December 2015 total represents funds sent to more than 24,000 nonprofit organizations
MOUNTAIN VIEW — Silicon Valley Community Foundation administered $50 million in matching grants by December 2015, representing support for 24,450 nonprofit organizations in the United States and 45 other countries, SVCF announced today.
The milestone was reached early last month, eclipsing the total from all of 2014, when SVCF administered nearly $23 million in matching grants.
Matching grants come from corporate funds and typically equal or “match” the amount donated to the charity by an individual employee of a company.
SVCF awards matching grants through its partnership with YourCause, the leading SaaS provider of employee engagement solutions. Together, SVCF and YourCause empower companies and their employees to make charitable contributions to an extensive network of fully qualified nonprofit organizations worldwide, at costs that are among the lowest in the industry.
“SVCF is proud to say that we sent more than $50 million in matching grants to nonprofit organizations around the world in 2015,” said Maeve Miccio, vice president of corporate responsibility for SVCF. “We applaud our corporate clients and their employees who have made philanthropy a priority through employee engagement programs in their workplaces. Their gifts support everything from education to the arts to hunger relief programs, and their generosity is inspiring.”
“This is an impressive milestone,” said Matthew Combs, founder and CEO of YourCause. YourCause’s services allow companies to establish a variety of employee engagement efforts, including volunteering and charitable giving. “The nonprofits receiving the matching gifts are the beneficiaries of SVCF’s and YourCause’s domestic and international grant making expertise.”
Approximately one-fifth of the total matching grants SVCF distributed by December 2015 came from PepsiCo employees and matching grants from the PepsiCo Foundation. In partnership with YourCause and SVCF, the PepsiCo Foundation aims to give back to communities in which employees live and work.
“PepsiCo believes in investing in our people and in the communities where we operate,” said Andrea Seek, Director of Global Citizenship for PepsiCo. “It’s gratifying that our partnership with SVCF and YourCause has allowed us to help improve and strengthen our communities around the globe.”
About 65 percent of Fortune 500 companies have programs to match employees’ charitable donations with corporate charitable donations, according to data from DoubletheDonation.com. Approximately $2.1 billion was donated in 2014 by U.S. companies to charities all over the world through corporate matching gift programs, according to estimates gleaned from National Philanthropic Trust and CECP data (formerly the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy).
For more information about how SVCF can assist companies with corporate grantmaking and other social responsibility efforts, visit our corporate responsibility page or contact donate@siliconvalleycf.org.
About Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation advances innovative philanthropic solutions to challenging problems. As the largest community foundation in the world, we engage donors and corporations from Silicon Valley, across the country and around the globe to make our region and world better for all. Our passion for helping people and organizations achieve their philanthropic dreams has created a global philanthropic enterprise committed to the belief that possibilities start here. Learn more at siliconvalleycf.org.
