By Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation – the leading provider of matching gift and workplace giving tools to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions.

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Corporate giving is on the rise. Yet, billions of dollars in available support go untapped by nonprofits each year. According to the Giving USA report, corporate giving grew significantly in 2024, reaching over $44 billion in charitable contributions. This growth reflects a broader shift: companies are investing more than ever in community impact, employee-driven giving, and purpose-driven partnerships.

As 2026 nears, the landscape of corporate philanthropy continues to evolve. The good news? Your nonprofit can tap into these resources with the right approach.

This post breaks down five specific and actionable strategies for increasing your organization’s corporate funding in 2026 and beyond, with examples and tools to help you get started right away.

1) Maximize Matching Gifts

Matching gifts remain one of the most underutilized sources of revenue in nonprofit fundraising. Despite the fact that more than 26 million individuals work for companies with matching gift programs, an estimated $4 to $7 billion in matching funds goes unclaimed each year. Why? Because many nonprofits aren’t proactively integrating these programs into their fundraising strategy, and many donors simply don’t know their gifts are eligible.

To tap into this powerful stream of support, nonprofits need to go beyond passive promotion and embed matching gifts into the full donor experience. Here’s how to take a more strategic approach:

• Map the donor journey with matching in mind. Identify key touchpoints: donation pages, confirmation emails, post-gift stewardship, annual appeals, and integrate matching gift prompts throughout. For example, embed a matching gift search tool not only on donation forms but also in thank-you emails and donor portals.
• Segment and personalize outreach. Use donor employment data (collected via donation forms or third-party tools) to create segmented follow-ups. Tailor your messaging to match-eligible donors with specific instructions for their employer’s process, deadlines, and required documentation.
• Assign ownership internally. Designate a staff member or team responsible for managing and optimizing matching gift efforts. This ensures that follow-up happens consistently and that insights (such as common employers or frequently used platforms) are captured and leveraged.
• Partner with corporate contacts. Build relationships with HR or CSR representatives at companies where you have a large donor base. They can help promote your organization internally or provide visibility during company giving campaigns.
  
• Track, measure, and refine. Monitor match completion rates and average match amounts. Use these insights to adjust your messaging cadence, test new placement for your matching prompts, or identify top-performing corporate partners to cultivate further.

By elevating your matching gift strategy from a one-off ask to an integrated, data-informed system, your nonprofit can double the impact of donor contributions without increasing the ask amount. It’s one of the most efficient ways to grow revenue while deepening engagement with both donors and the companies they work for.

2) Activate Corporate Volunteerism and Volunteer Grants

As corporate social responsibility continues to evolve, employee engagement is emerging as a driving force. Increasingly, companies are prioritizing hands-on, purpose-driven initiatives that reflect their employees’ values, and nonprofits have an opportunity to meet that momentum with structured, strategic volunteer programming.

In fact, recent trends show a rise in skills-based volunteering, paid volunteer time off (VTO), and volunteer grant programs that reward nonprofits financially when employees give their time. For nonprofits, the benefits are twofold: you gain high-impact volunteer support and new funding tied directly to that engagement.

To build a more intentional volunteer engagement strategy aligned with today’s corporate expectations:

• Design purpose-aligned volunteer experiences. Go beyond one-off tasks to create opportunities that align with corporate skill sets (e.g., pro bono consulting, tech support, marketing strategy). Tailor experiences to both the company’s values and your mission to build deeper partnerships.
• Co-create branded impact events. Invite companies to sponsor and participate in customized volunteer events. Branded “impact days” with signage, T-shirts, or co-branded social content can strengthen the partnership while boosting employee participation and visibility.
• Uncover volunteer grants. Track individual volunteer hours and identify opportunities to encourage engaged volunteers to leverage their employers’ volunteer grant programs. This allows them to add financial impact to their time without spending a dollar!
• Use data to identify opportunities. Analyze your volunteer and donor base to uncover trends in employer participation. Then, proactively reach out to companies with high engagement to explore formal CSR partnerships, sponsorships, or employee engagement campaigns.
• Equip your team with tools and training. Use volunteer management platforms to streamline hour tracking and/or corporate volunteer databases to connect volunteers to matching opportunities automatically. When you use these tools together, they can go a long way in streamlining the process of getting involved.

In today’s workplace, employees expect their employers to support the causes they care about, and companies are responding. By offering structured, strategic volunteer opportunities and tapping into the funding that follows, your nonprofit can become a go-to partner in a company’s broader social impact strategy.

3) Tap Into Payroll Giving Programs

Payroll giving continues to evolve from a quiet back-office function into a key pillar of corporate social impact. As companies modernize their workplace giving platforms and center employee choice in charitable programs, nonprofits have a growing opportunity to secure predictable, long-term funding from individual employees, often with corporate matches attached.

In recent years, there’s been a measurable uptick in participation in automated payroll giving, particularly when it’s embedded in year-round employee engagement strategies. To tap into this growing revenue stream, nonprofits must move beyond passive enrollment and adopt a more intentional, tech-enabled approach. Here’s how:

• Get listed where donors are giving. Pre-register with major workplace giving platforms like Benevity, YourCause, Bright Funds, or CyberGrants. These platforms are used by Fortune 500 companies and thousands of smaller employers to manage payroll giving, matching gifts, and volunteer grants.

• Leverage employee choice trends. Many companies are empowering employees to select the nonprofits they support. To stand out, ensure your profiles on workplace platforms are up-to-date, visually engaging, and clearly aligned with social causes that resonate with corporate audiences.
  
