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Top 10 Employers that Practice Corporate Matching

Corporate Matching
What is corporate matching? When a company recognizes the charitable actions of their employees and decides to match that same altruistic nature through financial means. The following companies practice corporate matching (and are in no particular order).

1. General Electric

Today, the GE Foundation matches over 35 million dollars annually to nonprofit and educational institutions.

2. Google

Matching up to over $12,000 in donations per employee each year, Google has been highlighted as a company that not only matches charitable giving, but also matches funds employees personally raise for charities.

3. CarMax

Matching to nearly every nonprofit organization, CarMax’s 1:1 match policy on all donations applies to not only all employees, but all of the employees’ dependents until the age of 26.

4. Soros Fund Management

This company has the highest matching gift ratio (3:1 match for employees and 2:1 match for partners) of any corporation, creating a high incentive for Soros families to give.

5. Boeing

Boeing matches both employee and retiree donations. In addition, they provide a $100 grant to a nonprofit every time an employee participates in a charitable event (run/walk/bike type events).

6. BP

This company offers every type of employee giving with their generous giving programs. BP allows for the public to track all of its charitable spending in addition to the standard 1:1 matching.

7. Gap Corporation

Including many of the Gap subsidiaries, Gap employees can request matches made to majority of nonprofit based organizations. They also offer the most comprehensive and user-friendly online match system. Gifts made within the company can range from $1,000 to $10,000.

8. Microsoft

Through employee giving within the company, more that $1 billion was donated to charitable organizations within the match program.

9. Johnson & Johnson

All company employees, including retirees, are eligible to request up to $10,000 in donation matching. They also have a 2:1 matching ratio for current employees, and a 1:1 rate for all retirees.

10. Bank of America

With a 1:1 matching for all family members, including those of part-time employees, Bank of America has a $5,000 matching cap and has a longer period of acceptance for those matches than other companies.

– Alysha Biemolt

Sources: Double the Donation 1, Double the Donation 2, Double the Donation 3,

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EITI Improves Transparency and Payment

EITI Improves Transparency and Payment
The G8 Summit in Northern Ireland on June 17 focused heavily on transparency and trade and brought the EITI — the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative — into the spotlight. Immediately after the G8 Summit, it was announced that Italy and Germany would be implementing and piloting EITI, respectively, a step forward towards increased transparency for extractive industries worldwide.

Transparency for extractive industries is particularly necessary for developing countries that suffer from what is known as the resource curse– the trend for countries with high amounts of natural resources to be low in development. The resource curse is often perpetuated by irresponsible extraction processes that disrupt life in the host country and negatively impact its economy.

EITI, an initiative first introduced in 2002 by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, focuses on transparency in the extraction industries — mining and logging being the largest ones worldwide — so as to address at least one element in the “resource curse”: the countries from which the extraction companies originate. While the initial implementation of EITI standards between 2002 and 2005 was aimed at voluntarily committing companies, by 2005 EITI standards took the form of “a disclosure standard implemented by countries.”

Stakeholders in EITI include over 70 of the world’s largest oil, gas, and mining companies, including Britain’s BP, America’s Chevron, Britain and Australia’s Rio Tinto, and Brazil’s Vale. The transparency standards include improved payment and revenue reporting on the parts of both company and host country. It aims to answer the questions, “How much are governments receiving?” and “Where does this money go?”

The G8’s commitment to and support for the EITI shows a continued dedication to improving transparency worldwide and addressing the resource curse. While EITI still faces obstacles such as ensuring members procure timely reports and that these reports are not so delayed as to prove entirely unhelpful. At present, 23 countries are considered EITI Compliant, and 16 have status as EITI Candidates including the recent additions of the Philippines and Honduras.

– Naomi Doraisamy
Source: Christian Science Monitor, EITI, Thomas Reuters Foundation
Photo: Christian Science Monitor

4 Companies With Unique Philanthropy Programs

Unique Philanthopy Programs
Many companies are embracing the idea of philanthropy for many reasons. It helps their image and it also helps recruit better employees who are socially responsible and want to give back more. Two of the most popular programs for employees to give back are companies matching employees’ donations, and offering grants to employees who spend their time outside of work volunteering for their favorite charities. But four companies are taking giving back a step further by introducing unique philanthropy programs to encourage more employees to do more for their communities and communities around the world.

These new and unique programs include:

1. No-strings-attached donations

2. Time off for volunteering

3. Donations based on number of years of service

4. Charity programs for family members

Each of the four companies has implemented one of these unique philanthropy programs to become a leader in the corporate giving world.

BP

Ever since the major oil spill in 2010, BP has been trying to make right with its customers and the public. To try to make amends, the company created the no-strings-attached grants program. This program allows employees to choose to donate $300 to a nonprofit with no strings attached. The employees do not need to make a donation out of their own pockets, and they are not required by BP to volunteer for that money.

Nestle

Not many employees can resist extra vacation days, and Nestle has taken notice. So to reward their employees who work outside the company as volunteers, they implemented a program that will give a worker two extra vacation days when they spend the equivalent of one day volunteering.

RealNetworks

This company chose to reward loyalty with charity. Employees don’t have to give their own money or volunteer their time, but RealNetworks will donate $500 to a charity of the employee’s choice when they celebrate their 5th anniversary with the company.

CarMax

CarMax is expanding on the idea of matching employee donations by also matching the employee’s spouse and dependents’ donations to charities that are close to their hearts.

Each of these companies understands the importance of philanthropy, but they also understand that innovation is key in this new world of corporate giving.

– Katie Brockman
Source: Triple Pundit