This article goes over why workplace giving matters for both nonprofits and companies.

Why Workplace Giving Matters for Nonprofits + Companies

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Today, companies are diving deep into social good causes in large part due to the rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which reflects a company’s efforts toward improving society. One of the biggest programs to come from CSR is workplace giving.

Workplace giving programs are important to more organizations than just the companies that run them. Nonprofit organizations all over the world benefit from CSR initiatives, with workplace giving at the forefront, raising approximately $5 billion every year. 

Both companies and nonprofits should focus on workplace giving to reap its unique benefits. That’s why we’re going to cover the following topics:

  1. What is workplace giving?
  2. Why workplace giving matters for companies
  3. Why workplace giving matters for nonprofits
  4. Why workplace giving matters for employees
  5. How can companies implement and maintain workplace giving programs?

Workplace giving can have a huge impact on society as a whole, benefiting nonprofits all over the globe. But there’s more to it than that. Let’s get started.

1. What is workplace giving?

Workplace giving is a company-sponsored program that provides its employees with the opportunity to financially support nonprofit organizations.

Through workplace giving, employees can make charitable donations to the nonprofits they care about. 

Workplace giving is an umbrella term, which means it can refer to multiple types of programs. Diversifying workplace giving can encourage greater employee participation. When you provide multiple ways to get involved, employees have the freedom to choose how they want to give and actively take part in the process as a result.

As part of workplace giving, companies can choose to:

  • Match donations. Corporate matching gift programs are a form of workplace giving in which companies financially match donations their employees make to nonprofits, essentially doubling employees’ donations.
  • Offer volunteer grants. For employees who might not be able to donate financially, they can still donate their time. Employees who volunteer on a regular basis with a nonprofit can submit a volunteer grant request to their employer. This means the nonprofit will receive a donation from the employer based on the number of hours the employee volunteered.
  • Payroll deductions. Payroll deductions are one of the most common types of workplace giving. Rather than employees going out of their way to make donations, payroll deductions automatically deduct a portion of their paychecks to donate to a charity of their choice. Payroll deductions are usually small but can quickly add up, allowing one nonprofit supported by an entire company to amass significant financial support.

Of these programs, corporate matching gifts are arguably the most effective and important giving channel to focus on as both a company and a nonprofit. Most companies match at a 1:1 ratio (a dollar for a dollar), but ratios can range from 0.5:1 to 4:1. Many companies also match donations to a wide range of organizations, with few restrictions.

A huge component of why workplace giving matters is the benefits of matching gifts.

Workplace giving can be enhanced by any of the programs we’ve already mentioned. But the most important thing to remember is that when companies offer multiple ways to give to charities, employee participation as a whole will rise.


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2. Why workplace giving matters for companies

Beyond the social good workplace giving promotes all around, there are specific benefits for companies:

The image shows three workplace giving statistics, listed below.

  • When it comes to employee engagement, a company’s employees tend to be happier working for companies that support generous giving initiatives, and companies with happy employees outperform their competition by 20%.
  • 69% of employees feel a stronger sense of loyalty to their employer if they have a workplace giving program. This loyalty leads to higher retention, meaning less turnover and more time spent investing in experienced employees rather than training new ones. 
  • Apart from internal benefits, companies also maintain a positive public image in the communities in which they operate. 84% of consumers state they have more trust in businesses that have charitable giving programs. 

Your company has spent a lot of time and energy setting up its workplace giving program, and you can start reaping its benefits faster the easier employee participation is. After all, the more your employees take part in workplace giving, the happier they’ll be.

For that reason, finding software that makes participating in workplace giving easy can help you get the most out of your program. Read more about workplace giving software solutions below!

How auto-submission helps

When an employer leverages a workplace giving platform equipped with auto-submission functionality, which recently came out of beta for all Double the Donation users, it makes workplace giving participation easier than ever before. Not only is it quicker for employees to get involved, but it’s also simpler for companies to organize, establish, and maintain their programs.

Employers can spend less time tracking and reporting on employee giving and matching gift submissions, reducing the administrative workload it takes to manage workplace giving. And it’s all while making a larger impact on the causes their employees care about!

Benefits of auto-submission and workplace giving for companies

3. Why workplace giving matters for nonprofits

It’s obvious that workplace giving campaigns help nonprofits financially. But the benefits go deeper than that. 

When companies emphasize corporate matching gifts and other workplace giving programs, nonprofits benefit tremendously. This is because:

  • Workplace giving builds stronger relationships between nonprofits and companies/employees. Even charitable employees can forget to give on occasion, but workplace giving makes interacting with nonprofits a routine part of their schedule, increasing interactions and strengthening their investment in the nonprofits they give to. 
  • Long-term relationships between nonprofits and companies lead to ongoing partnerships. When multiple employees give to the same nonprofit, leadership may be inspired to take their support to the next level with corporate sponsorships for the nonprofit’s events and programs.
  • Nonprofits can better serve their constituents and their missions. Nonprofits also save time and resources by participating in workplace giving programs. They can receive gifts in a cost-efficient way without spending time soliciting donations. Instead, that time can go to doing good.

When companies do everything they can to encourage employees to participate in workplace giving programs and nonprofits use workplace fundraising solutions to help them ensure supporters can easily access matching gift, payroll giving, and volunteer grant next steps, nonprofits gain more than just monetary support. They’ll become part of a larger community that helps them reach their goals. 

How auto-submission helps

With higher participation rates by companies and their employees, auto-submission leads to greater revenue for the nonprofits on the receiving end of the relationship. More matching gifts are processed with auto-submission⁠, meaning charitable organizations in need of support earn more revenue.

Not to mention, matching gift auto-submission directly addresses obstacles that nonprofit fundraisers have been facing for years! Common roadblocks⁠, such as a lack of donor awareness of workplace giving programs and non-completed submission forms⁠, are eliminated with auto-submission. Donors are more inclined to complete their end of the process when it’s as easy as a single click⁠, and they’re also likely to keep giving and matching year after year.

Benefits of auto-submission and workplace giving for nonprofits

4. Why workplace giving matters for employees

Workplace giving doesn’t just benefit companies and nonprofits. As previously mentioned, companies that participate in workplace giving maintain a higher employee engagement rate and lower turnover. 

Let’s look at how workplace giving programs can further benefit employees specifically:

  • Employees give to reputable charities. One of the benefits of workplace giving—especially for employees—is that they can be certain they’re giving to reputable organizations. Generally, workplace giving programs screen the nonprofits that are allowed to participate. This means employees can rest assured their donations are going to a good cause.
  • Employees give in smaller increments. Employees who might not be able to donate a large sum at once can benefit from automatic payroll deductions. The smaller amounts deducted from each paycheck will add up over time, and, when paired with a matching gift from their employer, add up to make a real impact.
  • Employees make a larger impact overall. Even if employees are only able to donate in small increments, their gifts combine with those of thousands of employees across the country. These donations are also unrestricted, meaning nonprofits can use them however they see fit to continue fulfilling their mission. 

There are many reasons why workplace giving matters, and for employees, being able to donate effectively to worthy causes is a big one.

How auto-submission helps

A nonprofit’s donors want to make a significant impact on their favorite organizations’ missions. Additionally, a company’s staff appreciates the opportunity to involve their employer in the causes they care about. Luckily, auto-submission makes every step in the process easier.

When an employee who qualifies for auto-submission gives to an organization equipped with Double the Donation’s tools, a matching gift request can be completed in mere seconds⁠—no website redirects, separate login processes, or repetition of donation information. 

This empowers more employees to get involved in their companies’ workplace giving programs that would have otherwise been deterred by a complicated process.

Benefits of auto-submission and workplace giving for employees


5. How can companies implement and maintain workplace giving programs?

For companies, reporting tools are crucial to their workplace giving programs’ success. If a company doesn’t have a set process in place for tracking matching gifts, volunteer grant requests, payroll deduction options, and other components of their giving programs, measuring what impact the company has made becomes challenging. 

Reporting enables your company to maintain transparency, which tends to be low among corporate philanthropy programs. As a result, only 1 in 10 consumers state that they trust corporate giving programs as compared to nonprofit programs. 

That’s why many companies invest in workplace giving solutions to effectively track each task, their CSR initiatives, their goals, and any pending requests. There are many types of workplace giving platforms, so be sure to look for tools that meet your company’s needs.

More specifically, if you’re running a matching gift, volunteer grant, or payroll deduction program, below are key features to look for in your workplace giving solution:

The image shows the features of workplace giving software, listed below.

  • Centralized employee donation tracking
  • Streamlined approval process for nonprofit types, donation matches, and volunteer grants
  • Volunteer event setup and management
  • Volunteer hour tracking
  • Payroll integration

When you choose workplace giving software that offers the tools you need to manage each component of your giving program, it’ll be much easier for your employees to get involved and for your company to track your overall CSR initiatives and progress.

How can companies offer the best workplace giving programs for employees?

According to corporate giving research, one of the largest considerations as to whether employees will participate in a workplace giving program revolves around how easy it is for them to get involved. For many donors, that idea is based heavily on the different ways that they’re able to give.

For example, our studies show the following:

96% of employees at companies with matching gift programs have a strong or very strong preference for their company to match donations made directly to a nonprofit (such as through the nonprofit’s website, peer-to-peer fundraising platform, or mail) rather than only matching donations through a workplace giving software platform.

This idea boils down to the fact that employees do not want to participate in an employee giving program that is restricted to gifts made through just their employer’s workplace giving platform. The more options a company has for employees to support the nonprofits they care about, the more likely they are to partake.

Along similar lines, if you want more employees to get involved with your matching gifts initiatives, adjust your requirements to offer low minimum donations, high maximums, and liberal submission deadlines⁠, and expand the types—full-time, part-time, and retired—of employees who can have their gifts matched.

Once a match-eligible donation has been made, it’s equally (if not more) important that the match submission process is quick and easy. Again, this is where matching gift auto-submission—made available through Double the Donation in partnership with select workplace giving platforms—can come in handy.

How can companies actively promote workplace giving programs?

The best thing a company can do to promote workplace giving—and to help nonprofits in the process—is to educate their employees.

Feature your workplace giving programs in employee onboarding materials. More specifically, you should highlight:

  • Matching gift programs
  • Volunteer grant opportunities
  • Payroll deductions
  • Paid time off to volunteer
  • Other opportunities to support nonprofits

Educating your employees when you first launch your program and offering reminders throughout the year will keep your CSR initiatives at the forefront of your company culture.

Of course, it’s always a good practice to get employee feedback on your workplace giving programs. This will help you determine whether your program is accessible and effective. Send out surveys and allow employees to vote on the types of nonprofits or causes they want to support or even the types of workplace giving programs they want to see offered.

Additional workplace giving resources

If you’re interested in starting a workplace giving program, hopefully, this guide has served as a helpful start to learning more about employee giving opportunities and why workplace giving matters in the long run. Whether you’re part of a company or nonprofit, the benefits of taking part in workplace giving programs are endless.

To learn more about this extensive topic, we’ve compiled a few of our favorite resources below:


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The title of the article next to an illustration of a person holding corporate gift-giving laws.

Corporate Gift-Giving Laws: How to Make Policies on Presents

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Corporate leaders oversee relationship management on many fronts, including employee engagement and customer satisfaction, and corporate gift-giving is an effective strategy to tackle it. After all, 57% of employees and 52% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to companies that provide gifts.

However, companies must give gifts fairly and responsibly for them to have the desired effect—and that’s where corporate gift-giving laws come in. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about these policies on presents, including:

Let’s begin by taking a closer look at gift-giving basics!

Learn about matching gifts, which is the best gift your company can give that aligns with corporate gift-giving laws.

Corporate Gift-Giving Laws FAQS

What are corporate gift-giving laws?

Corporate gift-giving laws are policies created by a company to standardize internal and external gift-giving, helping prevent bribery, favoritism, and other conflicts of interest. These policies generally outline the circumstances in which the company’s employees can give or receive gifts, including:

A list of questions that should be answered in corporate gift-giving laws, which are listed in the text below.

