Charity Match
Matching of PAC contributions to charities is one of the fastest growing, most popular PAC member benefits. PAC members believe in the mission of the PAC but they are looking for more than just a pen or coffee mug as a thank you for participating. The Federal Election Commission allows an organization to match all or part of an individual’s contribution to the PAC with a contribution of corporate treasury dollars to a 501(c)(3) organization of the PAC member’s choosing. Offer charity match to your PAC members and they will respond.
Employees look to their employers for information regarding the effect of politics on the business. Those same employees choose to participate in the PAC. The ability to participate in the PAC and help a charity at the same time allows employees to be politically and socially active at the same time. A recent survey concluded that employees would rather work for a company that is socially responsible than to make more money at a company with no social conscience.
According to a recent PAC match survey, 55% of PACs raising in excess of $1 million per cycle have a PAC match program. Not only does a PAC match program help attract new members, a PAC match program helps you retain members as well. A contribution to a charity of their choice is a far more effective incentive for keeping PAC members than giving out gifts every year.
So you understand the benefits of a PAC match program but don’t have the staff to administer the program? PASS offers a complete range of Charity Match administrative services to assist organizations offering a charitable incentive match to employees.
PASS’ Charity Match services, like all of our services, are customized to meet the needs of our clients. Our team of Charity Match experts will work with your program parameters to administer the program and ensure compliance with FEC and any corporate rules. The PASS Team takes care of your PAC members to make sure their matching donations go where they should and your PAC members know when and where their donations went.
Reviewing Charities
PASS will review employee charity selections to ensure they meet the organization’s giving criteria. Whether your organization will match to any 501c3 or just a select few, PASS will review each using a proprietary charity database. We make sure that all charities hold a current 501(c)(3) status and are within the list of allowable organizations as determined by your organization.
Tracking Employee Contributions
PASS will track eligible employee contributions and calculate charity match amounts based on your organization’s match criteria. Whether your match is $1 for $1, $.50 for $1 or you match after a threshold is met, PASS will make the appropriate calculations and provide you with a detailed list of all contributors, charities selected, and charity check amounts.
Custodial Account Banking Services
PASS will provide full or partial banking services for your Charity match program. Whether you need to have PASS open and maintain a custodial account on your organization’s behalf or you use your own organization’s bank account, PASS can accommodate either and provide full or limited banking services. Your organization funds the account using Treasury dollars and PASS reconciles the account on a monthly basis. We provide custodial account financial reports to your organization on a monthly basis so you always know the status of your organization’s charity funds. PASS will work with the organization to determine banking procedures such as when to cancel or void a check and how to submit a funding request. Our custodial accounts have positive pay, an automated fraud detection tool, applied to the account to ensure the safety of your organization’s charity funds. PASS’ custodial banking services are customized to your organization’s program.
Preparing Charity Match checks
PASS prepares charity match checks on a schedule as defined by your organization. PASS also prepares customized cover letters to go with each check. At the same time the checks are sent, the Charity Match team prepares employee e-mails so the employees will know that their charity match contributions have been sent. With a PASS Charity Match website, employees can see the status of their charity payments at any time with the click of a mouse.
Management Reports
PASS assists organizations in accounting for their charity match programs. Our Charity Match team takes the burden of program administration from the PAC professional. Even though the professionals at PASS are administering the program, you are never in the dark. We provide a series of detailed reports in preparation for the charity payout. In addition, PASS clients are provided access to epacCharityMatchManager where you can run detailed financial reports for the custodial account.