A matching gift is a charitable gift made to a non-profit organization by a matching donor (usually an employer) under the provision that the original donor first made a gift to the organization. Matching gift programs generally consists of the following steps:
- Individuals donate
- Donors submit matching gift requests to the matching organization (usually their employer)
- Non-profit validates receipt of gift from individuals to the matching gift organization
- Organization makes payments to non-profit
- Non-profit records organization payment as matching gift against original donation record
It is the donor’s responsibility for submitting the request for a matching gift to the matching
organization. The USM Foundation has no role in this step.
The USM Foundation gift processor is responsible for validating matching gift requests submitted by matching gift organizations. Since many organizations now have Internet based validation processes, the USM Foundation gift processor is responsible for maintaining login information for these various validation websites. The USM Foundation has no responsibility for “collection” of matching gifts from these organizations after the requests have been validated.
The procedure for processing matching gifts is as follows:
- Forward all matching gift forms or e-mails to USM Foundation gift processor.
- The USM Foundation (campus) gift processor:
- Review all matching gift requests to ensure compliance with individual company policy as to eligible gift, donor, purpose, and recipient institution/organization.
- Forms will not be processed if they do not meet company policy. Those that do not qualify will be returned to the appropriate OIA.
- Review the donor’s record to confirm that the donor and the specific gift are recorded and the donor is linked with the matching gift company
- Link the gift to the matching gift company.
- Complete the matching gift form (hard copy or online), including appropriate signatures and submit to the matching gift company. Note: matching gift programs often have time limits for submission of matching gift requests and validations. It is the gift processor’s responsibility to ensure all forms are submitted in a timely manner so that potential matching gifts are not lost.
- File a copy of the form under the company name.
- Review all matching gift requests to ensure compliance with individual company policy as to eligible gift, donor, purpose, and recipient institution/organization.
Forward all matching gift checks to USM Foundation gift processor for data entry.
The USM Foundation gift processor matches the payment with the copy of the matching gift form filed in Step 2 and enters the matching gift in Advance when it is received. Matching gifts should be entered in separate Advance gift batches.