By Zackary Rhodes June 12, 2025
Volunteer grants are another impactful but generally untapped area of employer-sponsored contributions. When a company provides these programs, it is giving money to a not-for-profit where its employees volunteer. For instance, if employees volunteer 20 hours, their employer could donate $500 to that charity. It’s a win-win for nonprofits and businesses, and it helps convert time into tangible support.
As straightforward as it may sound, it is a different ball game to actually collect these funds. Many non-profits don’t have processes in place to easily report or track volunteer hours, determine who’s eligible or submit the proper paperwork to employers. Because of this, thousands of dollars go unclaimed each year by many organizations.
This guide is here to explain why volunteers grant contributions should be embedded into your payment processor. We’re going to take you through every stage of creating an effective workflow, from keeping hours to handling payments smoothly. Whether you’re a grassroot nonprofit or a growing organization, streamlining your grant integration process can help you tap into a reliable revenue stream—and boost volunteer engagement at the same time.
What Are Volunteer Grants?
Volunteer grants are corporate giving programs in which employers make donations to a nonprofit organization in proportion to employees’ volunteer time. But it’s not donations from employees directly — it’s employees donating their time, and a company donating money on their behalf. It’s a simple but effective way to incentivize public service and support charitable organizations.
Here’s the way it typically goes down: An employee volunteers for a nonprofit. Once a minimum hour threshold has been completed such as 10-20 hours, the employee makes a request via an internal company platform or third party portal. The company then confirms the hours and sends a financial grant directly to the nonprofit.
If an organization pays an employee $25 an hour to work for the nonprofit for 20 hours, the nonprofit gets $500. The goal throughout is to benefit both the volunteer and the nonprofit.
Once done properly, these programs not only improve morale among employees but also deliver a consistent stream of funds to nonprofits. To make the most of it, your organization will require a smart payment system to record hours, match data and manage transactions efficiently.
Why Integrate Volunteer Grants with Your Payment System?
Integrating volunteer grants with your nonprofit’s payment platform is about more than just making a smart technology investment— it’s a method that increases efficiency, transparency, and donor support. By integrating your CRM, volunteer management software, and donation processing, you streamline everything from data-gathering to donor relations.
Streamlining Donor Data and Matching Opportunities
By syncing your payment system with volunteer grant tools, you have the ability to automatically associate volunteer activity with donor profiles. This way you can see which donors work for companies with volunteer grants available. With automation, your CRM can send reminders to submit matching requests, or even create pre-filled forms for volunteers to submit themselves.
This cuts down on the missed opportunities and the manual record keeping that often results in unclaimed grants. The result? You leverage every volunteer hour and each and every dollar generated through corporate philanthropy.
Tracking of volunteer hours and grants statuses across systems is an issue many nonprofits have. Through integration, you can monitor hours in real time, update employee information, and check the status of submitted grants requests – all from within your payment system dashboard.
A centralized platform also ensures faster financial reporting and better compliance. Your finance team can easily tell whether a grant is pending, approved or paid, making it easy to plan and budget.
Enhancing Donor Engagement and Transparency
As donors see their time becoming money and that money being appropriately recognized they feel more appreciated. You could set up integrated solutions to trigger thank-you emails, to generate a tax receipt, and even show progress the donation was making in the world.
This level of transparency develops trust, grows engagement, and leaves your supporters motivated. With an honest-to-goodness payment system, your nonprofit raises more than money, it raises friends.
Key Components of a Compatible Payment System
In order for your nonprofit to capitalize on volunteer grants, your payment solution needs to be more than just a way to collect donations. It needs to accept donor data such as time tracking, corporate match integrations, and be secure finalizing transactions. Here’s a breakdown of the critical components your system should have.
Donor Management Integration (CRM)
Your CRM system is the brain of your operation. It also houses donor profiles, monitors volunteer grants eligibility, and generates follow-up tasks. Integrate with your CRM and now your payment system is able to marry your volunteer hours with donor records. When someone reaches the requisite hours for a grant, the system can automatically send reminders or produce matching requests on its own. This way, less grants slip through the cracks.
Custom Forms for Volunteer Time Logging
To make the sign-up process of volunteers smooth you must have a donation system that supports embeddable customized forms. These forms allow users to input their hours in addition to traditional donation fields. If they’re checking in at an event or inputting hours from home, the form should plug directly into your CRM and sync in real time. This way, your records will always be correct and current.
Corporate Matching Platforms Compatibility
The platform needs to be seamless with systems like Benevity, CyberGrants and Double the Donation. These tools are built for corporate giving programs. When your payment system interacts with them, it can check for employer matches, create and submit claims faster and reduce paperwork. This integration mass-converts busywork into automations that not only save time, but also generate more money.
Secure and Flexible Payment Gateway
Finally, select a payment system that has secure, charity-compliant gateways like Stripe, PayPal, or establishing ACH transfers. These alternatives allow for the processing of donations and matching grants in a safe manner. They also allow for flexibility in how one-time gifts, recurring donations and grant payouts are processed without compromising security.
