 31% of employees in their communities.

To encourage increased corporate volunteerism, the company:

  • Recognizes employees with a “Community Impact Award.”
  • Offers management employees a paid Community Day for volunteering each year.
  • Organizes regular volunteer projects for environmental stewardship, such as building bee habitats and cleaning up parks.
  • Providing volunteer grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofits.

AT&T’s volunteers contributed 385,800 hours just in the past year, with employee time valued at $11.6 million.

Verizon

Similar to AT&T, Verizon aims to reach 2.5 million volunteer hours by 2025. The company’s volunteer program focuses on three specific areas:

  1. Digital inclusion by tutoring students online to assisting older adults with technology.
  2. Climate protection by cleaning up rivers to participating in environmental research.
  3. Human prosperity by writing letters to veterans and supporting students with developing career goals.

So far, Verizon has engaged over 95,000 volunteers in over 1.6 million volunteer hours. To invest in its focus areas, the company has partnered with over 39 nonprofits, including the Trevor Project and the American Red Cross.

Salesforce

To facilitate volunteering among employees, Salesforce created a Pro Bono Program called the Impact Exchange, which pairs its skilled volunteers with nonprofit Salesforce customers needing assistance with a particular project. Additionally, the company allows employees to assist schools by leading volunteer programs to support teachers and students.

To provide employees with the freedom and flexibility to contribute to the causes that matter most to them, Salesforce also provides them with seven paid days of VTO every year.

Wrapping Up: Engaging Employees in Making a Difference

Corporate volunteerism is an effective way to boost your CSR program and nurture thriving, collaborative teams within your company. Remember to measure your progress year after year and regularly collect feedback from your employees. Doing so allows you to refine your program for increased participation and greater future results.

For more tips and tools on how to improve your company’s CSR initiatives and boost employee engagement, consider these additional resources:

Learn how an auto-submission integration can supplement your corporate volunteering tools and boost employee participation in your philanthropy.

Cause Marketing Examples Most Effective Campaigns

Cause Marketing Examples | 14+ Effective Campaigns

Cause marketing is a great way for nonprofits and corporations to join together for a similar mission. As a result, it’s becoming a key way for corporations to express their philanthropic side while also benefiting their own bottom line.

And if you’re a business or fundraising organization looking for some of the best cause marketing examples to get inspired by, you’ve come to the right place!

In this guide, we’ll walk through several standout campaigns and the ideas that brought each one success. But first, we have to cover the basics.



What is cause marketing?


Falling under the umbrella of corporate philanthropy, cause marketing (or cause-related marketing) looks something like this:

Corporations partner with nonprofit organizations to help them raise money and awareness. In return, this publicly philanthropic action generates more business for the company.

In other words, it’s a win-win situation!



What is corporate philanthropy?


Corporate philanthropy encompasses any actions a business takes to benefit the world around them. Along with (and sometimes in tandem with) cause marketing, corporate donations through matching gift programs are another popular arm of this generosity.

When a company offers a matching gift program, it essentially pledges to match the donations their employees contribute to qualifying nonprofit organizations. Effectively functioning as a “buy one, get one free” sale on nonprofit fundraising, matching gifts allow organizations and their donors to double (and sometimes even triple!) the impact of the original donation.



How to implement smart corporate giving strategies


For nonprofits

The easiest way for nonprofits to capitalize on corporate giving programs is by investing in workplace giving automation. When you leverage an automation platform like Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro, you can scale up your revenue while minimizing the operational lift required of your team.

This allows you to screen your supporter information to uncover available opportunities, trigger personalized outreach that drives participation in such programs, and track and report on corporate giving impact from start to finish.

Plus, you can even use the data collected through matching gift efforts to inform your broader corporate partnerships, such as identifying ideal prospects for which to pitch cause marketing initiatives and more.

For companies

There is also a range of corporate giving management software designed to aid companies in organizing and facilitating their end of a philanthropic partnership. These tools, also known as CSR or social impact platforms, can streamline management of initiatives like matching gifts, corporate volunteerism, annual giving campaigns, nonprofit sponsorships, cause marketing campaigns, and more.

Plus, it’s important to seek the right mission-driven partners and build strong relationships with the organizations a business chooses to support. While Double the Donation is not a corporate-facing vendor, feel free to contact us and we’d love to get you in touch with one of our CSR partners!


With that, let’s dive into some of the most inspirational examples cause marketing that we’ve seen in recent years. Take notes from these successful partnerships, and see which strategies might benefit your team.



CampaignCampaign Type
Light the NightCustom Matching Gifts
Red Kettle CampaignPoint of Sale
Red Nose DayPortion of Purchase
100% for the Planet100% of Sales
Promotions That Give BackSponsorships
Buy a Pair, Give a PairBuy One Give One
PurposeFULLPoint of Sale
Soar With ReadingProud Supporter
Arctic HomeMatching Gifts
Vodka for Dog PeoplePortion of Purchase
Miracle BalloonPoint of Sale
Dawn Saves WildlifeIn-Kind Giving
Empower MintPortion of Purchase
Create-A-PepperInteractive Giving




Cause marketing example - Light the Night


1. Light the Night


Who are the partners?

Light the Night is an annual fundraising campaign hosted by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and sponsored by Danaher Corporation.

Campaign Overview

Danaher Corporation hosted a custom matching gift program in partnership with LLS as a way to give back to its community while engaging with its employees. As a part of the company’s Giving Tuesday Now campaign, the company encouraged team members to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night fundraising walk. And in return, Danaher matched employees’ contributions dollar-for-dollar to double team members’ giving impact and grow support for the organization.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

Danaher’s support of LLS started out as a custom matching gift partnership. But since the success of their original initiative, the company decided to establish a standard matching gift program that’s open to nearly all nonprofit causes!

This inspiring cause marketing example illustrates the way that a one-off campaign can develop into a long-term, widely impactful opportunity for both the company and the organizations it supports.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society also boasts a complete matching gift strategy in partnership with Double the Donation’s automation platform. This empowers the team to raise even more for their cause through all sorts of corporate giving opportunities available to them.

Interested in learning more? Check out our LLS case study to see how matching gift automation brought the organization’s corporate fundraising strategy to new heights.


Cause Marketing Example - Light the Night and Danaher Corporation

Cause marketing example - Red Kettle Campaign

2. Red Kettle Campaign


Who are the partners?

The Salvation Army Southern Territory partnered with DipJar and local retailers to improve the traditional Red Kettle cause marketing campaign.

Campaign Overview

You’re probably familiar with The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign, which usually takes place during the holidays. Typically, these red kettles or buckets are placed outside department stores and other shops to receive donations.

While this tried-and-true cause marketing strategy has been successful for many years, The Salvation Army realized they were missing out on a large pool of potential donors that don’t carry cash.

To improve their Red Kettle campaign, they partnered with the giving kiosk company DipJar so that they could start accepting donations via credit cards. 

The branded DipJars were placed beside registers at local coffee shops and other retail partners. With these, The Salvation Army was able to gather donations from all interested donors, cash-carrying or not.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

This campaign makes our top spot because The Salvation Army saw a gap in their fundraising potential amidst a significant digital shift, and effectively provided donors with a quick and easy solution. And the companies that partnered with The Salvation Army were happy to implement the new and forward-thinking ideas!

Not to mention, online donations pair well with corporate matching gifts, and The Salvation Army Southern Territory employs 360MatchPro to effectively pursue donation-match opportunities without lifting a finger!


Cause marketing example - Red Nose Day


3. Red Nose Day


Who are the partners?

This campaign was a collaboration between Red Nose Day and Walgreens.

Campaign Overview

This iconic cause marketing campaign originated in the United Kingdom and is now taking the United States by storm.

Last year, the campaign raised a record-breaking $49 million through the sale of over 12 million “red noses” at 9,000+ Walgreens stores nationwide. 

The six-week campaign starts with Walgreens customers purchasing red noses and wearing them to pose for and share pictures as well as to other Red Nose Day fundraising events to spread awareness.

The proceeds from the red nose sales, and additional fundraising events orchestrated by companies and individuals during the campaign, go toward helping lift children out of poverty in the United States.

The campaign is held yearly and experiences great success.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

The Red Nose Day cause marketing campaign stands out because of its fun and playful nature. Plus, it’s so shareable. Donors want to buy a red nose (and many look forward to the campaign each year!) so that they can take pictures and share them with the hashtag #rednoseday.


Cause marketing example - Fundraiser for the Planet


4. 100% for the Planet


Who are the partners?

Patagonia organized this cause marketing campaign with various grassroots environmental organizations.

Campaign Overview

For Black Friday, Patagonia announced that they would give 100% of the day’s sales to support grassroots organizations working to protect our air, water, and soil.

To help support the planet, customers just needed to make a purchase at one of Patagonia’s many stores on Black Friday.  With the help of many loyal customers as well as first-time shoppers, the company was able to raise more than $10 million in sales.

The funds were then contributed to numerous underfunded and off-the-radar nonprofits, ultimately going a long way to make a positive difference for our planet.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

Donating to the cause took no additional effort—donors just had to shop at Patagonia on Black Friday to show their support. Since all the money spent was going toward a good cause, it’s likely that many people purchased more than normal just to support the environmental organizations.

Not to mention, Patagonia demonstrates its devotion to social and environmental good all year round, too. Although the 100% For The Planet campaign was a single-day event, the company commits to contributing 1% of all sales to environmental causes. Plus, Patagonia offers up to $10,000 in matching gifts for all current employees year-round, empowering their own workforce to give back in impactful ways!


Cause Marketing Example - Patagonia's 100% For The Planet

Cause marketing example - Promotions That Give Back


5. Promotions That Give Back


Who are the partners?

Promotions That Give Back is an ongoing partnership between the American Diabetes Association and a number of corporations that support their efforts. Contributors include WeightWatchersHealthyrHilton HHonors, and Survey Monkey!

Campaign Overview

As a multi-faceted campaign, the ADA’s Promotions That Give Back involves several key partnerships with companies’ whose mission statements align with the organizations’ own values. Each partnership is structured in a slightly different way, though they generally all follow a ‘portion of sales’ model of cause marketing.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

This campaign stood out because of the successful collaboration between the American Diabetes Association and their range of corporate partners. Because their missions and visions align so well, each team is able to benefit greatly from the overlapping audiences reached through their ongoing cause marketing efforts.

Plus, the ADA takes a proactive approach to employee matching gift opportunities, too, using Double the Donation’s automation system to identify, tailor outreach for, follow up with, and track available corporate gifts.


Cause Marketing Example - ADA's Promotions That Give Back partnerships

ADA Matching Gifts Page - sample cause marketing campaign

Cause marketing example - Buy Pair, Give Pair


6. Buy a Pair, Give a Pair


Who are the parnters?

Warby Parker partners with various healthcare and medical-related organizations, including VisionSpring.

Campaign Overview

Warby Parker uses the buy-one-give-one model to promote the company’s philanthropic side and give back to communities in need. 

