It’s hard to believe that we’re almost halfway through 2021 – and that it may already be time to evaluate and revamp your first quarter’s fundraising strategies. As you think about new ways to spice up your campaign, consider leveraging corporate philanthropy programs like employer matching gifts.
With its widespread benefits, matching gift programs could be the key to achieving your fundraising goals this year. In fact, there are over 18 million individuals who work for companies with employer matching gift programs, meaning many of your donors might be eligible for doubled donations.
We’re happy to share the best practices to incorporate matching gifts into your fundraising strategy, including:
- Increasing actionable steps for donors to drive more matches to completion.
- Leveraging donor data to supplement your strategy.
- Incorporating matching gifts into your fundraising campaigns and events to engage donors.
- Utilizing matching gift automation software to maximize efficiency and minimize strain on your organization’s team.
Let’s jump in!
Aim for Actionable Steps to Drive Matches to Completion
Once donors learn about matching gift programs, many feel empowered to contribute more to the causes they care about. But the process of discovering eligibility and submitting a donation to be matched to their employer can be a complicated and confusing process. Minimize this pain point for donors by providing abundant educational materials on matching gifts on a variety of channels.
To better explain matching gifts, you can:
- List typical matching gift steps on a matching gifts explainer page on your website.
- Mail out informational materials about corporate philanthropy.
- Highlight key matching gift statistics in your educational resources.
Your organization can also make a point of providing donors with clear, guided steps to submit a matching gift request to their employer post-contribution in the form of an automated email or other call-to-action. This can resolve any donor confusion while empowering your supporters to double eligible donations!
Leverage Donor Data to Supplement your Strategy
On to strategy number 2: leveraging donor data. Collecting your donors’ employer information can help identify which donors are eligible for matching gifts – and then enable your organization to more narrowly target communications to match-eligible donors. For example, you can send out an email campaign to all match-eligible donors encouraging them to make their next gift go twice as far without even reaching back into their wallet.
You can also keep tabs on the top donors who give regularly or the highest value donations and reach out to them with personalized matching gift messages.Knowing which of your top donors might be able to double their donation is vital information when planning your matching gift campaign – so make sure you know which high-value supporters might qualify for a matching gift program.
We also recommend studying-up on companies with the top matching gift programs and targeting communications towards donors based on their employer data. Check out this resource which outlines which companies offer the best matching gift programs in the country! Because each company offers different parameters around matching gifts (i.e. differing maximums and minimums), it can be pivotal to know this information when conducting donor outreach.
Incorporate Matching Gifts into your Fundraising Campaigns and Events
What better time to market matching gifts to donors than during high-traffic events or campaigns that your organization is hosting? 84% of individuals are more likely to make a donation if they know their gift will be matched and 1 in 3 donors indicated that they would give a higher gift if their donation is eligible for matching. Donors value the opportunity to double their impact on the causes they care about and often feel more inspired to give after learning they are eligible for corporate matching programs.
If your organization has spent time analyzing the success of past online fundraising campaigns, you surely know how difficult it can be to stand-out to donors and encourage donations in crowded virtual spaces. The good news is that matching gift information often peaks donor interest. In fact, email communications containing information about matching gifts have a 53% open rate, which is 2-3 times higher than the average nonprofit email open rate! Your campaign can stand out and garner attention by virtue of emphasizing matching gifts.
You can include matching gift info in campaign newsletters, on social media, on a dedicated campaign or event page, and in your email outreach to maximize impact. Including educational materials in your fundraising communications can result in engaged donors and doubled donations in no time.
Utilize Matching Gift Automation Software to Reduce Strain on your Organization’s Time and Resources
This simplest and most efficient way to implement these matching gift strategies is to leverage matching gift automation software. The 360MatchPro by Double the Donation and RaiseDonors integration can help your organization reach its goals by maximizing matching gift revenue. This integration allows the donor to discover their matching gift eligibility directly within RaiseDonors’ donation forms, helps track essential donor data like employer information and matching gift submission status, and manages follow-ups with donors to make your campaign and event fundraising a success for everyone.
No matter how your campaign strategies are progressing in 2021, employer matching gift programs are a great way to engage donors, increase donations and meet fundraising goals. Have fun implementing these matching gift strategies and prepare to double eligible donations!
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.
To learn more about Double the Donation, visit https://doublethedonation.com and request a demo at https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/.
