How a nonprofit judges a match requirement
A match requirement is the field most often misread, because the absence of one looks identical to a “no” unless the database is careful about the difference.
What goes wrong
A record whose match field reads “Not stated” tells you the source did not address it. We deliberately do not render that as “no match needed”, because that is a claim the funder never made and one an applicant can act on.
A 1:1 match that accepts in-kind contribution is a different obligation from one requiring cash. Sources state this inconsistently and usually in prose, so the clause is worth reading in full on the funder’s page.
Committing match usually needs approval on a slower cycle than the application. Discovering the requirement late converts a viable programme into a missed one.
What to do instead
Treat the match field as three states rather than two, and settle the third on the funder’s page before it reaches a budget. We can show you exactly what the source did and did not say — including that it said nothing.
Browse open records for nonprofits →Step by step
Read the field, and read which of the three states it is in
Required, not required, or unstated. Our schema stores the third as null and carries no default, precisely so it cannot collapse into the second.
Open the source page for the ratio and what counts
Where a ratio is published we show the source’s own wording. What is accepted as match — cash, in-kind, other federal funds — is usually only in the notice.
Price the match before the award
A programme whose match you cannot raise is not a smaller award; it is not an award. This is the question to settle before writing.
Take the requirement to whoever approves it, early
The approval cycle is usually the long pole. The planner will work the writing back from the deadline; the board calendar is the part it cannot see.
Questions
Why do you show “Not stated” instead of “No”?
Because they are different facts. “No” is a statement by the funder; “Not stated” is a statement about the source page. Rendering the second as the first would put a claim in the funder’s mouth.
Does in-kind contribution usually count?
Sometimes, and it varies by programme. We publish the source’s own wording where it states one and do not generalise across programmes, because the rule is set per notice.
Can I filter for programmes with no match requirement?
You can filter for records that state match is not required. Records that stated nothing are a separate group and are not folded into that filter.