The premise is very simple: for every pair of glasses that Warby Parker sells, the company donates to cover the cost associated with sourcing a pair for someone who would otherwise be unable to obtain them. 

In addition to the donation, their nonprofit partners train individuals in developing countries on how to give basic eye exams and sell glasses at affordable prices, thus making vision care more readily available in the long run.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

The Buy a Pair, Give a Pair campaign is so successful because of its marketing strategy and the ability to capture donors’ attention and raise awareness. And Warby Parker has pulled off one of the most well-known instances of this particular cause marketing strategy!

To market the effort, the company shares information about the program, along with beneficiary stories, on its website and other promotional materials.


Cause marketing example - PurposeFULL


7. PurposeFULL


Who are the partners?

The PurposeFULL cause marketing campaign is a collaboration between Arby’s and Share Our Strength.

Campaign Overview

Since the establishment of the program, Arby’s restaurants across the nation have raised more than $27 million for the organization Share Our Strength. Centered around four key pillars of corporate giving, the PurposeFULL program is designed to support YouthFULL, SkillFULL, ResourceFULL, and FlavorFULL efforts for social and environmental good.

PurposeFULL is a point of sale campaign, meaning that Arby’s asks for donations during the sale of an item usually through a screen prompt, sign, or a direct ask from the cashier. 

The money raised through its PurposeFULL campaign each year goes to provide meals to youth in need throughout America. And it has an overall vision of eradicating childhood hunger and food insecurity!

Why Their Campaign Made the List

Because the PurposeFULL campaign lets donors know how much just $1 can contribute (up to 10 meals!), supporters are able to visualize and understand the tangible impact of their monetary donations.

Plus, Arby’s⁠—under the Inspire Brands umbrella⁠—gives back all year long with its generous matching gift program⁠.


Cause Marketing Example - Arby's PurposeFULL

Cause marketing example - Soar With Reading


8. Soar With Reading


Who are the partners?

The Soar With Reading campaign is a partnership between JetBlue and the nonprofit organization FirstBook.

Campaign Overview

The Soar With Reading program was designed to inspire and encourage children’s imaginations.

JetBlue donates money to FirstBook to help provide books to children in low-income neighborhoods, including through free book vending machines.

Additionally, the Soar With Reading program helps provide schools and educators with diverse reading materials to promote and encourage learning among students.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

The Soar With Reading campaign is successful because the whole company is involved in supporting JetBlue’s partner organization. JetBlue employees are encouraged to volunteer with the Soar With Reading program and make a difference in children’s lives, or even donate toward the cause themselves.

And the company also offers a unique volunteer grant program in which team members are eligible to request free flight vouchers on behalf of the organizations (FirstBook and others) with which they volunteer! So not only are JetBlue employees empowered to get involved with their cause marketing partner in a hands-on way, but they’re also able to provide additional resources at no cost.


Cause marketing example - Arctic Home


9. Arctic Home


Who are the partners?

The Arctic Home Cause Marketing Campaign was created by Coca-Cola and World Wildlife Fund.

Campaign Overview

Coca-Cola has used polar bears as their unofficial mascot for years, so it makes sense that they would partner with World Wildlife Fund to support the conservation of the polar bear and its habitat.

Thus, the Arctic Home campaign was all about building awareness and raising funds through merchandise and online fundraising.

Coca-Cola introduced Arctic Home Coke cans to raise funds and awareness for the organization. With a package code leading to an online donation form, consumers could quickly and easily make a gift to the organization. And Coca-Cola stretched these gifts even further by matching every donation its buyers made!

Why Their Campaign Made the List

By matching the $1 donations of customers who purchased an Arctic Home can, Coco-Cola financially supported and motivated its own audience to give to the World Wildlife Fund. Those small-dollar donations added up quickly, especially since they were being doubled.

Coca-Cola also matches gifts made by its employees of up to $10,000 per team member per year at a 2:1 ratio⁠—effectively tripling its workforce’s donation impact year-round!


Cause marketing example - Vodka for Dog People


10. Vodka for Dog People


Who are the partners?

Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Emancipet partnered together to create the Vodka for Dog People cause marketing campaign.

Campaign Overview

Tito’s Handmade Vodka started their partnership with Emancipet to help care for dogs. And out of that relationship, with a goal to raise both money and awareness for the organization, Tito’s cause-related website, Vodka for Dog People, was born.

On the site, supporters can purchase Tito’s-branded items such as leashes, toys, and t-shirts, making it the perfect pairing of product fundraising and cause marketing.

For the Tito’s product fundraising campaign, all the proceeds from the website go to Emancipet. Meanwhile, the added benefit of fundraising through the sale of branded items means that after someone makes their purchase, they’re promoting the branded nonprofit any time they use the product.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

The Vodka for Dogs campaign uses both online and local fundraising efforts to raise money and awareness for pet care. In addition to the website, Tito’s works with bars and liquor stores to host yappy hour fundraisers for its nonprofit partner. And the company matches donations its employees make to qualifying organizations⁠—including Emancipet and beyond!


Cause marketing example - Miracle Balloon


11. Miracle Balloon


Who are the partners?

The Miracle Balloon campaign is a collaboration between Walmart and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Campaign Overview

The Miracle Balloon campaign has been an ongoing partnership between Walmart (and Sam’s Club) and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for years.

For six weeks of every year, Walmart employees ask for donations from customers at checkout. If donors contribute a dollar or more, they can place their names on a paper Miracle Balloon and place it on the honor wall.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

This cause marketing campaign is effective because it leverages the idea of social proof particularly well. When customers see how many donors have already supported the cause, they’ll be increasingly motivated to participate themselves.

Additionally, while most Walmart and Sam’s Club locations participate, the campaign focuses on locations near a Children’s Miracle Hospital. That way, the organization can encourage grateful patients or those with a loved one who received care at one of the hospitals to donate.


Cause Marketing Example - Miracle Balloon

Cause marketing example - Dawn Saves Wildlife


12. Dawn Saves Wildlife


Who are the partners?

The Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign is organized by Dawn Dish Soap in support of its environmental advocacy partners, International Bird Rescue and the Marine Mammal Center.

Campaign Overview

Since the inception of the campaign in 2006, Dawn Dish Soap has helped save 150,000 marine animals (and counting!) through its generous and ongoing support of the International Bird Rescue and Marine Mammal Centers. And the support the company offers takes place in a few key ways: including donating more than 50,000 bottles of its product and over $4.5 million in cash gifts.

Dawn’s donated dish soap is then used by its environmental partners in direct rescue and rehabilitation efforts of aquatic birds and mammals in need. This includes the organizations’ responses to oil spills and other wildlife emergencies!

Why Their Campaign Made the List

Over the years, Dawn’s cause marketing efforts, specifically in the realm of environmental conservation and wildlife care, has become so completely engrained into its brand. In fact, many of the company’s products now feature the wildlife it’s devoted to—including seals, ducklings, and more. This goes on to further demonstrate Dawn’s commitment to making a difference in the long-term.


Cause Marketing Example - Dawn Saves Wildlife

Cause marketing example - Empower Mint


13. Empower Mint


Who are the partners?

Empower Mint is a key element of Ben & Jerry’s cause marketing campaign designed to benefit the NAACP.

Campaign Overview

Ben & Jerry’s launched a limited-time ice cream flavor that was marketed as a “flavor to benefit democracy.” The campaign that went along with the treat was developed as a way to fight against a voter suppression law and aid in the restoration of the Voting Rights Act.

During the time that the flavor was offered, a portion of proceeds from each sale was donated to the NAACP.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

In addition to its punny naming conventions, Ben & Jerry’s is well-known for being a particularly opinionated brand. And the company has been willing to stand up to its beliefs by supporting a variety of nonprofit causes in order to do so. This is just one example!


Cause Marketing Example - Empower Mint

Cause marketing example - Create-A-Pepper


14. Create-A-Pepper


Who are the partners?

The Create-A-Pepper campaign is a popular example of cause marketing organized by Chili’s Bar and Grill as a way to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Campaign Overview

Held during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month each year since 2002, Create-A-Pepper is an interactive fundraising campaign taking place at the Tex-Mex dining chain nationwide. Over the last few decades, the initiative has raised more than $100 million for St. Jude, enabling the research hospital to make great strides in its research, treatment, and support of those affected by life-threatening childhood illnesses.

Why Their Campaign Made the List

Kids and adults of all ages love the opportunity to complete a coloring sheet while waiting for their meals at a restaurant. This cause marketing campaign turns a fun and simple activity into a profitable fundraising initiative that goes to support the patients and families at St. Jude hospital.

St. Jude Hospital also makes it easy for individual donors and corporate partners to get involved in supporting their efforts. This includes a dedicated matching gifts page to promote workplace giving on an individual basis and a corporate sponsorship interest page that promotes mutually beneficial partnerships like cause marketing efforts, one-off match programs, and more!


Cause Marketing Example - Create-A-Pepper

Wrapping Up

As you can see from these examples, cause marketing is an effective way to raise both funding and awareness for a nonprofit cause. Plus, the nonprofit and the for-profit business involved receive significant benefits from the relationship.

If you’re ready to begin seeking such corporate giving initiatives for your organization, we recommend pulling ideas and inspiration from the above successes. And existing donor data—such as your supporters’ employer information and matching gift eligibility—can help you uncover and pursue the best opportunities for your team.

To learn about more nonprofit funding strategies, check out these bonus resources:

  • Full List of Fundraising Ideas.Didn’t find what you were looking for? Check out our complete list of more than 200+ fundraising ideas. You’re bound to find the perfect fundraiser for your organization!
  • Top Companies for Donation Requests. Whether you’re looking for businesses with which to organize a cause marketing campaign or seeking sponsors for an upcoming event, check out this list of over 30 companies that have existing philanthropic programs in place.
  • The Complete Guide to Matching Gift Automation. Many cause marketing programs include matching gift components. Corporate donation-matches are a great way to partner with businesses, engage individual donors, and double your funds! Learn more with this ultimate guide.
Take email domain screening and other match efforts to new heights with Double the Donation.
Innovative Discovery top matching gift company example with auto-submission

Company Spotlight: Maximizing Matching Gift Innovation with Innovative Discovery

The list of matching gift companies is endless⁠—and not exclusive to one region, business size, or corporate sector. Instead, employers all over the world opt to match their employees’ charitable donations. Doing so results in elevated corporate philanthropy, team-wide engagement, and even positive brand image.

So what makes one company’s program stand out over another? There are a lot of factors that go into a top matching gift company, including donation (low) minimums and (high) maximums, open eligibility, seamless donor experiences, and more.

One that stands out in all areas is legal services company Innovative Discovery. And we’ll tell you why!

Read on to learn more about:

Ready to get started? Dive in and see what makes Innovative Discovery’s matching gift program top-tier.

Image of badge indicating that an organization is a certified leader in matching gift automation (CLMA)Fun Fact: By working with a CLMA-certified matching gift platform, Innovative Discovery has become a Certified Leader in Matching Automation. That means it’s recognized for its dedication to providing the best possible experience for its employees participating in the program.

