Donation Match Best Practices: How Nonprofits Can Maximize Matching Gifts
Matching gifts are one of the most powerful ways nonprofits can maximize their fundraising efforts, but many organizations overlook the full potential of matching donations. By strategically integrating marketing tactics, collecting employment data, and leveraging technology, you can significantly boost your matching gift revenue. In this post, we’ll explore practical, advanced strategies for nonprofits to implement that will help maximize their matching gift opportunities and increase overall donations.
To help you navigate through these strategies, here’s a quick guide to what we’ll cover:
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Collecting Employment Data for Better Matching Gift Outreach
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Leveraging Tools and Technology to Streamline the Matching Gift Process
Each of these sections dives into actionable strategies, real-world examples, and tools to help your nonprofit make the most of matching gift opportunities. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to improve an existing program, these insights will guide you toward success.
1. Understanding the Basics of Matching Gifts
Before diving into advanced strategies, it’s important to understand the basics of matching gifts. These are donations made by employers to match the charitable contributions of their employees. Most companies match donations at a 1:1 ratio, meaning that for every one dollar an employee donates to your cause, they’ll also donate a dollar. However, other companies, like Chicago Community Trust offer a 3:1 match, making the impact of your donations go even further!
Some companies also set annual per-employee caps that can be quite generous. For example, many Fortune 500 companies will match donations up to $5,000 or even $10,000 per employee per year. This means a single donor’s gift could generate tens of thousands of dollars for your nonprofit when combined with employer contributions.
For many nonprofits, matching gifts can significantly increase revenue, but the key is in knowing how to leverage them effectively. Understanding the basics helps you communicate more clearly with your donors, giving them the confidence to take the extra step of submitting a matching request.
2. Marketing Matching Gifts on Your Website
An often underutilized strategy is marketing matching gifts on your website. Having prominent, easy-to-find information on your website about matching gift opportunities can increase awareness among your donors. Integrating matching gift details on donation pages, thank-you pages, and confirmation emails can encourage more donors to take advantage of matching programs.
Save the Children’s matching gift page is a stellar example of making matching gifts easy to understand and accessible to supporters!
Your nonprofit’s website is often the first and last stop in a donor’s giving journey. If matching gift information is buried or absent, you’re leaving money on the table. Consider:
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Creating a dedicated matching gifts landing page with FAQs, eligibility guidelines, and clear instructions.
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Embedding a searchable employer database directly on your donation page so donors can instantly see if their company participates.
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Adding visuals like charts or infographics to show the impact of matching gifts (e.g., $100 donor gift + $100 employer match = $200 for your mission).
Make sure your donation forms are optimized for matching gift information, and include a call to action such as, “Find out if your company offers matching gifts!” Link to resources and instructions on how donors can submit their matching gift requests. This approach makes it easy for your supporters to take action, thereby increasing the chances of receiving matching donations. If you’re not sure what design or calls to action you’d like to use, you can do some to find the approach that resonates best with your audience.
3. Collecting Employment Data for Better Matching Gift Outreach
One of the most powerful strategies to maximize matching gifts is to collect and utilize employment data. By knowing where your donors work, you can identify matching gift opportunities before your donors do. This allows you to proactively pursue matching gifts, sending donors the right information at the right time to encourage them to request a match for their donation.
Consider adding a question about employment data to your donation forms. This can be as simple as asking for the name of the company the donor works for. From there, you can look up matching gift policies for their employer and follow up with targeted emails or direct communication, helping donors take full advantage of matching gift opportunities.
Beyond donation forms, consider these other ways to collect employment data:
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Volunteer or event registrations: Add an optional employment field to gala tickets, volunteer sign-ups, or walk-a-thon registrations.
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Surveys and stewardship forms: Include a short employment question in post-event surveys.
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LinkedIn research: For major donors, your team can research their publicly listed employer information to spot potential matching opportunities.
The key is not just collecting the data but also maintaining it in a centralized system so it can be used for targeted campaigns.
4. Identifying Matching Gift Opportunities
While collecting employment data is essential, it’s not enough to simply ask for it. Nonprofits should actively use this information to identify matching gift opportunities. Here’s how:
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Understand which companies offer matching gifts: Start by researching companies in your area that offer matching gift programs. Since many of your donors may be local to your area, this is a great way to target your research. You may also look at lists of companies that match donations, or use a matching gift database like Double the Donation’s to further streamline your efforts.
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Monitor participation rates: Reach out to donors who you know are eligible but haven’t yet requested a match. It’s possible they simply didn’t know their company offers a matching gift program, or they might just need a simple nudge to get involved!
