Thrilling giving
By James Addis, World Vision U.S.
Having gotten to a point in life where he had some extra money, Pat Schlight, 46, felt a moral obligation to use some of his resources to help people who are desperately poor.
Pat is a senior director at Microsoft. What makes the prospect of giving even more compelling for him is the fact that Microsoft matches employee donations to charitable organizations.
That means for every dollar Pat gives to World Vision, Microsoft also gives a dollar -- up to $12,000.
A firsthand look at our work
Having sponsored children with World Vision for many years, Pat says it was natural that he should consider the organization when deciding where to direct his donations. That feeling only strengthened when he made a trip to Zambia in Southern Africa a few years ago to see some of the World Vision's work.
Among the projects that impressed him was an irrigation initiative that pumped water from Lake Kariba to irrigate land for farmers living in poverty in Sinazongwe. That meant women no longer had to walk half a mile to lug water from the lake themselves. It also led to an exponential increase in the amount of land that could be cultivated.
World Vision also helped farmers fence the land so that it would no longer be trampled by wandering hippos emerging from the lake. "Men no longer have to spend their nights on watch, keeping the hippos at bay," Pat says.
'I have trust in World Vision'
Moreover, Pat was struck by World Vision's local staff members, whom he discovered were well respected and deeply involved in the communities they serve. This inevitably gave them great insight into what communities really needed and what projects were appropriate.
"I have trust in World Vision to be able to pick the right projects, be able to efficiently spend the dollars for it, and to have it deliver sustainable results," he says.
Pat says that having Microsoft match his contributions just makes it all the more exciting to donate. He urges all World Vision donors to check out whether their employer has or could start a matching gift program. "It's an absolute no-brainer. If they can have their company match, it just does more good."
He adds that matching gift programs should also appeal to business owners. "This is a great employee benefit. It will help you retain your best employees, and it will make them feel great about working for your company," he says.
Get involved
Double your impact at no extra cost to you, just like Pat did! Find out whether your company will match your donations to World Vision.