What to Know About Innovative Discovery

Founded in 2005 in Arlington, Virginia, Innovative Discovery is a strategic consulting firm and legal services provider to a wide range of corporations and groups. The company partners with government agencies, construction and manufacturing businesses, energy and utility companies, financial services, healthcare and life sciences providers, and more.

Innovative Discovery employees—a combination of technologists, lawyers, and cybersecurity experts—work as strategic consultants to provide authoritative guidance throughout the litigation processes and information lifecycles. Specifically, the consulting group aims to offer unique insights into cybersecurity, data breaches, digital forensics, and high-stakes litigations to set their clients up for maximal success.

Innovative Discovery matching gift company screenshot

This corporation also places a significant emphasis on giving back to the communities in which they operate, including offering community service, nonprofit sponsorships, and more. Plus, they support nonprofit organizations of all shapes and sizes through their generous matching program.

Current Matching Gift Program Guidelines

Innovative Discovery employees have the opportunity to double their charitable giving impact by participating in the company’s matching initiative. Personal gifts made by Innovative Discovery team members of between $25 and $2,500 are eligible to be matched at a 1:1 rate.

Even better, nearly all nonprofits qualify for the program. This includes K-12 and higher education institutions, arts and cultural institutions, environmental nonprofits, and other registered 501(c)(3) organizations.

And the company makes it as easy as possible for employees to take part, driving participation and overall program usage with auto-submission, a new solution from Double the Donation.

Here’s a quick overview of the Innovative Discovery corporate matching gift program eligibility requirements:

  • Innovative Discovery matching gift program guidelinesMatching gift ratio – 1:1 (or dollar for dollar)
  • Qualifying employees – Current full-time and part-time Innovative Discovery team members qualify to request corporate matching donations.
  • Eligible nonprofit recipients – Most nonprofit mission types qualify for Innovative Discovery matching, which includes:
    • Educational institutions (K-12 included)
    • Health and human services
    • Arts and cultural organizations
    • Civic and community groups
    • Environmental nonprofits
    • And most other 501 (c)(3) organizations
  • Submission process – Employees may complete their match request directly following their initial donation on the organization’s giving form using auto-submission or navigate to Selflessly’s online matching gift portal to fill out a brief application.

Learn more about Innovative Discovery’s matching gift program guidelines here.

Standing Out With Matching Gift Auto-Submission Through Selflessly and Double the Donation

The #1 thing that makes Innovative Discovery’s matching gift program so innovative is its participation in newly developed matching gift auto-submission. By partnering with Double the Donation and corporate giving platform Selflessly, ID is streamlining the process for employees getting involved.

Enabling the solution, which recently came out of beta, significantly reduces the time and effort involved in completing a matching gift request⁠. And it can all be done directly from a nonprofit’s website⁠—driving more ID employees to participate. With increased program participation, more funding goes to the nonprofit causes their employees care about. Not to mention, the company itself receives elevated benefits from its corporate giving offerings. It’s a win-win-win⁠—and it’s easier than ever before!

Benefits of auto-submission with Selflessly

Here’s how the matching process works for Innovative Discovery team members using auto-submission:

  1. An ID employee makes a donation directly on their favorite nonprofit’s website and enters their company name⁠—Innovative Discovery⁠—in a donation form field.
  2. On the confirmation screen, the employee enters their corporate email address. They then check a box and authorize Double the Donation to submit the match request on their behalf.
  3. From there, the matching gift request is processed behind the scenes⁠—thanks to the integration between Double the Donation and ID’s corporate giving software Selflessly⁠—and the match funding is paid out to the organization.

Overview of matching gift auto-submission with Innovative Discovery

Learn more about matching gift auto-submission with Double the Donation here.

Innovative Discovery’s CSR Software Partner, Selflessly

Innovative Discovery facilitates its matching gifts and other corporate giving initiatives by leveraging a CSR management software company, Selflessly. Selflessly is framed as an “all-in-one giving platform for CSR,” offering both corporate giving and volunteerism features.

Selflessly logo

Through this software solution, companies like Innovative Discovery are able to:

  • Elevate corporate giving and employee matching with ease;
  • Simplify corporate volunteering and organize team and individual volunteer opportunities;
  • Increase employee engagement by participating in social good;
  • Make the most of purposeful reporting and impact assessments.

Recently, Selflessly was also one of the first providers to participate in the beta program for auto-submission functionality with Double the Donation, making corporate matching gifts easier than ever before.

Other Innovative Giving Initiatives

Innovative Discovery’s website shares that “the primary focus of ID’s corporate philanthropic efforts are nonprofit organizations valued by our employees.” This idea is reflected in the company’s matching gift program as well as additional team-wide efforts for various charitable causes.

This includes:

  • ID Civic Day ⁠— Innovative Discovery’s Civic Day offers an annual opportunity for team members to engage in their communities. Beyond typical PTO, the company offers an additional paid day off work for employees to volunteer with community service projects.
  • Employee volunteer grants ⁠— ID states that the company supports team member philanthropy through matching donations and investments of their time with corporate volunteer grants. When employees volunteer with various causes, the company pays out grants to the organizations to which they dedicate their time and efforts.
  • Steps for Autism team challenge ⁠— Every April, Innovative Discovery employees take part in a workplace giving campaign on behalf of the Autism Society. During World Autism Month, team members compete by department to see who can get the most steps. At the end of the month, ID makes a donation to the Autism Society on behalf of the winning group.
  • Sponsorship for Climbing Blind: Tibet Expedition ⁠— In 2004, Innovative Discovery aided groundbreaking Climbing Blind’s Tibet Expedition. The company sponsored the event by building essential technical infrastructure. With their newly developed interactive website and intuitive web content management system, Climbing Blind had access to the tools they needed to connect climbers with their growing online community.

Innovative Discovery leadership has made it a point time and time again to invest in giving back to their communities. We’re excited to see what they roll out next!


Wrapping Up

Companies like Innovative Discovery are paving the way for more businesses⁠—and the nonprofits, donors, and communities they support⁠—to benefit from groundbreaking matching gift programs with ease. As more and more corporations roll out innovative auto-submission functionality by leveraging partnerships between corporate giving and matching gift-specific technology, the results will continue growing to new heights.

Ready to learn more about standout matching gift companies and practices? Explore other Double the Donation resources here:

Learn more about Double the Donation auto-submission

This guide will cover the basics of challenge gifts to help you leverage this form of giving for your fundraising efforts.

What are Challenge Gifts? A Guide to High-Speed Fundraising

A thoughtful and robust fundraising strategy is key to any nonprofit’s success. As a nonprofit professional, you’re probably always on the lookout for new ideas and strategies to spice up your organization’s fundraising efforts. That’s where challenge gifts come in—when done correctly, this fundraising idea can supercharge your mission with increased gifts.

In this guide, we’ll go over the basics of challenge gifts and empower you to leverage them by covering the following topics:

To maximize the fundraising impact of your challenge gifts, consider investing in fundraising software that will streamline your fundraising processes and efforts. Matching gift software, in particular, will greatly increase the effectiveness of donations made during your challenge gift campaign.

Click to get a demo of Double the Donation’s matching gift software, improving the impact of your challenge gifts.

What is a challenge gift?

This image lists several types of challenge gifts your nonprofit can leverage, also covered in the text below.

A challenge gift is a donation that is contingent on another goal, usually another donation. Usually, the donor will commit to donating a certain amount to a nonprofit if the organization or its other donors fulfill a certain goal or take an action within a certain amount of time. Only then is the donation made.

Common challenge gift goals include:

  • Total money raised. This goal is fairly self-explanatory—essentially, the donor’s gift hinges on the nonprofit reaching a fundraising goal. For example, a major donor might commit to donating $20,000 if the nonprofit raises $40,000 worth of other donations during their next fundraising campaign.
  • Total number of donors. Instead of committing a donation based on the amount raised, some donors choose instead to base it on the total number of donors that give during a set amount of time. The goal for this type of challenge gift is to help the nonprofit recruit more donors. Some challenge donors may specify that they only count first-time donors, while others will count donations made by any donors.
  • Matching gifts. For a matching donation challenge, a major donor or sponsor will commit to matching gifts made by other donors. For instance, a major donor may match gifts at a 1:1 ratio up to $30,000. That means that if you raise $30,000 from other donors, then you’ll receive $60,000 in total. However, if you raise less than the match amount, such as $10,000, then you’ll only receive the match up to that amount, or $20,000 total.

Challenge gifts are a great way for a major donor to inspire and encourage other donors to give, resulting in greater fundraising success for the nonprofit. When handled properly, these challenges can be used to secure future support and improve the sustainability of your organization.

What are the benefits of challenge gifts?

This image illustrates the benefits of challenge gifts, also detailed in the text below.

At this point, you may be thinking: Aren’t challenge gifts just donations with strings attached? Why would I want those instead of straightforward donations?

Although you might feel that way, challenge gifts bring your nonprofit a variety of game-changing benefits. Some of these include:

  • Increase fundraising impact. The most obvious benefit of challenge gifts is that they incentivize supporters to give. Your supporters are invested in your nonprofit’s success, which makes it more likely that they’ll donate so that you can secure challenge gift funds.
  • Attract new donors. If the challenge gift is contingent on acquiring a certain number of donors, it will be especially useful in attracting new donors. Plus, challenge gifts inspire a sense of urgency, providing a compelling reason for potential supporters to engage through donations.
  • Engage board members. Board members who are passionately invested in your nonprofit’s cause may inspire and engage their fellow board members by making a challenge gift for them. For example, a board member might say that they will give an extra $30,000 if the board as a whole gives $200,000 by a certain date.
  • Strengthen existing relationships. The urgency from the time-sensitive nature of challenge gifts will also help you secure donations from previous donors. Alongside a great stewardship plan, challenge gifts can greatly contribute to engaging previous donors and increase retention rates.
  • Form corporate partnerships. Although challenge gift donors don’t have to be businesses, if they are, it presents an opportunity for you to form partnerships with companies that are invested in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Having such a partnership may lead to future support through initiatives such as volunteer grants.
  • Secure long-term support. Aside from short-term support for immediate fundraising campaigns, certain challenge gifts can also help your nonprofit secure long-term funding. For example, a challenge donor may create a bequest challenge for $50,000. Every time someone submits a signed statement that they have put your nonprofit in their estate plan, the donor will release $2,000 from the challenge gift total.

When it comes to boosting your fundraising and securing support, challenge gifts are a valuable opportunity for nonprofits to reliably meet their goals. While the donor dictates the terms of the challenge, the concept itself has a lot of flexibility, as it accommodates multiple types of challenges.

What are the drawbacks of challenge gifts?

