Starting Off Strong: Workplace Giving and Start-of-Year Fundraising

This blog was written in collaboration with the team at Double the Donation, an online donation matching tool built to amplify nonprofit fundraising.
When the year-end giving season comes to an end, your team is likely ready to take a few well-deserved deep breaths. However, it’s essential to maintain the momentum of elevated giving and donor engagement as the new calendar year begins.
Luckily, the benefits of workplace giving can help you maintain supporter momentum well into the new year and beyond.
In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of beginning-of-year fundraising and the vitality of workplace philanthropy programs. We’ll also share top tips and practices for organizations looking to make the most of corporate philanthropy initiatives to elevate their strategies.
The importance of effective start-of-year fundraising
The average nonprofit typically sees its highest levels of donor engagement during the year-end giving season. In fact, Classy from GoFundMe data has shown that 12x more donors get involved with a nonprofit organization on Giving Tuesday compared to an average day of the year.
Looking ahead, it’s critical to sustain that momentum and retain donors through ongoing fundraising and stewardship efforts.
The transition into the new year also presents opportunities to:
- Thank year-end donors for their participation in your recent fundraising push.
- Share updates on and celebrate year-end fundraising success.
- Reach out to those who may not have given during the year-end season.
- Provide an overview of your organization’s upcoming fundraising initiatives.
- Offer new ways to get involved, such as with recurring donations.
- Inform and remind donors about their employers’ workplace giving programs.
In addition, it’s a great time for your internal team to review the data you’ve collected during previous engagement efforts and decide to adjust and redirect as necessary.
The relationship between workplace philanthropy and start-of-year giving
Workplace giving programs offer impactful opportunities to enhance donor engagement while increasing funding for your nonprofit through a combination of corporate and individual contributions. These programs not only drive direct support for your cause but also align with corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, helping companies demonstrate their commitment to social impact and fuel positive company culture.
There’s no better time to optimize your team’s corporate fundraising strategy than at the start of a new year when organizations set fresh goals and look for ways to make a meaningful impact.
Perhaps you developed numerous corporate partnerships during your Giving Tuesday and other end-of-year fundraising campaigns. You don’t want those partnerships to slip away during the transition to the new year. Instead, pursue workplace giving opportunities as an excellent way to incorporate corporate support year-round while empowering donors to take a hands-on role in their employers’ philanthropic initiatives.
Workplace giving programs may likely include (but aren’t limited to) matching gifts, volunteer grants, volunteer time off (VTO), payroll giving, and more. When captured, workplace giving can provide an invaluable fundraising lift.
For example, companies with matching gift programs financially match their employees’ charitable contributions to qualifying organizations. In other words, your organization receives two gifts for the cost of soliciting one.
Similarly, companies with volunteer grant programs provide financial support to organizations where their employees volunteer regularly. This means your volunteers’ time turns into dollars that will also benefit your cause.
When offered, these types of programs often lead to significantly increased individual engagement as well—in addition to the corporate funds flowing in as a result. In fact, research from Double the Donation on the effects of matching gifts on fundraising appeals indicates that 84% of survey participants say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered, while 1 in 3 donors states they’d give a larger gift if matching is applied.
Once you incorporate these appeals into your upcoming start-of-year fundraising push, your organization is likely to see huge results in terms of individual and corporate giving success.
Top tips to optimize start-of-year fundraising with workplace giving
Incorporate these tried-and-true best practices into your organization’s strategy to raise more with workplace giving programs in the new year.
1. Follow up with still-eligible matching gift donors
Many companies offer donation matching, and each one has the ability to set its submission deadline. That means employees must complete the request process prior to the specified date to remain eligible for the match.
One popular deadline structure ties it to the calendar year in which an individual completes their personal donation, plus an extension or grace period beyond year-end. Come January of the following year, many donors who work for these types of workplaces (such as Pfizer, Coca-Cola, MBIA, or Verizon) are likely still eligible to have their previous donations matched.
Yet, many other companies use a rolling deadline structure where employees must submit their matching gift requests within a set period following the initial gift (often six or 12 months). In this case, individuals who work for companies like IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft and contributed throughout the year-end giving season likely remain eligible for match opportunities as well.