  • Who can give and receive gifts? Corporate gift-giving laws outline gift exchanges between peers, superiors, and clients.
  • What gifts are appropriate? Policies concerning corporate gift-giving may define the types of gifts that can be given or received, such as specific tangible items or monetary gifts.
  • When should gifts be given? Corporate gift-giving laws should specify how often gifts can be given to monitor the amount of gifts that are sent or received.
  • How much can be spent on gifts? A well-planned policy outlines the budget for gift-giving, determining how much can be spent on a gift.

With a policy that lays out these details, your company will be equipped to start exchanging gifts with clients, employees, business partners, and other contacts to strengthen relationships with your professional network. Let’s break this down further by examining the essentials of gift-giving and receiving.

What is an employee gift policy?

Giving employees gifts can have a significant impact on your company’s efforts to recognize, engage, and retain employees. Generosity can also increase productivity, with 81% of employees stating they are more likely to work harder when an employer appreciates their efforts.

This means your company should craft an employee gift policy that outlines how you’ll show appreciation through gifts and under what circumstances. This policy will depend on the following elements:

Tax implications of employee gifts

The IRS states businesses can deduct $25 of the gift value per recipient per tax year. For example, let’s say leadership gives each employee a $35 snack box. $25 of that cost would be tax-deductible for each gift.

To deduct these expenses, your company must have records that include the details of the amount spent and prove the business purpose of the gift. This also applies to gifts given indirectly to an employee, such as to a spouse or family member.

However, some types of gifts, such as gifts that can be considered entertainment, are not tax deductible. For example, if you were to gift clients bottles of wine and take them to an orchestra performance, the wine bottles would be tax deductible but the orchestra tickets would not.

Employee gift reporting

For the sake of accountability and to keep your books in order, determine how your company will report the gifts it gives. This will be an important part of your policy, which not only lays out the gift-giving process but also how you’ll report and track gifts.

Be sure to keep thorough records including:

  • The value of the gift
  • When the gift was given
  • Who the recipient was
  • The reason for the gift

Determine who will be in charge of recording employee gifts and where these records should live.

What are corporate gift acceptance policies?

Aside from giving gifts, your company may also receive gifts from clients, customers, or other corporations. To account for this, create a gift acceptance policy that determines which gifts are given and under what circumstances they’re acceptable on behalf of your company.

How to Create Corporate Gift-Giving Laws

So how do you get started, and what should you include? Create corporate gift-giving laws for your company using the following steps:

An infographic showing the steps companies must take to develop corporate gift-giving laws.

  1. Determine who can give gifts. Decide which members of your company’s leadership have the authority to purchase and give gifts. For example, should managers have the authority to give employee gifts, or should they recommend certain employees for rewards and leave the gift-giving to leadership?
  2. Define the circumstances for gift-giving. Write out the purpose of gift-giving and under which circumstances gifts are appropriate. For example, if your company seeks to give gifts as part of its employee recognition strategy, you might create a gift-giving timeline based on specific work-related accomplishments or anniversaries.
  3. Set price limits on gifts. Outline specific price limits in your gift policy. Consider setting price ranges for various gift types and occasions. For example, a work anniversary might warrant a $50 plaque while a retirement gift could be more expensive. Remember your gifts may vary based on availability or the purpose of the gift.
  4. Identify any unacceptable gift ideas. Provide flexibility for the types of gifts that can be given, but recognize that some gifts should never be given. For example, gifting a pair of jeans with no relevance or branding to your business could be inappropriate and unprofessional. Make a list of specific gift items that shouldn’t be given under any circumstances.

Make provisions for this policy to be adjusted in the future, if necessary. It’s difficult to include everything, and you may encounter a unique situation in the future that calls for you to revisit your policy. To visualize how you might put these key elements together in one, comprehensive policy, let’s go over a template!

Corporate Gift-Giving Policy Template

If you need help getting started, fill in this template with your company’s unique information:

[Company’s name] recognizes gifting as a customary practice and a meaningful way to show appreciation. To avoid perceptions of bribery, favoritism, and other conflicts of interest, this policy will outline the guidelines and acceptable norms for giving and receiving gifts.

    1. Definitions
      “Gift” refers to cash, goods, or services of commercial value that are given to an individual for personal benefit without any expected return of payment.
    2. Scope
      This policy applies to [list roles that should follow this policy]. At [Company’s name], the following individuals are authorized to give or receive gifts on behalf of the company:
      [List individuals allowed to give or receive gifts]
    3. Unacceptable Gifts
      The following gifts are unacceptable to be given or received on behalf of [Company’s name]:
      Gifts of expensive electronic items, such as mobile phones, laptops, or TVs.
      Personal gifts of clothing or jewelry are inappropriate and strictly prohibited.
      [List any other unacceptable gifts]
    4. Price Limits
      [Company’s name] shall adhere to the following price ranges when giving gifts:
      Employee recognition gifts should not exceed [Amount].
      Work anniversary gifts for any employee should not exceed [Amount].
      Gifts accepted from clients/customers should not exceed [Amount].
    5. Gift Receipts
      After giving or receiving a gift, any employee at [Company’s name] should record the gift by [Process for recording gifts].

Consider also creating a gift refusal letter template that employees or leadership can use to appropriately represent your company in the event they must decline a gift.

Corporate Gift Ideas

Coming up with a list of acceptable gifts can help you further standardize the process of rewarding employees and stewarding customers. Consider the following gift ideas.

Matching gifts

While matched donations aren’t tangible or deliverable via a gift bag, they’re a great way to show employees that your company cares about the same causes they do. Incorporate a matching gift program into your company’s existing philanthropic efforts and add guidelines to your employee handbook or portal so your team knows how to participate.

To encourage employees to participate in your program, invest in CSR software with auto-submission capabilities. This will connect your company’s information and matching gift request form to matching gift databases, allowing employees to automatically submit a match request upon making a donation.

As a result, your company will see the following benefits:

The benefits of auto-submission for companies, which can streamline matching gifts as part of your corporate gift-giving laws.

  • Elevated employee engagement: Employees will be more engaged when they know your company values them—and the causes they value. Automating matching gift requests demonstrates your company’s eagerness to give and support the causes your employees care about.
  • Increased program impact: Auto-submission streamlines the management of your company’s corporate giving programs. Plus, you’ll make it easier for employees to give and ultimately increase your company’s social impact.

Add to the impact of your matching gift program by further building out your CSR initiatives. For example, you might launch a corporate volunteer program in which your team can volunteer for nonprofits together or a volunteer grant to donate monetarily in response to their individual volunteer hours.

Learn about matching gifts, which is the best gift your company can give that aligns with corporate gift-giving laws.

eCards

Whether you’re celebrating an employee’s birthday, wishing a customer a happy holiday season, or thanking a team leader for their hard work, thank-you messages can be simple yet meaningful gifts.

eCard software allows you to create customizable, digital greeting cards for any occasion, meaning your company can develop an arsenal of greeting cards for birthdays, work anniversaries, celebrating accomplishments, or any other situation warranting a gift.

For example, let’s say you want to recognize an employee for going above and beyond in their urgency and responsiveness. Here’s how you could create an eCard to thank them:

An example of an eCard to recognize an employee for their prompt communications.

  • Design the eCard: Create a design for the eCard that calls out the purpose of the message. In this example, you could title the card, “Best-in-class responsiveness” to thank an employee for prompt communication.
  • Add a personal message: Personalize the card with a message so the recipient knows exactly what they did to receive a card and why their actions mattered. For example, you might write, “Thanks for helping jump on the client call on such short notice!”
  • Opt-in to notifications: eCard software can notify you when the recipient opens their eCard, allowing you to track how and when employees engage with your appreciation messages.

With these features, you’ll be able to send unique eCards to employees and clients alike. Plus, by making the tool available to your team, you’ll encourage your staff to send eCards to each other and recognize their peers.

Tangible gifts

While any tangible gifts you give will be unique to the occasion and the recipient, here are a few ideas to kickstart your shopping:

  • Gift baskets
  • Wellness boxes
  • Personalized stationery
  • Sample products from your business

Tangible gifts are tricky to navigate since they require a careful balance between being personally meaningful and professional. Be sure to outline any relevant requirements for choosing tangible gifts in your corporate gift-giving laws to provide clear guidelines for choosing these gifts.

Tribute gifts

Aside from matching employees’ donations, your business can also give on their behalf to the causes they care about! For example, if you know that an employee volunteers at a local animal shelter, consider donating to that shelter on their behalf as an appreciation gift.

Additional Resources for Creating Corporate Gift-Giving Laws

Corporate gift-giving laws are unique to the organization that creates them, which is why your policy should foremost address your organization’s needs. For example, smaller, close-knit teams might have more flexibility while larger companies will need strict guidelines to ensure gift-giving is fair.

Consider where your company aims to be in the future and leave room in your policies to adapt to these changes. For example, do you plan to double your staff? Will you serve a new client base? As you consider your company’s growth and the policies that you’ll need in place to account for it, look over the following resources for more tips:

Learn how to boost employee engagement by incorporating matching gifts into your corporate gift-giving strategy.

Learn about the top companies in Baltimore offering matching gift programs.

Matching Gift Opportunities: Top Companies in Baltimore

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At Double the Donation, we partner with nonprofits across the country to help them increase their revenue through corporate matching gift programs and volunteer grants. We frequently receive requests from nonprofits asking for information on companies local to their area that offer such programs.

Today, we’re examining the largest city in Maryland– Baltimore– and the matching gift opportunities it holds. We’ve pulled together a shortlist of the city’s top opportunities, and are going to detail the programs of the following companies:

  • Black & Decker
  • Lockheed Martin
  • T. Rowe Price

The above list is by no means comprehensive, and if you have a large donor base in the Baltimore area, consider doing some outside research on the city’s top programs. The best way to do this is by using a dedicated matching gift tool– read on to learn more!

Using Matching Gift Tools

Dedicated matching gift tools can improve the solicitation processes for both small and large nonprofits alike. Whether you’re just building your matching gift discovery procedures, or improving your existing processes, these tools can aid in the process.

For example, Double the Donation’s comprehensive matching gift software can help streamline and automate the matching gift process from beginning to end. With this tool, a donor’s match eligibility is automatically searched upon their donation. Further, as the software is fully automated, the communications following the discovery of eligibility are handled for you as well. This tool is part of Double the Donation’s broader suite of workplace fundraising tools for nonprofits that make it easier for organizations to grow revenue from corporate giving programs.

With that, continue reading for a look at corporate philanthropy in Baltimore.

Top Baltimore Companies with Matching Gift Programs

Check out this list of some of the top companies in the Baltimore area that currently offer corporate matching gifts. Familiarize your fundraising team with these companies to increase awareness among the donors who work for these companies.

Black & DeckerBlack & Decker is a top company in Baltimore offering a matching gift program.

Stanley Black and Decker will match employee donations at a $10 minimum and up to $10,000. The company will match to most nonprofit organizations.

Read more about the Black and Decker matching gift program.

 

Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin is a top company in Baltimore with a matching gift program.

Lockheed Martin will match employee donations between $25 and $10,000 to US colleges and universities. Part-time employees are also eligible for this program.

Read more about the Lockheed Martin matching gift program.

 

T. Rowe PriceT. Rowe Price is a top company in Baltimore offering a matching gift program.

T. Rowe Price has one of the more generous programs in the area. They will match gifts between $25 and $20,000 to most nonprofit organizations.

Read more about the T. Rowe Price matching gift and volunteer grant program.

 

 

Matching gift programs are a great way to increase donations to your nonprofit with minimal effort. Whether you’re in Baltimore or elsewhere, you should be actively seeking these programs.

While this list is a great place to get started, consider also employing a matching gift tool as you build upon your matching gift processes.

Find out if your donors work for these matching gift companies in Baltimore.

Matching Gift Requests - Deadlines, Forms & Auto-Submission

Matching Gift Requests | Deadlines, Forms & Auto-Submission

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You likely have a number of matchable donations in your CRM at any given time. If you’re looking to revamp your strategy, you might wonder if gifts made last week, month, or quarter remain eligible for the giving programs. Fear not—many contributions from the past year (give or take) should still qualify for company matching. Now, you’re just waiting for your donors to complete their matching gift requests!

The problem is that many donors remain unaware of the matching gift opportunity entirely. When an individual has no idea their employer matches, they won’t take the necessary steps to request associated funding and secure additional revenue for your nonprofit.

That’s why educating your team and your donors about the importance of matching gift requests is essential. And we’ve provided this expert guide to help you do so!