We’ve already touched on the main drawback of challenge gifts—the inability to fulfill the challenge, and therefore the loss of the challenge gift funds. The most common restrictions on a challenge gift include:

  • Goal amount. Whether it’s the number of donors or the donation amount, each challenge gift comes with a goal amount that the nonprofit must reach. Without reaching this objective, part or all of the challenge gift might be forfeited.
  • Time. That challenge gifts are time-sensitive creates a great sense of urgency that propels supporters to give. However, that same benefit is also a restriction—your nonprofit only has a set amount of time to reach your goals. This duration can vary greatly, based on the challenge the donor has set.
  • Donation requirements. These refer to any extra requirements that the challenge donor places on gifts that count toward the challenge gift goal. We’ve discussed that the challenge donor might choose to restrict the type of donor that can participate in the challenge, but they can also restrict the type of donation that qualifies. For example, they might specify that the challenge only applies to direct donations and specify that purchases made at a fundraising auction don’t qualify.

Although challenge gifts have their drawbacks, with proper planning and consideration, you can mitigate their disadvantages. While they might put your nonprofit’s fundraising and donor acquisition strategies to the test, the result will be well worth it—a large amount of funds that you can leverage to support your beneficiaries.

Acquiring Support for Challenge Gifts: 5 Tips

To help you make the most of any challenge gifts your nonprofit receives, we’ll go over five tips for acquiring support to fulfill your challenges. Let’s dive in!

This image shows five tips for getting support for your challenge gifts, also detailed in the text below.

1. Create a challenge gift proposal.

While some donors may make a challenge gift unprompted, it’s more likely that your nonprofit will need to specifically seek out challenge donors, much like you seek out sponsorships. To do so, you’ll want to draft a challenge gift proposal to pitch to potential donors.

As you create your proposal, be sure to:

  • Introduce your nonprofit. Provide a general overview of your nonprofit’s mission, beneficiaries, and the purpose of the challenge gift that you’re requesting.
  • Give any relevant context. If there’s any relevant information that would help contextualize your proposal, add it. For example, if your nonprofit works with individuals experiencing homelessness and the weather is much colder than usual in winter, you may say that you’re fundraising for warm winter clothing.
  • Outline your goals. Whether your goal is to obtain funds, new donors, or bequests, outline it in your proposal. Be specific—for instance, you may say that you want to raise $100,000, attract 500 new donors, or obtain 300 bequests.
  • Determine the challenge details. Lay out the general details of your challenge so your potential challenge donor knows exactly what is expected of them. Let’s say you want to raise $100,000. In your proposal, detail that you want to do this through a matching donation challenge, where your challenge donor matches $50,000 worth of donations at a 1:1 ratio to help you meet your overall goal of $100,000.
  • Detail the benefits. Aside from describing what you need from your challenge donor, let them know what they’ll be getting from your partnership as well. For instance, if you partner with a company, include their logo and branding on your promotional materials. That way, they can access potential customers amongst your nonprofit’s supporters.

Keep in mind that your challenge gift proposal should look different depending on which potential donor you’re trying to connect with. Just as you would segment your regular donors based on their interests and preferences, make sure to tailor your proposal based on the donor’s gift capacity and previous engagement with your nonprofit.

2. Strategically connect with challenge gift donors.

This image lists several types of challenge gift partners to connect with, also covered in the text below.

There are different types of potential donors that you can connect with to pitch challenge gifts to. When first starting, we recommend reaching out to similar types of potential donors to get a better feel of interacting with them and minimize the number of proposals you need to customize.

In general, most challenge gift donors fall into one of the following groups:

  • Local businesses. When connecting with local businesses, focus on the benefits that you bring to the local community and how that will bring greater success for the business. For instance, your nonprofit’s environmental focus might enhance a business’ neighborhood and bring in more customers.
  • Large corporations. Large corporations will likely have more money to donate as a challenge gift to your cause but require more effort when forming a partnership. Keep your pitch focused on the benefits that they receive from the partnership. This could look like a shoutout from your nonprofit or a mutually beneficial CSR partnership.
  • Major donors. Especially if they’ve previously made donations to your nonprofit, major donors are invested in your mission and strongly want you to succeed. For these pitches, you can discuss more in-depth the benefits that your nonprofit will receive while emphasizing how their previous support impacted your success.
  • Foundations and grantmakers. For this group of potential challenge donors, you’ll likely go through a rigorous application process to be considered. However, foundations and grantmakers exist to provide support to nonprofits, so you can focus your application on what your nonprofit gains.
  • Celebrities and influencers. Celebrities and influencers receive a large boost in reputation for being associated with charitable causes such as your own. Plus, their influence will greatly increase the visibility of your challenge. Be sure to take both of these factors into consideration as you craft your appeal to this group of potential donors.

To help you narrow down the potential donors you should connect with, focus on those who have already indicated a philanthropic interest in some way. For example, businesses with existing corporate citizenship or CSR initiatives that align with your cause will be more open to aiding your nonprofit.

3. Thoroughly promote your challenge gifts.

Ensure that your challenge gifts drive the impact you desire by thoughtfully promoting them to all of your nonprofit’s supporters. Use the following marketing channels to do so:

  • Your website
  • Direct mail
  • Email
  • Text or SMS
  • Social media

Send communications before and during the challenge to drum up excitement and secure support. Provide all relevant details to supporters so they know how they can help. For example, if your goal is to acquire 100 first-time donors, ask your supporters to reach out to their friends and family to appeal for first-time donations. Provide templates for social media posts and emails that they can use to make their appeals easier.

Additionally, be sure to focus your messaging on urgency and speed. Emphasize the approaching deadline and don’t be afraid to send multiple messages during the challenge as reminders. To make this process more efficient, consider using a marketing tool to streamline your promotional efforts.

4. Maximize your gift impact.

When properly planned and marketed, one of the great benefits of challenge gifts is a boost in the number of donations made during the challenge. Maximize the impact of gifts by diving into matching gifts.

If you’re new to matching gifts, they are a form of corporate philanthropy where employers match their employees’ donations to nonprofits. Although most match at a 1:1 ratio, particularly generous companies may match at a higher ratio, such as 2:1 or even 3:1.

This is how it works:

  • An employee donates to a nonprofit.
  • The employee submits a donation match request to their employer.
  • The employer reviews the request.
  • The employer approves the match and donates the matching funds to the nonprofit.

As around $4-7 billion of matching gift funds is estimated to go unclaimed every year, it’s clear that one of the biggest obstacles to obtaining matching gift funds is awareness.

During a donation challenge period, you’ll be sending out many communications to supporters to urge them to donate. Maximize the impact of those donations by also reminding supporters to look into their employers’ matching gift programs. With a small amount of effort from them, they’ll be able to greatly increase the funds that you raise. Plus, it won’t require them to gift more of their money!

Click to book a demo of Double the Donation’s matching gift software, improving the impact of your challenge donations.

5. Celebrate achievements and goals.

When the period set by your challenge gift has ended, be sure to celebrate all achievements and goals met with your supporters. Recognize all the donors that have given during this time and thank them for participating in the challenge. Even if you didn’t meet your goals, saying a simple thank you goes a long way toward facilitating long-lasting and fruitful relationships.

If you did meet your goals, then consider hosting a celebration! This can take the form of a donor appreciation event, where you invite all those who gave to come and have fun. Or, if your donors are spread all over the country or the globe, send gifts to them instead. These don’t have to break your budget, as they can be small trinkets or merchandise branded to your nonprofit.

The most important thing here is to let your donors know that your success would not be possible without them. Show your genuine gratitude so that donors are incentivized to continue supporting your mission.

Additional Resources

Challenge gifts are an incredible opportunity for your nonprofit to buckle down and meet its goals. They also incentivize increased giving from your supporters through gamification, making them a worthwhile gift to receive.

If you’re interested in learning more about nonprofit fundraising opportunities, check out the following resources:

Click to get a demo of Double the Donation’s software to increase challenge gift donation impact.

Explore 25+ inspiring corporate volunteering ideas, as well as how to maximize employee engagement, in this comprehensive guide.

25+ Top Corporate Volunteering Ideas to Inspire Employees

Expectations of the modern company have changed. To many people, a successful, noteworthy company is not just one that earns profits or offers enticing employee benefits. To win the support of employees, consumers, and other stakeholders, you must also stand as an advocate for social change. That’s where corporate volunteering comes in.

77% of consumers are more motivated to purchase from companies with CSR initiatives. By facilitating corporate volunteering, your company can power social good while engaging your employees in meaningful, rewarding activities. Whether you already have an established philanthropy program, or you’re just looking to launch one, you’ll need to build a repertoire of compelling volunteer ideas to inspire employees to participate.

We’ve compiled over 25 inspiring in-person and virtual ideas, along with tips on making the most of each corporate volunteer experience, in the following sections:

Chances are, many of your employees enter their roles expecting more than just responsibilities and a paycheck. Through corporate volunteering, you can help them find a larger purpose in their roles and encourage them to stay with your company for the long term.

Click here to get our top strategies for leveraging corporate volunteer incentives .

Corporate Volunteer Activities: FAQs

Before we explore corporate volunteer ideas to engage your employees, let’s answer some frequently asked questions to get you started on the right foot.

What is corporate volunteering?

Corporate volunteering, or employee volunteering, refers to the time and skills that a company’s employees dedicate to charitable causes as part of their combined corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts.

Since the estimated national value of every volunteer hour is $31.80, corporate volunteering allows companies to make a substantial difference in supporting nonprofit missions worldwide and leave a lasting impact on society.

What are the benefits of corporate volunteering?

While it’s clear that volunteering brings significant benefits to nonprofits, it can be very rewarding to your company as well. By incorporating corporate volunteering ideas into your philanthropic initiatives, you can:

This image summarizes four benefits associated with leveraging engaging corporate volunteering ideas for your company, detailed below.

  • Promote team-building. A winning company culture relies on team-building. By assembling employees for a corporate volunteer event, you’ll help them develop collaboration and communication skills that they can then apply to their roles.
  • Boost employee retention. It’s one thing to have your employees show up for work every day. It’s another to have them fully invested in their roles and your company’s overall success. Corporate volunteering enables you to better engage your employees by creating a sense of community and purpose among them. This makes them more likely to stick around year after year.
  • Increase talent acquisition. According to a survey conducted by Paul Polman, 76% of U.S. employees want to work for a company that is trying to have a positive impact on the world. If your company makes it clear, through its corporate volunteering efforts, that it’s committed to the common good, then you’ll attract many more socially conscious job seekers to your roles.
  • Elevate your reputation. Ultimately, corporate volunteering demonstrates that your company is interested in more than making profits. This can go a long way toward building trust and cultivating support within your community.

While other corporate giving initiatives, such as community grants, can lead to similar benefits, corporate volunteering is one of the most popular and effective ways to directly engage employees in your social impact.

Click here to turn good deeds into effortless fundraising results with 360MatchPro.

15 In-Person Corporate Volunteering Ideas

In-person corporate volunteer activities allow your employees to get directly involved in their local neighborhoods. Consider the following ideas to start engaging employees and strengthening connections with your community:

1. Organize a community cleanup.

Keep America Beautiful estimates that there are nearly 50 billion pieces of litter along U.S. roadways and waterways. Gather your employees to clean up a local park, beach, or other public space in your local area. This will not only create a more beautiful place for everyone to appreciate, but it will also reduce pollution and protect wildlife in the area.