We recommend taking the time early into the new year to inform or remind donors about their matching gift eligibility.
Even if you’ve already sent a message regarding workplace giving initiatives, there’s a good chance it got lost in all the commotion of the year’s end. Thus, a new year’s outreach may be what you and your donors need to cross the finish line.
Or perhaps they know of the opportunity but keep resolving to the “I’ll do it tomorrow” mindset. In that case, consider encouraging donors to make a New Year’s resolution of crossing their match request off their to-do list—and be sure to remind them when their match eligibility window will close.
2. Communicate that many employers’ program maximums have reset
Many companies set their workplace giving guidelines so that individual maximums reset annually—most often at the start of the new calendar year. This means many donors will have new potential matching gift and volunteer grant funding made available to them by their employers, even if they maxed out their limits in the previous year.
Those individuals can once again participate in their companies’ workplace giving programs, enabling them to significantly impact the causes they care about most—like yours!
When donors (particularly those who work for companies that establish lower-maximum thresholds for their employee giving programs) give to multiple charitable causes, their funding limits can deplete quickly each year. Again, this makes the start of the new year an excellent opportunity to communicate workplace giving initiatives and drive more donors to action before it becomes too late.
3. Thank donors for personal gifts and workplace giving participation
This next tip for maximizing start-of-year fundraising and workplace giving is one that you can and should maintain throughout the year: Be sure to thank donors for all their support, whether it’s for a personal donation or participation in a corporate giving program.
During these exchanges, be sure to highlight that they may still have the opportunity to increase the impact of their gifts. From there, you’ll want to communicate gratitude to those who do so.
Though workplace or employer giving funding doesn’t come from an individual donor’s wallet, it’s critical to acknowledge that the gift wouldn’t have been possible without their willingness to go above and beyond for the cause.
4. Highlight new or expanded workplace giving programs
The start of the new year is also a great time to bring awareness to companies offering newly developed or expanded workplace giving programs. After all, it’s a new year with new opportunities.
This approach allows nonprofits to capitalize on fresh giving programs and renewed donor engagement. By showcasing recently developed initiatives or updates to existing ones, organizations can capture the attention of donors who may have otherwise been unaware, hesitant to participate, or ineligible.
It’s also an ideal time to inform corporate employees about relevant program enhancements, such as increased match caps or expanded eligibility criteria. Beginning the year with clear, proactive communication around these programs sets a positive tone, encourages early engagement, and helps build momentum for sustained workplace giving success throughout the year.
5. Leverage peer influence to drive workplace giving participation
Peer influence remains one of the most effective catalysts for nonprofit involvement, and Classy’s Meta integration takes this dynamic to the next level.
With the rise of digital engagement, supporters of all ages can now share their personal social good journeys online, sparking a ripple effect that drives increased visibility and participation for nonprofits.
GoFundMe’s The Social State of Giving report highlights how this trend transcends generations: 41% of Gen Z report being motivated by social media content to research or donate to a cause compared to 25% of Gen Y and 20% of Gen X.
Among these, Gen Z stands out as digital natives who seamlessly integrate their passions for social causes into their online personas, sharing them as naturally as they do hobbies and interests. Their authentic storytelling not only reflects a deep desire to contribute to greater solutions but also inspires their peers to take action.
Classy’s nonprofit social sharing tools make this even easier, allowing donors to discover and contribute to nonprofit fundraisers directly on Instagram and Facebook. Once they’ve donated, supporters can share their contributions with their networks, amplifying exposure and encouraging others to get involved.
This feature empowers nonprofits to tap into their supporters’ natural sharing habits, accelerating the ripple effect of peer influence.
Similarly, this momentum is equally transformative in workplace giving. When employees share their charitable activities—whether through donations, volunteering, or corporate matching programs—on social media, they magnify their impact. These posts not only deepen engagement with their networks but also inspire others to explore similar opportunities with their employers, fostering a culture of collective social impact.