• Build visibility within CSR ecosystems. Ask donors and volunteers to nominate your organization as a featured charity at their workplace. Better yet, collaborate with corporate partners during campaigns like GivingTuesday or Earth Month to amplify exposure and increase participation.
  
• Make giving automatic and visible. Create a dedicated landing page on your website that explains how payroll giving works and links to major giving platforms. You can even include a searchable employer database or tool that helps supporters quickly see if their workplace participates.
  
• Recognize recurring donors as impact partners. Consistent payroll donors often fly under the radar, yet they represent some of your most reliable, mission-aligned supporters (even if their monthly gifts are small). Acknowledge them regularly, share impact updates, and cultivate them as long-term champions.

In a landscape where donor retention is more important than ever, payroll giving offers a low-friction, high-loyalty channel; one that smart nonprofits are increasingly prioritizing. By meeting donors where they work and making giving seamless, you can cultivate deeper relationships and more dependable revenue heading into 2026 and beyond.

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Interested in supercharging your organization’s corporate philanthropy efforts through employee-led giving programs and more? Check out Double the Donation’s complete guide to developing a workplace giving plan to get started.

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4) Leverage In-Kind Donations

In-kind donations are no longer just a source of supplemental goods. They’re increasingly seen as a strategic avenue for companies to demonstrate authentic, high-impact community engagement. From donated technology and skilled services to access to advertising space and logistics support, in-kind contributions are evolving in both value and complexity.

Today’s in-kind partnerships are being driven by trends in ESG reporting, circular economy initiatives, and purpose-driven branding, all of which open the door for nonprofits to form deeper, mission-aligned relationships with companies seeking to activate unused assets in socially responsible ways.

To move beyond transactional donations and attract meaningful in-kind support:

• Align in-kind requests with corporate ESG goals. Many companies are under pressure to reduce waste, repurpose excess inventory, and report on social impact. Framing your needs as part of their sustainability or community engagement objectives can increase your chances of support, and elevate the partnership in the eyes of stakeholders.
  
• Think beyond physical goods. The fastest-growing category of in-kind donations is professional services, including legal counsel, marketing strategy, IT support, and HR consulting. These skills-based contributions can be transformative for nonprofits lacking in-house capacity.
  
• Position in-kind giving as a brand activation opportunity. Companies are more likely to contribute when there’s visibility, storytelling, and measurable community impact involved. Offer custom co-branded activation opportunities (e.g., “sponsored service days” or event installations) and share impact reports they can use in internal and external communications.
  
• Map internal needs to potential in-kind categories. Conduct a cross-departmental audit to identify recurring expenses or capability gaps, software licenses, creative services, transportation, training, etc. Then, identify corporate partners who offer those assets or services.
  
• Be ready with structure. Companies appreciate nonprofits that are prepared. Maintain an “in-kind giving guide” or wish list that outlines your high-priority needs, ideal partners, and recognition options. This makes it easier for CSR teams to pitch your organization internally.
  

Look for existing programs with open applications. Many companies already have existing in-kind donation programs. That means instead of starting from scratch, you can identify companies committed to in-kind giving and align your outreach accordingly. A streamlined way to uncover these opportunities is by using Double the Donation’s corporate giving database, which includes detailed profiles of companies that offer in-kind donations and more. This can help you prioritize outreach, save time, and focus on partners most likely to support your mission.

In a resource-conscious world, companies are increasingly asking: How can we do more with what we already have? If your nonprofit can answer that question with clarity, strategy, and creativity, in-kind partnerships can become a major asset, not just a bonus.

5) Secure Corporate Grants and Sponsorships

Corporate grants and sponsorships provide flexible funding for programs, events, or broader organizational growth. Many companies, especially those with formal Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) departments, offer annual grant cycles and dedicated sponsorship budgets.

Here’s an example: A youth mentorship nonprofit secured a $15,000 grant from a national bank by aligning its financial literacy program with the bank’s community investment focus. The relationship evolved into a multi-year partnership with annual event sponsorships and volunteer participation.

Here’s how your organization can land corporate grants and sponsorships:

• Identify companies with giving programs that align with your mission. (You can even utilize tools like Double the Donation to identify potential leads!)
  
• Tailor your grant proposals to the company’s stated CSR goals and community investment priorities.
  
• Create event sponsorship packages that clearly outline benefits like brand visibility, volunteer opportunities, and impact reporting.
  
• Leverage employee connections; many grants require or favor nonprofits nominated by company staff. When you’re collecting employment information from supporters on a regular basis, it’s easy to uncover the kinds of corporate connections you’re looking for.

Pro Tip: For the best results, treat corporate sponsors like long-term partners. Keep them updated, send impact reports, and invite them to participate in your work in expanded ways.

As 2026 approaches, corporate giving is more accessible and diverse than ever before. Whether through matching gifts, volunteer engagement, payroll giving, in-kind donations, or grants and sponsorships, your nonprofit has countless opportunities to tap into business support.

But you don’t have to go it alone. Use corporate giving technology to discover companies with giving programs, track eligible supporters, and automate your outreach to increase results with less effort.

You can even start now by:

• Auditing your website for corporate giving prompts
• Adding a workplace giving tool to your donation forms and volunteer registration pages
• Reaching out to a company you admire about potential partnerships

With the right strategies in place, 2026 could be your nonprofit’s most successful year yet for corporate funding.