How to Find Matching Gift Programs
For charitable organizations and individual donors alike, matching gift programs are an excellent means of maximizing the benefit of charitable giving. For employees, finding such information is often as simple as contacting the human resources department. It can be just as easy for charitable organizations, or individuals who are not employed by companies with matching gift programs, to find matching gift programs.
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Things You'll Need
- Access to a Foundation Center library
- Computer with Internet access
- Access to a public library with nonprofit research resources
Instructions
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Finding Matching Gift Programs
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Use online search services to find matching gift programs. For commercial services, searches are often free with fees only imposed for the particular profiles you are interested in viewing in more detail. Another source is the Matching Gift Details (the Internet version is Details Online), a directory of more than 8,600 corporate matching gift programs published annually by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). (See Resources.)
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Search the Foundation Center's Foundation Directory Online and Corporate Giving Online. These resources are available by subscription or at Foundation Center libraries located in various cities across the United States. They are also often available for no charge at your local public library. Another search resource is the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature, which contains thousands of bibliographic citations and abstracts, and is updated daily.
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Check out corporate research websites such as Hoover's for company information and news, or the Philanthropy News Digest (PND) for weekly news abstracts on foundations, corporate giving and grants. The PND Archives includes past issues dating back to January 1995. These sites offer perspective of a company's philosophy and might provide clues about the types of charities the company supports. (See Resources.)
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Pay attention to announcements for upcoming charity events sponsored by organizations to which you are interested in making donations. The website will often list matching gift programs for the event, or through Internet fund-raising efforts. If the instructions for giving or matching gift programs aren't clear, contact the organization with your questions.
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Tips & Warnings
Besides Internet searches, Foundation Center libraries also feature a number of print resources for researching companies for possible matching gift programs.
Be sure to check the latest available sources to avoid relying on outdated information.