In this blog post, we’ll cover the following key topics:

Let’s get started!

DTD_Matching Gifts CTA

What Are Matching Gift Requests?

A matching gift request is a submission made by a donor to their employer as part of the company’s matching gift program. The request aims to secure a corporate match for the individual’s donation to a nonprofit cause⁠, making it an essential part of the matching gift process.

The Matching Gift Fundraising Process

  1. A donor contributes to a nonprofit.
  2. The donor determines if their gift qualifies for an employer match.
  3. The donor completes a matching gift request from their employer.
  4. The employer reviews the matching gift request and verifies the initial donation with the organization.
  5. The employer approves the matching gift request and disburses match funding to the organization.

Though the request itself can vary from one company to the next, these forms generally source information on the employee, the recipient organization, and transaction details.

How Do Donors Complete Matching Gift Requests?

The actual task of submitting a matching gift request is going to fall on each individual donor. However, it helps to ensure your fundraising team is familiar with the process and prepared to assist donors in completing it.

Here’s how it generally works:

Step 1: A donor receives a link to their matching gift form.

After a donor contributes to a nonprofit, the organization should take proactive steps to encourage the individual to complete the matching gift request process. This might mean promoting matching gifts from the confirmation screen or in a separate email follow-up (as pictured below).

For the best results, the reminder should include an acknowledgment of the donor’s initial donation along with a direct link to their company forms.

How donors complete their matching gift requests
How donors complete their matching gift requests

Step 2: The donor logs into their company’s giving portal.

After the donor receives a link to their employer’s matching gift form, they should navigate to the company’s giving portal or corporate philanthropy platform. This site will generally house a range of corporate giving information, including the forms required for employees to complete their matching gift requests.

Once on the page, they’ll log in using credentials provided by their employer. Most online portals have contact information for the company’s program administrator, should a donor have difficulty accessing the platform on their own.

How donors complete their matching gift requests

Step 3: The donor initiates a matching gift request.

Within the company’s giving portal (or externally, for companies that don’t use them), a donor should locate the option to initiate a matching gift request.

This may be presented as a specific form or an online application within the portal.

How donors complete their matching gift requests

Step 4: The donor provides donation details on the online form.

The donor should now follow the instructions provided by the portal to complete their matching gift request form properly. They should expect to supply information about…

  • Themselves (i.e., employee ID number, corporate email address)
  • The organization they supported (there will typically be some kind of search field or dropdown menu from which to choose)
  • Their recent transaction details (gift format, amount, date, etc.)
How donors complete their matching gift requests

Once approved, the company makes its own donation to the nonprofit, effectively doubling (or, in some cases, tripling) the impact of the original gift.

What to Know About Matching Gift Request Deadlines ⌛

Matching gift requests are not generally required to be submitted immediately following the initial giving transaction. However, nearly all companies establish some sort of deadline by which employee matching gift requests must be completed.

The dates themselves vary, generally coinciding with the calendar year (e.g., December of the year in which the donation was made; the end of the calendar year plus a grace period into the following one) or a set amount of time post-donation. 

Top tip: Encouraging timely submissions from donors is integral to an optimized strategy. The more time passes after an individual’s donation, the less likely they are to complete the match. Not to mention, the sooner your nonprofit receives the extra funds, the sooner it can put those funds to good use.


See How Matching Gift Automation Can Help

Get a sneak peek of the industry-leading matching gift automation solution from Double the Donation.



Benefits of matching gift automation software


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Familiarize yourself with the following types of program deadlines. Plus, review leading matching gift company guidelines to see when their employees’ matching gift requests are due!

Deadline #1: A Set Number of Days or Months Post-Donation

The first type of deadline is based on the amount of time elapsed since the individual completed their initial donation. While most companies offer flexible submission windows for matching gift requests, deadlines can range from 30 days to an entire year post-transaction.

Deadline for Fannie Mae matching gift requests

Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae currently matches part-time and full-time employee donations up to $5,000. Unfortunately, some donors miss out on this funding opportunity, largely due to a lack of program awareness, which results in missed matching gift requests.

Match request deadline: Fannie Mae donors must submit their matching gift requests within 30 days of their donation date or by December 31st of each year (whichever is sooner).

Click here for additional details on Fannie Mae’s matching gift program.

Deadline for Altria matching gift requests

Altria

Altria offers a generous matching gift program (up to $30,000 per employee per year) along with sizable volunteer grants (up to $500 after 25 hours of volunteering).

Match request deadline: Altria’s program administrator must receive all matching gift requests within 90 days of the donations being made.

Click here for additional details on Altria’s matching gift program.

Deadline for Apple matching gift requests

Apple

Apple offers a generous matching gift program for full-time and part-time employees. Each year, team members are encouraged to request between $1 and $10,000 in matches from qualifying gifts!

Match request deadline: Employees should be sure to submit their matching gift requests swiftly, as Apple requires gifts to be registered within one month of the transaction date.

Click here for additional details on Apple’s matching gift program.

Deadline for Microsoft matching gift requests

Microsoft

Microsoft matches between $1 and $15,000 per team member per year. Plus, employees can earn grants for their favorite organizations worth $25 for each hour they spend volunteering.

Match request deadline: Employees are welcome to request matching gifts for any qualifying donations made in the past 12 months!

Click here for additional details on Microsoft’s matching gift program.

Deadline for YUM Brands matching gift requests

YUM Brands

Fast food corporation YUM Brands, including employees at Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell restaurants, matches gifts at a dollar-for-dollar rate up to $1,000 per associate per year.

Match request deadline: All YUM Brands employees should complete their matching gift requests within six months of their initial donations.

Click here for additional details on YUM Brands’ matching gift program.

Deadline #2: End of Calendar Year

The other main type of matching gift request deadline is one that aligns with the calendar year (running from January 1st to December 31st). That means tons of companies set their deadlines at December 31st.

Here are a few examples:

Deadline for Avon matching gift requests

AVON

AVON matches employee donations up to $15,000 per year. And the first $500 donated is matched at a 2:1 rate, thus tripling the initial donation value.

Match request deadline: AVON employees should mark their calendars! While the deadline indeed falls in December of each year, team members are required to complete their requests prior to December 11th rather than the standard 31st.

Click here for additional details on AVON’s matching gift program.

Deadline for Freeport matching gift requests

Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan matches donations of up to $40,000 to a wide range of nonprofits. While the first $1,000 donated is matched at a 2:1 rate (thus tripling each initial dollar’s value), donations above $1,000 are matched dollar-for-dollar.

Match request deadline: While Freeport-McMoRan encourages employees to submit matching donation requests at the time of the initial donation, employees can submit matches until Dec. 31st of the year following the date of the donation.

Click here for additional details on Freeport’s matching gift program.

Deadline for SAP matching gift requests

SAP America

SAP America gives charitably through the SAP Together Program. Within this initiative, SAP employees are incentivized to donate to nonprofits to unlock matching gifts for their favorite organizations.

Match request deadline: Matching gifts must be requested of the company by December 31st of the year in which the initial donation is made. However, donors should be encouraged to submit their matches as soon as possible due to a company-wide annual limit.

Click here for additional details on Sap’s matching gift program.

Deadline #3: End of Calendar Year + Grace Period

The last group of companies establishes their matching gift deadlines according to the calendar year as well. But they also tack on an additional month or so.

Deadline for Boeing matching gift requests

Boeing

Boeing offers a monetary match, a volunteer grant match, and a fundraising match. And while full-time and part-time employees qualify to have their gifts matched dollar-for-dollar, retirees of the company are eligible to request a 0.5:1 match.

Match request deadline: Boeing employees (or retirees) participating in any matching gift program must submit their matching gift requests by January 31st of the year following the one in which the initial contribution/volunteerism/event took place.

Click here for additional details on Boeing’s matching gift program.

Deadline for Verizon matching gift requests

Verizon

Each year, Verizon matches employee donations of up to $5,000 to the educational institutions of their choice. Meanwhile, all other nonprofits qualify for up to $1,000 in match funding, along with $750 grants for organizations with which employees volunteer.

Match request deadline: Matching gift requests must be entered into the electronic matching gift system before January 31st of the year following the date of the donation.

Click here for additional details on Verizon’s matching gift program.

Deadline for Adobe matching gift requests

Adobe

Adobe matches donations of up to $10,000 per employee per year. Additionally, employees can submit volunteer or “dollars for doers” grant requests worth $250 for every 10 hours they volunteer.

Match request deadline: All matching gift requests must be submitted by January 31st of the year following the one in which the gift was made, regardless of the donation date.

Click here for additional details on Adobe’s matching gift program.

Deadline for Coca-Cola matching gift requests

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola generously matches employee gifts at a 2:1 ratio. That means for every $1 an employee contributes, Coke gives $2 up to a maximum corporate contribution of $20,000.

Match request deadline: All employee matching gift requests should be completed and returned to The Coca-Cola Company by February 28th of the following year.

Click here for additional details on Coke’s matching gift program.

Deadline for Bank of America matching gift requests

Bank of America

Bank of America (including the investment management and wealth management division, Merrill Lynch) matches employee donations to nearly all nonprofit causes. Each year, team members can request between $24 and $5,000 worth of matches for personal donations of equal amounts.

Match request deadline: Employees must complete an application and have the recipient organization verify the gift. This information must be received by January 31st of the year following the date of the donation.

Click here for additional details on Bank of America’s matching gift program.

Deadline for General Electric matching gift requests

General Electric

Fun fact: General Electric was the first company to implement an employee matching gift program in 1954. Today, it matches millions of dollars worth of gifts to approved charities around the world. Each team full or part-time team member is encouraged to request between $25 and $5,000 per year!

Match request deadline: General Electric offers one of the most extended matching gift program deadlines, with employees being able to request matches until April 15th (tax day!) of the year after their gifts were made.

Click here for additional details on GE’s matching gift program.

Driving Matching Gift Requests to Completion

Unfortunately, matching gift deadlines mean little if your organization isn’t informing donors about matching gifts first. After all, the vast majority of match-eligible employees (approximately 78%) have no idea their company even matches gifts.

How will a donor know to submit a request on time if they don’t know to submit one in the first place?

Luckily, marketing matching gifts to your donors is easier than ever (check out our free downloadable resource for more tips and tricks!). Proper software can help screen for match-eligible transactions, inform donors of their eligibility, and supply individuals with actionable information to initiate the process, too.

If you’re looking to automate your matching gift processes, consider innovative tools like Double the Donation’s complete automation.

As the fundraising sector’s top matching gift tool, Double the Donation identifies matching gift opportunities and triggers personalized marketing emails. It also integrates with nearly all of the leading fundraising solutions, allowing it to supercharge the donation process and make implementation and management quick and easy.

Watch the following 60-second overview video to learn more:

Streamlining Matching Gift Requests With Auto-Submission

Traditionally, an employee wanting to file a matching gift request had to determine their eligibility for a match before identifying and completing the correct forms for their employer. Then, as outlined above, the matching gift request process typically requires an individual to log into a separate portal. There, they supply donation data and submit their matching gift form.

But today, the matching gift request process is being transformed. And it’s beginning with a shift toward Double the Donation’s groundbreaking auto-submission functionality! Now, companies that enable this option through their CSR platforms empower employees with a one-click request opportunity directly from their favorite organizations’ giving pages.

Boost matching gift request rates with autosubmission

When requesting a match is as simple as selecting a checkbox on a confirmation screen, more donors will be inclined to do it⁠—which is why auto-submission is such an invaluable tool.

Streamline matching gift requests with 360MatchPro's auto-submission

Wrapping Up

Effectively navigating the world of matching gift requests can seem like a daunting task. But armed with the right knowledge and resources, donors can maximize the impact of their contributions to nonprofits like yours.

Keep in mind that as the fundraising organization, it’s your responsibility to ensure your audience is informed and encouraged to participate. And that means recognizing the potential for matching gifts and taking proactive steps to supply donors with company forms and guidelines.

Interested in learning more about effective matching gift fundraising practices? Check out these additional recommended resources:

Boost Your Broadcasts Matching Gifts for Public Media Orgs

Matching Gifts for Public Media Orgs | Boost Your Broadcasts

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Consider the following scenario: You’re listening to your regularly scheduled radio show when it’s interrupted for the station’s annual pledge drive. You hear the on-air host making an appeal⁠—“Fundraising is an essential part of what we do at Public Broadcasting Station, and it’s the most efficient way to source funds needed to supply our listeners with educational, inspirational, and entertaining content. Not to mention, thousands of employers offer matching gifts for public media like us, meaning your contributions can go twice as far for your favorite programs.”