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Kick off one-off matches: You might even be able to partner with a company to offer a one-off matching gift opportunity where they exclusively match donations to your organization. This can help you not only identify existing matching gift opportunities, but expand into new ones as well!
The goal is to make matching gifts a proactive, not reactive, part of your fundraising efforts. Many organizations fail to capture available matches because they wait for donors to initiate the process. A proactive stance ensures fewer missed opportunities.
5. Effective Matching Gift Campaigns: Examples and Best Practices
When planning a matching gift campaign, it’s essential to get creative and proactive. Here are a few successful strategies that nonprofits can apply:
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Segment your donor list: Identify your highest potential match-eligible donors, such as those with large donations or those from companies that match gifts at a higher rate, like Chicago Community Trust that we highlighted before. Prioritize your communication to these segments, and reach out with personalized messages.
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Set a clear matching goal: Let your donors know the specific matching goal for your campaign, whether it’s a dollar amount or a number of matching gifts. This can create a sense of urgency and encourage more donations.
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Celebrate matches: Celebrate each time a donor’s gift is matched. Not only does this show progress towards your goal, but it also encourages others to follow suit.
For inspiration, take a look at these top examples of matching gift marketing.
Other best practices include:
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Using storytelling to highlight donor impact. For example, share a short video of a donor whose gift was matched and the difference it made.
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Running time-bound “matching gift weeks” or “double your impact days” to create urgency.
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Featuring corporate partners who support your nonprofit with matching gifts in newsletters or social media to motivate others.
6. Integrating Matching Gifts into Your Year-End Campaigns
Matching gifts are a particularly powerful tool during year-end campaigns, when donors are most generous. Consider dedicating a specific portion of your year-end campaign to matching gift awareness.
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Include matching gift prompts in year-end emails: Include clear calls to action regarding matching gifts in your year-end appeal emails. Make sure your messaging is focused on the impact matching gifts can have on your fundraising goals.
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Partner with employers: Reach out to companies during the holiday season to see if they would be willing to promote matching gifts to their employees, further extending the reach of your campaign.
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Promote via social media: Use social media platforms to spread the word about matching gift opportunities, including testimonials from donors who’ve had their gifts matched.
Because year-end giving is so deadline-driven, it’s critical to simplify the process for donors. Include direct links to employer portals, step-by-step instructions, and even short graphics that explain the process. The easier you make it, the more likely donors are to complete their match before the year closes.
7. Leveraging Tools and Technology to Streamline the Matching Gift Process
One of the most effective ways to increase matching gifts is to implement tools and technologies that streamline the process. Matching gift service providers offer solutions that help automate donor identification, match tracking, and follow-up.
By using a matching gift tool, nonprofits can instantly identify eligible donors, track their progress, and send targeted communications to encourage them to take advantage of matching gift opportunities. These tools allow you to scale your efforts without increasing the workload of your team, making it easier to implement many of the strategies discussed here quickly and efficiently.
8. Forming Corporate Partnerships for Matching Gift Success
Strong relationships with corporate partners can significantly boost matching gift revenue. By building partnerships with businesses in your donor base, you can create mutually beneficial programs that encourage corporate giving.
Consider establishing relationships with companies to promote matching gifts internally to their employees. Offering recognition, such as featuring top matching donors on your website or in marketing materials, can motivate more companies to engage with your nonprofit. You may also want to explore co-branding opportunities or matching gift challenges.
Long-term partnerships can also lead to expanded benefits beyond matching gifts, such as volunteer grant programs, payroll giving, and corporate sponsorships. When a company sees your nonprofit as a trusted partner, they’re more likely to deepen their support in multiple ways.
Next Steps
Maximizing matching gift donations requires a comprehensive approach that includes marketing tactics, proactive outreach, and leveraging technology. By implementing these advanced strategies, nonprofits can increase their matching gift revenue, reach more donors, and build stronger relationships with their corporate partners.
Remember, matching gift tools can help streamline much of the work involved in identifying eligible donors and following up with them. These tools allow nonprofits to scale their matching gift efforts without increasing administrative burden, helping you raise more money for your cause.
By following these strategies and using the resources available to you, your nonprofit can increase matching donations and ultimately reach your fundraising goals faster.
The bottom line: matching gifts are not just a “nice to have.” They are a proven way to unlock hidden funding, engage donors more deeply, and strengthen corporate relationships. By taking intentional steps today, you can set your organization up for greater success as the landscape continues to evolve.
