Do Matching Gifts Inspire Employee Giving?

Are employees more motivated to donate to nonprofits if their employer is willing to match their gift?

Thousands of companies across the United States offer this incentive to employees through “matching gift programs.” In fact, two-thirds of employers surveyed in America’s Charities’ 2015 Snapshot Report indicate they match employee payroll contributions. That’s a 62% increase since 2006. Yet, $6-$10 billion of corporate matching gift money goes unclaimed each year.

Why the gap? That is one thing America’s Charities is trying to figure out through the Snapshot 2017 survey, with results to be reported this fall.

America’s Charities’ Snapshot Series reports on trends, attitudes and perceptions in employee workplace giving. Having explored these trends from the perspective of employers (Snapshot 2015 and Snapshot 2013) and nonprofits (Snapshot 2014), Snapshot 2017 will offer a first-ever look at trends in employee giving from the perspective of donors. Our researchers are surveying employee donors to learn about what they value, how they make decisions about giving, and how giving through the workplace impacts their overall charitable endeavors.

Consisting of just 10 multiple choice questions, here’s how you can participate in the Snapshot 2017 survey:

Donors:

This is your chance to share your giving preferences and what role you expect employers to play in supporting your ability to give time, talent, and/or money to nonprofits and causes inside and outside the workplace. Click the following link to take the survey now http://impact.ac/2kMY51f. Your feedback will be used to help employers and nonprofits shape the future of workplace giving, volunteering, and other corporate philanthropic initiatives. Responses will be confidential and anonymous and shared later this year in America’s Charities’ Snapshot 2017 report.

Employers:

This survey is an opportunity to gain a better understanding of what your employees value and expect through employee giving, matching gifts, volunteering and other corporate giving initiatives. You can share this link with your employees http://impact.ac/2kMY51f or, upon your request, we will give you a unique survey URL to distribute to your employees, so you’ll have your organization’s full dataset to benchmark against the larger field’s response, which will be available this fall.

Nonprofits:

This survey can be used as a listening tool to help you gain a better understanding of what your donors value about giving and volunteering programs. You can share this link with your donors http://impact.ac/2kMY51f or, upon your request, we will give you a unique survey URL to distribute to your donors, so you’ll have your organization’s full dataset to benchmark against the larger field’s response, which will be available this fall. For your convenience, we’ve created a promotional toolkit to assist with your donor communications, complete with content for social media, donor emails and your website.

Sponsors:

Support this valuable research and help improve the practice of employee giving and engagement, CSR, and social impact. Click here to learn about our sponsorship opportunities and to sign-up. 

Interested in receiving a unique survey URL to share or have a question about the Snapshot 2017 survey?

Please email Lindsay Nichols, America’s Charities VP, Marketing and Communications, at lnichols@charities.org. She can provide your organization with a unique survey link and answer your Snapshot 2017 survey questions.