Pledge drives and other revenue-generation efforts are crucial for obtaining sustainable funding and delivering high-quality content to widespread communities. Incorporating matching gift opportunities into your media organization’s outreach can go a long way!

In this post, we’ll explore how nonprofits in the media sector can leverage matching gifts to amplify their impact, enhance donor engagement, and ultimately boost their broadcasts. We’ll cover the following topics below:

Let’s get started!

The Basics of Matching Gifts for Public Media Groups

Matching gifts for public media groups is a category of philanthropy in which companies match donations to the public broadcasting services their employees financially support. This makes it an essential form of workplace giving for these organizations, empowering donors to double or even triple the value of their gifts without reaching back into their own wallets.

All a donor generally has to do is complete a brief online request form for their employer to review and disburse match funding to your cause.

Benefits of matching gifts for public media organizations

The benefits of matching gifts for public media organizations are significant and widespread. Successful donation-matching ensures that public media outlets, such as radio programs and television networks, are more sustainably funded to better serve the community’s needs and interests. Meanwhile, donors feel more deeply connected to the broadcasts they play a direct role in supporting through financial donations and matching gifts!


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5 Companies to Know That Match Gifts to Public Media

Over 65% of Fortune 500 companies provide donation matches to the nonprofits their employees support. Check out the examples below to explore top programs that actively match gifts to public broadcasting organizations like yours!

Warner Bros matches gifts for public media organizations.

Warner Bros. Discovery

Minimum donation amount: $10
Maximum donation amount: $1,000
Match ratio: 1:1
Eligible employees: Part-time, full-time
Eligible nonprofits: Many nonprofits, including public media

Warner Bros. Discovery is a prime example of an employer engaging its workforce through collaborative philanthropy. The company offers two generous giving programs in which its staff are encouraged to donate their money and time to qualifying nonprofits: matching gifts and volunteer grants, respectively.

Each year, full-time and part-time employees have the chance to request up to a combined $1,000 in matches and grants for their favorite causes⁠—of which your public media organization may be included.

Learn more about the matching gift program.

Disney matches gifts for public media organizations.

The Walt Disney Company (incl. Hulu, Marvel Entertainment, ABC)

Minimum donation amount: $25
Maximum donation amount: $25,000
Match ratio: 1:1
Eligible employees: Part-time, full-time
Eligible nonprofits: Most nonprofits, including public media

The Walt Disney Company is another leading corporation known for maximizing employee participation in philanthropy. With a lofty maximum threshold of $25,000, current team members are encouraged to give generously to their favorite nonprofit causes⁠—and to have those gifts matched, dollar-for-dollar.

Disney’s matching gift program is also inclusive of its subsidiaries, too, meaning Hulu, Marvel Entertainment, and ABC employees are welcome to participate.

Learn more about the matching gift program.

SONY matches gifts for public media organizations.

Sony Corporation

Minimum donation amount: $10-$50
Maximum donation amount: $1,000-$2,000
Match ratio: 1:1
Eligible employees: Full-time, select retirees
Eligible nonprofits: Most nonprofits, including public media

Sony Corporation, encompassing subsidiaries such as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Corporation of America, and Sony Electronics, operates a few generous matching gift programs that your team might want to take advantage of. These efforts aim to support employees’ charitable giving and reinforce the company’s commitment to social responsibility

Keep in mind that the eligibility criteria and submission processes vary across Sony’s different entities, so it’s important to select the correct employer from the database search tool!

Learn more about the matching gift program.

FOX matches gifts for public media organizations.

Fox Corporation

Minimum donation amount: None
Maximum donation amount: $1,000
Match ratio: 1:1
Eligible employees: Full-time
Eligible nonprofits: Most nonprofits, including public media

Fox Corporation is dedicated to engaging its employees and supporting the communities it serves through its matching gift program. As part of the initiative, the program matches the gifts its current full-time employees make to a wide range of nonprofits. And your public media organization is likely included!

By empowering its employees to give back and amplifying their charitable efforts, Fox Corporation reinforces its commitment to doing good, creating positive change in its staffs’ communities around the world.

Learn more about the matching gift program.

Google matches gifts for public media organizations.

Google

Minimum donation amount: None
Maximum donation amount: $10,000
Match ratio: 1:1
Eligible employees: Part-time, full-time, board members
Eligible nonprofits: Most nonprofits, including public media

In addition to its standout Google Ad Grants program, one of the primary ways Google participates in philanthropy is by matching employees’ charitable gifts. With its matching gift program, the company doubles donations to thousands of nonprofits, effectively multiplying the impact of team members’ contributions.

Then, going a step further, Google also offers an additional $10,000 match limit for donations going to disaster or international relief! Not to mention, matching funds that employees raise through peer-to-peer fundraising events like runs, walks, and rides.

Learn more about the matching gift program.

Tips & Tricks for Spreading the Word About Matching Gifts

Implementing a well-thought-out matching gift fundraising plan is an integral step in bridging the knowledge and funding gaps many organizations see. The following tips and tricks will empower public broadcasters like you to maximize donations, build stronger relationships with individual and corporate donors, and reach fundraising goals more effectively and efficiently than ever before.

1. Incorporate matching gift info in pledge drives and on-air appeals.

Public media stations often heavily rely on annual pledge drives to generate the funding needed to power their operations. Thus, you’ll want to heavily promote matching gifts throughout such efforts.

For this strategy, we recommend incorporating information about matching gift programs directly into your on-air appeals. As you introduce your campaign and make the ask of your viewers and listeners, mentioning the opportunity for gifts to be doubled can go a long way. In fact, matching gift research indicates that 84% of donors would be more likely to give if a match is offered, while 1 in 3 say they’d give a larger amount.

Top tip: Kickstart your efforts using our free matching gift appeal script below!

2. Leverage and enhance supporter loyalty with matching gifts.

Matching gifts not only increase the financial impact of one-time individual gifts but also serve as a powerful tool for building supporter loyalty. When donors see that their contributions are going twice as far, they feel double the sense of connection and pride in their support of the organization. And it makes them want to stay involved in the long run, ultimately lengthening and improving the donor journey.

For public media groups, this is essential⁠—as nonprofit broadcast services are often powered by a group of committed, long-term supporters. Additionally, highlighting matching gift opportunities demonstrates the station’s dedication to stewarding its financial assets responsibly, further strengthening the bond between the station and its donors.

3. Offer unique incentives for matching gift participation by donors.

One way to encourage donors to take advantage of matching gift opportunities is by rewarding them for doing so. Offer unique incentives for match-eligible donors who ultimately take the steps to request a match from their employer on your behalf. These might include:

  • Branded apparel (such as t-shirts, hats, and hoodies)
  • Other branded merchandise (pens, stickers, mugs, etc.)
  • Exclusive access to digital resources
  • Personalized eCards or digital greeting cards
  • Inclusion in a donor wall or on-air recognition

Not to mention, as a less tangible incentive, let your audience know that participating in matching gifts will allow your team to reach its fundraising goals sooner. You may even be able to wrap up your pledge drive and return to viewers’ and listeners’ regularly scheduled programming early.

4. Integrate a matching gift solution into your fundraising toolkit.

To streamline the process of capturing matching gifts for public media organizations like yours, it’s essential that teams integrate an automation solution into their software toolkits. Luckily, Double the Donation integrates with the leading public media fundraising platforms to ensure quick and easy implementation.

Once equipped with a matching gift solution, your organization will be set to automatically identify matching gift opportunities, educate donors about the process, and facilitate the submission of matching gift requests. The tool simplifies the administrative burden on broadcast staff and even ensures that no matchable gifts slip through the cracks.


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Get a sneak peek of the industry-leading matching gift automation solution.





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Sample Scripts | Marketing Matching Gifts to Your Public Media Audience

Kick off your organization’s matching gift promotional efforts with these customizable scripts and templates. Remember: educating your audience about the matching gift opportunity increases the likelihood that donors request their matches.

On-Air Pledge Drive Script: Template #1

“Good [morning/afternoon/evening], [viewers/listeners]! As we embark on our annual pledge drive, I want to start with a pop quiz: What do companies like Disney, Google, and SONY Corporation (along with thousands of others) have in common?

If you said that they all match employees’ donations to nonprofit groups like ours, you’d be correct. That means your donation to [Public Media Organization] could be matchable, stretching twice as far for your favorite broadcast programs.

To check if your employer participates in matching gifts, head to our Match Page at [URL] to search for your company. Then, make your pledge online or by calling now at [station phone number]. Thank you for all your support, and let’s make this pledge drive one for the books!”

Phonathon Script: Template #2

“Good [Morning/Afternoon/Evening], [Recipient]! My name is [Name], and I’m calling on behalf of [Public Media Organization]. We’re reaching out to our valued supporters like you today to share an exciting opportunity to support our station.

Did you know that your donations to [Public Media Organization] may be eligible for a match from your employer? That’s right! Thousands of companies match team members’ gifts, doubling or sometimes tripling the value of each dollar an employee donates.

If you provide the name of your employer, I can do a quick search of our company database to see if you qualify for a match! Then, I’ll walk you through the process of giving and completing the request process to maximize your support for our organization.

Your generosity is instrumental in helping us deliver enriching content to our community, and we deeply appreciate your dedication to [Public Media Organization]!”

Email: Template #3

Subject: Double your support for public media like [Public Media Organization]

Dear [Recipient],

I hope this email finds you well. As a valued supporter of the [Public Media Organization] family, we wanted to see if you were familiar with corporate matching gift opportunities. If not, here’s a brief overview:

Tons of businesses double or even triple their employees’ contributions to causes like ours. This means every dollar you give could be matched by your employer, effectively doubling the impact of your support for our programming and community initiatives.

Interested? Here’s how you can participate:

  • Visit our donation page at [URL] to make your contribution.
  • Check if your employer offers a matching gift program on our website search tool: [URL]
  • If eligible, submit a matching gift request to double your impact on our community.

Your ongoing generosity plays a crucial role in sustaining our mission to produce and supply informative, entertaining, and enriching content. Thank you for considering this opportunity to maximize your support for [Public Media Organization]!

Warm regards,

[Name]
[Title/Position]
[Public Media Organization]

Tweet: Template #4

Exciting news⁠—your support for [Public Media Organization] might be able to make an even bigger impact! Thanks to corporate matching gift programs, thousands of donors’ gifts are matchable by their employers. See if your company matches by using the search tool here: [URL]

#MatchingGifts #DoubleYourImpact #NonprofitFundraising #CommunitySupport #PublicMedia

Top tip: Make the most of the resources available to you! Double the Donation users are encouraged to leverage the platform’s library of pre-written emails and pre-made graphic design templates to scale up their matching gift marketing efforts with ease.

Final Thoughts

Harnessing the power of matching gifts presents an invaluable opportunity for public media organizations. When integrated into a fundraising strategy effectively, broadcasters are equipped to amplify impact, engage supporters, and ultimately elevate programming. And this opportunity is only expected to grow⁠. That means now’s your chance to ramp up your efforts, invest in technology, and drive more matching gifts to completion.

Watch the video below to see how Maine Public has boosted matching gifts at their organization by leveraging Double the Donation!

Maine Public- Matching Gift Success from Double the Donation on Vimeo.

Interested in more tips and tricks to drive matching gifts for public media groups like yours? Keep reading these additional recommended resources:

Make the most of matching gifts for your civic or community organization.

The title of the article next to an illustration of a woman leaning on a desk with graphs surrounding her

5 Political Campaign Lessons That Nonprofits Can Learn From

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In major election years, political campaigns are at the top of everyone’s minds. Your organization’s supporters receive political advertisements and donation appeals alongside those from your nonprofit, and donors may even wonder where your organization stands on key election issues.

While 501(c)(3) nonprofits are prohibited from participating in or supporting specific political campaigns, that doesn’t mean you should ignore them. Not only can election results impact your organization’s work in the future, but there are also plenty of lessons you can learn from political campaign strategies to improve your own fundraising and marketing campaigns.

