Matching Gift Opportunities: Houston’s Top Companies

Are you a Houston nonprofit? Are you taking full advantage of the variety of matching gift programs offered by local and national employers? If not, you’re leaving fundraising dollars on the table.

Energy is one of the most philanthropic industries in the United States, and Houston is home to many leading energy companies. Nearly all of these companies match donations made by employees and/or retirees, as well as offer grants when employees volunteer.

If you’re a Houston nonprofit looking to have more donations matched by your donors’ employers, this article is for you! First, we’re going to look at the best way to discover matching gift opportunities, before breaking down the programs offered by the following top Houston companies:

• BHP Billiton
• Halliburton
• Phillips 66
• ConocoPhillips
• BP
• And many more

Follow along for a look at corporate philanthropy in Houston, TX.

The Best Way to Discover Matching Gift Opportunities

Even though Houston provides huge matching gift opportunities, it’s impossible to capitalize on them if your organization is unaware of these programs when you encounter them. This lack of awareness can be inhibiting, and the easiest way to combat it is by employing matching gift tools.

Nonprofits large and small can benefit from such tools where their matching gift solicitation processes are concerned. With the right solutions, nonprofits can embed an industry-leading, searchable database directly on their website and giving form, allowing donors to easily search their eligibility.

For example, a nonprofit looking to grow its existing processes would benefit from 360MatchPro. Through this tool, nonprofits are able to fully automate their matching gift solicitation processes, from the original discovery of eligible donors to the communications that follow.

With that, continue reading for a look at the top companies in Houston with matching gift programs.

Leading Houston Matching Gift Companies:

BHP Billiton

While the parent company of BHP Billiton is based out of Australia, the U.S. subsidiary has its headquarters, as well as a major employee presence, in the Houston area. As with most leading energy companies, BHP is a strong supporter of local nonprofits through its employee giving programs.

Matching Gifts:

BHP offers two types of matching gift programs where the company will match donations to nonprofit organizations:

1. Individual Matching Gifts. Each employee can request matching gifts for personal donations to nonprofits.
2. Fundraising Matches. If an employee participates in a fundraising walk/run/bike/etc., he or she can request matching funds on all money raised for the organization.

Volunteer Grants:

If BHP employees prefer to give their time, BHP supports their volunteerism by providing grants to nonprofits where employees volunteer regularly.

For every hour a BHP employee volunteers, the company donates $16 to the organization. Of course, there’s a minimum and maximum amount the company will donate per employee, but this can be a great source of fundraising for organizations with a large volunteer base.

Learn more about BHP Billiton’s employee giving programs.

Halliburton

Halliburton employees can participate in three different matching gift programs:

1. Matches to Higher Education. Halliburton provides a 2:1 match on employee donations to colleges & universities.
2. Matches to K-12 Schools. Halliburton provides 1:1 match on employee donations to primary and secondary schools (max $500 annually per employee).
3. Matches to Other Nonprofits. During Halliburton’s “Giving Choices” campaign, the company provides a 10% match on donations made to nearly any 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

For further information on Halliburton’s employee giving programs, read more here.

Phillips 66

Phillips 66 is an American multinational energy company headquartered in the Houston area. The Fortune 500 company offers a generous corporate philanthropy program.

Matching Gifts:

Phillips 66 matches donations to most nonprofits at a 1:1 ratio. Their maximum match amount for active full- and part-time employees is $15,000, while retirees are matched up to $7,500 annually.

Volunteer Grants:

Phillips 66 offers two types of volunteer grant programs for employees, their spouses, and retirees:

• Individual Volunteer Grants. For every 20 hours an individual volunteers, they receive a volunteer grant of $500 for the organization. Each individual can request up to four of these grants each year.
• Team Volunteer Grants. When teams of four or more employees volunteer together for a total of 40 combined hours, the company provides a grant of $1,000.

Learn more about Phillip 66’s employee giving programs.

ConocoPhillips

With over $230 million a year in revenue, ConocoPhillips is the fourth largest company in the United States (according to Forbes). Along with this financial success, the company has made corporate philanthropy a big component of its core values.

Matching Gifts:

ConocoPhillips matches donations from employees and retirees at a 1:1 rate. Employees can request up to $10,000 in matching funds annually while retirees are eligible to request up to $5,000 annually.

Volunteer Grants:

ConocoPhillips also supports organizations where individuals or groups of employees volunteer. Individuals can request grants of $500 after volunteering for 20 hours or grants of $1,000 after volunteering with a nonprofit for 40 hours.

If groups of employees volunteer together, ConocoPhillips provides team volunteer grants. If you have supporters who work at ConocoPhillips, make sure to ask them to grab their colleagues to come out and volunteer together. If a group of four or more ConocoPhillips employees volunteer together for a total of at least 40 hours, your nonprofit can earn a grant of $1,000.

Learn more about ConocoPhillips employee grant programs.

BP

BP is consistently ranked on our list of top corporate giving programs and recognized for having perhaps the best employee giving program.

BP has a matching gifts program where they will match employee donations from $25 to $5,000 at a 1:1 ratio.

The nonprofits BP will match donations to include, but are not limited to:

• Educational institutions (K-12 included)
• Health & human welfare service organizations
• Arts and cultural organizations
• Development, civic, and community organizations
• Environmental and conservation organizations

BP also has a dollars for doers program where they will donate up to 10 dollars per volunteer hour after an employee has volunteered a minimum of 25 hours. The company will also match the amount of money an employee has raised at an event for nonprofits!

Lastly, BP’s Fabric of America program allows employees to designate $300 in grant money to the nonprofit of their choice, in addition to all of the other matching gift and volunteer matching programs BP has in place.

Learn more about BP’s corporate matching program.

Four Additional Houston Energy Companies with Matching Gift Programs:

• Citgo – Matches donations from employees and retirees to nearly all 501(c)(3) organizations and educational institutions.
• CenterPoint Energy – Provides matching gifts to educational institutions and gives grants to nonprofits where employees volunteer.
• ExxonMobil – Provides a wide variety of employee giving programs including grants when groups of employees volunteer together.
• Kinder Morgan (including El Paso Corporation) – Matches employee donations to educational institutions and arts/cultural organizations.

Double the Donation’s team tracks and makes it easy for your organization’s donors to submit match requests. Take a tour of Double the Donation’s service to see if it’s right for your organization.