Matching gifts

You can significantly increase your fundraising total by asking your donors to apply for matching gifts!

Many companies have matching gift and volunteer incentive programs to maximize their financial contributions to non-profit organizations. This means they will match their employees' donations to the National MS Society, (often times dollar for dollar) increasing your fundraising total and bringing us closer to a world free of MS!

What to do

• Find out if your employer will match any personal donations you make toward your own fundraising.
• Send an email to your donors explaining the benefits of using their employers’ matching gifts program.
• To find out if a company has a Matching Gifts program, visit nationalmssociety.org/employermatch or contact the company’s HR department.


Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a matching gift?
   A matching gift is a gift from a donor’s employer that matches the donor’s original gift. Most employers match dollar for dollar.
    
2. How do I know if a company has a matching gifts program?
   Search for your employer (nationalmssociety.org/employermatch), ask your human resources staff, or visit your company’s intranet.
    
3. How do I arrange a matching gift?
   The first step is to contact the company. If you don't know who to talk to, reach out to the human resources staff. Some companies use physical forms, but many have an online matching gifts program.
    
4. What do I do once I’ve filled out a form or submitted the donation information to an online program?
   Refer to the instructions on the matching gift form or website. Generally, if the match is submitted electronically, the company will contact us to let us know a match is pending. If it’s a paper form, usually the next step is to mail or fax it to the chapter (please include the participant’s name):
   
   National MS Society
   Attn: Bike MS
   Upper Midwest Chapter
   200 12th Ave. S., Minneapolis MN 55415
   Fax: 612-335-7997
    
5. If I enter the donor’s gift and the matching gift through my participant center, do I enter them as one gift?
   No, they are two separate gifts. Please enter each separately. Once the National MS Society receives the company match, we'll credit the gift toward your account.
    
6. How will I know when the matching gift has been paid?
   Check the “My Progress” section of your participant center. Gifts labeled “Unconfirmed” have not been received by the chapter yet. It usually takes months to receive payment for matching gifts. Even though they're not yet paid (some companies may only distribute funds a couple times a year), you can still get credit for matching gifts for prize purposes. When we receive the funds, we’ll change the entry in your account to “confirmed.”
    
7. I want my matching gift to count toward my fundraising minimum, but it isn’t in my account yet. How can I get credit for it in time for the event?
   Matching gifts often take a long time to process, and it’s not uncommon that they don’t show in participants’ accounts before the event. When this happens, we suggest obtaining a printout, or some form of confirmation that the matching gift has been submitted. Usually this is an email or a confirmation page from the company’s online system. Bring this with you to event check-in and turn it in in your event envelope. The check-in staff will count it toward your fundraising total.

Have a question that wasn't answered here? Contact specialevents@mssociety.org or call 800-582-5296 (option 2).