We’ll cover five concepts that political campaign staff understand well and explore how you can apply them to your nonprofit’s strategies.

1. Time is of the Essence

Since every political campaign runs on a hard deadline, they understand the importance of urgency in every facet of their operations. Political campaign staff plot out detailed field plans, campaign timelines, and editorial calendars to ensure that every action contributes to the ultimate goal of winning the election. They hit the ground running, leveraging volunteers to speak with hundreds of voters at a time about supporting their candidate.

You can approach your fundraising campaigns with the same mindset to increase their momentum and drive results. Try infusing more urgency into your nonprofit’s campaigns by:

  • Writing urgent calls to action. The calls to action (CTAs) that you include in fundraising appeals, social media posts, and emails should convey the importance of your nonprofit’s work and empower supporters to act now. For instance, the CTA “Donate to save a turtle today!” inspires more urgency than “Donate here.”
  • Hosting a phonathon. Political campaigns use phone and text banking to connect with many voters in short time spans. Your nonprofit can do the same by hosting a phonathon in which volunteers call and connect with numerous donors in one day using a standardized script.
  • Leveraging automation to connect with donors immediately. Marketing automation tools can help you increase the speed at which you reach out to supporters and drive more action. By automatically sending emails or texts immediately after a donor gives, for example, you can quickly strengthen that relationship and inspire further involvement.

Additionally, make sure to frequently update donors on the progress of your campaigns, projects, and programs to show them that your nonprofit is working urgently to put their donations to good use.

2. Public Opinion is Paramount

Political campaign strategists spend plenty of time and resources researching the opinions of voters and crafting messages that will resonate with them. They understand that voters get a candidate elected, just like a nonprofit’s donors enable it to further its mission, and they prioritize voter opinion effectively.

Donors’ opinions, priorities, and concerns should play a central role in your nonprofit’s strategy development, guiding how you approach marketing and fundraising campaigns.

To better understand and speak to your audience’s motivations, send out periodic surveys to ask for their feedback directly. Ask questions like:

  • Why do you donate to our nonprofit?
  • What do you consider to be the most important aspects of our cause?
  • What other causes are you interested in?
  • What kinds of programs do you want to see from us in the future?
  • If you could change one thing about our organization, what would it be?

Along with asking your donors directly, take into account research on the opinions of the general public. For example, 77% of consumers want to purchase from companies with corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives like matching gift programs. With this in mind, your nonprofit might prioritize your matching gift fundraising campaigns to appeal to the public’s interest in CSR.

3. Volunteers are Drivers of Change

Similar to nonprofits, most political campaigns don’t have large teams and therefore have to rely on volunteers for major efforts like canvassing and phone banking.

Because these efforts are so critical to the success of political campaigns, campaign staff understand and value their volunteers’ power to enact change. Some campaigns even use distributed organizing tactics, giving leadership positions to select volunteers and empowering them to lead their own volunteer teams on behalf of the campaign.

Your nonprofit can take inspiration from these tactics by improving your volunteer program and empowering volunteers to act. Use the following strategies to do so:

  • Emphasize skill development. No matter what kind of volunteer opportunities you offer, they involve certain skills that volunteers get to develop when they participate. Highlight the opportunity to improve soft skills like leadership and communication along with relevant hard skills like gardening or teaching.
  • Host peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. Let volunteers take the lead on fundraising by hosting a peer-to-peer campaign in which they raise money on behalf of your nonprofit. These campaigns give volunteers a chance to develop their fundraising skills and deepen their relationship with your nonprofit.
  • Show appreciation to volunteers often. Volunteers are more likely to stay involved with your organization when they feel like their participation is appreciated and makes a genuine difference to your mission. Appreciate volunteers by sending thank-you emails, giving them small gifts, and regularly asking for their feedback.

With a more empowered, involved volunteer force at your disposal, your nonprofit can start taking advantage of corporate volunteering programs, too. Invite volunteers to tap into their employers’ volunteer grant initiatives to make an even greater impact on your cause.

4. Digital Channels Make a Difference

Your nonprofit likely already uses a variety of digital communication channels to connect with donors and spread greater awareness of your nonprofit’s work. But are you leveraging these channels to their full extent?

For political campaigns, digital marketing and outreach is a top priority. They use digital tools like text banking software, canvassing apps, and social media outreach tools to get their message in front of voters across as many channels as possible. They also use a mix of paid and non-paid advertising methods to reach new online audiences.

Think about the digital channels your organization hasn’t yet explored and how they could give your fundraising campaigns a boost. You might try tapping into video marketing, for instance. Or, you could leverage free programs like the Google Ad Grant to try out search advertising. Take stock of the resources you have at your disposal, then choose a few new digital avenues to tap into.

5. Mobilization Requires Multiple Touchpoints

Political campaigns don’t stick to one canvassing or volunteer recruitment method — they use a combination of phone banking, door-to-door canvassing, text messages, social media advertising, email, and more. Campaign staff understand that one message or conversation isn’t enough to mobilize voters and volunteers.

The same is true for nonprofits. To truly inspire action from your supporters, you need a multi-channel fundraising strategy that provides plenty of touchpoints with current and prospective donors. This may include channels like email, text, social media, direct mail, your website, and more.

For the best results, segment your audience based on factors like their donation histories, past involvement, and communication preferences. Then, tailor your outreach and fundraising appeals to the interests of each group to make every touchpoint more meaningful.

Applying These Lessons to Matching Gift Fundraising

Political campaigns and nonprofits may seem different on the surface, but both aim to enact change by touching the hearts and minds of their supporters. This is especially true when it comes to matching gifts — by mobilizing your donors to request matching gifts from their employers, you’ll inspire them to double their impact on the causes they care about.

To apply these political campaign lessons to your matching gift fundraising strategy, try taking the following steps:

  1. Use a matching gift automation tool to immediately follow up with match-eligible donors and instill urgency in your appeals.
  2. Solicit feedback from donors who have requested matching gifts before and use their opinions to guide your matching gift fundraising strategy.
  3. Promote matching gifts across all your online channels to create multiple digital touchpoints with match-eligible donors.

By incorporating these lessons into your organization’s next matching gift fundraising campaign, you can find new ways to engage supporters and mobilize them to act.

Advancing Matching Gifts for Civic & Community Organizations

Advancing Matching Gifts for Civic & Community Organizations

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Organizations dedicated to fostering positive social change often struggle to maximize their impact with tight budgets and limited resources. Fortunately, matching gifts for civic and community organizations present a powerful opportunity for individuals to double or even triple their generosity at no added cost. In doing so, these programs allow nonprofits to grow their revenue and tap into one of the most prominent sources of corporate philanthropy funding.

In this guide, we aim to overview everything your team needs to know to navigate the opportunity effectively.

We’ll cover the following:

Despite significant potential, many civic and community fundraisers have yet to harness the full power of matching gifts. By implementing the strategies and insights below, you can set your team up for double the success in no time.

Let’s dive in!

Gift-Matching for Civic and Community Groups 101: The Basics

Matching gifts for civic and community organizations, such as advocacy groups, youth development initiatives, civic engagement programs, and more, offer donors an enticing chance to double their support for the social causes they care about.

These match funds, supplied by donors’ employers, effectively double (or sometimes even triple) the impact of each dollar gifted. Here’s a breakdown of the process:

  1. An individual makes a financial contribution to the civic or community organization of their choice.
  2. The donor determines if their employer matches team member donations. If so, the individual accesses eligibility criteria (incl. donation thresholds, ratios, causes, and deadlines) and submission forms.
  3. The donor completes the donation match request process outlined by their employer, generally by filling out a brief online form.
  4. The nonprofit verifies the initial donation with the donor’s employer.
  5. The donor’s employer reviews and approves the matching gift request and contributes match funding to the organization in question.

Matching gift process for civic and community organizations

Overall, matching gifts provide significant value to civic and community organizations. These programs can be powerful tools for mobilizing resources, building nonprofit capacity, and driving collective action among individuals and corporations alike.


Match More Gifts With Double the Donation

Get a sneak peek of the industry-leading matching gift automation solution.





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5 Community-Focused Companies That Match Employee Gifts

Thousands of employers match gifts to all sorts of nonprofit causes⁠—of which civic and community organizations are generally included. However, these five programs stand out as excellent examples of companies to keep in mind as you uncover match-eligible donors in your community.

Baxter matches gifts for civic and community organizations.

Baxter International

Baxter International is a leading healthcare company employing over 60,000 team members across the globe. In order to support the communities where its employees live and work (and encourage individual staff to do the same), Baxter offers a generous giving program, matching between $25 and $5,000 in donations per person each year.

By empowering its employees to give back and amplifying their charitable efforts, the company strengthens its corporate culture of social responsibility and fosters positive change in communities around the world.

Learn more about the matching gift program.

Airbnb matches gifts for civic and community organizations.

Airbnb

Airbnb, a vacation property rental company, also matches its employees’ gifts to eligible nonprofits. Fortunately, this includes civic and community organizations.

With a minimum donation of $25, full-time and part-time Airbnb team members are eligible to get up to $1,000 worth of donations matched with company funds in a single year. That means more dollars flowing into civic and community engagement efforts, empowering individual donors to make a greater impact on the causes that matter most to them.

Learn more about the matching gift program.

Checkr matches gifts for civic and community organizations.

Checkr

Checkr is a corporate employee background screening tool that focuses on fair chance hiring practices. In addition to its mission of transforming hiring for a fairer future, the company pledges to donate at least 1% of its employees’ time, product, equity, and profits each year to philanthropic causes.

One way Checkr supports philanthropy is through its matching gift program! Checkr is committed to rallying its employees to give back by encouraging participation and streamlining the engagement process. In fact, it was one of the first companies to offer Double the Donation’s groundbreaking auto-submission functionality through an integration with its CSR portal!

Learn more about the matching gift program.

UPS matches gifts for civic and community organizations.

United Parcel Service (UPS)

United Parcel Service, or UPS, demonstrates its commitment to corporate social responsibility through its generous matching gift program. The program aims to support its employees’ philanthropic efforts by matching eligible employee donations to a wide range of nonprofit organizations, including civic and community groups. However, gifts must be contributed directly through the company’s giving portal to qualify for a match.

In addition to its matching gift program, UPS also offers volunteer grants for the organizations with which its employees volunteer. When an employee with 1+ years of service spends 50 hours volunteering, the company contributes a $250 grant to the nonprofit.

Learn more about the matching gift program.

 

Comcast matches gifts for civic and community organizations.

Comcast

Comcast, a multinational telecommunications and media conglomerate with more than 186,000 employees, boasts a top matching gift program designed to empower its employees to make a difference. To incentivize giving back within their communities, Comcast offers a generous company match to many nonprofit organizations, including those in the civic and community sectors.

Note: Comcast employees must donate to their favorite nonprofits directly through the company’s corporate giving platform in order to qualify for matching gifts. Employees with questions are encouraged to contact comcastnbcuniversalsupport@cybergrants.com.

Learn more about the matching gift program.

Tips for Driving Civic Engagement With Matching Gifts

A well-thought-out fundraising plan enables an organization to amplify its efforts, effectively engage supporters, and make a greater difference in the communities it serves. To begin building a strategy for your team, check out the following expert-recommended practices.

1. Educate your team and your donors about matching gift opportunities.

One primary cause of unclaimed matching gifts is a lack of knowledge about existing programs. To begin bridging the awareness and subsequent funding gaps, we recommend actively promoting the opportunity to your donors and fundraising team alike.

By educating your internal team about matching gifts, you empower them to be your greatest advocates to your donors. Take time to review common matching gift programs (and how to locate additional company guidelines), eligibility requirements, submission processes, match tracking and verification, and more.

At the same time, it is essential to educate donors about matching gift opportunities. An estimated 78% of match-eligible individuals have no idea if their companies match gifts! When donors are provided with clear information about matching gift programs and how they can take advantage of them, though, they’re generally happy to do so. And that means more awareness = more matching gifts completed!

2. Encourage ineligible donors to advocate for matching to their employers.

While not all supporters will qualify for matching gifts at the time of giving, it’s important to remember that even ineligible donors can play a crucial role in your organization’s strategy. And a big part of that is by advocating for new matching gift program development on your behalf.

