In-kind match
Match value contributed as goods, space, equipment or staff time rather than money. It has to be valued by a stated method and documented, and many programs cap how much of a match it may cover.
Part of the GrantTrove grant funding glossary — one entry for every field the catalogue stores.
Also called In-kind contribution · Soft match · Non-cash match
In detail
In-kind is where a match requirement becomes reachable for small organisations, and also where applications get rejected after the fact. Donated professional time is normally valued at what the work is worth, volunteer time at a published general rate, and donated space at documented market rent — but the valuation method is the program’s to set, not the applicant’s.
The documentation burden is the part that surprises people. An in-kind match that cannot be evidenced at closeout can be disallowed, which converts a match into a cash liability after the money has been spent.
Because the rules are stated in prose and vary by program, we store the program’s own wording rather than a normalised percentage. There is no field that can carry "volunteer time at the independent-sector rate, professional services at documented market value, no capital equipment".
Against a cash match
In-kind is valued; cash is spent. A program may accept both, accept only one, or accept in-kind up to a limit — and the limit is the number that decides whether an award is takeable. Neither form is stored as a percentage on our side, because both live inside a sentence the source wrote and reducing that sentence loses the rule.
How GrantTrove stores it
- The match note keeps the source’s wording intact, so a cap on in-kind survives into the record instead of being flattened into the headline percentage.
- Where a program requires a match but does not say whether in-kind counts, the record shows the requirement and the silence, not a guess about which is allowed.
Common questions
Does volunteer time always count?
No. Some programs exclude it entirely, some accept it at a published rate, and some accept only professional services. The program decides, and the record carries what the program said.
Can I value donated space myself?
Only by the method the program states. Self-assessed valuations are the most common cause of disallowed match at closeout.
Is in-kind easier than cash?
Easier to find and harder to keep. It costs nothing up front and can be disallowed later, at which point the shortfall becomes cash.