Employee Giving: how companies enable and amplify staff generosity

What is employee giving?

Employee giving, also called workplace giving, is a program through which employees make charitable donations facilitated by their employer. Rather than the company giving as an entity, it is individual staff choosing to support causes, with the employer providing the mechanism and often amplifying the result.

It is a distinct category within a company's overall giving, defined by who decides. The employees choose the causes and make the contributions; the company's role is to make that easy, and frequently to add to it, rather than to direct the giving itself.

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How is employee giving different from corporate giving?

The dividing line is whose money and whose choice. In employee giving, staff donate and the company facilitates; in corporate giving, the company contributes from its own resources as an organisation.

This distinction matters for both engagement and reporting. Employee giving reflects the workforce's own priorities and generosity, enabled by the employer; corporate giving reflects the company's strategic choices. Reporting them separately gives an honest picture of each, rather than blurring staff generosity into the company's own numbers.

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What mechanisms make up employee giving?

Employee giving is an umbrella for several mechanisms. Payroll giving lets employees donate directly from their paychecks; matching gifts have the employer match what an employee donates; and volunteer grants convert employee volunteer hours into a company donation.

These are distinct but often combined, payroll giving and matching in particular tend to work hand in hand. Keeping them clear matters, because each involves a different action by the employee and a different commitment from the company.

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Managing employee giving in a platform

A grant management software platform runs the mechanisms of employee giving in one place, capturing payroll donations, processing matching-gift requests, and recording participation, so a company can administer staff giving efficiently and report its combined impact accurately.