Companies match gifts largely as an employee engagement opportunity. When an employee pitches the idea of a matching gift program to their boss, the boss is often inclined to consider the proposal positively. The donor may even get their initial gift matched after all!

Top tip: The less intensive your ask, the more likely a donor is to complete the intended action. Provide interested individuals with a customizable template designed to assist in pitching a new matching gift program to one’s employer.

3. Use impact-driven language to communicate matching gift value.

Effective communication is essential for conveying the positive impact of matching gifts to donors⁠—not to mention inspiring them to take action and get involved. Using impact-driven language emphasizes the programs’ tangible benefits and highlights the specific impact they can have on your organization’s mission. For example, if you typically inform donors that a $100 donation will feed a family of four for a week, you can frame a matching gift opportunity as empowering your team to feed two families for the cost of one.

When possible, emphasize real-world outcomes and achievements made possible through matching gifts for your organization in the past, too! This could mean sharing success stories, testimonials, metrics, and more.

4. Automate the matching gift fundraising experience.

Identifying and following up on matching gifts is an extremely valuable fundraising practice. However, doing so manually can involve a number of time-consuming and resource-intensive activities.

Fortunately, automating the matching gift fundraising experience streamlines the process for donors and maximizes efficiency for your organization’s internal team. By implementing an automated matching gift solution like Double the Donation, you’ll reduce administrative burden and ensure no matching gift opportunity falls by the wayside.

Plus, when you integrate Double the Donation into your existing software ecosystem, you can incorporate matching gifts directly into the giving experience. Then, trigger tailored matching gift follow-ups that encourage donors to request their matches and provide company-specific guidelines and submission forms. The end result is a significant increase in matching gift participation, revenue, and more.


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Free Customizable Templates to Grow Matching Donation Impact

Use the following matching gift outreach examples to inform your organization’s messaging. As you do so, consider how you can customize the templates to fit your nonprofit’s voice and branding to best connect with your audience.

Email Blast: Template #1

Subject: Double Your Impact for [Nonprofit or Initiative]: Matching Donation Opportunity Inside! 💰💰

Dear [Recipient],

As a valued supporter of [Nonprofit], we wanted to share an exciting opportunity that may enable you to DOUBLE your impact on our cause. That is with corporate matching gifts!

Did you know that tens of thousands of businesses—including over 65% of the Fortune 500—match employees’ donations to charitable causes as part of their social responsibility efforts? More than 26 million individuals work for companies that match… and you might be one of them.

To check if your employer offers a matching gift program, please

  1. Click here to visit our matching gift page. [URL]
  2. Type your company name in the search tool widget.
  3. Review the provided guidelines to determine eligibility and access the online forms.

Then, make your donation using our online giving page (if you haven’t already) [URL] and follow the instructions to submit your matching gift request!

As always, your support is critical in helping us [description of mission or current initiatives]. With the power of matching donations, we can do even more to [describe the impact of donations on your organization’s work].

Warm regards,

[Name]
[Title/Position]
[Nonprofit]

LinkedIn Post: Template #2

Attention donors! 📣

Did you know that your generous gifts to [Nonprofit] could have double the impact?

With corporate matching gift programs, millions of donors’ employers provide generous donation matches to the organizations their staff cares about. This allows supporters like you to stretch their gifts and better support [description of mission or current initiatives].

Here’s how you can make a difference:

📲 Visit our donation page at [URL].
💸 Make your contribution and check if your employer offers a matching gift program.
📤 If eligible, submit a matching gift request to double your impact!

Together, we can [description of tangible donation impact] one (matched) donation at a time! 💙 #MatchingGifts #CommunityImpact #DoubleYourImpact

Facebook Post: Template #3

What do Comcast, Airbnb, and the United Parcel Service have in common?

They all offer generous philanthropy initiatives—which include matching gifts for civic and community organizations their employees support.

At [Nonprofit], we’re incredibly grateful for the support of these businesses and the 23,000+ other companies that match gifts for causes like ours. With their help, we amplify our efforts and create lasting change in our communities.

Does your employer participate? If you’ve never checked your eligibility for a match, now is the time to do so. Head to the Matching Gifts Page on our site here [URL] to learn more about the opportunity and see if your company matches!

🙌 #CorporatePartners #CommunityImpact #MatchingGifts #CivicEngagement

Top tip: Keep in mind that triggering matching gift outreach has never been easier than with Double the Donation! Current clients are provided with a number of pre-written emails to implement through the engagement process, along with customizable graphic design elements and Canva templates.

Wrapping Up

Pursuing an optimized matching gift strategy will bring your civic or community organization to new heights in fundraising, donor engagement, mission impact, and more.

By educating your organization inside and out, encouraging advocacy for new program development, and communicating the tangible value of matching gifts, you empower your team to tap into the resource effectively and efficiently. Then, invest in automation technology to streamline the process from start to finish.

Watch the video below to learn how Pi Beta Phi Foundation uses Double the Donation to scale matching gift revenue.

Pi Beta Phi Foundation- Matching Gift Success from Double the Donation on Vimeo.

Looking for more? Check out our other recommended resources below:

Make the most of matching gifts for your civic or community organization.

Person using data storytelling to present their findings.

5 Noteworthy Benefits of Effective Data Storytelling

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According to Steve Jobs, “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values & agenda of an entire generation that is to come.”

Good stories are backed by hard data. Translating collected data or evidence into a compelling and insightful narrative is known as data storytelling. The skill combines visualization, contextualization, and narrative techniques to engage, inform, or inspire a predefined audience. 

In this guide, we’ll explore some noteworthy advantages of effective data storytelling and provide strategies for how your team can start implementing it. Let’s dive in!

Builds trust

Data storytelling weaves your organization’s insights into a credible, comprehensible narrative that can increase trust among your team members, external partners, and the population you serve. Over time, this confidence can empower your organization to accomplish the following objectives:

  • Pivot internal strategies. When making changes to your internal organization’s structure or objectives, it’s essential to present the data that backs up each of these decisions. For instance, a nonprofit may use insights from its donor database to indicate a need for an improved donor retention strategy that addresses high rates of donor churn.
  • Recruit and retain talent. Effective data storytelling enables organizations to highlight their achievements to attract more top talent. By continuing to value data-driven decision-making, you can then set the tone for new team members to adopt the same evidence-backed processes in their work.
  • Maintain credibility. From the external stakeholder perspective, data-driven narratives indicate that your organization is trustworthy. For this reason, nonprofits use an annual report to break down their operations’ success and tangible outcomes.
  • Gather support. Data-driven proposals are often the foundation that investor relations and fundraising requests stand on. For instance, a nonprofit aiding in disaster relief could indicate that a donation of $50 could allow them to provide 10 emergency blankets, 12 hygiene kits, and seven disaster clean-up kits.

A culture of data storytelling opens the door to increased trust across several fronts while ensuring your team remains transparent and accountable. For nonprofits especially, using data storytelling to display your funds indicates professionalism and credibility. In turn, this can result in more matched donations, volunteer support, and a greater missional impact overall.

Data Storytelling Contextualizes Experiences

Data storytelling takes the audience beyond raw statistics to understand how an organization’s operational changes produce tangible, positive outcomes. These anecdotes, backed by your findings, can come in different shapes and sizes. Here are a few variations to consider across separate industries:

  • Customer profiles. Data narratives help organizations better understand the people they serve. For instance, healthcare organizations can use data narratives from a robust analytics platform to compare their patient’s health to the overall population. This way, they can access additional context related to their patient needs.
  • Before and after stories. Comparing data before and after a major project or transition can help accurately frame progress, recenter strategies, and celebrate successes. For example, a healthcare organization may compare its patient care quality before and after implementing a new electronic health record (EHR) workflow.
  • Stories from the field. Frontline perspectives provide context to abstract data points and can emphasize their findings. These “boots on the ground” stories help organizations zoom in on their data to measure intangible impact. That’s why considering your team’s experiences alongside your collected data can add new insights into your organization’s challenges or needs.
  • Testimonials. These stories have incredible utility to expand your organization’s impact. A personal story can help you connect with your donors, customers, or patients in a way that resonates and brings in more support.

Data storytelling adds color to your organization’s raw findings to emphasize your impact. As a result, the contextualized data can evoke empathy and inspire necessary action.

Creates meaning

Organizations prioritizing corporate citizenship measure their success with return on investment (ROI) and their social impact. Data storytelling helps audience members understand the significance of an organization’s initiatives. Let’s look at a couple of examples from different perspectives:

  • Stakeholders. If your organization relies on the support of corporate sponsors, data narratives can help ground your performance and persuade stakeholders to invest. For example, a well-designed infographic explaining your organization’s impact may convince nonprofit donors may increase their donation amounts.
  • Customers. Measured data points point out the tangible differences an organization’s efforts have made in a customer’s journey. For instance, a company may promote its client satisfaction scores to strengthen its existing customer relationships and appeal to new customers.
  • Administrators and staff. Sharing data-backed stories that illustrate the positive outcomes resulting from administrative expertise and responsibility can motivate team members to celebrate their progress and continue working toward their organizational goals.

When used with the right audience in mind, data storytelling translates collected data into understandable impact that can inspire motivation and gratitude.

Visualizes outcomes

Data storytelling can illustrate trends, progress, and outcomes clearly and compellingly. Visual representations of data make complex information more digestible and memorable, allowing stakeholders to grasp the impact of an organization’s work quickly.

You can use a wide variety of visualization tools such as charts, infographics, flowcharts, or even interactive solutions to frame your data. As an example, Arcadia uses dashboards to visualize healthcare outcomes and opportunities. When similar tools are used effectively, they can help organizations of all kinds by:

  • Monitoring operational performance. Real-time dashboards keep up with current trends and help monitor internal performance fluctuation so that leadership can get a better understanding of areas of improvement.
  • Keeping tabs on costs and resources. A cost-tracking dashboard measures expenses over time, compares your budget to economic trends, and provides cost-allocation insights. Typically these dashboards are housed within an accounting software or expense management system or within a CRM.
  • Graphing larger trends. Tools like Tableau or Google Looker Studio can assist with trend graphing to place internal initiatives in context. For instance, many organizations rely on predictive analytics to forecast future trends based on historical data.

The right tools can help you keep track of your resources so that you never skip a beat. This applies in the nonprofit sector as well. For example, a matching gift software vendor can visualize your matching gift goals and track your fundraising efforts in real time. As a result, nonprofits can clearly predict their matching gift revenue over time.

Unifies collaborators

Data storytelling fosters a sense of shared mission and purpose that can get team members on the same page. Leverage dedicated employee engagement tools to gather more data that unifies your team, including:

  • Recognition platforms. Motivate your team members with meaningful recognition from managers and peers. With these platforms, you can turn a staff member’s successful KPIs into positive kudos.
  • Feedback-based platforms. Providing consistent and measured feedback can turn an employee’s core metrics into productive conversations that keep all parties informed and aligned on expectations and next steps.
  • Internal communication and project management platforms. These solutions help your team set achievable growth goals and contextualize progress. This way, with every new touchpoint, you’ll be able to see the full story of your team’s improvement.

Contextualizing your internal metrics can lead to increased engagement and team member satisfaction. Over time, this evidence-backed conversation helps provide a common language and understanding of the team’s goals and achievements.

The value of data storytelling can be measured throughout several different industries—nonprofit, business, healthcare, education, and more. As you learn to weave your raw data into inspiring narratives, you can not only unlock the potential for informed decision-making but also create a bridge between complex data and organizational impact.

Double the Donation Offers Matching Gift Functionality on Classy Studio

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Double the Donation and Classy continue strong partnership with expanded integration capabilities. Now, mutual clients can leverage Double the Donation on their Classy Studio giving experiences. 

As Classy’s preferred matching gift solution, Double the Donation already integrates with Classy’s standard and embedded donation forms to help nonprofits uncover matching gift opportunities. With Classy’s new, innovative Studio forms, fundraisers can create unforgettable supporter experiences that integrate employer gift matching to maximize success. 

“Classy Studio is our next-generation fundraising platform that revolutionizes the end-to-end campaign experience. From creation, to launch, to receiving donations, Studio makes launching beautiful, performant campaigns easy” said Robert King Novara, Senior Product Manager, and lead Product Manager for Studio. “Elevating Double the Donation’s employer gift matching option directly in the Classy Studio checkout flow provides a seamless donor experience. With Classy Studio and Double the Donation, nonprofits can create giving and gift-matching experiences that include every supporter in your mission.”

