Multiply Your Haiti Donations

Matching funds will take your donations and double it! This means that for every $1 you donate via a special link or specific designation automatically becomes $2 to the organization you’re supporting! Think of it as 100% interest on the spot! [update] // I’m matching up to $1,000 of your online donation at razoo.com – no credit card transaction fee! //

As most of us are pitching in and donating to help with Haiti earthquake relief, you could choose to donate $100 to an organization, OR you could donate $100 through a link with a matching fund, and the organization will receive $200, with no extra effort on your part!

Here are links I’ve found that are receiving donations with a matching fund ::

• Love Haiti challenge – $10,000 matching donations to World Vision [via charlestlee.com, a collaboration with New Hope, NewSong, JustOne, International Care Community, and Sakura Restaurant]
• 2010 Haiti Earthquake Relief – my $1,000 matching fund supporting World Vision via razoo.com, so there’s no transaction fee and 100% of your dollars go to charity!
• Gear Live & Friends SMS donations – $11,650 matching fund supporting Red Cross or Yele Haiti when you donate via SMS :: Donate $10 to the American Red Cross by texting HAITI to 90999 or Text GIVE to 20222 and donate $10 to World Vision — charged to your cell phone bill; and see this big list of 20+ ways to donate via mobile for Haiti
• SalesForce.com Foundation matching program – up to $250,000 matching donations to World Vision and American Red Cross
• Canada’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund – up to $50,000,000 is being matched by the Government of Canada
• High-Tech HelpHaiti Fund – $600,000 matching fund supporting orgs determined by Entrepreneurs Foundation of Central Texas
• CliffLandis.net fundraising campaign – $10,000 matching support for Partners in Health [* I like this personalized fundraising page because it has a thermometer indicating how much has been raised so far]
• Haiti Earthquake Emergency Relief – Liquidnet For Good is matching up to $25,000 for GlobalGiving Relief Fund for Haiti Earthquake
• MMAWarehouse.com – $5,000 matching support for Mercy Corps
• Dallas Seminary Haiti Relief Fund – $20,000 matching support for DTS alumni ministries in Haiti, like Seminaire de Theologie Evangelique
• AARP Foundation Haiti Relief Fund – $500,000 matching support for HelpAge International
• Haitian Relief Fund of Baldwin/McCullough Radio – $30,000 matching for orgs like Hosean International Ministries
• Coach Bill Self and the University of Kansas athletic department is matching $?,??? to support the American Red Cross
• Active twitter users can find a matcher for donations via giveatweet.com, e.g. @ramarnat is matching $10 per donations up to $500
• Razoo’s Match for Haiti Campaign has already matched $12,300. [cf] Some transaction fees are being waived by some credit card companies.
• Check with your employer if they’re matching donations. Companies that are matching employee donations, include: Sony $250,000; Microsoft $1.25 million; Dell $600,000; Macquarie; Equifax; Walgreens; SAP…

You can also create your own fundraising campaign, via:

• razoo.com – create a fundraiser page for any registered non-profit organization, with this bonus: 100% of your donations goes to charity because Razoo covers transaction fees (!) — typically, an online donation incurs a credit card transaction fee of 3% to 5% .
• Partners in Health and Mercy Corps have a personal fundraiser page creator
• OneDaysWages.org has personalized #haiti fundraising web pages, according to this tweet from @eugenecho – supporting World Concern and Partners in Health

Aside: one thing that many (most?) of these matching fund campaigns don’t have (yet?) is a thermometer that shows how much has been raised, so potential donors can be sure to give where there’s donation matching. I’d hate to see matching dollars go unused.

[ed.note: How does a matching fund work? By definition, matching funds are "funds that will be supplied in an amount matching the funds available from other sources." This means money that comes from one person will be matched by money that comes from another person (or fund.) This is one fundraising tactic to increase motivation for more donations.

Matching funds are not only a method reserved for wealthy corporations and individuals. It doesn't have to be. Here's an example from everydaygivingblog.com : "... I offered to match her $25 allowance so that twice as much could be donated to charity. She mentioned my offer to match funds in a blog post. Others followed the example. At the end of the project, charities received $825.00 due to others pledging matching funds."]

[caveat: When tragedies like this happen, profiteering scams take advantage of innocent people, sadly. Donate to reputable organizations for better assurance that your donor's intent is honored.]