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What Is Employee Giving Software? How Workplace Giving Platforms Work
Direct Answer: Employee giving software is a platform that lets employees donate part of their pay or personal funds to verified nonprofits of their choice in a few clicks, through payroll deductions, cards, or apps like Venmo. It issues tax receipts automatically and helps companies run and report on workplace giving.
Why does giving at work matter now?
Individuals drive most charitable giving in the United States. According to Giving USA 2026, Americans gave an estimated $617.2 billion in 2025, and individuals accounted for nearly two-thirds of it.
Yet the donor base is shrinking. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project found that total dollars rose about 5.0% in 2025 while the number of donors fell about 3.6%.
Many of your employees already give. For some, setting aside part of their salary is a family tradition, a faith practice, or simply who they are. What gets in the way is friction: a separate website for each cause, receipts scattered across inboxes, and no easy way to give a little every month.
How does employee giving software work?
Most platforms follow the same four steps.
Step | What the employee does | What the platform handles | What it replaces |
Discover | Searches for a cause they care about | Verifies the nonprofit and features approved causes | Googling charities and hoping they are legitimate |
Give | Picks an amount and a payment method | Processes the gift and routes funds to the nonprofit | A different donation site for every cause |
Receive | Gets a receipt with no extra steps | Issues a tax receipt for each eligible gift | Chasing documentation at tax time |
Report | Sees their own giving history | Totals participation and dollars by cause and location | Spreadsheets rebuilt for every CSR update |
How does payroll giving work?
An employee pledges a one-time or recurring amount, and it is deducted on the payroll calendar your company sets. Small, steady gifts add up without anyone needing to remember to give.
What other ways can employees give?
Good platforms meet people where they already pay. Depending on the platform, employees can give by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, bank transfer, or a donor-advised fund.
How do tax receipts work?
In the United States, donors need a written acknowledgment from the charity for any single gift of $250 or more. Giving software issues receipts automatically, so employees are not hunting for paperwork in April.
Why is employee giving a win for everyone involved?
Here is the part most companies miss: your biggest contribution to employee giving is not money. It is removing the friction that keeps generous people from acting on what they already want to do.
Who | What they gain |
Employees | A few clicks to support causes they choose, payroll or app-based giving, and automatic tax receipts |
Employers | A visible CSR and social impact story, a culture people are proud of, and giving data for leadership and disclosures |
Nonprofits | Steady recurring support, verified transfers, and new donors who might never have found them |
Where giving lives matters too. A standalone portal asks employees to go looking for it. When giving sits inside the communities employees already belong to, an ERG chapter can rally around a local cause during a heritage month.
What should you look for in employee giving software?
A verified nonprofit network, with the option to feature or approve causes
Payroll giving plus cards and digital wallets
Automatic tax receipts for every eligible gift
Campaigns with reminders through email, Microsoft Teams, and Slack
Reporting by campaign, cause, and office location
The option to run giving inside specific ERGs or locations
If you also run volunteering, read our guide to corporate volunteering software, and plan your year with the 2027 Cause and Giving Calendar. Company matching and Dollars for Doers build on employee giving, and each gets its own guide.
How does Teleskope support employee giving?
Teleskope is an AI-powered employee program platform that runs ERGs, mentoring, volunteering, and employee giving in one system. Giving runs on our partnership with Every.org, so employees can give through payroll, cards, digital wallets, or donor-advised funds and receive tax receipts automatically.
You can switch on a campaign inside a single ERG chapter and see participation by cause and location in one dashboard. If you are weighing another tool, see how to consolidate employee program software.
Ready to make giving a few clicks away for every employee? Book a demo to see employee giving inside the programs your people already use.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is employee giving?
Employee giving is when employees donate their own money to nonprofits through a program their employer offers. It turns personal generosity into a simple, repeatable habit. Most programs support payroll deductions as well as one-time gifts.
Is employee giving the same as donation matching?
No. Employee giving is the employee's own contribution, while donation matching is the company adding funds on top of it. Many companies start with employee giving and add matching later as a separate program.
Can employees give through payroll?
Yes. Payroll giving lets employees set a one-time or recurring deduction from each paycheck. It suits people who prefer to give a little every pay period rather than one large gift.
Do employees get tax receipts for workplace donations?
Yes, on eligible gifts. Giving platforms issue receipts automatically because the IRS requires written acknowledgment for any single gift of $250 or more. That saves employees from tracking down paperwork at tax time.
Why do companies offer employee giving programs?
Employee giving supports CSR and social impact goals at low cost to the company. Employees get an easy way to act on their values, and nonprofits gain steady support. Giving USA data shows individuals already provide nearly two-thirds of US giving.
Related reading
Employee Giving Software
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