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Have you ever wondered how you can increase the dollar value of your gift to IRE? If your company has a "matching gift" program, your $100 gift can become $200 or even more. Hundreds of companies across the country have "matching gift" programs which can double or even triple individual, tax-deductible contributions made by employees.
Your employer may be one of these companies!
If your company does not match gifts, then your spouse or significant other may work for a "matching gift" company. There is a Web site -- www.MatchingGifts.com -- that is a good starting point on "matching gift" companies.
How they got started. "Matching gift" programs began in 1954 when GE board chairman Philip Reed wanted to encourage GE employees to make charitable gifts to their alma maters. Reed felt that gifts made to educational institutions would benefit GE in the end by providing a better-educated work force. Since 1954, "matching gift" programs have expanded beyond educational gifts. In fact, some companies will make monetary gifts to match volunteer hours employees "give" to not-for-profit organizations.
Why do companies have "matching gift" programs? Good corporate citizenship, employee relations and good public relations are just a few of the reasons why companies create "matching gift" programs for employees.
We have listed selected journalism-related organizations that are "matching gift" companies. This by no means is a complete list and because your company is not listed does not mean it is not a "matching gift" company. Your human resources department should have a matching gift form along with the company's matching gift guidelines.
If your company doesn't match gifts, you may want to approach the human resources department and suggest it look into the advantages to becoming such a company.
Questions? Please contact Jennifer Erickson, IRE's development officer, at 573-884-2222 or jennifer@ire.org.
