The matching gift submission process is easy for donors, nonprofits, and companies but it does involve a few steps:

#1: The donor submits a matching gift request
At Double the Donation, we build and maintain a database of companies that match employee donations along with forms, guidelines, and instructions. When a donor searches for their employer they'll be able to access the instructions for them to go ahead and submit a matching gift.

Often this is done electronically through an online portal that a company sets up where the donor fills out basic information such as their name, employee ID number, the organization they donated to, and the desired match amount. Other times it's a paper form which the donor fills out with similar information.

#2: The nonprofit verifies that the donation was made
This is a simple step where the nonprofit says "yes, the donor did in fact make a donation to our organization and we meet the eligibility guidelines the company created." This verification can either be done online through a company portal or if a donor filled out a paper form he or she will typically mail that form to the nonprofit for them to sign and submit to the company.

#3: The company issues the matching gift check
Each company has their own timeline but once a donor has indicated that they made a donation and the nonprofit has verified the donation it's only a matter of time before the company issues payment.