Maximise impact: A guide to matched giving for employers
Learn the business benefits of matching employee donations, how to set up matched funding and promote it to incentivise your employees to give and make a greater impact.
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Corporate giving
For businesses committed to making more of a meaningful impact, earning a Payroll Giving Quality Mark (PGQM) award is a powerful way to demonstrate purpose, set clear charitable goals and gain recognition. In today’s competitive landscape, clients, partners and employees increasingly value organisations that actively live their values and give back to the communities they operate in.
Whether your business is launching a payroll giving scheme or aiming to elevate your current award level, this guide supports HR, CSR and engagement teams plan a strategy to achieve their desired PGQM award.
The PGQM is a government-backed accreditation awarded to UK employers who offer a payroll giving scheme. It recognises efforts to promote charitable giving through payroll giving, increase employee participation and build a culture of generosity. There are five award levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond.
Your organisation can qualify for the standard Payroll Giving Quality Mark by offering a payroll giving scheme, such as Give As You Earn (GAYE).
But, to qualify for an award you must have at least 1% of your
employees actively donating through your scheme. The awards are based on
annual participation rates – the percentage of your entire UK-based
workforce that give through the scheme. One point is given per
percentage of employee uptake, capped at a max of 30 (for 30%).
Explore ways to use events or digital campaigns to promote payroll giving in our Give As You Earn Activation Kit.
| Points | Award level |
| 1-10 | Bronze |
| 11-20 | Silver |
| 21-30 | Gold |
| 31-40 | Platinum |
| 41+ | Diamond |
Start planning early so you know which internal teams to involve, what your strategy will be and when to put it into action.
July is when the payroll giving awards are announced, and certificates are distributed by the member organisations under the Association of Payroll Giving Organisations (APGO).
Payroll giving agencies (including CAF) typically send out PGQM surveys
via email around April each year. This is to find out if your
organisation has run any promotional activities and to gather an updated
employee headcount. At this time, the main contact for your payroll
giving scheme will need to submit details about how your business has
been doing against the scoring criteria over the last financial year.
If
you work with a Professional Fundraising Organisation (PFO) they will
submit this information on your behalf. Learn more about PFO’s in our guide.
Based on 2025 PGQM results for businesses using our GAYE scheme, Financial Services led the way — followed by Media, Tech, Telecoms, Professional Services and Government. Gold awards saw the biggest rise since 2024.
While average employee participation was 5.39%, Diamond-level organisations reached 48%. It is encouraging to see that more employers are now matching donations, covering fees and running both digital and in-person promotions — key to building an engaged giving culture and earning higher-level awards.
Explore which companies earned one of the five PGQM award levels through GAYE this year, here.
Recognition is worth celebrating—and sharing it widely helps to boost morale and encourage more of your people to get involved in giving.
If you would like support to start or enhance your payroll giving scheme, or to aim for a higher PGQM award level through CAF’s GAYE scheme, our Corporate Client team is here to help.
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Learn the business benefits of matching employee donations, how to set up matched funding and promote it to incentivise your employees to give and make a greater impact.
This hub provides a range of resources and tools to help you engage with your employees to donate through your CAF Give As You Earn scheme.
Learn how your business can empower your employees to give, through flexible fundraising options, matched donations, and simplified processes.