--- title: What is company matching? | GivingForce description: Company matching tops up what employees give, on rules you set. How matching works, how to budget for it and why it lifts participation. image: https://www.givingforce.com/hubfs/givingforce-brand/gf-logo.png --- [Skip to main content](http://www.givingforce.com/learning-hub/what-is-company-matching#gf-main) [![GivingForce](https://www.givingforce.com/hubfs/givingforce-brand/gf-logo.png)](http://www.givingforce.com/?hsLang=en-gb) - Products Give [Payroll Giving Tax-efficient donations straight from salary](http://www.givingforce.com/payroll-giving?hsLang=en-gb) [Company Matching Match donations, fundraising and time](http://www.givingforce.com/company-matching?hsLang=en-gb) [Grants & Corporate Donations End-to-end grant and donation management](http://www.givingforce.com/grants?hsLang=en-gb) Engage & prove [Employee Volunteering Create, manage and celebrate volunteering](http://www.givingforce.com/employee-volunteering?hsLang=en-gb) [Impact Reporting Board-ready ESG and SDG dashboards](http://www.givingforce.com/reporting?hsLang=en-gb) [Charity Payments One payment in, distributed worldwide](http://www.givingforce.com/charity-payments?hsLang=en-gb) Get started [gf.essentials Everything in one affordable package](http://www.givingforce.com/gf-essentials?hsLang=en-gb) [Product Guide See the whole platform at a glance](http://www.givingforce.com/product-guide?hsLang=en-gb) See it live Book a 20-minute demo A walkthrough tailored to HR, CSR and finance teams. [Book a demo →](http://www.givingforce.com/contact?hsLang=en-gb) - Roles By team [Human Resources Engagement, retention and culture](http://www.givingforce.com/human-resources?hsLang=en-gb) [CSR & ESG Strategy, compliance and reporting](http://www.givingforce.com/csr-esg?hsLang=en-gb) Guided path The HR Leader's Journey A step-by-step route to a world-class giving programme. [Start the journey →](http://www.givingforce.com/increase-retention?hsLang=en-gb) - Resources Learn [Learning Hub Guides, playbooks and best practice](http://www.givingforce.com/learning-hub?hsLang=en-gb) [The HR Leader's Journey A step-by-step path to launch](http://www.givingforce.com/increase-retention?hsLang=en-gb) Connect [Events & The Giving Forum Live sessions and our event series](http://www.givingforce.com/events?hsLang=en-gb) [Blog Latest on corporate giving and ESG](http://www.givingforce.com/blog?hsLang=en-gb) Every week Live gf.essentials webinar Fri 10:00 BST (UK) and Thu 17:00 BST (US & Canada). [Save your seat →](http://www.givingforce.com/contact?hsLang=en-gb) - About Company [About Us Our mission and 15-year story](http://www.givingforce.com/about-us?hsLang=en-gb) [Careers Build technology that does good](http://www.givingforce.com/careers?hsLang=en-gb) [Support Help for admins and employees](http://www.givingforce.com/support?hsLang=en-gb) [Charity Remittance For charities receiving funds](http://www.givingforce.com/charity-remittance?hsLang=en-gb) Charity intelligence [CauseCheck Fast, affordable due-diligence reports](http://www.givingforce.com/causecheck?hsLang=en-gb) [Charity Due Diligence In-house vetting you can trust](http://www.givingforce.com/charity-due-diligence?hsLang=en-gb) [Global Charity Database 70,000+ pre-vetted charities](http://www.givingforce.com/global-charity-database?hsLang=en-gb) [Book a demo](http://www.givingforce.com/contact?hsLang=en-gb) [Home](http://www.givingforce.com/?hsLang=en-gb) / [Learning Hub](http://www.givingforce.com/learning-hub?hsLang=en-gb) Matching # What is company matching? ![A stack of hands from a diverse group, joined in partnership](https://www.givingforce.com/hubfs/givingforce-brand/stock/572296061.jpg) Company matching is a good way to incentivise employees and drive up your company's social and environmental impact. You'd be forgiven for thinking company matching is something to do with pensions. It is, of course. But as well as matching the contributions paid into an employee's pension pot, some businesses also offer charitable company matching. This is sometimes known as workplace matching. This means that if an employee donates to charity either from their salary, fundraising opportunities or via voluntary work, a workplace may match their contribution. Research shows employees want to work for companies that promote social, ethical and sustainable practices and see the impact of this measured through Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG). So, how does it work? And what's best practice for businesses offering it? What types of company matching are there? - Matched payroll giving When an employee makes a regular donation to a charity through their salary, the donation is taken before tax income tax is deducted. Payroll giving means the charities your workforce cares about receive a regular income and your empoyee's donation goes further because it isn't taxed. If an employee applies to have their payroll-giving matched by their employer, they can fill out a request to do so. The business may then separately donate the same amount (or some other multiple) to the same charity each month. Employee activity of this kind can feed into the Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance goals of the business and is useful for reporting. - Matched fundraising Employees may fundraise for charities via events or challenges. An employer might then choose to match the money raised. If an employee bakes cakes to earn £1,000 for a charity, their employer might choose to recognise their efforts by "matching" that donation. As a result, the charity would get a total of £2,000, with the employee contributing £1,000 and the business contributing £1,000 separately. An employer might set a limit to the amount it will match. It may also incentivise fundraising by only matching a donation if an employee's efforts reach a benchmark. For example, if three employees are running the London Marathon, an employer might say it will match donations up to £10,000 if they fundraise above that sum. - Matched volunteering Workplaces can incentivise employees to give their time and skills to charities and nonprofits in the form of volunteering. Matching for volunteering works a bit differently from matched contributions in the three scenarios outlined above. This is because the company will set a policy reflecting the value of a volunteer hour, and the employee can then apply for it to be matched. For example, if an employee volunteers for 10 hours and their company's policy makes an hour worth £10, then the company will donate £100 to the charity. - Matched personal donations An employee might choose to make a one-off personal donation to a charity or nonprofit close to their heart. This might be via cheque, cash, direct debit, debit or credit card. They might then apply to have this gift matched by their employer. The employer can then make a separate donation matching the gift to the organisation of the employee's choice. This is the same process as payroll giving. ## What do employees need to know? Employees can usually apply for matching for their fundraising, payroll giving, one-off donations, and volunteer hours. It's good to be mindful of the following: - Some companies ask employees to request company matching before a fundraising event or a donation is made. - Businesses matching donations have to adhere to a set of guidelines (more on which under the next heading). - Companies won't match contributions to every charity or non-profit. Religious organisations are often off-limits, for example. - Businesses must be confident that due diligence has been carried out to make sure the charity or non-profit is the sort of organisation it wants to donate to. - Companies will also have maximum match amounts and deadlines for employees to submit matching claims. - Most businesses won't match in-kind donations. In-kind donations mean goods and services are given to charity, rather than funds. ## What do employers need to know? Each company offering donation matching sets its own guidelines. These guidelines are different from company to company. But, the core elements are almost always the same: - Match ratio: This means how much money a business will donate in relation to the initial donation. The most popular is a 1:1 match, which means the same amount will be donated to the same charity. - Claim limit: Businesses set a minimum amount that an employee must donate to be eligible for a matching gift, as well as the maximum amount per employee per year. - Application limit: Companies may encourage employees to fill out applications for matching a limited number of times a year, such as twice. - Deadline : Companies will either set a firm date for all requests to be submitted by (often the end of the calendar or financial year) or offer a specific window of time. Read our blog post on Integrated reporting for ESG. ## How GivingForce can help companies to manage their company matching At GivingForce, we make it easy for employers and employees to donate to charities and match donations. The process for collecting matching gifts is the same for everyone that uses the portal. The six steps are: - Employee makes a donation to their chosen charities - Employee submits matching gift request to their employer - Charity is  verified by the GivingForce Charity Due Diligence Team - Company administrator  approves or declines the matching request - Company makes a lump sum donation to the GivingForce Charity Payment Service which is delivered in association with the GivingForce Foundation, an authorised payment agency. - GivingForce Foundation makes the payments to individual charities on behalf of the Company. Businesses can use the GivingForce platform to keep track of employees' donations and manage requests for their donations, volunteering or fundraising efforts. Businesses can set a budget, matching limits, manage approvals, exceptions, and authorise payments all in one place. The platform also allows businesses to set matching rules. These may be based on factors such as charity type or geography. It's even possible to use the platform to see how each charity or nonprofit meets a specific sustainable development goal. Businesses can also identify and access reports of all company matching activities via a range of legacy and real time reports and dashboards. Find out more about the GivingForce company matching module and book a demonstration for your company. [![GivingForce](https://www.givingforce.com/hubfs/givingforce-brand/gf-logo.png)](http://www.givingforce.com/?hsLang=en-gb) The enterprise platform for corporate giving. Trusted by the world's leading employers across 76 countries. ## Products [Payroll Giving](http://www.givingforce.com/payroll-giving?hsLang=en-gb) [Volunteering](http://www.givingforce.com/employee-volunteering?hsLang=en-gb) [Matching](http://www.givingforce.com/company-matching?hsLang=en-gb) [Reporting](http://www.givingforce.com/reporting?hsLang=en-gb) [Charity Payments](http://www.givingforce.com/charity-payments?hsLang=en-gb) [Grants](http://www.givingforce.com/grants?hsLang=en-gb) [gf.essentials](http://www.givingforce.com/gf-essentials?hsLang=en-gb) ## Solutions [CauseCheck](http://www.givingforce.com/causecheck?hsLang=en-gb) [Due Diligence](http://www.givingforce.com/charity-due-diligence?hsLang=en-gb) [Charity Database](http://www.givingforce.com/global-charity-database?hsLang=en-gb) ## Company [About Us](http://www.givingforce.com/about-us?hsLang=en-gb) [Careers](http://www.givingforce.com/careers?hsLang=en-gb) [Book a demo](http://www.givingforce.com/contact?hsLang=en-gb) 6th Floor, Charlotte Building, 17 Gresse Street, London W1T 1QL [+44 (0) 20 3137 7088](tel:+442031377088) [info@givingforce.com](mailto:info@givingforce.com) GivingForce Limited is registered in England and Wales, company number 07864571. Registered office: 6th Floor, Charlotte Building, 17 Gresse Street, London W1T 1QL. © 2026 GivingForce. The enterprise giving platform that turns CSR into employee purpose. [Privacy policy](http://www.givingforce.com/privacy-policy?hsLang=en-gb)[Cookie policy](http://www.givingforce.com/cookie-policy?hsLang=en-gb) Cookie settings Payroll Giving • Volunteering • Matching • Grants • Payments • Impact Reporting ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Article", "author" : { "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "GivingForce" }, "description" : "Company matching tops up what employees give, on rules you set. How matching works, how to budget for it and why it lifts participation.", "headline" : "What is company matching?", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://20382874.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/20382874/givingforce-brand/gf-logo.png" }, "name" : "GivingForce" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "/", "name" : "Home", "position" : 1 }, { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "/learning-hub", "name" : "Learning Hub", "position" : 2 }, { "@type" : "ListItem", "name" : "What is company matching?", "position" : 3 } ] } ```