| Important Information on Matching Gifts to the John Purdue Club
Corporate Matching Gifts Are a Great Way to Increase Your Giving Power!
The John Purdue Club is pleased to accept matching gifts from bona fide employer(s) of our members(s).  To determine if your employer matches gifts to Athletics, please contact your company’s human resource department as policies vary from one company to another. For instance, some corporations will only match gifts for certain purposes and may not match a gift to the John Purdue Club or Intercollegiate Athletics. Please be aware that the employer establishes matching gift guidelines and reserves the right to modify or suspend their matching program. Therefore, your company’s matching gift policy may reflect something different now than in past years. The donor must obtain and submit completed matching gift forms to Purdue for processing and is responsible for ensuring that all matching gift funds arrive in a timely fashion. The donor is ultimately responsible for the entire pledge amount, both the personal and the match portions, in the event that the employer fails to pay any or all of the match.
What Is Your Company ACTUALLY Matching?
Another concept that is important to understand is that employers will only match the portion of a gift that is tax-deductible. The tax-deductible portion of any gift is 80% of the gift after the value of any quid pro quo (tangible benefits received because of the donation) has been removed. All John Purdue Club members receive a tangible benefit in the form of a subscription to Gold & Black Illustrated (which is currently valued at $54).
Let's look at an example! Say Boilermaker Bob works for Acme Widgets and they match on a 1:1 basis. Bob wants to be a member at the First Team level so he donates $100, assuming Acme will match with another $100 -- thus making him a First Team member. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Here's the math the good folks in Acme's human resources department would do before writing the check for the matching gift:
Boilermaker Bob's Portion of his gift to John Purdue Club |
$100 |
(Bob assumes his gift will be matched dollar for dollar.) |
Minus value of any tangible benefits received by Boilermaker Bob for being a John Purdue Club member |
$54 |
(Cost of Gold & Black Illustrated subscription.) |
Actual value of Bob's Gift |
$46 |
(Original gift, less the cost of the subscription.) |
Tax-deductible portion (80%) of the actual value of Bob's gift |
$36.80 |
(THIS is the amount Acme Widgets will match!) |
Boilermaker Bob's ultimate gift to the John Purdue Club |
$136.80 |
($100 from Bob + $36.80 from Acme Widgets) |
As you can from this example, Boilermaker Bob will NOT actually be giving the $200 he thought he was giving (and thus will not receive the benefits and privileges that go with membership at that level). It's important to know how much your company is really matching so that you receive membership at the level you desire.
To this end, we've created the table below, which calculates the amount a donor should donate to ensure membership at any level (factoring in the automatic Gold & Black Illustrated tangible benefit and 80% of the remainder which is tax deductible.)
John Purdue Club Matching Gift Table
Membership Level |
Value |
Suggested Donor Gift |
Company Match |
Total |
Champion |
$15,650.00 |
$8,800.00 |
$6,996.80 |
$15,796.80 |
Olympian |
$7,500.00 |
$4,200.00 |
$3,370.80 |
$7,570.80 |
All-American |
$2,500.00 |
$1,420.00 |
$1,092.80 |
$2,512.80 |
MVP |
$1,000.00 |
$585.00 |
$424.80 |
$1,009.80 |
Captain |
$500.00 |
$305.00 |
$200.80 |
$505.80 |
First Team |
$200.00 |
$140.00 |
$68.80 |
$208.80 |
IMPORTANT: This table is prepared assuming your company matches at a 1:1 ratio. If your company matches at a different ratio, you'll need to make different calculations. If you donate at a level above the First Team level and need information on the fair market value of other tangible benefits, contact the John Purdue Club at 800-213-2239. |
