GE Foundation Matching Gifts

UK – Frequently Asked Questions

1/ Guiding Principles

2/The Process for Employees to Register Donations

3/The Process for Charities to Receive Donations

4/ The Donation

5/Recipient Charity Qualification

6/ Charities Registered in Northern Ireland or Scotland

7/The Matching Gifts website

8/GE Single Sign-On

9/Further Information and Customer Support

1/Guiding Principles for Employees

What is the Matching Gifts programme?

The GE Foundation created the concept of a corporate matching gifts programme in 1954 to support eligible employees in their personal charitable giving by providing a 1:1 match. Gifts matched in 2012 totalled nearly $38 million.

Who can participate?

All GE employees can participate regardless of location. A valid GE SSO ID is required to log in/register for matching.

At this time, most approved recipient organisations are registered charities located in the US and UK. However, employees in other locations outside the UK and US may also give to their in-country disaster relief charities and register for matching,

These charities are:

· UNICEF

· Red Cross/Red Crescent Society,

· Habitat for Humanity

· Save the Children

The GE Foundation is currently reviewing ways to expand the base of eligible charities, however due to current US laws and tax regulations, each organisation must first undergo an “equivalency review.” This is a time-consuming and often costly process for NGOs/charities and therefore not effective for a Matching Gifts scheme.

How much of my donation will be matched?

100% of your eligible donation is matched by the GE Foundation. For example, if you donate £1000 the GE Foundation will match that gift with a further £1000.

Can I use this process to match amounts collected by multiple GE employees?

No, only personal donations are eligible for matching. Each individual employee must register their own donation.

Can this programme be used to match donations from a GE business?

No, this programme is to match personal donations from a GE employee it cannot be used to match donations from a GE business.

I am shortly to be retiring from GE in the UK, can I continue to have my gifts matched once I am retired?

No, UK retirees no longer have an SSO number once they are retired, so are unable to participate

I have an SSO ID. Why can’t I participate?

Not everyone who has an SSO ID is eligible for the programme e.g. contractors, co-ops, temporary workers etc.

If you are a new employee, it may be that your information has not yet been added to the eligible population (the update from Oracle HR runs at least twice a month).

Is my giving confidential?

Yes, your giving is confidential and will not be seen by anyone (other than a small number of people within the GE Foundation who necessarily must access your gift information in order to process the Foundation’s matching gift).

Are donations made via payroll eligible to be matched?

At this time donations made via payroll cannot be matched by the GE Foundation, however the local team is exploring how this might be possible at a later date. Currently you must make the donation directly to the charity by cash, cheque, credit card, electronic transfer or donation of stocks, shares or securities.

How will my gift impact on my tax situation?

When you complete your tax return you should register your element of the gift only. The matched gift from the GE Foundation should not appear on your return. You would treat the donation that you make in the same way as any other personal charitable donations that you make.

2/The Process for Registering Donations

How does the process work?

1/Once you have made your donation directly to your chosen charity you will need to register your donation for matching.

2/,Log into the Matching Gifts website (www.gefoundation.com/matchinggifts). Click on the “GE Participants” button to log in using GE SSO ID/password.

3/ Once in the Matching Gifts site, search for your charity and then register the details.

4/ It is advisable at this point to contact the charity and let them know that you have made a donation and that they will be contacted for confirmation.

5/ The GE Foundation will now contact the charity to confirm that the donation has been received.

6/ Checks are now made on the eligibility of the donation and the charity.

7/ Once the donation and its eligibility are confirmed the GE Foundation will match 100% of the donation amount to the charity.

How do I make the donation to my chosen charity?

You can make the donation to your chosen charity by any of the normal methods such as cash, cheque or credit card, or using any of the electronic transfer methods such as Just Giving, bank transfer etc. The donation must be from your personal funds.

Can I donate using stocks, shares or securities?

Yes, you can do this. The value of your donation for gift-matching purposes would be the value of the securities on the date that ownership transfers to the charity.

Why can’t I locate my chosen charity organisation in the search engine?

It is possible that you are entering too much information into the search engine or that your search is too specific. The most accurate way to search for a particular organisation is to enter the organisation’s registered charity number (in the search box on the welcome/main page, click “advanced search” to enter the charity number)

If you do not have this information, you may enter a keyword for the organisation’s legal name. If you are using an acronym, try searching on the full name or if you are using the full name try searching an acronym (e.g., ”Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust” is registered at DKH Legacy Trust)

You can also find help to locate a charity at www.charitycommission.gov.uk

If your charity is registered in Northern Ireland or Scotland you will need to input some additional information to locate the charity using the Advanced Search option.

If the organisation is not in the database, please see the Recipient Charity Qualification section below for further information.

Is there a deadline to register for matching?

Yes, donations made in a calendar year must be registered by the following April 15 (for example, donations made in 2013 must be registered for matching by April 15, 2014).

How long does it take for the matched donation from the GE Foundation to reach the Charity?

The charity must first confirm receipt of a donation (see Question 3) through the GE Foundation Matching Gifts Website before it can be matched. Payments are made quarterly, so once confirmed the donation will be included in the next quarterly payments made by the GE Foundation (please note that all gifts and charities will be reviewed for compliance and eligibility prior to payment). The quarterly payments schedule is posted within the GE Foundation website.

