3 Undeniably Good Matching Gifts Strategies For Nonprofits

Matching gifts are a phenomenal way to raise funds for your nonprofit. Corporate philanthropy is a growing phenomenon representing a significant opportunity for mission-based nonprofits. From small local organizations to corporate-sized nonprofits, nearly any organization can benefit.

If you’re not already promoting matching gifts throughout your communications, there’s no better time to start than starting now!

In this time of uncertainty, nonprofits can use all the financial support they get, and matching gifts are a great way to secure extra fundraising dollars for charitable organizations. Before discussing the best ways to market these opportunities, let’s quickly recap the basics.

What are matching gifts?

Matching gifts is a corporate giving program where companies commit to matching their employees’ donations to eligible causes. 

While each company has its stipulations, most mission-based causes are eligible. Depending on the rate at which they promise to do this, organizations can potentially double (or even triple!) some of the donations they already receive. 

Here’s a basic rundown of how matching gifts work:

1. An individual makes a gift to your nonprofit. 
2. The donor researches their eligibility for their employers’ program.
3. If eligible, they submit a matching gift request to their employer.
4. The company confirms the donation with your nonprofit.
5. The employer sends a check to your organization.

It’s as simple as that! With all the benefits of matching gifts, you’d be remiss not to promote them to your supporters. With a strategic marketing plan, you can raise awareness and secure more fundraising dollars in no time. So that you can fulfill your matching gift potential, we’ll cover the top avenues for marketing these opportunities, including:

• Your Website
• Text Messaging
• Direct Mail

To nail down the basics before exploring these marketing opportunities, visit 360MatchPro’s complete matching gifts guide for more insight. Otherwise, let’s get started!

1. Your website to leverage matching gifts

Your organization’s website serves as the epicenter of information on your mission. It’s where both prospects and current supporters go to learn more about your work and ultimately decide whether to give to your cause. Because of the traffic you likely see, your nonprofit’s website is the optimal place to add matching gift promotions.

There are multiple key places you should incorporate this language. So that you make the most of your opportunities, let’s walk through a handful of the ways you can efficiently market matching gifts on your website.

Dedicated Matching Gift Page

A web page devoted entirely to matching gifts can be a valuable resource for organizations and their donors. Plus, it may even help to convert casual visitors into donors themselves. After all, 83% of donors say they’re more likely to donate if their employer will match their gift, according to this statistics page!

To take complete advantage of this, be sure to incorporate the following crucial elements when designing your matching gift page:

• A detailed explanation of matching gifts and how they work
• Why matching gifts are beneficial for donors, their companies, and your team’s work
• Key statistics that convey the importance of these philanthropic programs
• An embedded employer search tool so donors have consistent direct access to forms and guidelines
• Your matching gift coordinator’s contact information so that readers can reach out with questions

While these best practices seem great theoretically, they’re even better when implemented. March of Dimes developed a matching gifts page featuring strong imagery and language inviting donors to submit their matches.

Then, they invite donors to research their eligibility using a matching gift search tool. Take a look and jot down some notes for your own website design:

Once you’ve created a comprehensive resource like the one above, feature it prominently across your website, starting with your navigation bar.

Whenever you can, link back to it and encourage donors to research their eligibility. This will maximize your dedicated matching gift page’s visibility and fully educate your donors on their opportunities.

Donation Form

Your donation form may effectively funnel visitors through the donation process and capture all necessary donor data, but what does it accomplish in the way of matching gifts? 

Chances are, your donation page does not currently have any information about matching gifts.

However, 1 in 3 donors indicated that they would increase their donations if they knew it would be matched by their employer, making your donation page an optimal place for marketing matching gifts. As you incorporate matching gifts on your own donation form, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Add a short blurb that explains what matching gifts are.
• Link back to your matching gift page for more information. 
• If you’ve invested in an embeddable matching gift search database, this is a great place to add it!

So that you get a taste of these tips in action, take a look at the example below from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You’ll see that they’ve prominently featured some simple matching gift text paired with a search tool that allows donors to research their employers during the giving process easily:

Short, eye-catching appeals like the one above will work to pique donors’ interest and spark interest in the opportunity. Adding these elements may be just what you need to secure those extra matching gift dollars. 

Bonus Tip: When donors submit their donation, greet them with a proper thank you and encourage them to research their eligibility again. This extra push can get the ball rolling and entice them to enter their employer data. After all, they’ve already given to your cause. Why wouldn’t they want to double their contribution without returning it to their wallet?

