Have you ever wished that you could wave a magic wand and increase your donations? That’s basically how it works when you leverage Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro, Soapbox Engage’s new partner in matching gifts.
What are matching gifts, you ask? A matching gift is a donation made by a company to a nonprofit that an employee of said company has already donated to. So instead of one donation, your organization gets two!
In this article we are going to teach you:
- All about matching gifts
- How to market matching gifts
- How to revolutionize your matching gift efforts
Let’s get started!
{loadposition blog-ad-general}1. All about matching gifts
Matching gifts are the BOGO deal of fundraising, and the process for collecting them is actually very simple. It breaks down as follows:
- Donor makes a contribution
- Donor submits matching gift request to their employer
- Employer verifies gift qualifies for a match
- Employer confirms with the nonprofit that the donation was made as reported
- Employer sends a matching donation to the nonprofit!
The most vulnerable step of this process is number 2. The biggest hurdle to collecting matching gifts is lack of donor awareness, which poses a problem when the matching gift request must be submitted by the donors themselves.
In fact, companies often set funds aside for corporate philanthropy when designing their annual budgets, so we’ve been able to research exactly what this lack of awareness means: $4 - 7 billion in matching gift revenue is left on the table each year.
Now before we move onto solving the problem of this knowledge gap between donors and matching gifts, let’s talk about what goes into a matching gift program.
Each company sets its own matching gift guidelines. However, the elements that make up these guidelines are always the same.
- Match ratio: The match ratio defines how much a company will donate compared to the employee’s initial contribution. The most common match ratio is 1:1, a direct match. However, companies will sometimes offer a reduced match of .5:1 or an extremely generous match, we’ve seen up to 5:1.
- Minimum and maximum: The minimum here refers to the amount of the donation, while the maximum actually indicates the amount of the match. Let’s say an employee donates $1,000. If their company offers a 2:1 match and a $1,000 maximum, the maximum actually trumps the match ratio. The matching gift will be $1,000, a 1:1 match.
- Employment status: Often the match that an employee qualifies for will be affected by their level of employment at the company. For example, part-time employees at Gap, Inc. qualify for a $1,000 maximum, while Senior VPs qualify for a $10,000 maximum.
- Nonprofit eligibility: Some companies will specify different match specifications based on the type of nonprofit donated to. For example, ExxonMobil offers a 3:1 match for donations made to educational institutions and a 1:1 match for donations made to arts and cultural organizations.
- Deadlines: Every matching gift program designates a deadline by which matching gift requests must be submitted by. The most common deadlines are the last day of the year and Tax Day, but some programs specify a threshold (90 days after the initial donation) rather than a firm date.
Understanding those elements is a great first step toward truly mastering matching gifts. The second step is making sure to encourage as many donors as possible to submit those requests, which brings us to our next lesson: marketing.
2. How to market matching gifts
The best thing you can do for your organization’s matching gift program is market this incredible opportunity to your donors. It’s almost worth considering this marketing push to be the true first step in the matching gift process we detailed above.
When a donor knows that their gift will be matched, they are 84% more likely to donate. Plus, just mentioning matching gifts in your fundraising appeals increases response rate by 71% and increases the average donation amount by 51%.
The first thing that we recommend each organization do to increase matching gifts is create a dedicated matching gifts page. This is a page on your website that can house all the information a donor would need about matching gifts.
You can include a breakdown of the process, a simple definition of what matching gifts are, an explanation of what exactly you’re asking for-- which is a few extra minutes and no extra dollars.
You want to present matching gift information simply and clearly to your donors in a way that encourages them to take the necessary steps toward delivering a matching gift.
A matching gift search tool is another great aspect of a dedicated matching gift page. By providing a way for donors to find out if they are match-eligible right then and there, you can maintain the donors momentum toward making their initial contribution and requesting that matching gift.
Plus, by having a page on your main website for matching gifts, you can transform casual visitors to your website into active donors.
Check out this example from the ASPCA. Notice how they keep their matching gift information simple and easy to understand.
Another great way to market matching gifts is through social media. Fast, digestible calls to action that encourage your donors to find out if they are eligible for matching gifts can be very impactful.
Check out these examples of matching gift marketing through social media.
When you have dedicated match pages, you can link back to it in all of your communications. No matter how many tweets, Facebook posts, or LinkedIn articles you share, you can always link back to that matching gifts page where donors can search for their own match-eligibility.
And finally, there is always the good old-fashioned email. Emails provide a slightly more intimate and more targeted way of communicating with your audience. Use this outreach to define matching gifts for your direct audience.
Once you’ve piqued the reader’s interest in the email, link them back to that matching gifts page on your website. Your main goal should be enlightening as many donors as possible to their own match-eligibility.
Below is a great example of an email focused on matching gifts from the National Kidney Foundation. It’s eye-catching, direct, and simple for a donor to read and then click through to the matching gifts page.
Now that you’ve seen these stellar examples of how to spread the word to your audience about matching gifts, you’re almost ready to revolutionize your revenue. There’s just one more thing…
{loadposition blog-ad-general-2}3. Revolutionize your matching gift efforts
The final lesson we’ll go over today is also the most effective. If you want to raise your matching gift revenue, it all comes down to the software you’re using.
Soapbox Engage prides itself on working with amazing partners to further our clients’ missions, so it should come as no surprise that we’ve partnered with Double the Donation to provide their great matching gift software, 360MatchPro.
360MatchPro completely removes the need for a matching gifts agent within your organization. It completely automates the process of discovering, tracking, and following up with match-eligible donors.
When a donor makes a donation, they are presented with a streamlined matching gift search tool right there on the form. The tool is tucked right beneath the contact information fields, so it can’t be missed.
Once the donation has been made, the donor will be sent emails automatically. If their employer has been identified, they will be sent their company-specific matching gift guidelines. If the employer has not been identified, the donor will be sent an email encouraging to search for their employer’s guidelines.
An organization no longer needs to keep track of a manually updated excel spreadsheet. Donations will be automatically marked as match-eligible or ineligible, and the follow-up is taken care of.
We’ve built an integration that can be turned on automatically within the Donations app in your Soapbox Engage account. When you sign up for 360MatchPro, you gain access to all of that automation as well as the matching gift search tool that we recommend including on your dedicated matching gifts tool.
This search tool leverages Double the Donation’s extensive matching gift database, which includes over 20,000 parent companies, subsidiaries, and spelling variations so that not a single matching gift opportunity slips through the cracks.
Takeaway: Matching gifts are an incredible opportunity for your organization and for your donors. Remember that you are providing an opportunity to work together with your donor to further your organization’s mission without having to ask your donor for more of their hard-earned dollars.
With our new 360MatchPro integration, increasing matching gift revenue is easier than ever. We partnered with the best because we want to help our clients do the most good as possible. Now it’s time to turn on the integration, follow the above tips, and watch the matching gifts roll in!
Want to start doubling your donations with Soapbox and 360MatchPro? Contact us to learn more!
Free Matching Gifts Webinar: Thursday, May 23rd from 1 - 1:45 pm
To learn more about boosting your fundraising through a matching gift program, join us for Employee Matching Gifts: Tips and Tricks for Boosting Revenue, a free webinar featuring our good friends at Double the Donation, on Thursday, May 23rd at 1 pm ET.
Donations
Events
Petitions
Forms
Shop
Directories