Matching Gifts
October 2nd, 2008 by Susan Low SaadatWhen an individual gives a gift, it can be matched at a certain percentage by an
associated company or individual. Typical matching scenarios are when an individual works for a company who matches gifts that the individual makes at .50 on the dollar or when a constituent agrees to match gifts made by other constituents during a certain period of time. The latter are generally known as challenge gifts.
Where do you find out if an organization makes matching gifts? HEP Development Services, Inc. offers a Gifts Plus, an electronic file of matching gift companies. You can locate HEP Development services on the web at hepdevelopment.com. I also located a free matching gift company lookup screen operated by HEP at matching gifts.com/demo.cfm.
To create matching gifts automatically in FR 50, you’ll need to create a resume card for your constituent and a record for the company the constituent works for. On the company’s card, you’ll check the box on the basic card that says they’re a match company and enter the ratio for their matching gifts. On the employee’s resume card, be sure to have the job at the matching gift company as the “current” job. When you enter a gift on this constituent’s card, the system will automatically remind you that the constituent works for a matching gift company and give you the option of creating the matching pledge at the same time you enter the gift. When you receive the gift from the company to match your constituent’s gift, you’ll simply enter the pledge payment on the company’s record. Voila!
Happy matchmaking.