6. Lean into corporate volunteerism
With the start of the new year tied closely to resolutions and dedication to personal betterment, there’s no better time to prioritize volunteerism in your nonprofit’s engagement strategy. And corporate volunteer programs can be a great way to do so.
After all, leaning into corporate volunteerism allows your team members to engage supporters in meaningful ways while amplifying support for your cause. Corporate volunteerism also provides employees with opportunities to connect personally with an organization’s mission, fostering a sense of purpose and deepening their commitment to giving back.
In addition, many companies offer volunteer grants, which provide monetary donations to nonprofits where employees dedicate their time, or VTO programs, which supply paid time off to participate in volunteer activities—thus driving additional engagement in volunteerism.
Starting the year with a focus on volunteerism helps nonprofits and companies set a collaborative tone. It enables employees to align their values with their actions and creates a mutually beneficial cycle of employee participation, advocacy, and charitable giving.
5 examples of stellar workplace giving programs with start-of-year deadlines
We mentioned that many companies enact deadlines for their workplace giving programs that coincide with the end of the calendar year, plus a grace period into the new one. When your team is familiar with programs like these, you’ll have what it takes to promote the time-sensitive opportunity to your supporters.
Let’s take a look at a few leading examples of workplace giving programs with start-of-year deadlines.
Best Buy
Best Buy supports workplace giving through a matching gift program, doubling donations made by eligible employees to qualifying nonprofits. Additionally, the company promotes employee engagement by offering volunteer grants for employees who dedicate their time to charitable causes.
These initiatives demonstrate the company’s commitment to empowering its workforce to support their communities. To remain eligible for the programs, Best Buy employees must complete their matching gift and volunteer grant requests by January 31 of the year following the date of their initial engagement.
Learn more about Best Buy’s workplace giving programs here.
Caterpillar, Inc.
Caterpillar, Inc. has a reputation for its robust corporate giving programs, which include matching gifts and volunteer grants. Through the programs, Caterpillar matches employee donations to eligible nonprofits at a 1:1 ratio, amplifying the impact of their employees’ contributions.
The company also rewards employees for their volunteer hours by providing grants to the organizations they serve, encouraging financial and hands-on support.
Employees and retirees can participate in the programs by submitting matching gift and volunteer grant requests online by January 31 of the year following the contribution.
Learn more about Caterpillar, Inc.’s workplace giving programs here.
The Home Depot
The Home Depot’s workplace giving program emphasizes community engagement through matching gifts and corporate volunteer opportunities. Currently, the company matches up to $1,000 annually per employee to each organization they donate to (with a maximum of $3,000 per employee).
To participate in the matching gift program, employees must register their gift requests by January 31 of the year following the date of the donation.
Learn more about The Home Depot’s workplace giving programs here.
Bank of America
Bank of America offers a comprehensive workplace giving program, including matching gifts and volunteer grants. The company matches employee donations to eligible nonprofits, significantly increasing the impact of individual contributions. Bank of America also supports employee volunteerism through grants to nonprofits based on the time employees dedicate to volunteering.
Associates can submit their matches or grant requests until March 31 of the year following their donation or volunteer hours, providing several months into the new year to do so.
Learn more about Bank of America’s workplace giving programs here.
Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams supports workplace giving through a matching gift program, matching donations made by employees to eligible nonprofit organizations. Additionally, the company encourages employees to engage in volunteer activities and offers grants to nonprofits where employees invest their time, further amplifying their contributions to the community.
These programs highlight how the company empowers its employees to make a meaningful impact, fostering a culture of giving and social responsibility. To qualify for a match or volunteer grant, The Sherwin-Williams Foundation must receive the form no later than March 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the employee made the gift.
Learn more about Sherwin-Williams’ workplace giving programs here.
Fuel your new year fundraising with an engaging workplace giving campaign
Strategic fundraising should occur year-round, and the beginning of a new calendar year is a fantastic opportunity for a fresh start in your engagements.
At the same time, remember that companies typically offer workplace giving programs from January to December. Now is the time to adjust and revamp your efforts, including equipping your team with the giving platform to do it well.
Copy editor: Ayanna Julien

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