How 4 DTD Clients Promote Workplace Giving on Their Websites

In the world of nonprofit fundraising, there’s a recurring challenge that keeps development directors up at night: The Awareness Gap. According to recent industry data, over 26 million people work for companies with matching gift programs, yet a staggering 78% of qualifying donors are unaware that their employers offer this benefit. This disconnect results in billions of dollars in unclaimed revenue left on the table every single year.

At Double the Donation, we’ve seen firsthand that the most successful organizations don’t just have a matching gift tool; they actively promote it to their audiences. They treat employee-led giving not as a hidden footnote, but as a central pillar of their supporter engagement strategy.

To celebrate the creative brilliance of our network, we’re highlighting four standout clients (including our 2026 User Conference Winner) who have mastered the art of promoting workplace giving well:

1. Wounded Warrior Project ⁠— The Power of Premium Digital Real Estate
2. Lehigh University ⁠— Donor Spotlight Storytelling
3. Purdue for Life Foundation ⁠— Engaging Through Video Content
4. BEDS Plus ⁠— Expanding Into Volunteer Grants

From home page spotlights to donor-centric storytelling and beyond, these organizations offer a masterclass in driving impact. Let’s dive in!

1) Wounded Warrior Project ⁠— The Power of Premium Digital Real Estate

2026 User Conference Winner!🏆
Strategy: Home Page Slider

Visibility is the first step toward conversion. Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) understands this better than most. Their Donor Engagement Marketing Department recognized that, to move the needle on matching gifts, they needed to place the opportunity in a position that was impossible to miss.

High-Profile Placement

For many nonprofits, the home page is the most valuable digital asset they own. Every pixel is fought over by different departments: programs, events, advocacy, and development. In early 2026, the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) Donor Engagement Marketing Department achieved a major internal victory: they secured a coveted slot on the website’s homepage carousel.

From January 4th to January 16th (a critical period following the year-end giving rush), the matching gift graphic was one of the first things visitors saw when accessing the online hub.

Why It Works

• Urgency and Timing: Many donors make significant contributions in the final days of December. By hitting them with a matching gift reminder in the first two weeks of January, WWP catches them while the memory of their gift is fresh, but the “giving season” noise has quieted down. At the same time, many employees see their matching gift clocks reset on January 1st. By promoting early in the year, WWP encourages donors to utilize their annual limits early.
• Brand Authority: Placing matching gifts on the home page signals to the donor that this is a strategic priority for the organization. It builds trust in the matching gift opportunity and encourages donors to take that extra five-minute step to search for their employers.
• Direct Path to Action: The high-profile graphic links directly to the WWP matching gift web page, which embeds the Double the Donation search tool. By minimizing the number of clicks between the home page and the dedicated search widget, WWP reduced “bounce rates” and significantly increased participation rates.

The Lesson: If you want matching gifts to be a primary revenue stream, you must give them primary visibility. Treating matching gifts as a “hidden menu item” ensures they remain underutilized.

By integrating matching gift promotions with the same level of importance as a capital campaign or a holiday appeal, the Wounded Warrior Project’s promotional strategy earned the organization top honors at our 2026 User Conference.

2) Lehigh University ⁠— Donor Spotlight Storytelling

Strategy: Blog Post and Multi-Channel Content Campaign
See it in Action Here!

While the Wounded Warrior Project focused on broad visibility, Lehigh University focused on deep engagement through storytelling. They understood that while data shows that matching gifts work, stories show why they matter.

Additionally, though many donors associate workplace giving exclusively with active employees, the Lehigh team set out to debunk that myth. Their approach focused on the “human” side of the data through a compelling donor spotlight.

The Story: “Twice the Impact: The Power of Matching Gifts”

For Giving Tuesday and the subsequent “Matching Wednesday” opportunity, Lehigh published a deep-dive matching gift-related blog post featuring Roger Bast, a university alumnus and Air Products retiree. Roger has participated in matching gift programs since the 1990s, using his now-former employer’s generous 100% match to bolster a family scholarship fund.

The Multichannel Blitz

Lehigh didn’t just post the blog and wait for readers to find it. Rather, the university’s development team synchronized the story across channels such as:

• LinkedIn: To reach a professional audience of fellow alumni, the story was targeted at individuals who likely also work for matching-gift-heavy corporations.
• Development and Alumni Relations Newsletter: To engage its most loyal supporters, Lehigh included a donor spotlight to inspire others to get involved! Utilizing social proof to their most high-intent audience went a long way.
• Direct Email: By featuring the story in a “News You Can Use” segment in their “Giving Back” section rather than a “Solicitation,” the team increased open rates and positioned the university as a helpful resource.

The Lesson: Educational content often beats promotional content. By showing a donor exactly how a like-minded peer utilized a workplace giving program to substantially increase their impact, you provide a helpful roadmap for other supporters to follow.

Key Takeaway: Making the Most of the Retiree Market

With an audience comprised of many older donors, Lehigh University’s fundraising team wanted to emphasize that retirement doesn’t have to mean the end of matching. In fact, Many Fortune 500 and other generous companies continue to match the donations of their retired employees.

