Last week I made a contribution that someone else was matching to make my gift worth twice as much. That's a good deal seen frequently in the holiday season. Doubling sounds great but I don't really understand it. When a donor offers to match up to a certain amount for a certain charity, I have to think they're willing to make the contribution anyway. Maybe they already did. If so, my gift is really only worth 100% instead of 200%. That's a win for the charity but not why I signed up.
As donors, we have a right to know how much our contribution is affected by administrative costs. Some organizations soliciting by phone receive less than half of what's contributed because the company making the phone calls gets a hefty portion. I expect an organization to be willing to provide information on how much money actually makes it to the cause.
In evaluating where my donations go, the closer to 100% the better.
But here's an opportunity to increase my contribution that does generate more than I'm actually giving. PayPal is offering to match contributions of at least $10 made before December 31st. There are a few conditions (listed here as a footnote) and not every organization is positioned to accept such contributions. But if you're planning to give to organizations like the Abilene Arts Alliance or Big Brothers Big Sisters or Eternal Threads or Zambia Christian College (notice the A - Z) or any of the groups (The Water Project, for instance) that can accept PayPal contributions consider making your gift this way. Ask your preferred charity – if there's an expense to the organization greater than 1% you can always choose to donate cash directly.
$$$$$$ + $$$$$$
In order to receive this Offer you must:
a) have a U.S. PayPal account in good standing, and
b) complete a minimum $10 USD donation on the PayPal Giving Fund page, designating the charitable organization of your choice, using your PayPal account no later than December 31, 2014 at 11:59:59 PDT.