Aura Cares

Charitable Matching Policy

Aura believes in the importance of charitable giving and recognizes that doing so has a meaningful, worldwide impact. The purpose of this policy is to outline the criteria for all Aura Cares monetary donations.

These guidelines ensure that all corporate giving aligns with our core values, helps us meet our business goals, and maximizes opportunities for corporate visibility. Aura will adhere to the following requirements when making charitable donations.

AURA MATCHING DONATION PROGRAM

In order to be eligible to receive a matching gift, an organization must meet the following criteria:

  1. Must be a 501(c)(3) charitable organization domiciled in the United States ¹
  2. Cannot be sectarian, religious, or political, with the exception of religious organizations that are non-prostyletizing humanitarian-aid focused.
  3. Must be in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service, meaning that it has filed a Form 990 in the previous calendar year
    • are open to all individuals in the community regardless of religious beliefs;
    • serve a secular purpose, such as a food pantry, homeless shelter, or education;
    • do not require participation in prayer, worship, or other religious activities as a condition of receiving services; and
    • do not use the individual donation or resulting match for religious purposes
  4. Must comply with our Charitable Giving Nondiscrimination Policy

Additionally, we will not make contributions that are or would create the appearance of a bribe, kickback, or similar corrupt practice, nor will we make contributions to an organization conducting fundraising (i.e., third party giving) on behalf of a charity organization.

¹Charitable Giving Nondiscrimination Policy: Aura will not donate money to support organizations that discriminate based on race, color, creed, ethnicity, national origin, sex, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or political affiliation. We will not make contributions that are or would create the appearance of a bribe, kickback, or similar corrupt practice, nor will we make contributions to an organization conducting fundraising (i.e., third party giving) on behalf of a charity organization.

ADMINISTRATION

Aura will match donations dollar for dollar up to $10,000 per calendar year.

Donations made must be submitted through the Goodworld portal in order to be reviewed and matched. Submissions made by 5pm. ET on December 15th will be counted toward the current year’s limit. Any submissions made after December 15th will be applied to the following year’s limit. Total matching donations will be matched up to the Aura total organizational cap on a first come, first served basis. If a nonprofit that you want to support is missing in the Goodworld portal, you may nominate one by emailing hello@goodworldnow.com. The nonprofit will be reviewed to ensure compliance with this policy.

The Aura Legal & Compliance teams reserve the right to assess an organization to ensure they meet these eligibility criteria, and may reject a contribution at their sole discretion. This policy may be amended at any time. If you have any questions about this policy, please email hello@goodworldnow.com.

*Organizations categorized under the following NTEE codes will be excluded from donation matching.

• X01 - Alliance/Advocacy Organizations • X02 - Management & Technical Assistance • X03 - Professional Societies, Associations • X05 - Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis • X11 - Single Organization Support • X12 - Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution • X19 - Nonmonetary Support N.E.C. • X20 - Christian • X21 - Protestant • X22 - Roman Catholic • X30 - Jewish • X40 - Islamic • X50 - Buddhist • X70 - Hindu • X80 - Religious Media, Communications Organizations • X81 - Religious Film, Video • X82 - Religious Television • X83 - Religious Printing, Publishing • X84 - Religious Radio • X90 - Interfaith Issues • X99 - Religion Related, Spiritual Development N.E.C.

FAQ

What is Donation Matching?

Donation matching is a corporate giving initiative in which an employer matches their employee’s contribution to a specific cause, increasing the gift. For example, if an organization's employee donates $50 to a local organization, the matching gift would be additional donation of $50 by the company. The nonprofit selected receives $100, thanks to the employee and the employer.

Companies that participate in donation matching have a standard set of guidelines when matching gifts. Sometimes there is a maximum match amount and submission deadlines. They may even have rules about what kinds of organizations they will contribute to (churches and religious organizations are often off limits).

How Does Gift Matching Help Nonprofits?

Gift matching helps nonprofits because it increases the gift initially made by the donor, leading to more revenue for the organization. Additionally, employees who request donation matches from their companies are essentially providing the nonprofit with free marketing and fundraising services. They are giving the nonprofit exposure and soliciting donations on behalf of the organization, which is a huge win for the organization.

Match ratio

A match ratio is how much your company will donate in relation to the amount of the employee’s contribution. A 1:1 match is most common, indicating that the company will donate the exact same amount as their employee did to the same nonprofit.

Match Maximum

A match maximum is the amount that a company will contribute in matching gifts per employee per year.

Employee status

In some situations, an employee’s status within their company impacts their eligibility to participate in the company’s matching program.

Nonprofit eligibility

The nonprofit chosen by the initial donor can affect the match offered by the company. For example, a company may agree to match donations for educational nonprofits at a 3:1 ratio, while donations made to cultural organizations may only be matched at a 1:1 ratio.

Deadline

All donations have a shelf life when it comes to matching gift requests. Companies will either set a firm date for all requests to be submitted by (often December 31st or April 15th) or will offer a window of time after the donation is made (90 days). Once these standards have been set, companies must create the process for collecting matching gifts, which is usually the same no matter the company.