A matching grant is a conditional award that requires an organization to raise a specified portion of the grant via solicitation of new money and/or in-kind contributions, depending on the stipulation.

Matching grants are meant to challenge an organization to increase its revenue and/or contributions and to encourage a non-profit to diversify and broaden its base of support.

In-kind contributions are defined as donated goods and services and can include provision of staff, space, equipment or labor.  Contributions such as these may be considered in meeting the match requirement if they are quantifiable and reduce the actual amount required in the budget submitted to the Foundation and on which the Foundation based its match requirements.

New money is defined as funds received from sources that have not made a contribution to the organization in the three most recently completed fiscal years and/or funds contributed by a donor in excess of the donor’s contribution in the prior fiscal year. 

Yes, provided such pledges are reasonably considered firm and binding on the part of those making the pledges.

If the grant is to be matched on a ratio basis, the grantee will have until the date specified on the Acceptance and Understanding Letter to meet the match requirement. Matching funds will include only those amounts secured on or after the date of the Foundation’s grant resolution.  In the case of multi-year grants requiring a match in each year, the grantee will have until the date specified in the Acceptance and Understanding Letter to meet the match stipulation for each year.

An organization must complete all reporting requirements relating to earlier grants, meet the stipulations listed in the grant resolution, and request distribution of the grant funds at least thirty (30) days prior to the desired payment date before the total award is distributed.  If an organization has a match requirement for the full amount of the grant, it must raise the additional funds in full before receiving any of the Foundation’s funds.  If the match is some fraction of the grant, an organization can request payment of the award portion on which there is no match, secure the amount to be raised, and then request disbursal of the remaining undistributed funds under regular procedures.  For example, if an organization receives an award of $45,000 of which $25,000 must be matched, it could ask for payment of the non-match portion of grant ($20,000).  Once the match stipulation is met, the organization could request disbursal of the yet undistributed match amount ($25,000).

Grantees should complete and submit a Matching Grant Form to document the satisfaction of a match requirement. 

No.  Matching grants may not be paid incrementally unless specifically approved by the Foundation.  This means, as a general rule, that the Foundation will withhold funds until the entire match amount is raised by the grantee.  If the grant requires a match of only part of the total grant, the non-match portion of the grant can be paid before the match is raised.

If the full match requirement is not realized, a grantee may contact Foundation staff to explain the cause(s) of the unmet stipulation.  The Foundation may alter the grant and award a sum based on the total amount an organization raised in its effort to meet the original requirement or it may choose not to pay any portion of the grant.  Should a group have a match requirement on the total grant amount and be unable to fulfill any of the original stipulation, a grant will not be disbursed.