Tag Archive for: American Express

Nonprofit Leadership Traits

Matching Gift Participation Rates

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Has your organization ever taken a look at which companies are consistently providing matching gift donations to your organization?

If you have, you may notice that a disproportionate number of matching gifts come from a select few companies.

Survey Results | Participation Varies Widely by Company:

The Chronicle of Philanthropy released a report entitled “How America’s Biggest Companies Give” which was compiled from their Corporate Giving Survey.

Employee Matching Gift Participation Rates

Key Insights on Matching Gift Participation Rates:

Insight #1: 65% of Microsoft employees request a match from the company compared to less than 15% for Xerox, Dell, and Verizon. This is a direct result of Microsoft being one of the best at communicating matching gift information to employees.

Insight #2: Pfizer leads companies in the pharmaceutical industry with over 30% of employees participating in the company’s matching gift program.

Insight #3: Matching gift programs are widely utilized by employees in the financial services sector. American Express leads the pack with 70% of employees requesting the company match at least one charitable donation.

Insight #4: Based on this sample of companies, the consumer goods sector has the lowest employee participation rates. Of the companies that provided data, Johnson & Johnson leads the sector with 25% of employees having one or more donations matched by the company.

 

Impact on your Organization’s Matching Gift Revenue: Home Depot vs. Coca-Cola:

For instance, both Home Depot (~13K Atlanta employees) and Coca-Cola (~5K Atlanta employees) are headquartered in Atlanta and offer similar matching gift programs.

One would expect Atlanta based nonprofit organizations to receive a significant number of matching gift donations from each of these companies. Unfortunately that doesn’t appear to be the case. The majority of nonprofits we’ve spoken to self-report far more matching donations from Coca-Cola compared to Home Depot each year. **

 

So what causes this discrepancy?

Organizations typically explain this phenomenon by talking about the number of employees each company has in the area. While it’s true that a company with a major presence in a city is more likely to provide a larger number of matching gifts, there’s an even more important factor.

How well a company internally promotes matching gifts dictates how likely an employee is to know about the program and submit matching gift requests.

We know it doesn’t take a genius to come up with the above statement, but it’s true. So many employees at companies with matching gift programs have no idea their employer offers a program. If an employee / donor lacks knowledge of their company program, there’s no way they’ll submit a matching gift request.

 

Closing the Gap:

Although your organization can’t change how widely companies promote matching gifts to their entire employee base, you can greatly influence the percentage of your donors who submit matching gift requests.

If you raise awareness and make it easy for your donors / their spouses to submit matching gifts, you can increase matching revenue.

We recommend nonprofits promote matching gifts in three locations:

  1. In the donation process
  2. Across your website
  3. In your communications

If you effectively promote employee matching gifts to your donors, you can overcome low participation rates.

Data Sources:
*Based upon a publicly available survey of companies which was conducted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
**Based on our conversations with membership and development managers at select Atlanta organizations.

Donor-advised funds can make a difference in your nonprofit fundraising strategy. Learn more with this post!

Donor-Advised Funds: Are DAFs Eligible for Matching Gifts?

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Donor-advised funds (DAF), which make giving charitable donations simple and easy, are quickly gaining popularity, but because nonprofits don’t know the ins and outs, they might not be fully taking advantage of them.

As a nonprofit professional, you likely know the DAF basics, such as how they allow donors to give today and receive a tax deduction now, rather than waiting for tax season. However, what if you could double these gifts through donors’ employers?

To fully answer this question, there are a few key points you need to review:

  1. Typical Eligibility Requirements.
  2. Corporate Examples.
  3. How a Matching Gift Database Can Help.

If you’re ready to boost your nonprofit’s revenue, let’s get started!

Read more

Learn about the top companies in New York City with matching gift programs.

New York Companies with Matching Gift Programs

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Double the Donation’s nonprofits clients come from all across the country⁠—so we wanted to highlight a few select matching gift companies in key markets. Like most major metropolitan areas, New York is home to tons of notable employers, many of whom offer matching gift programs.

Is your New York-based organization tapping into this source of corporate giving?

To help you launch or finetune your strategy, we’re going to look at the following matching gift companies your team should be aware of:

  • JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  • Verizon
  • IBM
  • Goldman Sachs Group
  • American International Group

Follow along for a look at New York City’s corporate philanthropy and the tools you can use to discover these opportunities.

