How to Increase Your Corporate Matching Gifts Revenue This Year
Nonprofit organizations and other fundraising groups are constantly on the lookout for new and improved ways to collect funding for their respective causes. One key fundraising trend that you should hop on if you haven’t already? Corporate matching gifts.
Matching gift programs are offered by tens of thousands of companies as a way to engage staff, improve brand reputation, and produce social impact. However, huge amounts of funding made available through these programs go unclaimed each year. As a result, your organization is likely missing out on powerful opportunities to raise even more for your cause.
In this guide, we’ll walk through three essential ways that your team can increase corporate matching gifts this year and beyond. We recommend that you:
- Launch a matching gift awareness campaign.
- Integrate matching gifts into your online giving experience.
- Follow up with match-eligible donors post-transaction.
When qualifying individuals contribute to the nonprofit organizations that they care about, they’re able to request corporate matching gifts from their employers. That essentially provides your team with access to a powerful “buy one, get one free” sale on charitable donations that amplifies giving impact with ease.
Ready to find out how you can promote participation in these programs and drive more revenue to your organization’s bottom line? Let’s begin.
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1. Launch a matching gift awareness campaign
One of the most prominent obstacles facing matching gift participation is a simple lack of awareness. According to Double the Donation’s matching gift research, over 26 million individuals qualify for corporate matching through their employers. Yet 78% of this group has no idea that their companies offer such initiatives.
Thus, despite being eligible for matching gifts, these individuals are not likely to participate due to a lack of knowledge about the programs in the first place. That’s why we recommend launching a matching gift awareness campaign to close the knowledge gap and inform more match-eligible donors about the opportunities at hand.
An awareness campaign, particularly in regard to corporate matching gifts, can take many forms. This may include:
- Incorporating matching gift information on your nonprofit website (specifically with a dedicated match page, a section on your “ways to give” page, and on your site navigation);
- Leveraging your organization’s social media profiles;
- Using email or SMS blasts;
- Sending postcards or newsletters;
- And more.
We recommend utilizing multiple channels in your efforts to maximize your organization’s reach. In the end, the goal is that as many donors are exposed to the idea of matching gift programs as possible.
2. Integrate matching gifts into your online giving experience
A nonprofit’s supporters are likely at their highest level of engagement while actively completing a donation to the cause. That makes it an excellent chance to promote matching gift opportunities within the online donation process and drive results.
There are a few key ways you can do this:
- Mention matching gift opportunities in your donation appeals. Oftentimes, the giving process begins with a specific ask. Encourage matching from the start by highlighting matching gifts! Previously cited studies by Double the Donation even report that mentioning matching gifts in fundraising appeals results in a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in average donation amount. That means you may see substantially elevated individual giving as well as corporate matches.
- Collect employment information within your giving form. When it comes to identifying match-eligible donations, the most important piece of data is your donors’ employing companies. And one of the best ways to locate this information is simply to ask within your online donation form!
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Supporters already provide ample personal details during this process. What’s one more optional form field to complete? This is especially true when you provide context into its purpose: to locate matching gifts. Once you have this information, you’ll be set to screen for (and pursue) match-eligible donations.
- Provide match eligibility guidelines and the next steps on your confirmation screen. Your organization’s gift confirmation screen is often the first thing a donor sees after clicking “submit” on their transaction. This page is also a key opportunity for providing company-specific matching gift criteria and the next steps once you have their employment data on file.
Typical guidelines include minimum and maximum donation amounts, match ratios, qualifying employees and nonprofits, submission deadlines, and more. Plus, you’ll want to include links to the company’s online request form (and encourage donors to complete the outlined process) when possible.
While an awareness campaign can aid in increasing knowledge about corporate matching gifts (which certainly elevates program usage when it comes to it), promoting the opportunity directly within the donor experience is a great way to drive immediate action. And that intended action is precisely tied to additional fundraising revenue for your cause!
3. Follow up with match-eligible donors post-transaction
Even if an individual clicks away from your donation page without completing their match, you still have an opportunity to re-engage them and encourage them to submit a request. In fact, highlighting available matching programs in digital communications after-the-fact can put your organization back at the top of your donors’ minds for longer.
Here’s a sample email you can use for donors who you’ve marked as likely matching gift-eligible:
“Dear [donor], we are writing to inform you that your recent donation of $[gift amount] to [nonprofit organization] likely qualifies for a corporate match from your employer, [company]. Click here to begin the matching gift process by submitting a match request to your company.”
The more targeted and personalized—with actionable next steps—the better!
At the same time, consider a more generalized follow-up for those whose match eligibility you do not yet know. Take a look at this example:
“[Donor], did you know that millions of people work for companies that match employee donations—including 65% of Fortune 500 companies? Your employer may be among them! Click here to enter your company name and determine whether your recent donation qualifies for a match to stretch your impact even further.”
And if you don’t have the time or the workforce to manually triage donors by match eligibility status and follow up with each individual, consider leveraging match automation software to bring your efforts to the next level while minimizing the administrative lift.
Your nonprofit software (like Keela!) can even integrate directly with a matching gift fundraising platform (like Double the Donation) to streamline this effort and start your donation matching program. Doing so will provide your team the peace of mind of knowing that eligible donations will be followed up with in a timely manner—without worrying about possible matches slipping through the cracks.
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Get a glimpse of how Keela’s software helps nonprofits to increase their fundraising dollars through donation forms integrated with gift-matching options.
Your organization may receive a fair amount of matching gift revenue even without a dedicated strategy for the funding source in place. But you likely have the potential to do substantially more with the programs to maximize impact.
When you take the time to promote matching gift opportunities to your donors using the tips and best practices outlined above, however, you set your nonprofit team up for continued fundraising and corporate matching success. Good luck!
About the author:
Adam Weinger
President, Double the Donation
Adam Weinger is the President of Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift tools to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. Adam created Double the Donation in order to help nonprofits increase their annual revenue through corporate matching gifts and volunteer grant programs.
