Corporate matching programs are one of the most powerful tools for boosting employee engagement and amplifying charitable impact, especially during the holiday giving season. By matching donations, your company not only doubles the impact of employees' contributions but also strengthens the emotional connection between employees and the causes they care about most.
However, despite their potential, many organizations face challenges with outdated or overly complex corporate matching systems. These systems often create friction for both employees and internal teams, leading to reduced participation. In this blog, we’ll explore best practices for maximizing corporate matching programs and highlight how Percent Pledge simplifies the entire process—making giving seamless for everyone involved.
The impact of corporate matching
Corporate matching donations are proven to significantly increase employee engagement, particularly during the giving season. Research shows that offering matching programs can double participation in employee giving campaigns. However, many companies fail to take full advantage of this potential due to internal barriers.
Employees disengage when the process or system is complex
If the process is difficult or unclear, employees may opt out entirely. For example, legacy systems often require employees to manually submit forms or receipts, turning what should be an inspiring act of giving into a frustrating administrative task.
Administrative burden on HR and Finance teams
Matching donations can also be labor-intensive for internal teams, requiring HR to verify nonprofits and Finance to manage donations, tax receipts, and reporting. This cumbersome process can take weeks or months, discouraging participation from both employees and the company.
Percent Pledge’s solution: simplifying corporate matching
Percent Pledge offers a complete, automated solution that eliminates the administrative complexity, empowering employees to give more freely while freeing up HR and Finance teams to focus on other strategic initiatives.
Automate corporate matching donation processes
Employees can see their donations being matched in real-time, giving them immediate feedback on the impact they’re making. The platform eliminates the need for forms, receipts, or lengthy HR approval processes, meaning no more weeks-long waits for donation verification.
Tax compliance and charity verification
Percent Pledge automates charity verification, ensuring that employee-chosen organizations are eligible for tax-deductible donations. Tax receipts are instantly provided for both employees and the company, streamlining compliance and reporting.
Global charities to enable employee choice
Unlike many companies that limit employees to a select number of charities, Percent Pledge gives employees access to over 2 million vetted nonprofits across 200+ countries. This expansive choice significantly boosts participation, allowing employees to donate to causes that resonate with them personally, no matter where they’re located.
Real-world success story:
Before partnering with Percent Pledge, DRW faced significant challenges in managing their corporate matching program. They struggled to offer employees the freedom to support any charity due to administrative hurdles. After adopting Percent Pledge’s platform, DRW saw participation rise by 200% and surpassed their campaign goal by an astonishing 3,000%. Employees loved the real-time matching feature and the ability to donate to global causes that mattered to them personally.
Boosting employee engagement with user-friendly systems
The success of corporate matching programs heavily relies on ease of use. If employees face a clunky, time-consuming system, participation will suffer. Percent Pledge prioritizes a seamless user experience to ensure maximum engagement.
Simple and intuitive interface
Employees can easily navigate the platform to donate, track their match in real-time, and download tax receipts—all in just a few clicks.
Ability to upload receipts to get offline donations matched
For employees who prefer to donate offline, Percent Pledge allows receipt uploads so matches can be applied automatically. This flexibility ensures the process remains smooth for both employees and administrators.
Customer success story:
Customer.io achieved over 90% global participation in their corporate matching campaign after implementing Percent Pledge. By providing employees with Cause Credits (free funds they could direct to any charity), and combining this with a real-time matching program, Customer.io saw a significant increase in employee donations. Employees loved the freedom to choose from millions of charities and appreciated the platform’s intuitive design.
Making corporate matching effortless
Corporate matching programs offer a powerful way to boost employee engagement and increase charitable impact, especially during the holiday season. Yet, without the right platform, these programs can become an administrative burden.
With Percent Pledge, you can automate the entire matching process, empower employees to support the causes they care about, and streamline compliance for your internal teams. Let Percent Pledge help you maximize your corporate matching program this holiday season—and beyond.
Ready to get started? Learn more about how Percent Pledge can simplify your giving program.
