Do You Understand the Power of Matching Gifts?

There’s no better gift than the act of giving itself. But what if you could give at least twice as much with no additional impact to your finances?

Through a matching gift, you can. The process is much like it sounds: A matching gift starts as one contribution but doubles once matched by an additional donor, such as a corporation.

Matching gifts are typically 1:1 or “dollar for dollar,” but some companies — like Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Halliburton and The Noble Corporation — offer a 2:1 match year round, while others, like Shell, hold an annual 2:1 matching campaign during a specific time of year. Each employer has its own process for matching employee donations to charitable organizations, but it’s often as easy as completing a form or application.

During fiscal year 2024, $1.9 million was given to the Texas A&M Foundation to benefit Texas A&M University through matching gifts alone. For many donors, including these two Aggie couples, matching gifts present a more attainable way to reach the $25,000 threshold required to create an endowment — a permanent gift the Foundation invests that annually supports your passion area at Texas A&M.

Aggies Maximize Chevron Match for Three Endowed Scholarships

Kathleen ’99 and Wayne Thomas ’03 have utilized matching gifts with Chevron to create three endowed scholarships. Chevron offers a 1:1 matching rate; however, since the Thomases both work for the company, their gifts delivered more like a 2:2 match.

“Whatever we can do to share and give back, we want to do it,” Wayne explained. “It’s the right thing to do, and positive things come from giving everybody an opportunity.”
 

Both raised in supportive and loving environments, Kathleen and Wayne chose to name two of their endowed scholarships after family members. The Dr. James R. Fay Memorial Southerland Aggie Leader Scholarship is named after Kathleen’s father, while the TJ Franklin Memorial Aggie Ring Scholarship is named after Wayne’s grandfather. Both men were great examples of leading and serving others.

The Thomases first met on campus at Texas A&M University at Galveston, where Kathleen majored in marine biology and Wayne majored in maritime administration. Inspired by their experiences, their third endowment, the Kathleen ’99 and Wayne Thomas ’03 Endowed Scholarship, will perpetually support undergraduate students at the Galveston campus studying their same respective majors.

While both Wayne and Kathleen were influenced by the generation before them, they’re also mindful about the next generation who will lead. “It’s humbling to take a step back from our day-to-day lives and realize the impact the next generation is having. We want to break down barriers and drive progress for them,” Wayne reflected.
 

The Thomases decided that using matching gifts to create endowments was the most practical giving method for them. “With matching gifts, you can make a much larger impact than you could on your own,” Wayne explained. “Whenever people join together to multiply their impact on others, they make the world a better place.”

Thirteen Years Later, This Matched Endowment Still Benefits Aggies 

Andy Beakey ’84 first learned about matching gifts through his career with Ernst and Young (EY), where he served as a tax partner for 25 years before retiring. His wife, Denise ’86, was 100% on board with giving back to Texas A&M.

“Education is what’s going to propel us to find new ways to solve problems,” she said. “Giving a donation to education is like providing a stair step toward that process.”

In 2013, Andy and Denise decided to maximize those stair steps for students by utilizing matching funds through EY to create the Beakey Family Scholarship, an endowment that provides scholarships to students in the Professional Program in Accounting at Mays Business School. To date, 11 students have received their scholarship.
 

Kathryn Jacobs ’24, now an audit associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, recounted, “The Beakey Family Scholarship reduced my financial burden during my last year of college and allowed me to focus on passing all four sections of the CPA exam.”

Andy and Denise were very purposeful with naming their endowment, choosing to leave out their first names so others in the Beakey family can seamlessly continue adding to the scholarship for years to come.

“Giving back is a powerful concept to pass on,” Andy said. “And with an endowment, everything compounds over time.”