Furthermore, this corporate volunteering idea can inspire local residents to pay more attention to their carbon footprint and how they can take better care of the community in which they live.

2. Spend a day at an animal shelter.

Enlist your employees to help out at an animal shelter for a win-win corporate volunteer activity. They’ll improve the lives of animals in need of homes, and at the same time, experience a boost to their mental health. Studies indicate that spending time with dogs can raise oxytocin and dopamine levels in people, which promote happiness and reduce anxiety.

There are a variety of volunteer roles that your corporate employees can fill at an animal shelter, such as walking dogs, taking pictures of adoptable animals, and cleaning up the shelter.

3. Build homes for people in need.

If your employees spend much of their time sitting in front of a desk, this corporate volunteering idea provides a wonderful opportunity for them to get active for a worthy cause. To organize this activity, you’ll typically partner with a nonprofit, such as Habitat for Humanity, that can oversee your employees’ efforts and guide them through the construction process.

Bank of America is one standout company that champions affordable housing, with a 30+ year partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Their employees spend about 35,000 a year supporting the nonprofit’s initiatives and making a difference in the lives of people facing housing insecurity.

4. Visit a senior center.

There are numerous roles that corporate volunteers can fill at a senior center. Depending on your employees’ skills and interests, they can:

  • Speak with and provide companionship to residents.
  • Lead arts and crafts activities.
  • Help with administrative tasks.
  • Assist with meal preparation.

Beyond lending a hand with daily activities, your employees can even plan and host a holiday party or another type of special event to brighten up residents’ lives.

5. Partner with a homeless shelter.

Last year, homelessness in the United States reached record highs. Support your local homeless shelter and assist an increasingly vulnerable population by:

  • Preparing and serving meals.
  • Helping children with their homework.
  • Sorting donated clothes and other goods.
  • Leading life skills workshops, such as resume writing.

Planning a corporate volunteer event at a homeless shelter is an opportunity for your employees to make a direct impact on the lives of other people in their community. They can not only help raise awareness about homelessness, but also build meaningful relationships with people in need of compassion and support.

6. Help out at a food bank.

Visiting a food bank is a popular volunteering activity for companies and individuals alike. Employees can work together to sort food at the facility, and then transport and distribute these supplies to support hunger relief in the community.

Disney is another company that has a particularly impactful corporate volunteering program. Employee participants in Disney’s VoluntEARS program often team up with food backs to address the needs of thousands of food-insecure community members. Beyond that, they get involved in initiatives ranging from making blankets to recording bedtime stories for children living in rural areas.

7. Support a school improvement project.

Engage your employees in enhancing the education of local students by participating in a school improvement project. These projects might involve:

  • Renovating classrooms.
  • Making improvements for accessibility.
  • Beautifying the school through landscaping and gardening.
  • Expanding and updating a school library.

This corporate volunteering idea is a stellar way to invest in the future generations of your community. To get started, reach out to local schools and identify those in need of support. With a thoughtful approach, your company can build lasting partnerships and set up more corporate volunteering opportunities in the future.

8. Donate blood.

According to the American Red Cross, someone in the United States needs blood and/or platelets every two seconds. Your company can either host its own blood donation drive or encourage employees to attend one that another organization is holding in the local area.

Before the event itself, be sure to provide educational materials to employees to highlight the importance of donating blood and include basic details on how the process works. This ensures that more employees feel comfortable participating when the day rolls around.

9. Run a donation drive.

Beyond donating blood, your employees can arrange and run a donation drive for a range of essential supplies and resources. For instance, your company could collect:

  • Clothing
  • Food
  • Books
  • School supplies
  • Pet supplies

In addition to encouraging employees to give their new and gently used items, you can invite everyone in your community to get involved. This can help your company cultivate new relationships with potential customers and job seekers while furthering your CSR goals.

10. Start or maintain a community garden.

Establishing or maintaining a community garden allows your company to leave a lasting impact on its community. If there isn’t currently one in your local area, consider renting out a vacant lot and creating a plan for how the garden will benefit everyone in the neighborhood.

If there is an existing community garden nearby, assemble a team of corporate volunteers to help with weeding, planting, and harvesting.

11. Plant trees as a team.

80% of consumers are more likely to buy from and 84% of employees are more likely to work for a company that stands up for the environment. Demonstrate your company’s commitment to the environment and engage your employees in a team-building exercise with tree planting.

One of the easiest ways to organize a tree-planting activity is to partner with a nonprofit or local conservation group dedicated to the environment and reforestation. They’ll have the expertise to guide your employees on how and where to plant saplings.

12. Offer a mentorship program.

Consider launching a mentorship program to facilitate connections between your employees and community members. Employees can volunteer their time to support mentees in areas such as:

  • Resume writing
  • Job interviews
  • Career advancement

Your company can choose to offer a virtual mentorship program as well. This would enable more people outside of your local area to participate, including remote employees.

13. Participate in a literacy program.

Literacy programs are essential resources that empower people of all ages to improve their communication skills and set a foundation for their future success. There are numerous ways your employees can support a literacy program, from serving as a reading buddy to creating educational resources for participants. Or, your company can even create its own.

Costco has its own Volunteer Reading Program that allows employees to support students in schools, community centers, and after-school programs. The company engages over 2,600 volunteers and even provides all the reading materials for the program.

14. Prepare and distribute care packages.

Throughout the year, or following a specific incident such as a natural disaster, your employees can assemble and distribute care packages to people in need. These can include anything from hygiene supplies to first aid kits.

Last year, for example, Delta volunteers delivered grocery boxes on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and care packages for service members during USO Fleet Week events.

15. Host a sports clinic.

By hosting a sports clinic, your company can encourage both its employees and community members to engage in physical activity to promote well-being. The process is simple:

  • Choose a specific sport or activity based on employee or community interests.
  • Find a suitable location for the clinic.
  • Promote the event in your community.
  • Enlist employee volunteers to run the clinic.


With this corporate volunteering idea, your company can demonstrate its dedication to health and wellness in society.

11 Engaging Virtual Corporate Volunteer Ideas

For companies with remote or hybrid employees, putting together in-person corporate volunteer events may not be as practical or effective. Plus, some employees may want to participate in social change beyond just their local communities. In these cases, consider incorporating some of the following virtual corporate volunteer activities into your program:

1. Tutor students online.

About one-third of school leaders indicate that they don’t have the capacity to provide frequent, one-on-one tutoring to all students who need it, and nearly 20% report that they can’t even provide regular tutoring. By engaging your employees in online tutoring, your company can alleviate staff and resource shortages at educational institutions.

With video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, your corporate volunteers can offer one-on-one tutoring sessions with students. In doing so, they’ll be able to support academic excellence and make a tangible difference in the lives of individual students.

2. Provide translation services.

This virtual corporate volunteering idea is ideal for multilingual employees. Many nonprofits serve diverse populations, which means they may interact with people who prefer communicating in another language. In fact, nearly 66 million people, or around 21.6% of the U.S. population, speak a language other than English in their homes.

To help nonprofits make their services more accessible to everyone, your employees can translate documents, website content, and more.

3. Teach language classes.

Encourage your company’s multilingual employees to teach language classes as part of your corporate volunteering activities. They can conduct these classes over Zoom and facilitate practice discussions among online participants.

To make it easy for your employees to get involved, consider creating language learning materials that they can use in their classes. This way, they can dedicate their time to teaching without having to worry about creating a comprehensive curriculum or worksheets.

4. Plan skills-based workshops.

Your employees are a diverse group of individuals with their own interests, skills, and hobbies. Empower them to share their expertise by hosting workshops for people who are interested in learning a new skill. As a form of skills-based volunteerism, these workshops could focus on topics such as:

  • Business management
  • Art
  • Cooking
  • Leadership
  • Financial Literacy

If these workshops are related to employees’ roles, they can have the added benefit of reinforcing their skills and knowledge to boost their performance in the workplace.

5. Create content for nonprofits.

To secure enough support for their missions, nonprofits need to produce content to spread awareness and solicit donations. Your employees can assist nonprofits with their marketing efforts in various ways. For instance, they can:

  • Write blog articles.
  • Craft social media posts.
  • Produce short videos.

This corporate volunteering idea leaves employees with a finished product that they can look back on with pride.

6. Pitch in with graphic design.

If your employees have an eye for graphic design, consider having them offer their services to nonprofits. There are many areas where having well-designed images and graphics can come in handy, including:

  • A nonprofit’s website
  • Social media
  • eCards
  • Flyers

Whether a nonprofit is looking to redesign its logo or revamp its website, having graphic design services can go a long way toward reaching and engaging new supporters.

7. Help with social media management.

According to Nonprofit Tech for Good, 87% of nonprofits regularly use social media for digital marketing and fundraising. However, with so much activity on social media, it can be a challenge for them to stand out among all the noise. Enlist your social media-savvy employees to help nonprofits by:

  • Creating eye-catching social media content.
  • Scheduling posts to maximize engagement.
  • Interacting with followers.

Doing so will free up more time and energy for nonprofits to focus on other mission-critical activities, such as delivering services to their beneficiaries.

8. Assist with grant writing.

Nonprofits need to seek funding from a variety of sources to continue fulfilling their missions. Many foundations and corporations offer grants to cover program or project expenses—however, a nonprofit must submit a compelling application before they can access those funds.

Since effective grant writing takes time and effort, this is an excellent opportunity for your company to pitch in, especially if you have employees with strong writing and communication backgrounds. They can research grantmakers, help write proposals, and proofread everything before submission.

9. Coordinate remote volunteers.

A nonprofit organization may have plenty of volunteers willing to dedicate their time and skills. Without proper volunteer management, however, they won’t be able to make the most of the resources at their disposal.

Recruit your employees to take over some key remote volunteer coordination responsibilities by onboarding, communicating with, and organizing volunteers in other areas of the world. This creates impactful, satisfying experiences that encourage volunteers to continue supporting a nonprofit time after time.

10. Offer coding support.

If your employees have coding experience, bring them together to offer coding assistance to nonprofits. They can lend a hand with:

  • Cybersecurity best practices
  • Web development
  • General IT support
  • Staff training

Additionally, consider opening up support beyond nonprofits and planning workshops for those interested in developing their programming skills.

11. Host virtual fundraising events.

Encourage your employees to take the lead in fundraising for nonprofits by hosting online fundraising events. Doing so allows them to tap into their personal networks and cultivate new supporters for a nonprofit’s mission. Get creative as you determine which types of fundraisers will appeal most to your employees and be sure to poll them on which organization or cause should receive the funds raised.

For instance, you could plan a virtual walk- or run-a-thon that employees can participate in by using their treadmills at home. Additionally, consider hosting silent auctions, raffles, and other contests such as a trivia night.

