Are donation credits and donation matches the same?

Donation credits and donation matches both come from your employer, but they aren’t the same.

Donation matches:

If your employer offers a donation matching program, any eligible donations you make through Groundswell will be matched by a donation from your employer. For example, if you donate $10 to the Red Cross, your employer will match your $10 donation and send another $10 to that same charity. With Groundswell, the match from your company will appear immediately*, and the Red Cross would receive $20!

Keep in mind that every program has a match limit, and often include an expiration date - which may be tied to the calendar year or a company’s fiscal year. After you hit your match limit, any additional donations won’t be matched. If you’re unsure of your limit, your program administrator can provide more details.

Donation credits:

Donation credits are like a gift from your employer. They are funds that your employer has placed in your Groundswell account for you to donate to a charity. You can distribute the credits to any eligible charity on the Groundswell platform, and you don’t have to add your own funds. For example, if your employer gives you a $50 donation credit, you could send $25 to the Red Cross and $25 to Team Rubicon.

Donation credits are often used to celebrate something like a work anniversary or a holiday, and they may have an expiration date tied to them, so don’t wait too long to donate them! Note: credits cannot be withdrawn from your Groundswell account. They can only be distributed to a charity.

*Please note: Some companies choose to include a review window between your donation and their match. If your company does not process donation matches instantly, the match status will appear as ‘pending’ until the match has been approved. For more information on your specific approval process, contact your program administrator.