If you’ve never heard about volunteer grant programs, you’re not alone. This often-overlooked program is a way you can help any nonprofit organization at which you’re already volunteering.
Many companies like Cane Bay Partners VI, LLLP, consultant on business financial matters, donate regularly to nonprofit entities. The company you work for likely contributes as well. Your favorite nonprofit could be missing out on needed funds.
How Volunteer Grant Programs Work
Volunteer grants are one of the ways companies encourage their workers to volunteer in their community. If an employee regularly volunteers with an organization, your company then donates money for every hour you volunteered. Your nonprofit organization not only gets the benefits of your volunteer labor, but it also gets monetary compensation as well.
People often don’t know about volunteer grants because there isn’t much information available about them. If you and your coworkers volunteer with an organization regularly, see if your company is willing to provide a volunteer grant program.
How To Obtain a Volunteer Grant
You will need to volunteer regularly with a nonprofit organization, and that nonprofit will need to be registered as a 501(c)(3) entity to qualify. If both of these apply to you and your favorite nonprofit, then take the following steps to apply for a volunteer grant.
1. Check To See If Your Company Is Eligible
Go online and search through a volunteer grant database to see if the company you work for is listed. Even if your company is listed, you’ll also need to make sure that the nonprofit you volunteer for is eligible with your company.
Some corporations only allow volunteer grants to those nonprofits that share their values. Other companies have fewer restrictions on what type of nonprofit they accept.
2. Check To See If You’re Eligible
Your company may also have a restriction on the type of employees it will accept for volunteer grant programs. If you work part-time for your company, you may not qualify.
3. Fill Out an Application
You can fill out an electronic application through the online database. If you prefer, you can print the application out and fill it out that way. Once the company receives your application, someone from your company will check with the nonprofit organization you listed to make sure you actually volunteered with that organization.
If your company approves, then the business will send a check to the nonprofit. The check amount could equal a minimum wage amount for each hour you volunteered or even higher.
4. Watch for Any Deadlines and Other Requirements
Some companies want you to submit an application before the end of the calendar year for any volunteer work you have done. Other companies require you to volunteer a specific amount of hours before you can apply. Also, your company may have a limit on the number of grants it will give per employee per year.
If you’re volunteering with a nonprofit organization, make sure they’re getting all the money they are entitled to by learning about your company’s volunteer grant program.