How to Put Your Corporate Volunteering Ideas into Action

Now that your company has some engaging corporate volunteer ideas up its sleeve, it’s time to start planning an experience that employees will be excited to take part in. Follow these steps to set your next event up for success:

This image displays four steps to follow when planning corporate volunteering ideas for your company, explained below.

  • Gather employee feedback. Survey your employees in advance to determine which types of corporate volunteer events, activities, and nonprofit causes resonate most with them. Use these insights to guide your planning.
  • Spread the word about upcoming opportunities. Ensure that your employees are aware of upcoming opportunities, so they can make room in their schedules to participate.
  • Communicate about nonprofit causes. One effective way to engage more employees in corporate volunteering is to share more information about the nonprofit causes that they’ll have an impact on. This may inspire them to sign up for your next event and make a difference in the community.
  • Consider offering incentives. For employees who are on the fence about participating, add an extra incentive such as paid volunteer time off (VTO) or a free lunch after volunteering to encourage them to get involved.

If you haven’t already, consider investing in workplace giving software to make planning and participating in corporate volunteer activities easier for everyone. A high-quality solution will streamline processes such as promoting volunteer opportunities and tracking employee hours.

Maintaining Momentum After a Corporate Volunteer Activity

For your corporate volunteer program to be successful in the long term, it’s important to understand that each event is not a one-and-done activity. Consider these tips to maintain momentum and keep your employees engaged after volunteering:

The tips for maintaining momentum after a corporate volunteer activity (as explained below)

Practice recognition

Show employees that you value their participation by recognizing them for volunteering. There are several effective ways to do so, including:

  • Social media shoutouts
  • eCards
  • Branded merchandise

Furthermore, invite employees to give feedback on their experiences to demonstrate your commitment to providing them with more enticing volunteer opportunities in the future.

Share impact

Don’t leave your employees wondering whether their volunteer efforts actually left a meaningful impact on the world. According to VolunteerMatch, 66% of volunteers are motivated by making a difference in their community. Use multiple channels to celebrate the results of each volunteer event, including:

This image illustrates three channels to share impact on after engaging employees in compelling corporate volunteering ideas.

  • Website
  • Email newsletter
  • Social media

Doing so will both maintain employee engagement within your company and boost your reputation among customers and other stakeholders in the community.

Promote other corporate giving opportunities

Beyond taking part in your corporate volunteer activities, there are many ways employees can contribute to your philanthropic goals. For instance, consider offering volunteer grants to nonprofits after employees volunteer a certain number of hours with them.

Matching gifts are another popular program among many businesses, offered by 65% of Fortune 500 companies. Whether your company already has one in place or is considering starting one of these programs, check to see whether your corporate giving software integrates with the latest matching gift tools. Innovative features such as auto-submission, for example, make it easier than ever for employees to submit matching gift requests.

Wrapping Up: Enhancing Your Company’s Social Impact

As with any company initiative, remember to adopt an improvement mindset from the get-go. Identify and track relevant metrics to unearth insights for improving your corporate volunteer program over time. This ensures that you engage more employees and power more impact year after year.

To learn more about corporate philanthropy and employee engagement best practices, take a look at these additional resources:

 

Explore everything you need to know about hosting phonathons and read advice from phonathon professionals in this guide.

The Ultimate Phonathon Playbook for Nonprofits: 16 Pro Tips

In the world of nonprofit fundraising, few strategies have stood the test of time as effectively as the phonathon. While technology has transformed the fundraising landscape, the power of a well-placed phone call can still work wonders.

Phonathons may seem like a relic of the past, but they remain a tried-and-true resource for all sorts of nonprofits and higher education institutions to engage donors and raise money. While the benefits of a phonathon campaign are straightforward, running a successful campaign isn’t easy. A lot of hard work goes into powering these campaigns, but they can generate incredible results for your cause — especially when you know how to identify donors eligible for matching gifts from their employer⁠s.

So, how do you optimize your phonathons and drive even greater results with matching gifts? We’ve compiled a number of tips and tricks to effectively communicate with your donors about matching gifts and raise more in phonathon revenue overall. By the end of this guide, you’ll be a phonathon pro and ready to start dialing!

This graphic explains several steps and tips for hosting a phonathon.

Want to find out how to optimize your organization’s upcoming phonathon to raise more? Let’s cover the basics before diving into tips that will transform your next campaign.

Download your free matching gifts guide, so you can leverage corporate giving during your phonathon.

The Fundamentals of Phonathons

Making the most of any type of campaign requires you to understand the basics of how they work. Let’s make sure you have the background knowledge you need before crafting your phonathon plans.

What is a phonathon?

This graphic provides the definition of the word phonathon, written out below.

A phonathon is a fundraising campaign in which organizations call supporters to solicit donations and engage with them. During a phonathon, trained staff or volunteers make outbound calls to donors to encourage contributions, share mission updates, and strengthen relationships via personalized conversations.

Often hosted by nonprofits and educational institutions, phonathons are a valuable tool for connecting with supporters, increasing donor retention, and boosting fundraising revenue. Successful phonathons require effective training, well-prepared scripts, and donor management systems to track and manage interactions.

What role do matching gifts play in phonathons?

Corporate matching gifts have the power to double (or sometimes even triple) the contributions your donors make. Through these CSR programs, companies offer to match their employees’ donations to charitable organizations. However, they often implement eligibility criteria alongside minimum and maximum donation amounts they’re willing to match.

By adding matching gifts to your phonathon strategy, your campaign will see even greater success. If you can capitalize on that potential during your phonathon, you’ll see a massive increase in raised funds. In fact, our matching gift research found that 84% of donors are more likely to donate if a match is offered. Meanwhile, 1 in 3 donors actually indicate they’d give a larger gift if matching is applied to their donation.

If you play your cards right, you can raise a lot more during your phonathon with corporate giving. You’ll just need to let donors know how to check their eligibility and submit a match request to their employers. After all, who wouldn’t want to double their contributions without reaching back into their own wallet?

1. Focus on the larger mission.

The most successful fundraising campaigns are focused on more than raising a certain dollar amount. If you can help donors understand why your cause is a worthy one, then you are far more likely to succeed. By highlighting the larger purpose of the campaign, you can motivate both donors and callers to feel good about what they’re doing!

To illustrate our point, take a look at two possible phonathon script introductions:

  • Phonathon Script Introduction #1: “I’m calling on behalf of University X to raise money for our annual phonathon campaign. Would you consider making a donation of $100 to the university’s endowment fund?”
  • Phonathon Script Introduction #2: “I’m calling on behalf of University X to raise money for our annual phonathon campaign. Would you consider making a donation of $100 to the university’s endowment fund? Every dollar you donate will go to scholarships for students in financial need!”

See the difference? In both cases, the caller is asking for the same dollar amount. But in our second example, the donor understands how their donation will be helping someone in need.

2. Create a standardized script for your phonathon.

For many of your callers, this will be their first phonathon campaign. The idea of getting on the phone with prospective donors or school alumni to ask for donations can be extremely intimidating.

Creating a detailed and interactive script can help ease the nerves of new callers when requesting contributions and standardize the giving experience. Here are the key components to any phonathon script:

This graphic outlines a typical phonathon script that callers can use.

  • Introduction: Answer the most basic questions: Who are you? What is your relationship to the organization running the campaign? Why are you calling?
  • Statement of purpose: Why is your organization asking for donations? What will the contributions be used for?
  • First ask: Make the initial request for a donation. What is the suggested donation amount? If the donor has made a donation previously, how much should the caller suggest they donate this year?
  • Gift confirmation: Success! How do we close the deal? How do we accommodate different payment methods?
  • Answers to common objections: Not everyone wants to donate. How do we respond to common objectives such as a lack of interest, recent issues with the organization, or other giving priorities?
  • Non-pledge close: For those calls that don’t end in success, it’s important to help close the conversation gracefully to maintain the relationship with the donor.

A great script is arguably the most important component of a successful phonathon, as it’s a resource that every caller will use. Spend significant time working with your organization’s communication director to put this resource together.

3. Include matching gifts in your phonathon’s scripts.

With over 26 million individuals working for companies with matching gift programs, many of your phonathon donors are bound to be eligible for a corporate match. Your callers should always ask donors if their employer offers a matching gift program.

Here’s how (it’s as easy as A-B-C!):

  • A: Ask every time. Few donors are thinking about (or are even aware of) matching gifts. In fact, 78% of those 26 million match-eligible individuals don’t know whether their companies offer these programs. Introduce the concept to see if they have any information about their employers’ corporate giving opportunities off-hand.
  • B: Be persistent. Donors sometimes default to, “I don’t think so,” when asked if their company will match their donation. Have callers ask for their employer’s name and then quickly research that specific company using our database.
  • C: Come prepared. If a donor has submitted a matching gift in the past, come to the call prepared with the company’s matching gift information. Make the process simple and easy for your donors.

Being well-versed in matching gifts and anticipating donors’ questions can go a long way in driving more matches to completion! You’ll be impressed by how much you raise in matching gifts during your phonathon.

An Example of This Strategy in Action

Let’s walk through an example of how to properly incorporate matching gifts into your script. A normal phonathon call will consist of the following steps:

  1. The caller introduces themself and the organization that’s fundraising.
  2. The caller asks the potential donor if they are willing to donate.
  3. The potential donor says yes/no.
  4. If the answer is no, the caller politely thanks the prospect for their time and ends the call.
  5. If the answer is yes, the caller begins the donation process with the new donor and helps guide them through the experience.

Once the donation is secured, have your caller make the matching gift ask. Use a template similar to this:

Many companies actually match donations made by their employees to schools and other nonprofits. Do you know if you or your spouse works for a company that offers a matching gift program? I’m happy to do a quick check to see if your company will double or possibly triple your donation.

Scripts take the guesswork and pressure out of calls. Plus, if you standardize your request process, you’re in a better position to evaluate and adjust it according to the results.

4. Practice for your phonathon with mock calls.

Having a team of well-trained callers is the secret to any successful phonathon campaign.

Prepare callers by organizing mock calls. During this time, they’ll read through the provided script and respond to a variety of different “donor personas.” See how they respond when a donor has questions about the campaign, voices objections, or wants to complete their transaction. Include some matching gift-related questions to ensure volunteers are prepared, too.

Proper preparation will help callers feel more at ease when it comes time to dial a real donor’s phone number. Plus, it can help get some of the roadblocks and uncertainties out of the way early!

5. Schedule calls when donors are home.

One of the most common challenges for phonathon callers is simply reaching donors in the first place.

To improve the chances that your donors pick up the phone, consider calling during the hours when they are most likely to be home and available. These are some of our recommended times to do so:

This graphic explains the best times to call to reach donors during a phonathon.

  • Monday – Thursday, 6-9 p.m. If you call within this time window, most donors will be home from work. Yet, it’s early enough that you reduce the risk of waking anyone up. After all, cranky donors rarely give donations.
  • Sunday, 4-9 p.m. At this time on a Sunday, most donors will be finished with their weekend errands and are likely available for a conversation.

Make sure that you’re planning to reach donors when they’re ready and able to chat for the greatest fundraising success.