This integration further enhances the ability for nonprofits to maximize matching gift fundraising across their campaigns. Leveraging this functionality, match-eligible donors can now be identified across standard, embedded, or studio Classy donation forms. No matter how a donor gives, they will have the opportunity to double the generosity. 

“At Double the Donation, we want to make it as simple as possible for nonprofits to uncover eligible donors and harness those matching gift dollars,” says Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “This expansion of our integration ensures that matching gifts can be part of a nonprofit’s fundraising strategy to enhance success and expand mission impact.”

Accessing the Double the Donation integration across your Classy donation forms is simple. Follow our integration guide and get connected in minutes. Are you a Classy user ready to start your matching gift automation journey?  Request a demo of Double the Donation, and let us know you use Classy for your fundraising efforts. 

Want additional resources to help you take your matching gifts strategy to the next level? Enroll today in our Matching Gift Academy for in-depth content about growing your matching gift revenue. 

About Classy: Classy is a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect with the causes they care about. By providing solutions for online fundraising that create great experiences for supporters, Classy empowers nonprofits to unlock generosity and advance their missions. As part of the GoFundMe family, Classy is trusted by thousands of nonprofit partners and has helped organizations raise $30 billion for social good,  Classy also hosts the Collaborative conference, a two-day immersive experience that unites the most inventive minds in the social sector to uncover the ideas and strategies necessary to propel our industry forward. For more information, visit www.classy.org or follow Classy on LinkedIn.

About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The Double the Donation platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. Double the Donation 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 visit https://doublethedonation.com/get-a-demo/

This guide covers everything you need to know about buying fundraising software, including key types, features, and examples.

How to Buy Fundraising Software That’s Right For Your Nonprofit

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Digital fundraising is crucial in today’s nonprofit landscape. In the current software-driven fundraising era, nonprofits, schools, and other charitable institutions must reassess their fundraising arsenals.

If this description sounds like your situation, you may be considering enhancing your existing toolkit or buying new fundraising software. To assist you in this journey, we’ve crafted a comprehensive guide for navigating this process. We’ll cover:

Improve your understanding of how fundraising software impacts organizations like yours and learn what to consider when searching for new tools. From matching gift tools to peer-to-peer platforms, we’ll cover everything you need to elevate your fundraising efforts.

Click here to download our matching gift guide and learn how your fundraising software can help secure more corporate giving donations.

Types of Fundraising Software to Know

A nonprofit fundraising toolkit includes multiple platforms that together perform all the functions you need to reach out to supporters and secure donations. Some solutions are “all-in-one” platforms, while others focus on a few specific features and can integrate with external add-ons to expand their functionality.

What platforms to include in your fundraising toolkit depends on your nonprofit’s needs and goals. However, a few types of fundraising software solutions can be considered essential.

There are several types of fundraising tools out there like online donation forms, peer-to-peer tools, and donor management systems.

Online Donation Forms

One of the core components of your fundraising toolkit is your organization’s online donation forms. These resources allow nonprofits to collect donations online.

The best donation pages empower users to:

  • Offer suggested (or custom) donation amounts
  • Accept gifts from desktop computers and mobile devices
  • Match their donation form branding to their organization
  • Facilitate one-time and recurring gifts
  • Collect additional donor information through custom form fields
  • Integrate with a variety of other nonprofit solutions, like Double the Donation’s matching gift software

Donation forms have one of the most straightforward purposes of all fundraising software, but there are still many providers to choose from. You may even choose one with more features than the ones we just listed.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Pages

Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns elevate existing donors’ engagement while simultaneously expanding your reach to new prospects. Several peer-to-peer fundraising software options are available that enable organizations to:

  • Equip volunteer fundraisers with customizable campaign pages
  • Add images and other fundraising updates
  • Spread the word with social sharing tools
  • Track fundraising progress toward goals
  • Prioritize an accessible and easy-to-use giving process
  • Integrate with other nonprofit solutions

Remember, for peer-to-peer fundraising, your system should be easy for both your team and your donors to use.

Matching Gift Software

Tons of workplace giving revenue gets left on the table each year⁠—including $4 to $7 billion in unclaimed matching gifts alone. Luckily, nonprofits can leverage a matching gift platform to ensure their donors are tapping into these overlooked resources.

This type of fundraising software enables nonprofits to:

  • Market matching gift opportunities to donors and supporters
  • Locate detailed information about matching gift programs
  • Access insights on volunteer grants, volunteer time off, and other corporate incentives for volunteering
  • Leverage an autocompleting search tool to identify employment information
  • Trigger automated outreach to provide valuable matching gift program insights
  • Ensure no matching gift opportunity falls through the cracks with timely follow-up cadences
  • Integrate with other nonprofit solutions

This is a sample matching gift fundraising software dashboard.

When it comes to matching gift software, we have to recommend our state-of-the-art solution, Double the Donation Matching. What puts our matching gift database over the top is our partnerships with corporate giving software, enabling automatic submission of matching gift requests.

Click here to learn everything you need to know about leveraging matching gift fundraising software.

Payment Processors

To accept donations and other payments online, you’ll need payment processing software that facilitates transactions behind the scenes. This tool essentially mediates between the organization, the donor, and their financial institution.

An effective payment processor empowers nonprofit organizations to:

  • Process contributions for multiple payment methods
  • Offer a simple user interface
  • Produce ready-built and custom reports
  • Maintain high levels of payment security standards
  • Integrate with other nonprofit solutions

This fundraising tool is essential for facilitating donations, so choose a secure one that strengthens your donation process. Note that a donation form differentiates in that it collects other donor information and may use various payment processors to complete transactions.

Donor Management Systems

When it comes to managing donors, there’s a lot for your team to keep track of. Ensure your fundraisers have the tools to improve operations through a robust donor data management system.

Also known as a CRM (or constituent relationship management tool), your donor database should allow your team to:

  • Maintain detailed supporter records with engagement histories
  • Add helpful notes within donor profiles
  • Segment your supporter base for targeted communications
  • Automate administrative tasks and donor outreach
  • Easily generate robust reports
  • Integrate with other nonprofit solutions

The best nonprofit CRMs simplify communication and strengthen relationships. By understanding your supporters better, you’ll be able to foster deeper connections with them.

Nonprofit Event Tools

Hosting a fundraising event is an effective way to bring in new supporters, boost donor engagement, and increase fundraising revenue. Nonprofit event software can streamline the entire experience including planning, hosting, and following up post-event.

Specifically, the best event fundraising tools make it easy to:

  • Craft online event pages and/or microsites to promote upcoming opportunities
  • Offer free or paid ticketing options
  • Organize engaging in-person, virtual, and hybrid experiences
  • Facilitate digital bidding at auction events
  • Collect additional donations beyond ticket sales
  • Integrate with other nonprofit solutions

Events are a fundamental part of donor engagement, so make sure you can bring your community together to support your cause with the right event software.

Donor Acknowledgment Software

Appreciating your donors is a critical component of nonprofit fundraising⁠, especially if you’re looking to steward long-term relationships with them. Be sure you have some kind of donor recognition software in your fundraising toolkit.

While a regular email or thank-you letter can make do in a pinch, elevate your gratitude with unique and engaging acknowledgments⁠—like eCards!

When you buy fundraising software for donor acknowledgements, you can express genuine gratitude for supporters.

Your donor recognition software should empower your team to:

  • Brand messages to your nonprofit, including fonts, images, and colors
    Send acknowledgments in seconds
    Leverage multiple digital communication channels, including email and SMS
    Customize communications to cultivate personal donor connections
  • Track digital thank-you notes to determine when supporters interact with your outreach

Acknowledging generosity is crucial for retaining support, so think of appreciation software as a tool for investing in earning future donations.

Factors to Consider When Buying Fundraising Software

As you explore various software options, we recommend making detailed notes on the following components of each platform:

When buying fundraising software, assess each tool's functionality, ease-of-use, scalability, and more.

Functionality

Fundraising software is a broad term that encompasses many different types of platforms and features. That said, make sure you’re buying software that has the functionalities your organization needs.

At the same time, consider what you can live without. For example, if your organization has awesome event fundraising ideas but isn’t so big on advocacy, forgo tools with advocacy features in favor of ones that have excellent event planning capabilities. Or perhaps you’re looking for a new nonprofit CRM, and you already have a donation platform you love. In that case, look for exclusively database solutions that don’t offer a built-in online giving tool.

Donor Experience

Your donors will typically be the end user of your fundraising software. For example, they’re the ones who fill out your nonprofit’s online donation forms, participate in peer-to-peer campaigns, and interact with your matching gift database search tool.

Prioritize fundraising software that makes the donor experience quick, easy, and painless. If a process is too long or complicated, even your most dedicated supporters may abandon their gifts. Alternatively, a seamless giving experience will keep donors coming back to support your cause time and time again.

Backend Ease of Use

Organizations should choose tech solutions with a level of complexity that is manageable and suitable for their team. For example, if your nonprofit employs developers, a custom-coded solution might make sense. On the other hand, if no one on your team is particularly technical, you’ll likely want to prioritize an off-the-shelf fundraising platform for ease of use.

A solution that’s too technical⁠—and ultimately inaccessible⁠—will complicate operations and discourage staff members from using it altogether. Remember, it’s not just the software but what you do with it that matters.

Scalability

As your internal fundraising team grows, will your software enable enough authorized users? Ensure all staff members who need to use your fundraising platform can. Not only that but when it comes to CRMs in particular, confirm that your potential platform can hold all your donor data with room to spare.

If you anticipate major growth in the near future, prioritize buying a platform that has room for expansion. This will allow your new tools to scale alongside your organization without requiring a software platform switch too quickly.
When choosing fundraising software, consider that low-cost solutions may quickly become inadequate, leading to the need for future upgrades and data migration. That’s why it’s wise to make a forward-thinking decision from the start.

Integrations

Even the most comprehensive software solutions might not have all the features your organization needs. You may have to integrate additional programs or systems to assist your operations.

Here are a few common scenarios when you might need integrations:

  • An organization might have niche needs, where they may prefer to add their own software solutions (e.g., a particular payment processor or email application) to complement their existing tools.
  • The software company you’re buying from doesn’t offer tools to facilitate all of your operations (e.g., corporate matching gifts), requiring you to integrate specialized fundraising software.

If you find that you require software integration, communicate your needs to your potential new vendor. That way, they can help determine the compatibility between different systems. Perhaps there’s a native, ready-built integration⁠, in which case, great! On the other hand, if it’s difficult to integrate two solutions, reconsider your priorities or consider working with a nonprofit technology consultant who can develop a custom integration.

Cost

It’s important to go into any major purchase with a budget in mind, and fundraising software is no exception. Before evaluating specific platforms, decide how much your organization can spend. Consider base price, startup costs, and any additional ongoing fees.

The base price is the vendor’s list price on the platform you want to buy and will be what most of your investment goes toward. It encompasses the core functions of the platform but usually excludes expansions or optional add-ons.

Be sure to ask exactly what is included in the base price to make sure you receive all the capabilities you need. If the base price doesn’t include any of your organization’s necessary features, consider how much the excluded features cost to add on.

From there, you might run into additional hidden costs such as:

  • Staff training
  • Maintenance fees
  • Online donation processing fees
  • Future updates or add-ons

Going into the buying process with a clear budget will naturally limit your options, making the selection process easier. It also, of course, ensures that you won’t be spending more than you can afford.

Customizability

When buying fundraising software, you’re likely looking for a solution that can complement your organization’s operations with its out-of-the-box features. Even so, many platforms are customizable and can be further tailored to fit your cause.

Customizability is a sliding scale, and what level of customizability your nonprofit needs likely depends on your size, resources, and goals. For instance, enterprise-size nonprofits often require fully customizable solutions that are essentially built from the ground up, while small nonprofits may see required customization as an unnecessary strain on their time and budget.

In your search, you may find that software customization can apply to many different features, including:

  • Supporter profiles
  • Donation and sign-up forms
  • Email marketing templates
  • Reporting and tracking tools

With customizable features, you can mold your software to fit your organization’s unique needs better. Your fundraising software will feel custom-made, more effectively driving impact toward your overall goals.