Can I set up a monthly donation to a charity by Direct Debit or Standing Order from my bank/building society and have it matched?

Yes, you can do this. However if your monthly donation is under the minimum amount (see Section 4 below), you could only register your gift once the minimum amount had been reached. You may want to consider a one-off registration for matching at the end of the year (in which you register for matching only once, for the total aggregate amount of your several donations made to the chosen charity during the year)

Will my donation still be eligible for Gift Aid?

Yes, if you are a UK tax payer you can still register your element of the donation for gift aid.

3/The Process for the Charity Receiving Donations

How does the charity know about the GE Foundation Matching Gifts programme?

Once you have registered your gift for matching the GE Foundation will contact the charity and will include first-time user instructions so that they can create their account, confirm gifts etc. The charity can do this at: (www.gefoundation.com/matchinggifts using the Non-Profit Participants box on the right hand side of the screen and clicking on UK Charities Login

For charities that are first-time participants in the GE Foundation matching gifts program, it is obviously in the charity’s interest to complete this initial registration as promptly as possible (since it must be completed before the GE Foundation can issue payment of its matching gift).

Do I need to do anything?

1/ Before making your donation you need to make sure that the charity that you are donating to is eligible for gift matching. Please see Question 5 to confirm eligibility.

2/ If you have a contact at the charity you should include their details on the Matching Gifts website

3/You can also contact the charity and let them know that they should expect a communication from the GE Foundation.

What does the charity need to do to receive matched donations?

Once a charity has completed its initial registration on the Matching Gifts website, each time a GE employee registers a donation for matching, the charity will then need to log in to the website to confirm receipt of that employee donation. Once confirmed, the GE Foundation matching gift triggered by the employee’s donation will be included in the next quarterly batch of payments made by the GE Foundation (please note that all gifts and charities will be reviewed for compliance and eligibility prior to payment).

The charity can log into the site at any time to see if they have any gifts to be matched, they do not have to wait for contact from the GE Foundation.

How does the charity know that there is a donation to be matched?

Once you have submitted your first gift for matching the GE Foundation will contact the charity with first-time user instructions so that they can create an account..

Once a charity has completed its initial registration with the GE Foundation Matching Gifts programme, a reminder notice will be sent to the charity as a courtesy each time a GE employee registers a donation for a matching gift. The charity can, however, log in to the website at any time after an employee has registered a donation, to take the required step of confirming that the relevant donation was actually received.

Who will the GE Foundation contact at the charity?

When you register your donation for matching you will be asked if you have a contact name and address at the charity, it will help if you can provide this information. If you do not have the details the Foundation will use the email information on the Charity Commission website.

If the Foundation is unable to find an email address for the charity they will write to the address on the website.

4/The Donation

Is there a minimum or maximum donation size?

In order to be matched, a gift must be a minimum of £15.00 ($25.00).

An individual GE Donor will be matched up to a maximum of USD $50,000 or equivalent currently around £30,000) in a calendar year.

How will I be able to keep track of how much I have donated in a calendar year?

You may view your balance in the website (the website will show your donation in both US dollars and GBP).

Will I receive an acknowledgement of my donation?

You will not receive an acknowledgement from the GE Foundation Matching Gifts programme, but you can see the status of your donation at any time at the Matching Gifts website. (If you need a receipt for the donation you made then you need to ask the recipient charity directly to issue one. Any such receipt would be for the amount of your personal donation: the matching gift from the GE Foundation is a separate gift (not made by you) and therefore is not relevant to your personal taxation.)

Can I register a gift that has been collected by a number of GE employees as part of a charitable event or collection?

No, you cannot. You may only register a gift that you made from your personal assets and you are asked to confirm this as part of the process of registering the donation. Each GE donor must register his/her own gift.

I have been asked for an entry fee for a fundraising event that I am taking part in, can I register this fee for a match?

No, required entry fees or registration fees are to cover the cost of organising and running an event and are not eligible for matching.

Can the matching gift satisfy a personal pledge?

No, for example if you pledge £2000 to an organisation it cannot be satisfied by £1000 from you and £1000 from the GE Foundation match.

I would like to make a donation to a specific project within the charity, how can I do this?

When you make your donation you should let the charity know how you would like to designate your funds. When you register for matching, there is a field called “Donor Designation” where you can note those specifications. For example if you donated to Macmillan Cancer Support and in particular to Macmillan Nurses you would state that here. While the GE Foundation will communicate your designation to the recipient charity when it makes payment of the matching gift, it is your responsibility to co-ordinate directly with the charity in order to ensure the matching gift is correctly assigned.

I would like to make multiple donations to different projects in a charity on the same day, how will I do this?

When you make your donation you should let the charity know how you would like to designate your funds. On the Matching Gifts website I the Donor Designation section you would then specify how you allocated. For example if you donated £100 you could write in this section “£50 to Project A, £30 to Project B and £20 to Project C”. Please note that although the GE Foundation will let the charity know of your request it is up to you to confirm with the charity that this has been fulfilled.