6. Set nightly/weekly fundraising goals for your phonathon.

Setting goals greatly increases your chances of fundraising success. Encourage your callers to set nightly or weekly donation goals to instill a sense of accomplishment when they reach and exceed their objectives.

Then, there are plenty of opportunities to use these metrics to improve your fundraising results. We suggest that you:

  • Identify any knowledge gaps and situations where additional training is needed.
  • Assign your most effective callers to your highest-value prospective donors.
  • Communicate the concrete donation impact of your callers’ fundraising goals.

Setting detailed objectives helps your organization keep track of how many donations you bring in within a certain timeframe. You can even leverage some friendly competition among callers this way!

7. Use phonathon management software.

Consider purchasing phonathon software from a well-established vendor, such as industry leader Wilson-Bennett Technology’s DonorConnect. This type of tool can save you time, money, and many of the technical headaches that would ordinarily get in the way of a successful campaign.

Common tasks that phonathon software handles include:

  • Managing and updating your donor database.
  • Automating pledge verification via email.
  • Tracking call results.
  • Issuing reports on campaign progress.

By automating these time-consuming tactical steps, you can spend your time managing callers, increasing donations, and engaging in deeper relationships with supporters.

8. Train phonathon callers on matching gifts.

Using matching gifts to boost phonathon funds starts and ends with your callers. These individuals are the voice of your campaign, working hard to help you fulfill your mission. They need to be prepared to explain matching gifts and answer any questions a prospect may have.
While you may understand the value of capturing employer data and pursuing a matching gift from your donors, your caller and digital engagement teams may not. Make sure the people who will engage in those real-time conversations understand the what, why, and how of matching gifts.

Invest in a matching gift database to make researching donors’ eligibility a breeze. Then, consider these four components of effective matching gift phonathon training:

  1. Materials: Document how callers should ask about matching gifts and the process by which they should share company rules, guidelines, and instructions.
  2. Speakers: Who at your organization is responsible for matching gifts? Invite this team member to speak with your callers.
  3. Practice: Have your callers pair up and do trial runs on a few matching gift companies. Provide feedback as needed.
  4. Coaching: Like with anything, there’s always room for improvement. Listen for matching gift asks during calls and provide guidance to improve techniques.

Ensuring your team is on the same page about matching gift goals will make the ask that much easier when the opportunity arises. Check out this video for ideas to integrate matching gifts into your phonathons and everyday fundraising efforts:


You’ll need to teach them about the latest technology, such as matching gift auto-submission, too. This feature cuts out a few steps in the request process when donors fill out your online donation form. They’ll click a checkbox to opt into auto-submission. If their employer uses CSR software that integrates with our tools, our software will automatically fill out their match request to their employer.

Overall, being a caller for a phonathon is no easy task. But with proper training, you’ll situate your callers in the best possible position to make matching gift asks.

Make sure you prepare your phonathon volunteers to talk about matching gifts. Click here to read a guide to the fundamentals.

9. Implement screening and segmentation.

Make the most of your callers’ (and your donors!) time by pre-screening and segmenting your calling list beforehand in terms of matching gift prospects.

Think of it this way: would you rather call 10 people and have one person respond positively, or call five and have three people respond positively? By segmenting your contacts prior to reaching out, you ensure that each call is a valuable use of your team’s time and resources.

For matching-gift-related segmentation, you’ll enact a three-point process:

  1. Pre-screen your file for matching gift eligibility. It is likely that a sizable percentage of your existing prospects are matching gift-eligible. Know who they are in advance by researching local matching gift businesses and determining donors’ eligibility.
  2. Append relevant information to your file. Append employer data and phone numbers to either your entire file or best prospects.
  3. Segment your calling list accordingly. Assign your best callers to high-value match-eligible prospects. Not only are those candidates’ donations likely to get matched, but they are likely to have higher average donation amounts. If they don’t respond the first time, this group might even be worth a second call!

Increasing matching gift eligibility awareness is only going to help your campaign. Give your callers the information they need to have the biggest impact.

Of course, call volume is always going to be crucial for successful phonathons. But if your organization can be even 10% more deliberate about who you’re calling, you can significantly increase your call conversion rate.

10. Prepare for donor questions.

Some donors will be hesitant to give, especially if they’ve never contributed to your organization before. If they have questions about your mission, your particular fundraising need, or anything else that might be holding them back, you’ll want to have the answers prepped and ready.

Additionally, your donors might have questions about matching gift opportunities. Be sure your callers are able to provide basic information on company gift-matching by answering questions such as these:

  • What is a matching gift?
  • How do I figure out if my company will match my gift?
  • What’s the submission process, and how does auto-submission work?

Making sure that everyone is on the same page with regard to these questions ensures that your callers give supporters the most thorough, accurate information and drive as many donations as possible.

11. Equip callers with matching gift resources.

Do your callers have the information they need to help donors? You can’t expect them to memorize the program guidelines for all the thousands of companies that offer matching gifts⁠—so where can they find that information to pass along?

That’s where your matching gift company database comes in! This type of tool allows users to conduct a quick search of an employer’s name and receive detailed guideline information in seconds. Equip callers with access to this comprehensive database to uncover the following:

Before your phonathon, give your volunteers access to this relevant matching gift information with a comprehensive database.

  • Employee eligibility
  • Types of qualifying nonprofits
  • Match ratios
  • Match minimums and maximums
  • Forms and guidelines
  • Submission deadlines and instructions

Providing callers with ample information will help them quickly and easily answer common questions from donors. Once a donor has expressed interest in requesting a matching gift, you want your caller to be able to help in any way they can. Don’t miss out on a matching gift due to a technical or otherwise avoidable issue!

12. Follow up with match-eligible donors.

If a donor has expressed interest in matching gifts on the phone, your organization should follow up afterward to increase the likelihood of turning that interest into action.

Immediately after the conversation, send an email with matching gift request instructions for the individual’s employer. You’ll also want to include matching gift reminders across various donor communications, including:

  • Pledge acknowledgments: When confirming a donor completed their pledge, encourage them to check their eligibility, or if you know they’re eligible, direct them to their employer’s form.
  • Thank yous: When showing appreciation for your donors, include matching gift reminders, encouraging them to take their impact even further.
  • End-of-year reminders: Many companies set deadlines for match requests at the end of the calendar year. Remind donors to submit their requests before time runs out!

Telling donors their gift is eligible for a match is only one component of boosting matching gifts. It’s far more valuable if you pair that information with actionable next steps.

We also recommend embedding matching gift information into your website. Give your alumni and supporters a trusted place to find their matching gift information and next steps on an easy-to-find webpage, so they can take action after speaking with your ambassadors. This helps interested supporters discover gift matching and double their own donations!

Click here to learn more about marketing matching gifts year-round and during specific campaigns like phonathons.

13. Track and incentivize successful conversations.

Are your callers held accountable and rewarded for their overall fundraising and matching gift performance? One of the best ways to ensure that callers know how important matching gifts are to your phonathon is by implementing incentives.

Giving your callers something to work towards will only help your fundraising efforts. Then, once they reach and surpass their goal, provide them with a small token of appreciation⁠, such as a t-shirt, hat, mug, or even public recognition!

Tracking and incentivizing fundraising results also gives you a positive metric for tracking caller proficiency and efficiency. This enables you to define where your phonathon is doing well and where it has room for improvement. Once you’ve isolated those areas, you’ll be in a great position to adjust your efforts as needed.

14. Keep an eye on trends in employer information.

As you start to collect employer information from your alumni and supporters, you may notice trends in company data. Be sure to ask questions like these:

  • Do a lot of your donors work for the same companies?
  • In similar industries?
  • In specific locations?
  • Do those common companies your donors work for have strong matching gift programs?
  • Is there a concentrated area of match-eligible donors you could target for your next campaign?

These are all characteristics you can determine with greater accuracy the more donors you collect employer data from. While these are nice-to-know facts for general fundraising initiatives, they can also have a more significant impact on your greater matching gifts strategy.

Therefore, make sure you’re considering matching gifts when analyzing those trends for future initiatives. You never know when that information could come in handy for future events, digital outreach, or even a future phonathon!

15. Integrate your fundraising and matching gift tools.

Phonathons and other digital engagement events can be huge operations, and a lot can get lost in the shuffle if you don’t have the right tools. Luckily, providing a scalable system for your fundraising ambassadors and callers is an easy and effective way to organize your donor data. With matching gifts added to the mix, you’ll want an automated system to take care of all the nitty-gritty details for you.

Phonathon Software Integration

We recommend using a phonathon system to manage all your digital engagement needs⁠—particularly one that integrates with powerful gift-matching tools! Donor Connect by Wilson-Bennett Technology and 360MatchPro by Double the Donation offer an integrated solution that allows callers to retrieve and communicate valuable matching gift information when speaking to donors in real time.

It takes virtually no effort from your team to set up the integration, and you’ll be able to start using it right away in your next digital engagement event. Automate the best practices listed above by incorporating the autocomplete search tool within Donor Connect scripts, automated email outreach, and regularly updated donor data.

Matching Gift Auto-Submission Integrations

A big part of driving greater matching gift revenue is simplifying the process for donors and their employers. That’s where matching gift auto-submission comes in handy.

Many companies leverage CSR software to manage employee giving programs. When these companies use platforms that integrate with our tools, this is how streamlined the match request process is:

  1. A donor gives using your organization’s online donation page.
  2. They enter their corporate email address and click a checkbox to opt into auto-submission.
  3. If eligible, our tools will automatically complete their match request.

It’s that simple! Otherwise, they’d need to fill out the form themselves. Leading CSR software like Givinga, Millie, POINT, and Selflessly enable auto-submission, so be aware of donors who work for companies that use these platforms. From here, make sure your phonathon volunteers know the basics of how this software works, too!

Bonus! Fundraising advice from phonathon experts

Hear from the phonathon fundraising experts at Wilson-Bennett Technology: a phonathon management services and software company serving nonprofits since 1998.

Todd Smith

Founder and CEO – Wilson-Bennett

Todd Smith is the CEO and founder of Wilson-Bennett Technology, which provides phonathon services.

Ensure training is ongoing throughout the campaign and each caller receives assistance, along with reminders, before calling begins each session.

We always encourage callers to excel while teaching methods to overcome negative comments.

During training, be sure to explain campaign policies and procedures, ensuring callers make the highest quality call on behalf of your institution.

Rob Schlitts

Former President – Wilson-Bennett

Rob Schlitts was the president of Wilson-Bennett Technology, a phonathon service company for charitable organizations.

“Play chess with your phonathon.”

Matching the right prospects up with the right caller makes for a great connection, conversation, and ultimately a gift. Your alumni and student callers will both enjoy the ability to connect with prospects who share similar traits and experiences.

A well-trained student caller will always be the engine of a successful phonathon.

Wrapping Up

In an age of social media, texting, and online transactions, the human element of fundraising can get lost in the shuffle. Thankfully, phonathons offer a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between technology and personal connection.