Learn about New York City's corporate philanthropy statistics.

Statistics on New York Matching Gift Companies

If you dig into your organization’s database of corporate donors from the past few years, you’ll probably notice you received matching gifts from a variety of companies. Some are probably headquartered in your area, while others may have a much smaller presence.

Here are a few statistics on the New York market that may interest you:

Now, let’s dive in!

Learn how to discover matching gift programs in New York City.

Discovering Matching Gift Opportunities in Metropolitan Areas

The fact that New York has major matching gift opportunities means little if nonprofits don’t capitalize on them. If you’re like most organizations, you probably aren’t reaching your full corporate philanthropy potential.

A great place to start is making sure everyone in your organization is familiar with the largest employers in your area. If you want to take it a step further, however, consider providing donors and volunteers with detailed information about their employer or their spouse’s employer.

360MatchPro, a marketing automation platform suited for nonprofits looking to improve their existing matching gift processes, can help. With this software, your organization can automatically identify and contact eligible donors regarding matching gifts.

Identify matching gift companies in New York with 360MatchPro

With that, continue reading for a look at New York City’s top 5 companies with matching gift programs.

Follow along for a list of the top companies in New York City with matching gift programs.

Companies in New York with Matching Gift Programs

Check out the top companies in New York City with matching gift programs.

Of the top companies in New York City, those highlighted offer matching gift or volunteer grant programs. It would be difficult to go into detail regarding every company in New York offering matching gift programs, so we’ve highlighted some of the area’s largest employers for this list. 

Based on the current Fortune 500 list, JPMorgan Chase and Verizon are the two biggest companies in New York City. Even better? Both offer matching gift programs!

Further, we’ve included IBM, Goldman Sachs Group, and American International Group, each of which is a large employer in the city offering matching gifts.

JPMorgan ChaseJP Morgan Chase is a top company in New York City with a matching gift program.

JPMorgan Chase offers both a matching gift and volunteer grant program. The company matches up to $1,000 per employee or retiree each year to pretty much any school or nonprofit.

The company also offers a tiered volunteer grant program where grants average $10 per hour volunteered. The grant amount varies based upon the number of hours an employee volunteers.

Learn more about JPMorgan Chase’s employee giving programs.

Verizon

Verizon is a top company in New York City with a matching gift program.

Verizon offers both a matching gift and volunteer grant program for employees. The company matches up to $5,000 to schools and $1,000 to all other nonprofits per employee each year.

Additionally, through the Verizon Volunteer Incentive Program, employees who volunteer for 50 hours in a calendar year can request a $750 grant for an organization.

Learn more about Verizon’s employee giving programs.

IBMIBM is a top company in New York City with a matching gift program.

IBM also offers multiple types of employee giving programs. Not only does the company offer matching grants on donations and cash grants for volunteering, but it also allows nonprofits to receive a significantly larger donation if the organization elects to receive IBM technology instead of cash.

For instance, IBM offers a 2:1 technology grant on employee donations. This means that if an IBM employee donates $500 to your organization, you can receive $1,000 in IBM equipment or $500 in cash.

Learn more about IBM’s employee giving programs.

Goldman Sachs

New York Matching Gift Company example: Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs, an investment banking company based in New York City, New York, offers a generous matching gift program that current, full-time employees are encouraged to take part in.

In fact, the company agrees to match donations between $50 and $20,000 at a 1:1 ratio to nearly all nonprofit organizations—including educational institutions, health and human services, arts and cultural organizations, civic and community groups, environmental nonprofits, and more.

Learn more about Goldman Sachs’ employee giving programs.

American International Group (AIG)AIG is a top company in New York City with a matching gift program.

AIG focuses its philanthropic efforts on three main groups of giving:

  • Safety – auto safety, disease prevention, programs that help prevent improper use of prescription drugs
  • Security – financial and educational programs that drive safety
  • Disaster Relief – including support of disaster preparedness and repair of infrastructure in the wake of a catastrophe

AIG has a matching gift program with a minimum match of $25 and a maximum of $10,000 per employee per year.

Learn more about AIG’s employee giving programs.

But that’s not all!

Other NY-based Fortune 500 companies with employee matching gift and volunteer grant programs include:

Bottom line: Many of New York’s leading employers match donations employees make to nonprofits. Make sure everyone in your organization’s membership and development offices is familiar with major employers in your area that match employee donations.