An easy way to help a good cause

Double your charitable giving just by asking

My dad passed away the day before Halloween 2020 after a long, tough fight with multiple forms of cancer. He was 74 years old.

The following September, to celebrate what would’ve been his 75th birthday, I wanted to do something in his honor. After some thought, I decided to start a GoFundMe to raise money for the American Cancer Society. I had donated to plenty of online fundraisers over the years, but I’d never created one myself.

I was relieved to find that it was really easy to do. I created the page, set a goal of $500 and then went about telling everyone I knew about it. Family, friends, social media followers, everyone, including my coworkers at LendingTree.

Part of that outreach included an email to LendingTree’s HR department. I had a vague memory of hearing, at some point during my time there, that the company would match charitable donations made by employees, but I wanted to confirm that I was correct.

Turns out I was. LendingTree matches up to $1,500 in charitable donations per employee per year. That can include donations for volunteer hours worked, too.

This blew my mind.

$1,500 is a LOT of money.

I decided to learn more about companies and charitable match donations and found that many companies do it, and some do matches far beyond what LendingTree does. However, billions — yes, with a b — in possible donations go unused every year.

A big part of it is simply because people don’t know. I’m proof of that, and I wrote about it in this article for CBS MoneyWatch, which discusses how these programs work and how you can make the most out of them.

Please take the time to read that article. I’ve written more articles, posts and stories than I can count, but that is one of them that I’m most proud of. That’s because I know how powerful the message is and how impactful all of that money can be in the hands of charitable organizations.

Today would’ve been my dad’s 76th birthday. Nearly two years after his passing, that GoFundMe has raised more than $5,000 and is still going.

And that $5,000 includes nearly $800 in matching contributions from my company, money which I never would’ve known about if I hadn’t sent that email.

I’d be honored if you’d consider donating to my fundraiser. Every little bit helps.

And once you’ve donated, reach out to your employer and ask them if they match charitable donations. If they do, take advantage of it — and tell me about it. I’d love to hear. If they don’t, ask them to consider it. It’s a great way to help their employees help a great cause.

Thank you!