Your employer may double your gift.
Thousands of companies match the donations their employees make to schools, and many pay for volunteer hours too. It takes about five minutes, it costs you nothing, and most families never do it.
your employer =
$150
you +
$150
$300
for Alcott students
How it works
You start it, not us. The PTSA cannot request a match on your behalf.
Donate
Give to the Alcott PTSA and keep the receipt Givebacks emails you. Most portals ask you to upload it.
Submit the request
Log in to your company's giving portal, search for the Alcott PTSA, enter the amount and date, and submit. Roughly five minutes.
We receive the match
Your company sends the funds to the PTSA, usually within a few weeks to a few months. Nothing more is needed from you.
What to enter in the form
Copy these exactly. Most failed match requests are failures to find the right organization, not rejections.
Organization name
Louisa May Alcott PTSA
Tax ID / EIN
91-1346598
Organization type
501(c)(3) nonprofit — PTA/PTSA, Unit 2.8.3
Mailing address
4213 228th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98053
On Benevity
Questions
The most common mistake.
We are a separate organization from Alcott Elementary, Lake Washington School District, and the Lake Washington Schools Foundation — if you pick one of those, the money does not reach us.
Your hours are worth money too
Many of the same companies pay the PTSA for time their employees volunteer. If a donation is not possible for your family this year, this is a real way to contribute — and it costs nothing but the time you were already giving.
Chaperoning a field trip, helping at the carnival, serving on the board, working a classroom shift — it all counts. You log the hours in the same portal you would use for a match.
$25 / hour
What Microsoft donates for each hour an employee volunteers, with no minimum number of hours required.
Boeing, Google, Adobe, Intel, T-Mobile, Starbucks and others run similar programs at different rates, usually with an hours minimum. Check your portal for yours.
Common employers at Alcott
Where to go and what each program covers. Caps and ratios change, so confirm the current amounts in your own portal.
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Portal
Benevity, or aka.ms/give on the corporate network
Matches
Donations and volunteer hours
Volunteer rate
$25/hour, no minimum hours
Annual cap
$15,000 per employee, money and time combined
Deadline
Within 12 months of the donation
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Portal
Benevity, or the internal gift match tool
Matches
Donations and volunteer hours
Deadline
January 31 of the year after the donation
Cap
Confirm in your portal
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Portal
YourCause
Matches
Donations and volunteer hours, in hour increments
Also eligible
Retirees and spouses or domestic partners
Cap
Confirm in your portal
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Portal
Benevity
Matches
Donations
Eligibility
Varies by role — check before you give
Cap
Confirm in your portal
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Most large employers have a program even if they never advertise it. Search your company intranet for “matching gifts” or “giving,” or ask HR.
Also known to match, reported by Alcott families or nearby PTSAs: Adobe, Alaska Airlines, Apple, Bank of America, Expedia, F5, Getty Images, Intel, Nordstrom, Oracle, Puget Sound Energy, Salesforce, Samsung, SAP, Starbucks, State Farm, Target, US Bank, Verizon, Wells Fargo. Terms vary, so check your own portal.
Other companies known to match
Reported by Alcott families or nearby PTSAs. Terms vary, so check your own portal.
Nordstrom
Adobe
Bank of America
Target
F5
US Bank
Apple
Alaska Airlines
Wells Fargo
Verizon
Getty Images
Etsy
Puget Sound Energy
Intel
State Farm
Oracle
Salesforce
Expedia
Usually eligible
✔️ Fall Fundraiser donations
✔️ General donations to the PTSA
✔️ Volunteer hours, where your employer pays for time
✔️ Gifts made by a spouse or a retiree, at some companies
What can and can't be matched
Usually not eligible
❌ PTSA membership dues
❌ Yearbooks, spirit wear, and carnival wristbands
❌ Event tickets and auction purchases, beyond the portion above fair market value
❌ Anything you received goods or services in return for
One practical tip. If a company has a minimum — some start at $25 or $50 — separate small gifts cannot be added together to reach it. One $150 donation is matchable where three $50 gifts across the year might not be.
The rule behind all of it: employers match charitable gifts, and a payment is only charitable to the extent it exceeds the value of whatever you got back. A donation gives you nothing in return, so all of it qualifies. Dues and purchases do give you something, so they generally do not.
Questions
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Probably not. Microsoft allows requests up to 12 months after the donation, and Google accepts them until January 31 of the following year. Check your portal — most companies give you months, not days.
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You don't have to, but it helps. Matching funds often arrive through a vendor that doesn't tell us who they came from, so we may not be able to connect the match to you. If your portal has a notes field, adding your name and your student's name lets us thank you properly and record it correctly.
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Usually a few weeks to a few months. Companies typically disburse on a quarterly cycle, and the giving platforms batch payments. It is normal for a match requested in October to arrive in the new year.
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At some companies, yes — several programs cover spouses, domestic partners, and retirees. Boeing is one. Check your household's other portal too; it is a commonly missed opportunity.
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No. Only the employee can start a match request, and it has to come from you. Once you have submitted it, we handle anything the company asks of us — most often confirming your volunteer hours or verifying that your donation was received.