Training and Ongoing Support

When you first get started with a new fundraising platform, your team will need to go through training or an onboarding process to become proficient with the new tools. The level of instruction can vary drastically from vendor to vendor, making it an important consideration in your search.

Here are a few general questions for your fundraising software company in regard to team-wide training:

  • How long is the training process?
  • How is training administered (e.g., virtual, on-site, etc.)?
  • What proficiency level does your training cater to?
  • What are the associated costs?

From there, consider ongoing support availability as well. After all, if your nonprofit hires new team members after your initial onboarding session, they’ll need to be trained, too.

Compare software support options by making the following inquiries before you purchase:

  • Do you offer IT support?
  • How do I get in contact with support if there’s a problem?
  • What’s your typical response time?

Remember, the better you and your team understand your software, the more functional it will be, so choose a provider that offers the support you need. With the right support level at your fingertips, your software will perform well for years.

Security

Chances are, your organization will use its fundraising software to collect, store, and manage supporters’ sensitive data. Thus, it’s critical to choose a secure platform that can protect this information.

When chatting with vendors, ask about the software’s flexibility in controlling user permissions, so you can select which users can access sensitive information.

When it comes to donor payment information, consider industry security standards in your search, such as the following protections:

  • PCI compliance: The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements designed to ensure that credit card information is processed, stored, and transmitted securely. For fundraising software, it’s essential for protecting donor payment information.
  • Encryption and Tokenization: Encryption converts data into a coded format to prevent unauthorized access. Tokenization replaces sensitive data with unique identification symbols that retain all the essential information without compromising its security. Both are used to protect sensitive data like credit card numbers.
  • Password Security: Strong password security measures ensure access to fundraising software is guarded against unauthorized users. This includes requirements for complex passwords, regular password changes, and secure storage of passwords.
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring two or more verification factors to access a resource, such as a database or online account. For instance, your fundraising system might require users to enter an emailed code after entering their login details. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access.

Confirm that donors’ data will be kept safe and sound within your fundraising platform, a ensure that supporters feel comfortable entering their payment information in the first place!

Questions to Ask Before Buying Fundraising Software

To ensure you find software that perfectly aligns with your needs, here are some recommended questions for your selection process!

How difficult are the initial setup and data transfer?

Because you buying fundraising software, account for the initial software setup and data transfer from your previous solution. Your nonprofit data is the key to strengthening donor relationships and optimizing fundraising efforts, so it’s essential that it translates to your new platform without issue.

First, determine that it’s possible to transfer your data to the new system in its proper format. Then, consider how you’ll prepare your data for this process. If it turns out that transferring your data from one system to another requires a lot of time and labor on your part, consider whether the software offers other benefits that make it worth the effort.

Does it have the integrations my organization needs?

Integrations are essential for an effective fundraising software ecosystem. Unintegrated software can result in time-consuming manual data migration and data silos. With integrations, however, your technology can function as a cohesive unit, rather than a collection of disparate tools.

Therefore, one of the most important questions when buying fundraising software is “Does it offer the integrations my team⁠—and technology ecosystem⁠—needs?”

For example, Double the Donation integrates with 70+ of the industry’s largest nonprofit technology providers, including donation platforms, peer-to-peer software, CRMs, corporate giving solutions, and more. If you use (or plan to use) Double the Donation’s matching gift software, we strongly recommend exploring the giving tools with which we partner.

How do I maintain effective use of my software over time?

The buying process doesn’t just end the minute your software is set up and your staff knows how to use it. For your software to keep running at its highest capacity, consider how you’ll maintain it over time.

Before deciding, ask if the software has any built-in features to keep your data clean and up-to-date. This is one instance where automation can make a big difference. Automated features like deduplication can help maintain a clean and accurate database, ensuring your records never become messy and out of hand.

Second, ensure that your maintenance support includes installing updates⁠, or if it doesn’t, that these updates are fairly easy to install yourself. By keeping your software up-to-date, you’ll get much more life out of it and ensure it stays secure.

Key Steps for Buying Fundraising Software

As you navigate the fundraising software buying process, keep these key steps in mind.

When buying fundraising software, follow these steps to make the best choice for your nonprofit.

1. Determine your fundraising goals, must-have features, and budget.

Start by determining what you want to achieve with a new platform. Perhaps you want to:

  • Boost matching gift revenue with software that identifies eligible donors, markets match opportunities, and streamlines the matching gift request process.
  • Increase donation page conversions by leveraging fundraising software with a user-friendly interface, customizable calls-to-action, and a seamless donation process.
  • Improve data flow from your donation form to your CRM by automating data entry and minimizing duplicate entries via deduplication.

Notice how each goal has correlating features that allow you to accomplish those objectives. Allocate your funds based on these goals, must-have features, and anticipated number of users.

The best advice we can give is not to overcomplicate the fundraising process when buying fundraising software. Your new software should make your organization’s current operations better. If your new solution overcomplicates things for your team and donors with unnecessary features, it’s probably not the one.

2. Create a list of potential vendors.

With so many fundraising software solutions available, it can be difficult to narrow down your options. To kickstart your research with trusted providers, we recommend heading over to Double the Donation’s partnerships hub to check out the range of innovative, best-in-class solutions that we work with.

Still too many choices? Use our software search tool to filter for different platform types, verticals served, and key functionality. In doing so, you can find the right tools and equip your team with Double the Donation’s matching gift solution to drive corporate giving revenue.

3. Check out the reviews.

You don’t have to go through the buying process alone. In fact, organizations that have previously used a particular fundraising software can be a huge help when it comes to deciding whether or not to buy. Because they’ve had experience with the product, they can attest firsthand to how it functions.

Consult online reviews other organizations have provided about the software you’re evaluating. If you see certain patterns regarding the platform’s strengths or weaknesses, it’s fairly safe to expect a similar experience.

Additionally, try reaching out to your connections in the nonprofit sector. Fundraising professionals at organizations similar to yours may have insight into the software they considered, which solutions worked, and which sent up red flags for them.

4. Book demos.

Before making your final decision, see the tools in action. Most software vendors offer informational demos, allowing prospective clients to get a better idea of their product before buying.

Check the vendor’s website to see if they feature any pre-recorded demo videos. Some providers may require basic information about your nonprofit and how you intend to use the software first, then send an on-demand demo (or perhaps even a free trial) over email or through their site.

For those further along in the buying process, many vendors also offer live online demos upon request. These experiences are more personalized and can provide a closer look at how the software will work for your organization. From here, you can make your final decision and buy the fundraising software that’s the best fit for your organization!

5. Purchase your fundraising software.

Based on your demos, make your final decision and buy the fundraising software that’s the best fit for your organization! Work with your vendor to get the technology up and running. You can also work with a fundraising technology consultant to integrate the new tools into your processes.

Our Top Fundraising Tool Pick to Drive Engagement + Revenue

Following the tips on selecting the best fundraising software, you might be wondering what our top fundraising software recommendations are. To maximize donor contributions and fundraising efficiency, we suggest choosing Double the Donation —our complete matching gift and workplace fundraising automation platform. It empowers you to identify corporate match opportunities, pinpoint your highest-value opportunities, and drive those opportunities to completion.

Double the Donation automated flow

 

Double the Donation Overview

Double the Donation’s matching gift module enhances the matching gift process for nonprofits and their donors, increasing matching gift revenue. Our platform integrates seamlessly with a wide range of fundraising tools, such as donation forms, peer-to-peer software, and donor management systems.

Upon receiving a donation, donors who used their work email addresses for their gift are automatically evaluated by Double the Donation to determine if they are eligible for a matching gift from their employer. If they are, the platform then sends tailored, company-specific instructions for submitting a matching gift request. If eligibility is uncertain, the software prompts donors to use an embedded company search tool to confirm their status and access real-time instructions.

Plus, Double the Donation assists fundraisers in tracking incoming matches, providing valuable insights for forecasting match revenue, pushing stalled matches forward, and offering comprehensive reporting and analytics to assess success and identify areas for improvement in your matching gift strategy. Not to mention, our auto-submission feature is the latest advancement in matching gift technology and simplifies the donation process immensely. Watch this video for a rundown of how it works:

Studies indicate that employing a matching gift automation tool (like Double the Donation’s) increases matching gift revenue for nonprofits by 61%! It even drives individual giving. 84% of survey participants indicated they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered, and 1 in 3 donors indicated they’d give a larger gift if matching is applied.

Leveraging our fundraising software will help you boost matching gift revenue.

With our matching gift software, the process is entirely automated, saving your organization significant time and resources. Plus, we offer additional workplace fundraising tools for nonprofits to help you grow revenue from other high-value programs, like volunteer grants, payroll giving, and more. Matching gifts have never been easier⁠!

Get a demo to see our matching gift tools in action before buying our fundraising software.

Examples of Fundraising Software In Action

When considering fundraising software, it can be useful to envision exactly what it can do for your nonprofit. Rather than relying on hypotheticals, try looking for case studies and examples of organizations that use the tools you’re considering.

To show off how the right software can elevate a nonprofit’s fundraising strategy, we’ve put together a few examples of top fundraising platforms in action:

Marietta College

*Uses GiveCampus and Double the Donation

Marietta College is a private liberal arts school consistently ranked among the top colleges in Ohio. Let’s look at the essential elements of Marietta College’s fundraising strategy and how its technology supports its goals.

Donation Page

Here's a sample donation page that Marietta College created with its fundraising software.

Marietta College’s donation page is quick and easy to complete, prompting users to input basic gift details and contact information. There are also optional fields, including employer for matching gift programs, affiliation to the school, and class year, to provide additional insights for the institution.

Once the form is completed, the school’s fundraising software lets donors check out using Venmo, PayPal, Google Pay, debit/credit card, or bank transfer. Providing multiple payment methods enables organizations to meet donors where they are and drive more gifts to completion!

Confirmation Screen

Marietta College used its online fundraising software to create this confirmation page.

After submitting their contribution, the donor is automatically rerouted to a gift confirmation screen. This web page thanks supporters for their generous contributions and provides detailed information about their employers’ matching gift programs⁠, including eligibility criteria and how to complete their matches.

By telling donors how to pursue available matching gift opportunities, more matches are driven to completion, and more revenue is generated for the institution.

Follow-Up Email

Within its fundraising platform, Marietta College created follow-up emails to send to donors.

A few minutes after finalizing their donations, Marietta College supporters receive customized email follow-ups in their inboxes. These messages include appreciation emails in addition to reminders about matching gift program availability, links to online submission portals, and actionable encouragement to complete their matching gift requests.

This keeps the college and its fundraising needs at the forefront of donors’ minds for longer and ultimately results in increased corporate matching revenue to help the school reach its goals.

African Impact Foundation

*Uses Fundraise Up and Double the Donation

The African Impact Foundation was established in 2008 to equip children in Southern and Eastern Africa with the education and skills to uncover pathways out of poverty. Here’s how the foundation collects donations using powerful fundraising tools.

Multi-Step Donation Page

Using its donation software, the African Impact Foundation created this multi-page donation form.

The African Impact Foundation leverages a multi-step donation form with which donors can submit their gifts to the organization. On the first page, individuals can select their intended donation from suggested gift sizes or enter their own amount. Additionally, they can choose to give on a recurring basis, dedicate or designate their gift, or add optional comments. The fundraising software offers multiple opportunities throughout the giving process for donors to upgrade their donations.

On the next page, donors are encouraged to double their gift impact with a matching donation. They are provided access to a matching gift company search tool to name their employer to view guidelines and available forms. In the final step, donors can choose to cover their transaction costs and check out using a credit card, PayPal, or Google Pay.

Follow-Up Email

After donating, supporters receive a follow-up email triggered by the African Impact Foundation's fundraising software.

Using the employment information provided during the initial donation process, the African Impact Foundation’s fundraising software triggers automated matching gift follow-up emails⁠, providing donors with company-specific program information and detailed next steps for submitting requests. They also use the follow-up email to thank donors and encourage them to get their gifts matched by their employing companies.

What’s Next?

With the right tools and resources in your team’s tech stack, you’ll be able to bring in more fundraising revenue without a hitch.

Interested in learning more about strategic nonprofit fundraising and the solutions available to your team? Check out these additional fundraising resources:

Get a free demo of our fundraising software and learn how you can secure more matching gifts.