Does anyone have a form letter they've sent parents, asking them to check with their company, to see if there's a matching program in place, that they can share?
I'm having a tough time getting the parents who I actually *know* work for a company that matches funds, or donates for volunteer time, to actually follow through with the information. I can't imagine how hard it is to get the other parents to actually make the calls to their benefits(?) dept. to see if it's something their company offers.

Thanks so much for all of these responses. This information is extremely helpful.

We had great success with company matching funds during our pledge drive last year. Many of the large companies in our area match for any 501c3, although some only match for educational 501c3s. We had one company turn us down as they only do higher education matching. In most cases we had to send a letter to the company with a copy of our IRS certification and a form (usually supplied by the donor) showing how much they needed to match. We asked for $180 per child and most of the companies matched up to $200, so we got a total of $360 for some students. It's a GREAT way to get free money - and you just need to really publicize it because a lot of employees forget they have that benefit.

The company I work for made a very generous donation to our playground through a community involvement program they have, and they also have a matching contribution plan that I have used a few times when I have decided to just write a check instead of purchasing from fundraisers. We encourage any parents who work for companies with that type of program to take advantage of it because you can effectivley double your donation.

Thank you so much, C. Brooks, for your note. We have a Walmart near our town. I will be anxious to hear from others too.

Walmart matched our change drive up to $800.00. It was great. They have a community invovement person you can talk too. We have also had funds matched by Modern Woodmen of America in our district.