Portal Management: CSR Software Vendors

This article provides an overview of CSR software vendors, how they fit into the matching gift submission process, and best practices for registering with and managing these vendors.

Portal Management: CSR Software Vendors

Intro

Best Practices:

FAQs:

Portal Management: CSR Software Vendors

Intro

To receive the most matching gift revenue possible, you will need to be registered with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) platforms. When donors work at a company that will match their gift, they generally have to submit an online form, providing details about their donation so that their company can issue the match. Usually, companies use a third-party CSR platform to process these matching gift requests.

These corporate matching gift processors approve employee requests and then actually distribute the matching gifts to your organization. Once the donor requests a match, you as the nonprofit will receive either a verification email or notification on the matching gift vendor. Since each matching gift portal has a unique process, it is best to develop a plan of action for your team to consistently check for and verify matching gift funds.

Registering with CSR platforms is one of the best ways to ensure your organization receives as many matching gifts as possible while simultaneously streamlining the processes involved for your donors and your fundraising team. Registering your organization with CSR vendors can also help increase your visibility because employees at companies with matching gift programs can search within CSR platforms to find organizations that work on causes that they are passionate about. And this shouldn’t be an overly complicated task, either⁠—so we suggest getting on it as soon as possible.

You can learn more about CSR Platforms and strategies for managing your matching gifts through our Matching Gift Academy!
View Module 1: Lesson 4 “What are CSR Platforms?” for more information on this topic.

Note: if you are a client, this is included in your subscription. You can find your coupon code in your account under “Resources” > “Matching Gift Academy”. If you are not a client, there is a yearly subscription fee of $199/yr.

Best Practices:

We recommend registering with corporate vendors who offer auto submission for donors:
1. Millie - https://getmillie.com/apply/
2. POINT - http://dash.pointapp.org/
3. Selflessly - 501(c)(3)s organizations are automatically registered
Other notable corporate vendors who do not yet offer auto submission include:
1. Benevity - https://causes.benevity.org/
2. YourCause - https://nonprofit.yourcause.com/login/create-account
3. CyberGrants - https://www.cybergrants.com/pls/cybergrants/ao_reg.register?x_gm_id=1&x_proposal_type_id=9019
4. Bright Funds - https://hello.brightfunds.org/for-nonprofits/
5. America’s Charities - https://charities.org/CharityInfoForm
6. CharityVest - https://www.smartsimple.com/solution/employee-giving-csr-management-software
7. SmartSimple - https://www.smartsimple.com/solution/employee-giving-csr-management-software

Navigate to the External Profiles tab in the matching module for a full list of the platforms we recommend registering with! You can also view a comprehensive list of matching gift software vendors here.

Fill out the application for each CSR platform as necessary

1. 1. 1. Most CSR software providers aim to make this step as simple as possible for nonprofits looking to verify their causes. For example, a quick online search for “registering a nonprofit with [CSR vendor name⁠—e.g., Benevity, YourCause, CyberGrants, etc.]” should pull up relevant web pages about the platform in question.
    2. To register for any platform, you’ll need to provide details about your organization and its status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit⁠. This may include your address, EIN, and/or copy of your Tax-Exempt Status Letter from the IRS.
    3. Next, the CSR software company will review the included information to verify its accuracy. Upon approval, the company will provide your team with access to an online portal from which you will manage your nonprofit account.

Define ownership for portals and a strategy for management:

1. 1. 1. Assign a specific team member to regularly check the portals for matches or match-verification requests. This ensures each portal is being regularly checked.
    2. Make sure you're set to receive emails to a single inbox for all vendor portals.
    3. Monitor and respond to all vendor requests. An action may be required from your organization (ex: Benevity doesn't require verification from your organization, but CyberGrants does require verification to distribute matches). There may be confirmation deadlines that need to be followed to ensure no gifts are missed.
    4. Log in to the main portal for each vendor at least once per quarter.
    5. You can check where each match should be distributed from by either clicking on the hyperlink of the company name or looking at the "Corporate Giving Platform" column in each record:

Record matches in the matching module: As your organization receives match notifications, update statuses in the matching module to “Match Complete”. If a CSR platform reaches out to verify a match, update the status of the gift in the matching module to “Payment Pending”. Additionally, you can easily check if matches were initiated but have not been verified within a portal. This allows you to follow up with the companies on these unreceived disbursements. You can view each company's corporate contact information by clicking on the company name in the Donations tab.

Visit this article to learn more about updating statuses in the matching module.

Automatically send your donors Thank You emails: Thank your donors for submitting their match and let them know funds were received. If a match has not been received, follow up with the donor to confirm that the match was properly submitted.
Educate staff on portals: This will help staff better assist donors in driving more matches to completion, and ensure that no matches are missed when turnover happens.

View this article to learn more about 3 ways to manage the matching module.

FAQs

Q: What do we, as the nonprofit organization, do if a donor attempts to submit their match, but our nonprofit organization does not appear in the list of organizations presented to the donor?

A: We recommend registering as a nonprofit with the most common corporate vendors to ensure your organization is an approved nonprofit organization that the company will make a match to. Each company has its own guidelines, but a great place to start is to register with corporate vendors. See below:

Millie - https://getmillie.com/apply/
POINT - http://dash.pointapp.org/
Selflessly - 501(c)(3) organizations are automatically registered.
Benevity - Access at https://causes.benevity.org/
YourCause - Access at https://nonprofit.yourcause.com/login/create-account
CyberGrants - Access at https://www.cybergrants.com/pls/cybergrants/ao_reg.register?x_gm_id=1&x_proposal_type_id=9019

Within the matching module, you’re able to see which companies your donors have reported they work for through the use of our matching gift tools. We also indicate which vendor that company uses, as well as corporate contact information so you can follow up with the company directly.

Q: How can I track the matching gift funds we receive?

A: To track which matches you have received, you will have to manage your corporate vendor portals. When donors work at a company that will match their gift, they submit a matching gift request form. Usually, companies use a third-party platform to process these matching gift requests. The most common ones are Benevity, Cybergrants, and YourCause. These corporate matching gift processors approve the request forms and distribute the matching gifts to your organization.

The purpose of the matching module is to identify which of your donors work for companies with matching gift programs and urge them to fill out their matching gift request forms. You send your match-eligible donors a link to their request forms in your automated emails. When donors click the link in these emails to access these request forms, they are moved into the "Match Initiated" status. Viewing the number of gifts in the "Match Initiated" status is a good estimate of how much you should expect to receive in matching gift revenue.

To check which of the "Match Initiated" gifts you have already received, navigate to "Donations" and select only "Waiting for Donor" and "Match Initiated" from the status dropdown menu. This filtered view of your donations will show you all match-eligible donors who work for a company that has their matching gift request forms available online. You can adjust the date range that you wish to view at the top. To learn where each match is delivered from, you can view the "Corporate Giving Platform" field (you may need to zoom out to view this), or you can click on the blue hyperlink of the company's name to view the company information. This company information includes the Corporate Vendor information. If you have not received an initiated match, you can reach out to the company using the provided corporate contact information provided.