Generous employees of the General Electric Co. can now double their donations to the IEEE Foundation, thanks to the recently enhanced GE Foundation's Matching Gifts Program.

The GE Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the company, will match its employees' and retirees' contributions of US $25 or more to any of the more than 100 funds within the IEEE Foundation. The dollar-for-dollar match can reach a maximum of $50 000 per individual for a single calendar year.

The IEEE Foundation supports programs that promote education and technological literacy, foster technological innovation, and preserve the history of engineering. Contributions to the foundation total almost $2 million annually.

Designating the IEEE Foundation to receiving matching gifts is simple, points out Karen Galuchie, the IEEE's development and grants officer for the foundation. Donors simply register their gift on the GE Foundation Matching Gift Web site at http://www.gefoundation.com/matchinggifts.

Each year, the GE Foundation matches more than $18 million in charitable gifts. Altogether, the GE Foundation will match gifts from a single person to any number of charities up to the $50 000 maximum. Revamped in May, GE's matching gifts program had not previously applied to single donations. Until then, at least 10 GE donors had to give a total of $1 000 to the same charity for their donations to be matched. Now the new guidelines will match a GE employee's or retiree's gift of at least $25 to organizations that include universities, hospitals, museums, and environmental groups.

For a list of other companies that match gifts to the IEEE Foundation, visit http://www.ieeefoundation.org.