🤝 Donation Matching Calculator

Many employers match charitable donations at a set ratio, often with a per-donor cap. Enter your donation and the match terms to see the total impact.

Donation amount ($)

Match ratio (e.g. 1 for 1:1, 2 for 2:1)

Match cap per donor ($)

How the matched total is worked out

Three numbers drive the result: your gift, the employer's match ratio, and the per-donor cap.

uncapped match = donation × ratio
actual match   = min(uncapped match, cap)
total impact   = donation + actual match

The defaults show it. $250 at 1:1 against a $1,000 cap produces a $250 match and $500 total. Push the ratio to 2 and the match becomes $500, for a $750 total. Give $600 at 2:1 against that same cap and the uncapped match would be $1,200, but the charity receives $1,000 and the row is flagged as capped - the last $100 of your gift bought no match at all.

Reading your employer's match terms

Ratio is the employer's share per dollar you give. Enter 1 for 1:1, which doubles the gift; 0.5 for a fifty-cents-on-the-dollar programme; 2 to triple it.
The cap limits the match, not your donation. Most schemes cap each employee per calendar year, so subtract whatever you have already had matched this year before typing the figure in.
A cap of 0 is read as no cap, not as no match. For a programme that matches nothing, set the ratio to 0.
Minimum gift sizes, eligible-charity rules and claim deadlines are not modelled. Plenty of programmes exclude religious or political recipients.

The match is money from your employer, not from you. Who may claim what, and on which return, depends on where you live and your own circumstances - treat the total on screen as impact at the charity, not as a deduction.

Frequently asked questions

What does a 2:1 donation match mean?

Your employer gives $2 for every $1 you give. A $250 gift arrives at the charity as $750: your $250 plus a $500 match.

Does the cap limit my donation or the match?

The match. You can give as much as you like, but every dollar past the point where the match maxes out goes unmatched. At 1:1 with a $1,000 cap, matching stops once your own gift passes $1,000.

Can I split a large gift across two years to get more matched?

Usually, because most caps reset on 1 January. Giving $1,000 in December and $1,000 in January can draw two years of match where a single $2,000 gift would hit one year's ceiling. Check the claim deadline first.