Many organizations recognize that traditional phonathons remain a smart fundraising strategy. However, most don’t think about the potential of incorporating matching gift promotions into those invaluable donor conversations.

By following these tried-and-true phonathon fundraising tips, you can set up your team⁠—and your mission⁠⁠—for long-term success. Looks like it’s time to get calling!

For more information, be sure to check out our other educational fundraising resources below:

Click here to download a resource about matching gifts and learn how you can multiply money raised during your phonathons.

How to Offer the Ultimate Employee Giving Experience

How to Offer the Ultimate Employee Giving Experience

Picture this: you’re the owner of a mid-size technology company that employs around 100 staff members. You’ve been brainstorming ways to boost employee morale and show your target customers that you run a value-driven business making its mark on the world.

You stumble across the idea of corporate philanthropy and, more specifically, employee giving. Quickly, you realize that this one concept can help you meet your previously stated goals⁠—and the tax break would be an added bonus!

You decide to take the plunge and invest in developing a workplace giving initiative that will simultaneously benefit your company, your employees, and a wide range of charitable organizations.

But how can you ensure your staff will actually want to participate? By offering them an employee giving experience that prioritizes their wants and needs and is as simple a process as possible!

Here’s how you can do that:

  1. Inform employees of available workplace giving opportunities.
  2. Provide employees with ample ways to give.
  3. Make it simple for employees to determine eligibility guidelines.
  4. Ensure your company is listed in corporate giving databases.
  5. Incentivize participation in employee giving programs.
  6. Simplify requests with auto-submission functionality.

In this guide, we’ll dive into these valuable tips for employers like yourself looking to make the most of their workplace giving programs.

Ready to get started with our first step? Let’s begin!

Make sure employees are informed about your employee giving experience.

1. Inform employees of available workplace giving opportunities.

Before you can expect employees to participate in your workplace giving initiatives, you’ll need to ensure your staff is made aware of these programs in the first place. Prior to that, you’ll need to determine which types of giving programs you’ll be offering:

Here are a few of the most common examples:

  • Matching gifts: Your company matches employee donations to qualifying nonprofits, often dollar for dollar.
  • Custom matching gifts: Your company selects a particular nonprofit and commits to matching employee donations to that cause.
  • Volunteer grants: Your company provides nonprofits where employees regularly volunteer with monetary grants.
  • Employee stipends: Your company allocates a dollar amount to each employee annually, which they donate to the nonprofit of their choice.

Regardless of the combination of giving programs you choose, informing your staff about the new offerings and how to get involved is of utmost importance.

According to matching gift research, 78% of individuals eligible for corporate giving programs are completely unaware. As a result, they’re not able to make the most of these philanthropic initiatives.

We recommend providing informational materials that outline your corporate giving programs to all existing staff to get started. For example, you might hold a meeting, send a company-wide email, share a pamphlet, and add an explainer to your employee handbook. Then, be sure your staff knows where to go to seek additional details on the program!

Going forward, you’ll want to educate all new team members about workplace giving opportunities as well.

An optimal employee giving experience means offering multiple ways to give.

2. Provide employees with ample ways to give.

There are tons of ways that individual donors can support nonprofit causes⁠. So when you create your workplace giving program, your offerings must be inclusive of all types of employee giving.

Top donation channels might include (but are not limited to):

  • Nonprofit websites
  • Online giving tools
  • Peer-to-peer campaigns
  • Text-to-give
  • Direct mail
  • Recurring gifts
  • Phonathons
  • Paycheck deductions
  • Event pledges
  • Workplace giving or CSR platforms

The opportunities are endless⁠—and each staff member at your business might have a different favorite way to give.

According to the same matching gift studies above, “96% of employees at companies with matching gift programs have a strong or very strong preference for their company to match donations made directly to a nonprofit (such as through the nonprofit’s website, peer-to-peer fundraising platform, or mail) rather than only matching donations through a workplace giving software platforms. The more options an employee has to give and to get their gift matched, the more likely they are to utilize available company matching opportunities.

To offer the best employee giving experience, 96% of employees prefer their company to match donations made directly to a nonprofit.This means that, in order to provide a positive employee giving experience for everyone, be sure to keep your giving (and matching) channels open.

Make your program guidelines accessible to improve the employee giving experience.

3. Make it simple for employees to determine eligibility guidelines.

As you work to ensure your company is well-informed about the existence of your employee giving programs, it’s equally critical that your programs’ eligibility guidelines are readily apparent as well. But what are these so-called guidelines?

Let’s take matching gifts (i.e., one of the most-used forms of workplace giving) as an example. In order for employees to participate in your company gift-matching initiative, you’ll need to provide your staff with the following information:

  • Donation minimums and maximums: This is the range within which you’ll match employee donations (e.g., $50-1,000).
  • Match ratios: This determines the rate at which you match employee donations. This is typically dollar for dollar (1:1) but can go up to 2:1 or 3:1 as well.
  • Qualifying types of nonprofits: You might choose a particular type of mission (e.g., environmental organizations) or exclude categories of recipients (such as houses of worship).
  • Qualifying types of employees: Most companies match gifts made by all full-time employees, while others may open the programs up to part-time workers, retirees, and even employee spouses
  • Submission deadlines: Your submission deadline is the date by which employees must submit a matching gift request to your company in order to be eligible to receive a match. This may be a certain number of months or align with your calendar or fiscal year.

Because these criteria are necessary for employees to determine their eligibility for a company match, it’s important that you communicate this information effectively. Ensure your guidelines are provided in any previously mentioned explainer materials and even on your business’ website. Even interested employees won’t likely be willing to search high and low for this information. If it is hard to find, you’re likely creating an unnecessary obstacle to program success.

Here’s an example of what these criteria can look like:

Providing employees with accessible guidelines improves the employee giving experience.

Plus, as a general rule, keeping your guidelines as open as possible will provide an optimal employee giving experience for your staff. For example, when you set low minimums, high maximums, and generous deadlines, more individuals’ gifts will qualify for your programming. The more employees who qualify, the more will participate. And you know that higher your levels of participation, the more advantages brought to your company.

Ensure your company is listed in corporate giving databases to simplify the employee giving experience.

4. Ensure your company is listed in corporate giving databases.

One of the easiest ways employees can uncover your aforementioned program guidelines is by accessing a corporate giving database. This is essentially a compilation of information on thousands of businesses and their available corporate giving programs.

For example, Double the Donation offers the industry-leading database for matching gifts and volunteer grants. Thousands of nonprofits utilize this comprehensive tool⁠—likely many of the same ones your employees will support.

Double the Donation help ensure a positive employee giving experience.

For organizations that leverage Double the Donation’s embeddable search widget, donors are typically prompted within the donation experience to enter their employer information in search of matching gift eligibility.

If your employees follow this process, you don’t want them to search your company name, only to be met with “no results found.” This can cause discouragement in the process, even if they know how to locate your program guidelines elsewhere. Plus, many well-intentioned donors simply forget to follow up after losing their initial giving inertia.

So what can you do to avoid this scenario? Make sure your business is listed in corporate giving databases, complete with your programs’ eligibility criteria and links to submission forms.

Luckily, Double the Donation accepts submissions for new companies to add to their most comprehensive database, making it as easy as possible for your business to increase its program reach. As a result, you provide the simplest, most optimal employee giving experience while actively supporting their favorite charities.

And if you go the custom program route with a nonprofit partner that uses Double the Donation’s matching gift database, the organization can ensure the program is added correctly using the platform’s one-off match program management feature!

*While 360MatchPro offers custom matching gift program management functionality, this feature is designed specifically for fundraisers looking to manage custom matching gift initiatives—360MatchPro does not work directly with corporations. If you’re a company interested in creating a matching gift program, contact us, and we’ll share information about our corporate vendor partners.

Custom matching gift programs' backend management for a positive employee giving experience

That way, your nonprofit-specific program will populate in that organization’s company search tool but won’t appear as an option for other nonprofit causes in order to avoid confusion.

Incentivize giving to improve the employee giving experience.

5. Incentivize participation in employee giving programs.

By now, your employees should be aware of your employee giving initiatives in place and understand how they can participate. But what if your staff requires a little extra push to get involved with your philanthropic efforts?

That’s where strategic incentivization comes in!

If you want to encourage individuals to partake in new employee giving experiences, consider motivating the team with giving goals⁠—either in terms of percentage of overall participation or in total fundraising goals.

Once your team reaches the predetermined objectives, you might treat the company to rewards like these:

  • Catered lunches
  • Additional PTO
  • Casual dress days
  • In-house masseuse services
  • Gift card rewards
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Company apparel and/or swag

Be sure to remind your employees that the ultimate benefit of a well-run workplace giving program revolves around providing mission-based organizations the funds they need to change the world. But some extra motivation never hurts, either!

Improve your employee giving experience with auto-submission

6. Simplify requests with auto-submission functionality.

Want to increase employee participation⁠ in (and satisfaction with) your workplace giving programs? Make it as easy as possible to get involved. And it’s never been easier than with auto-submission!

Here’s what you need to know:

The Historic Submission Process

Once an employee determines that they qualify for a workplace giving program⁠—such as matching gifts⁠—they’ve traditionally been required to complete a request process put in place by the company they work for. Typically, the individual will be asked to provide basic information about their donation (e.g., amount, method of giving, date the gift was made, etc.) and the organization to which they contributed (such as its mission, mailing address, tax ID number, and more).

New Auto-Submission Functionality

Matching gift auto-submission functionality recently came out of beta. Now some programs can offer the new functionality, which substantially streamlines the process for donors and increases the likelihood that matches will be submitted. Instead of asking for all of the above-listed information, companies taking part in auto-submission simply request the individual’s corporate email address. The software ecosystem will take it from there to process, approve, and disburse funding for the match.

How matching gift auto-submission works

Leveraging Auto-Submission Providers

If you’re interested in getting started with auto-submission capabilities, the easiest way is to partner with a CSR management platform that already offers the functionality through a seamless integration with Double the Donation’s innovative technology. These currently include the following providers:Companies and vendors offering an optimal employee giving experience

If you already work with a CSR platform that doesn’t yet offer this functionality, consider reaching out to your provider to advocate for the technology. After all, auto-submission is available with no added cost⁠—it’s free for both the matching gift company and the software vendor they use⁠—so you can offer the ultimate employee giving experience to your team.

Keep in mind⁠—the more employees who take part in your company’s matching program, the better the results you can expect to see in terms of team member engagement, brand reputation, and more. And auto-submission abilities set your team up for continued success on all accounts!


There’s little to no purpose in investing in an employee giving program if nobody at your workplace will participate. To drive participation, you need to look at your employee giving experience from a staff member’s perspective and determine whether it’s a positive one.

So provide ample opportunities and avenues for giving, make available programs known, simplify the processes involved, and incentivize participation. This can make a world of difference⁠—to your workforce, your community, and even your company’s bottom line.

Interested in learning more about employee giving? Check out our other educational resources:

Find out how to drive corporate philanthropy at your company!