By Lawson Harris

 Corporate matching of contributions from members provides significant support for the Arboretum.  Matching gifts programs, in fact, annually provide about as much unrestricted net income as an average plant sale or other major annual fund raiser.  If your gift to the Arboretum is eligible for a match by a present or former employer, please initiate the process that authorizes the match as soon as possible.  The GE Foundation provides a case in point on the procedure related to many matching gift programs.

 The GE Foundation matching process involves five steps:  (1) the eligible contribution, (2) registration of the gift by the donor, (3) a request by GE Foundation that the Arboretum confirm the gift, (4) confirmation by the Arboretum, (5) payment of the match to the Arboretum.  All five steps must be completed before the match is realized in the Arboretum treasury.

 GE Foundation matches are provided quarterly, presumably for contributions confirmed in the preceding quarter, but only for gifts registered in timely fashion.  Contributions in any calendar year must be registered before January 31 of the next year to prevent loss of the match. 

 GE encourages people to use the website rather than the telephone number to register gifts, and quietly changed the number a couple years ago without notifying retirees, who are most likely to use it, but it is available for those without computers and internet connections.

 Act Today, Support Tomorrow
Membership dues, contributions to fund appeals -- and often a fraction of money paid to the Arboretum for fund-raising dinners or other events -- can be matched.  If you are eligible for a GE Foundation match and have not participated in this excellent program, please register your contributions as soon as possible at the GE Foundation website (www.gefoundation.com/matchinggifts) or by telephone at 1-800-305-0669. 

 Whether you work for or are retired from GE or another company, participation in a matching gift program is a sure way to double your generous contribution to the Arboretum and to double your satisfaction at seeing your money work doubly hard. 

 Lawson Harris is a longstanding member of the Arboretum as well as a former Board member and past Treasurer.