Read Also: 3 Actionable Donor Engagement Tips to Boost Revenue and Reduce Churn

2. Text messaging for matching gifts

As of 2019, 96% of the U.S. population owns a cell phone. In other words, if you haven’t invested in texting technology, you’re likely missing out on major donor engagement opportunities and additional revenue. 

If your team already dabbles in text messaging outreach, incorporating matching gifts into your strategy will be a breeze. Extending to this platform enables you to reach donors where they are, boosting their engagement and increasing the likelihood that they’ll look further into their eligibility.

As you start to experiment with marketing matching gifts in your text outreach, try out these tactics and determine what works best for your organization:

• Incorporate compelling imagery. Studies find that engaging content (like a multimedia message) generates conversions 70% of the time, whereas passive content only generates 36% of the time. To take advantage of this, consider adding an image or video that connects with recipients on a deeper level.
  
• Keep it concise. Because of the nature of texting, you’ll want to get straight to the point. Invite donors to look into their eligibility with language such as “Many employers offer matching gift programs that could multiply your donations. We invite you to research your eligibility so that [name of your organization] can continue to [describe your mission].”
  
• Save time by sending out a text blast. Sending a mass text instantly maximizes matching gift visibility. For the best results, segment your supporters first so that you can create highly personalized texts for each group. Check out Doubleknot’s donor segmentation guide to learn about this powerful engagement strategy.

• Connect with donors one-on-one. If you’d like to take a personalized approach, consider hosting a peer-to-peer texting campaign. Backed by a powerful team, your organization can reach out to donors and answer their questions about matching gifts directly.

You can take many routes with marketing matching gifts through text messaging. Experiment with different approaches. Then, refine your strategy by determining which one yields results and best suits your organization’s donors.

3. Direct mail for matching gifts

While digital marketing is always quick and effective, some people don’t respond to internet-based giving and prefer the personal touch of tangible mail instead. Many organizations still raise a substantial portion of their funds through direct mail, so this outreach method isn’t one to be overlooked—even in the digital age! 

Since direct mail is still a viable option for thanking donors and soliciting donations, each type has its place in the matching gift cycle.

Let’s take a look at a few crucial types charitable organizations can consider when marketing matching gifts:

• Solicitation letters. Use letters to remind active donors to research their eligibility and complete the matching gift process. Rather than using language that comes across as a sale (e.g., “Act now to match your gift!”), focus on connecting with them deeper by sharing personal stories that get them invested. Then, please encourage them to research their eligibility by sharing a link to your matching gift page.
  
• Postcards. Whenever a donor submits a generous donation, properly thank them and follow up with a postcard inviting them to research their eligibility. The postcard should feature a short description of matching gifts, contact information, and a link to where recipients can learn more. Overall, aim to keep your postcards short and sweet.
  
• Paper inserts. If you’re running low on time to develop specific matching gift materials, create a small slip of paper to include with all donor mailings, from monthly newsletters to membership welcome packages. Include eye-catching graphics and concise text. Then, direct the reader to where they can learn more. For inspiration, take a look at a strong example of a paper insert from the National Kidney Foundation below:

Takeaways from these matching gifts strategies

Each of the above direct mail options will help you reach a vital segment of donors who respond to direct mail at a much higher rate or don’t frequently use online communications. 

By diversifying your outreach to include these avenues, you’ll spread the word and increase supporters about matching gifts. Remember that postage prices can quickly increase, so research before creating direct mail appeals.

From a matching gift web page to direct mail, there are innumerable ways to market matching gifts to your supporters. You’ll want to use tangible mail with your online outreach for the best results. The key is to incorporate as many avenues as possible to widen your reach and maximize visibility across all facets of your organization.

Take every chance to market matching gifts, no matter how small. Soon, you’ll be well to securing your unclaimed matching gift dollars.

Adam Weinger is the President of Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift tools to nonprofits and educational institutions. Adam created Double the Donation to help nonprofits increase their annual revenue through corporate matching gifts and volunteer grant programs. You can connect with him on LinkedIn

Lakshmi Narayanan

Lakshmi is a marketer and writer for the CallHub blog. She uses targeted content to help campaign managers (in advocacy groups, nonprofits, and political campaigns) connect with their supporters better.