How ACS Doubled More Donations with Matching Gifts
The American Cancer Society (also known as ACS) is renowned for its efforts in cancer research, patient support, and advocacy. However, one of the lesser-known secrets to its fundraising success lies in its effective use of matching gifts. By doubling—and in some cases tripling—donor contributions through corporate matching gift programs, ACS has been able to significantly increase its fundraising results.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how the American Cancer Society harnessed the power of matching gifts to double donations—and see what other nonprofits can learn from their approach. Specifically, we’ll cover:
- American Cancer Society: Organizational Overview
- How the American Cancer Society Secured Internal Buy-In for Matching Gifts
- American Cancer Society’s External Matching Gift Resources
- Get More Insights From the On-Demand Event Replay
Double the Donation sat down with the American Cancer Society to discuss the organization’s matching gift strategy. Interested in learning more about how they brought about standout matching gift success? Feel free to watch a brief snippet from the webinar here—or skip below to access a recording of the full, on-demand event.
Let’s begin!
American Cancer Society: Organizational Overview
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. Founded in 1913, ACS has become one of the most influential nonprofits in the fight against cancer, funding groundbreaking research, providing support for patients and survivors, and advocating for cancer prevention and early detection.
Today, the American Cancer Society’s ongoing efforts are powered by volunteers, donors, and corporate partners alike, with matching gift programs playing a critical role in increasing the impact of donations. All in all, this ensures that the organization can continue making strides toward a cancer-free future with the right resources in tow.
How the American Cancer Society Secured Internal Buy-In for Matching Gifts
In a recent conversation with key stakeholders—including volunteers and paid staff alike—the American Cancer Society discovered a gap in knowledge that’s proven to be hindering the organization’s matching gift fundraising success.
When internal teams lack awareness around the programs, they’re not taking the steps to rally individual supporters to get involved. That means matching gifts are slipping through the cracks, and teams aren’t prepared to stop it from happening.
As a result, the organization made it a priority to raise awareness of matching gifts across its network—starting with internal staff and fundraising volunteers.
Here’s what it decided to do:
- Ensure team-wide knowledge. They got started by determining exactly how familiar their audience is with the idea of matching gifts. Once they had a baseline for knowledge, they made a plan to increase awareness across staff and volunteers.
- Seek input from their stakeholders. Project leaders asked around to see what kinds of materials their team would find most valuable. As the organization’s fundraising staff are the ones who will be distributing the resources, it made sense to gather their opinions from the start.
- Equip its fundraising team with matching gift materials. A nonprofit’s fundraising team plays a hands-on role in driving donor support. ACS made sure its team was ready to encourage matching gifts by providing staff and volunteers with helpful resources ahead of time.
Remember this: The more an internal team is prepared to proactively pursue matching gifts, the more effective a response it can expect.
P.S. Double the Donation’s Matching Gift Academy is free for current clients to learn from—and it contains a wealth of resources for organizations to supercharge their internal knowledge.
American Cancer Society’s External Matching Gift Resources
In order to combat the lack of matching gift awareness the organization was seeing, the ACS team took time to create donor-facing materials that provided educational context surrounding the programs.
These resources include—but are not limited to—the following:
- A matching gift Q&A resource, complete with common inquiries and the appropriate responses.
- An explainer doc that demonstrates how an individual will submit a matching gift to their employer.
- A brief video that overviews the matching gift opportunity and visualizes how an individual will get involved.
Once the team had its matching gift materials created, it was time to share them with its network, both internally and externally. This allowed team members and supporters to grow their knowledge of the programs and ultimately participate on the organization’s behalf.
Not to mention, to further simplify the matching gift experience, the ACS features Double the Donation’s search tool in both its marketing materials and its video overview.
Get More Insights From the On-Demand Event Replay
We covered many of the most essential insights from the ACS matching gifts presentation in this overview. Still, there’s more to learn!
To hear the full conversation between our team and the American Cancer Society, get the webinar replay by filling out the form below.
Wrapping Up & Additional Resources
The American Cancer Society’s ability to double donations through matching gifts highlights the transformative power of this fundraising tool. By making it easy for donors to access matching gift opportunities, ACS has maximized the impact of each contribution.
Today, nonprofits of all shapes and sizes can learn from the American Cancer Society’s strategy to amplify their own fundraising efforts and make a greater difference. Matching gifts not only increase funds but also strengthen donor relationships, providing a win-win opportunity for the causes they serve.
Keep learning! Read our recommended resources to continue growing your knowledge on all things matching gifts:
- Grow Fundraising Revenue: Access More 360MatchPro Case Studies. Hear from even more organizations and how they’ve benefited from matching gift tools like Double the Donation.
- Best Practices for Marketing Matching Gifts On Your Nonprofit’s Website. Learn more about how your team can promote matching gifts using your website as an essential marketing tool.
- Free Download: The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Matching Gifts. Get the complete guide to marketing matching gifts to see how your organization can spread the word.