Step-by-Step: How to Integrate Volunteer Grants
Integrating volunteer grants into your nonprofit’s payment system doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the right tools and a clear process, you can turn missed opportunities into consistent funding. Follow these five steps to build an efficient, automated system that boosts both engagement and revenue.
Step 1 – Audit Your Current Payment and CRM Systems
Begin by reviewing the systems you already use. Do your CRM and payment system support third-party integrations? Can you track donor interactions and volunteer hours in one place? Identify any gaps—like lack of time logging or no corporate matching support—and prioritize upgrades that align with your volunteer grant goals.
Step 2 – Choose a Volunteer Grant Management Tool
Next, select a dedicated platform to manage volunteer grants. Popular options include Double the Donation, Millie, and POINT. These tools help you find match-eligible donors, automate submission workflows, and track grant statuses. Make sure your chosen tool integrates with your CRM and payment system for seamless data flow.
Step 3 – Enable Volunteer Hour Submission and Verification
Allow volunteers to submit hours directly through your website or donor portal. Use embedded forms that collect essential details—volunteer name, hours, employer, and program eligibility. Integrate this form with your CRM so entries get stored instantly and can be verified later for corporate match submission.
Step 4 – Sync with Payment Gateway
Now, link your grant tool and CRM with your payment gateway (e.g., Stripe, PayPal, ACH). Many platforms offer APIs or plug-ins for real-time syncing. This ensures that once a volunteer grant is approved, the donation reaches your nonprofit’s account smoothly—without manual tracking or errors. Moreover, mobile payments for non-profits are also growing. Hence, nonprofits must be aware of the trends and tools revolving around mobile payments.
Step 5 – Automate Acknowledgements and Tax Receipts
Once a grant is received, trigger automatic thank-you emails and tax receipts. Your payment system should send these to both the volunteer and their employer (if required). This shows professionalism, builds trust, and keeps supporters informed about their impact.
By setting up these steps, your nonprofit can fully harness the power of volunteer grants—with less admin work and more predictable funding.
Best Practices for Managing Volunteer Grants
Regardless of the quality of your payment system and tools, the success of your volunteer grants program ultimately comes down to how well it is managed. To get the most out of your returns, and ensure a steady flow of such funds, follow these best practices that are all about people, communication, and ease of use.
Educate Your Volunteers
Many volunteers have no idea that their employer offers volunteer grants. Start by educating them. Create onboarding guides, targeted email campaigns, and brief webinars that explain what volunteer grants are, how they work, and how they can submit their hours. Insert grant program checklists when training volunteers, or remembering them on the “thank you” post event. The more they know, the more likely they are to engage.
Communicate with Corporations
Your nonprofit should build and maintain strong relationships with HR or CSR departments at companies that support volunteer grants. Stay updated on their matching policies, submission deadlines, and preferred platforms like Benevity or CyberGrants. Being proactive helps avoid miscommunication, ensures smoother transactions, and opens the door to other opportunities like event sponsorships.
Regular Reporting and Follow-ups
Keeping an eye on pending, approved and disbursed grants is very important. Leverage your payment system and CRM to create monthly reports. Program reminders to send a thank-you card for requesting a grant. Contact volunteers if hours need to be verified or if any forms weren’t filled out. This action keeps your pipeline moving and reduces the risk of missed funding.
Keep UX Smooth and Frictionless
Don’t make volunteers jump through hoops. Keep all forms mobile-friendly, short, and easy to complete. Automate as many steps as possible—from time tracking to grant reminders. Integrations between your CRM, payment system, and grant platforms reduce friction and allow your staff to focus on relationships instead of paperwork.
When these best practices come together, your volunteer grants program becomes not just sustainable—but scalable.
Conclusion
Integrating volunteer grants into your nonprofit’s payment system isn’t just a tech upgrade—it’s a strategic move that boosts funding, deepens donor engagement, and streamlines operations. By connecting CRMs, grant platforms, and secure payment gateways, you create a smooth and automated process that turns volunteer hours into real financial impact.
When volunteers see their time transformed into tangible dollars, they feel empowered and valued. And when corporations see your nonprofit organized and efficient, they’re more likely to offer continued support.
Start with a simple audit, build with smart integrations, and reinforce it all with education and automation. The result? A future-proof system that brings in more funding—without overloading your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are volunteer grants, and how do they work?
Volunteer grants are corporate giving programs where employers donate money to nonprofits when their employees volunteer. The employee submits proof of volunteer hours, and the company sends a grant directly to the nonprofit.
2. Why is it important to integrate volunteer grants with a payment system?
Integration helps automate tracking, submission, and reporting. It ensures volunteer hours are matched with company donations quickly and accurately through your payment system.
3. Which platforms help manage volunteer grants?
Tools like Double the Donation, Millie, POINT, and Benevity simplify tracking and submission of volunteer grants and integrate easily with many nonprofit CRMs and payment systems.
4. How can I make volunteer hour submissions easier?
Use mobile-friendly, embedded forms in your donor portal. Link them with your CRM to sync and verify hours in real time.
5. What payment gateways work best for nonprofits?
Stripe, PayPal, and ACH options are ideal. They offer secure, compliant processing and work well with nonprofit CRMs and grant platforms.