Giving Tuesday is a huge day for nonprofit fundraisers all over the board. You’re leveraging the holiday spirit and kicking off your year-end fundraising. Donors are excited to participate in this worldwide day of giving and make an impact on a cause they care about.
If you’re looking for ways to maximize your Giving Tuesday success this year, matching gifts might be just the solution you need. That’s why we’ve written this handy guide to help your nonprofit team prepare as Giving Tuesday approaches! In order to drive matching gift revenue, consider the following best practices:
- Begin promoting matching gifts beforehand.
- Incorporate matching gifts in your campaign page.
- Embed a company search widget in your online donation form.
- Follow up with donors after Giving Tuesday is over.
Whether you have a plan in place to drive matching gifts on a regular basis or you’re seeking to implement corporate gift matching into your fundraising strategy for the first time, these tried-and-true tips can help maximize your revenue. Let’s get started!
1. Begin promoting matching gifts beforehand.
For the best matching gift results, you’ll want to incorporate employer giving in a range of marketing tactics, including both print and digital materials leading up to Giving Tuesday. To get started, we suggest reaching supporters through the following channels:
- Social media
- Direct mail
- Nonprofit website
According to matching gift research from Double the Donation, 84% of survey participants indicated that they’d be more likely to give if their donation was being matched by their employer. As such, informing supporters about these powerful and widely available giving opportunities is a great way to encourage on-the-fence donors to take the leap to become a donor.
The earlier you begin promoting matching gifts, the more well-acquainted your audience will be with this type of giving, and the more likely they’ll be to participate!
2. Incorporate matching gifts in your campaign page.
Although there are a ton of ways to market matching gifts to your supporters, making the most of existing Giving Tuesday resources is one of the most effective ways to go.
More than likely, your organization has (or plans to build) a Giving Tuesday-specific campaign page on your website. That’s where donors will be going to find out more about how to support your nonprofit on this day of giving and it will likely receive a ton of traffic leading up to and on the big day. That means it’s the perfect place to promote matching gifts!
To do so, consider incorporating a prominent section dedicated to matching gifts on this page. We suggest including the following types of information:
- Top companies with particularly generous matching gift programs
- Common matching gift guidelines
- How to determine if a company offers a gift matching program
- General processes for requesting a match from an employer
Then, be sure to link back to this resource when promoting your matching gift and Giving Tuesday efforts throughout the channels mentioned above.
3. Embed a company search widget in your online donation form.
Surely you want to set your organization up for Giving Tuesday (and long-term) success with an optimized donation form. But did you know that this can also be one of the most important tools for driving matching gifts?
Your team can do so as effortlessly as possible by embedding an easy-to-use online company search tool within your donation form. When donors reach this search widget on your form, they’re prompted to enter their employer’s name. Then, they’ll be met with relevant information about that company’s giving programs on the confirmation page as soon as they’ve submitted their gift. This includes:
- Donation minimum and maximum thresholds
- Match ratios
- Types of eligible organizations
- Types of eligible employees
- Request deadlines
Donors are typically at their highest level of engagement while completing your online donation form. That means it’s a great time to encourage them to research their matching gift eligibility and, perhaps, request a match!
With all of this information available through a comprehensive matching gift database of employer information, it’s extremely simple for your fundraising team to implement.
4. Follow up with donors after Giving Tuesday is over.
One of the most critical components of any successful fundraising strategy happens after the donation is made and the campaign is over. Giving Tuesday is no different—especially when it comes to matching gifts.
Although many donors will have likely requested a match from their employer already, it’s not too late to encourage the rest to take the next step. In the days and weeks following Giving Tuesday, be sure to send out follow-up communications to your donors (particularly those you’ve determined are expected to be match-eligible).
You can even choose to automate this critical follow-up process by investing in a matching gift automation tool. This software will simply scan your fundraising data, determine donor eligibility, and trigger personalized email messages to drive additional matches.
Then, be sure to thank your matching gift donors for going above and beyond a typical gift and making a larger impact on your mission. Remember, Giving Tuesday is a great time to initiate relationships with new supporters, but following up lays the foundation for long-term support.
The vast majority of nonprofits are missing out on potential revenue available through corporate giving. By investing in matching gift tools and strategies, you can equip your team with what you need to make the most of these powerful business partnerships—on Giving Tuesday, throughout the year-end fundraising season, and long into the future. Happy fundraising!
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