Volunteer grant
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Volunteer grants are charitable gifts given to non-profit organizations by corporations in recognition of volunteer work being done by a company's employees.
Types
Two main types of corporate volunteer grants are:
1. Individual volunteer grants – These are small grants grants of around $250–$750 which are given to nonprofits to recognize an employee's volunteer committment upon reaching a certain number of volunteer hours in a year (usually 10–50 hours). For example, the Sara Lee company will donate $10 to a nonprofit per every hour volunteered by an employee (minimum 20 hours, max 50 hours).[1]
2. Team volunteer grants - These are grants of around $500–$1000 which are given to nonprofits to recognize a group of employees who collectively volunteer with an organization. For example, when a minimum of Five Kohls associates from one location volunteer for three consecutive hours, the nonprofit earns a $500 grant.[2]
Less common corporate volunteer grants include:
1. Annual awards for a company's top volunteer(s) - These can range anywhere from $1,000-$10,000 and are designed to recognize employees who go above and beyond the traditional volunteer expectations.
2. Corporate grants for employees to take time off from work while receiving their full benefit package to volunteer full-time with nonprofit for a certain period of time.
Philanthropic organizations offer grants for individuals to volunteer with nonprofit organizations for an extended period of time. These are sometimes called volunteer grants but are normally referred to as fellowships. In these cases, a volunteer receives a stipend from a nonprofit to live and work within a community in need.
Corporate Volunteer Grant procedures
Requesting volunteer grants is normally the volunteer's responsibility. The process varies by company program, but frequently consists of four main components:
1. Log hours - Normally this is done through an online system on the company's intranet.
2. Submission - Upon reaching the required threshold for volunteer hours, the employee completes the volunteer grant request. This normally consists of completing an online or paper form that includes specific information about the nonprofit (ex. name, contact information, nonprofit tax ID, etc.)
3. Notification - The corporation notifies the nonprofit they're the recipient of a volunteer grant pending approval.
4. Validation - The nonprofit completes the process by submitting verification that they're still a qualified 501(c)(3) organization and the employee is actually a volunteer with the organization.
Prevalence
In 2010, corporations donated $15 billion to nonprofit organizations, which represents a 22% increase over 2008 corporate giving levels.[3] Approximately 40% of Fortune 500 companies offer volunteer grant programs[4]
Many corporations contract out their volunteer grant program administration. The JK Group, CyberGrants, and Volunteer Match are three of the largest vendors for contracting out corporate matching gift and volunteer grant programs.