Employee experience FAQs

How is Groundswell different from traditional workplace giving programs?

Your Groundswell account is powered by a donor-advised-fund, or, a DAF. This provides you and your employer with a better experience compared to traditional workplace matching programs. Your employer can easily send you gifts and quickly match your contributions, unlike other match programs that complete the match after the donation. This also means the Groundswell platform ensures anonymity of employee donations: your company is supporting you, not your individual donations. The DAF infrastructure also enables a single consolidated tax receipt at year-end.

My employer is sending me a gift on Groundswell – what does this mean?

It means you’ve got a pretty awesome employer! Gift funds come directly from your employer into your Groundswell account. From there, find a charity and make a donation!

Are gifting and matching the same? How do I receive matches from my employer?

Gift and match funds both come from your employer, but they aren’t the same. Your employer can send you gifts whenever they like. With matching, you first contribute your own funds to your Groundswell account. Once you contribute, your employer will match your contribution. The match from your employer will appear within 2-3 business days after you make your contribution. Match programs include a match limit. This means your employer will match contributions up to a maximum dollar amount. Note that this is different from traditional matching programs. Groundswell enables companies to match after employees contribute money to their accounts, unlike traditional matching that requires employees to make a donation before getting matched.

Will my employer see which charities I support?

No. We understand that your charitable giving is deeply personal to you. That is why we advocate for your privacy and never share with your employer which specific charities you have supported.

Is my Groundswell account mine to keep?

Yes! You can give with Groundswell whether you’re enrolled in a workplace giving program or you’ve signed up on your own. If your employer funds your Groundswell account at any point, these funds will remain in your Groundswell account until you select a charity and donate (even if you’re no longer an employee at that company).

My employer doesn’t use Groundswell for workplace giving but I want to tell them about it, how can I go about this?

Your employer can learn more about Groundswell and get in touch with our team here. Thanks for spreading the word!

Can I use Groundswell if I'm based outside of the US? 

Yes! Groundswell operates in USD$, but you can enable a "Local currency" preview in your account settings.

Currently, the app only supports charities based in the US, but in the near future, we will be expanding our charity base to include international organizations.