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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,

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