3 Ways to Secure Workplace Giving Funds for Your Nonprofit

According to corporate philanthropy statistics from Double the Donation, workplace giving programs provide nonprofits and educational institutions with an estimated $5 billion each year. That’s a significant amount⁠—and that figure is only expected to grow as workplace giving continues to expand.

But where exactly do these funds come from, and how can your organization make the most of the opportunity presented to you? That’s what we’ll cover here in this guide.

Specifically, we’ll share how you can:

1. Encourage donors to pursue matching gifts.
2. Ask volunteers to request volunteer grants.
3. Market payroll giving opportunities to your supporters.

As a key function of corporate social responsibility, workplace giving programs form mutually beneficial relationships between companies, their employees, and the charitable causes they support. Let’s dive in and see how your organization can best benefit from the programs!

1. Encourage donors to pursue matching gifts.

One of the most popular forms of workplace giving is corporate matching gifts, in which companies agree to financially match donations their employees make to qualifying nonprofits. These programs allow nonprofits and other fundraising groups to maximize their incoming donations by doubling or even tripling supporters’ generous contributions.

While it can vary from one company to the next, here’s how the matching gift process generally works:

1. A donor contributes to a nonprofit.
2. The donor then checks if their company offers a matching gift program, either by using a matching gift search tool or by reaching out to their employer directly.
3. If eligible, the donor submits a request to their employer (often by filling out a brief form within their company’s online CSR portal).
4. The employer then reviews the matching gift submission, complete with donation details, and ensures the request adheres to the company’s program criteria.
5. The nonprofit confirms receipt of the original donation with the employer, and upon approval, the employer sends a matching gift to the nonprofit.

In the end, the organization receives two gifts for the cost of soliciting one⁠—thus driving its ROI (or return on investment) and significantly enhancing its overall fundraising efforts.

2. Ask volunteers to request volunteer grants.

Beyond matching gifts, another popular form of workplace giving program is corporate volunteer grants. In order to raise more funds through this workplace giving opportunity, all you need to do is encurage your volunteers to request the grants from their employers.

Here’s how the process generally works:

1. An employee volunteers a certain number of hours at a nonprofit.
2. The employee then checks if their employer offers a volunteer grant program and meets the required volunteer hours threshold.
3. The employee submits a request to their employer for a volunteer grant, providing details of the nonprofit and their volunteer hours.
4. The employer reviews the request, verifies the employee’s volunteer service, and awards a grant to the nonprofit based on the number of volunteer hours contributed.

Volunteer grants essentially turn your dedicated volunteers into donors⁠—without asking them to reach into their own wallets to do so. Talk about a win-win!

3. Market payroll giving opportunities to your supporters.

Finally, a third way to raise more for your organization through workplace giving is with payroll giving. These programs enable employees to sign up for nonprofit donations to automatically be deducted from their paychecks, allowing organizations to benefit from recurring gifts (i.e., generally bi-weekly or monthly) with ease.

Here’s how these programs generally work:

1. An employee signs up for their employer’s payroll giving program, often through an internal CSR platform.
2. The employee selects a nonprofit from a list of pre-approved organizations eligible to receive donations through the program.
3. A portion of the employee’s paycheck is automatically deducted and donated to the chosen nonprofit(s) on a regular basis.
4. The employer (or the employer’s CSR platform) collects the donations and disburses them to the nonprofit(s) on behalf of the employee.

Payroll giving is a great way to receive regular support from donors through their companies. But in order to raise more through these programs, it’s important to market the opportunity to your supporters so they know how to get involved.

Securing workplace giving funds is a powerful way to diversify your nonprofit’s revenue and strengthen relationships with corporate partners, tapping into a steady stream of funding that supports your mission year-round. Implementing these strategies not only boosts your financial resources but also engages employees and companies in a meaningful way.

Ready to unlock the full potential of workplace giving for your nonprofit or school? Equipping your team with the best-in-class tools is the best thing you can do! Lucky for you, it’s easy to integrate Double the Donation with your Donately fundraising platform. Good luck!