Using Roger’s story and demonstrating Air Products’ generous example, the Lehigh team made this technical benefit feel both personal and attainable.

The CTA Integration: Next Steps

After reading the donor spotlight, Lehigh University didn’t want its audience’s knowledge of matching gifts to end there. To encourage continued learning and drive participation in the programs, the blog concluded with a clear Call to Action (CTA) directing readers to the school’s primary matching gift page.

There, the embedded search tool allowed alumni and other donors to immediately check their eligibility.

3) Purdue for Life Foundation ⁠— Engaging Through Video Content

Strategy: Multimedia & Social Video
See it in Action Here!

The Purdue for Life Foundation knows that sometimes, a block of text isn’t enough to capture attention in a crowded social media feed. Additionally, nonprofit financial topics (including tax IDs, matching ratios, and corporate portals) can often feel dry. For these reasons, the Purdue fundraising team decided to inject personality into the process, helping solve the awareness gap and proving that matching gift marketing can be engaging and even fun.

How did they do it? In this case, the team went “behind the lens” to incorporate video content throughout their efforts.

Putting the “Fun” in Matching Gift Fundraising

The Purdue advancement team created a vibrant, high-energy, short-form video designed to explain the concept behind matching gifts and raise awareness about how simple it is to get involved. The team noted that they “had fun making it,” and that enthusiasm directly translates on screen.

By humanizing the university’s staff (putting a “face” to the Foundation and building trust with donors) and making the process look easy, Purdue University lowered the barrier to entry for interested, match-eligible donors. In an era where users are 40% more likely to engage with video than text, this was a high-ROI move.

The video also walked through the school’s matching gift search tool in real-time. Seeing how easy it is to type “Google” or “Boeing” into the search bar and navigate to the “Submit Match” button demystifies the experience for otherwise wary supporters.

Strategic Distribution

Purdue didn’t just leave the video on YouTube. Instead, their fundraising team:

• Embedded it directly on their Matching Gifts web page above the company search tool, creating a seamless “Watch, then Act” workflow. The video primed the donor’s excitement from the online matching gift hub, and the search tool provided the immediate outlet for that excitement.
• Shared it across social channels, recognizing that video content often receives higher engagement rates than static images or text. Serving as perfect content for Instagram Reels and TikTok, the video was able to reach a younger generation of donors who are often the most likely to work for tech-forward, matching-gift-friendly companies.

The Lesson: Don’t be afraid to be “fun.” If your team has a great culture, let that shine through in your marketing. It makes your organization more approachable and the engagement process more memorable.

4) BEDS Plus ⁠— Expanding Into Volunteer Grants

Strategy: Promoting “Dollars for Doers”
See it in Action Here!

Organizations often treat donors and volunteers as two separate silos. However, workplace giving isn’t limited to financial donations, and BEDS Plus recognized that these two groups can overlap. Not to mention that their service hours could be converted into significant cash revenue.

Many companies offer Volunteer Grants (sometimes called “Dollars for Doers”), which provide a monetary donation to a nonprofit based on the number of hours an employee volunteers. In order to make the most of the opportunities, BEDS Plus provides an excellent example of how to market this often-overlooked revenue stream.

Turning Hours into Dollars

On its main volunteer page, BEDS Plus included a dedicated section: “Turn Volunteer Hours Into Dollars!” This is a critical marketing pivot, shifting the conversation from “We need your help” to “Your time is worth more than you think.”

However, many corporate employees are unaware that their companies offer these programs. By incorporating the Double the Donation search tool directly on the volunteer sign-up and reporting pages, BEDS Plus ensures that each supporter considers their eligibility.

This placement is strategic because it reaches the audience at the exact moment they are thinking about their service, increasing the likelihood that they choose to get involved with workplace volunteerism.

Dual-Purpose Search Tools

BEDS Plus leverages a multi-pronged strategy, featuring Double the Donation’s search tool in two distinct, high-traffic areas.

1. The Volunteer Page: Focused on those giving their time, a tool on the volunteer page is specifically optimized to highlight volunteer grant programs.
2. The Matching Gift Page: Focused on those giving their money, a dedicated URL (beds-plus.org/matching-gift/) serves as the landing page for all financial-based matching gift marketing.

By linking back to these resources in their email and social media content, BEDS Plus ensures that whether someone is a donor, a volunteer, or both, they are constantly reminded that their employer might be willing to support their passion.

Exceptional Support Language

BEDS Plus stands out by offering “Concierge-level” support. Their website explicitly states: “We can provide BEDS Plus’s tax ID, contact info, or receipts—just reach out!”

This removes the final hurdle: the fear of paperwork. By positioning themselves as an administrative partner for the donor, the BEDS Plus fundraising team makes the process of requesting a match feel like a collaborative effort rather than a chore for the supporter.

The Lesson: Your volunteers are some of your most engaged supporters. By giving them a way to “donate” without opening their personal checkbooks, you empower them to do more for your cause.

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Final Thoughts: Designing Your Team’s Marketing Roadmap

What do these four organizations have in common? They didn’t treat matching gifts or volunteer grants as a “one-and-done” checkbox. They integrated workplace giving into the very fabric of their digital presence.

By diversifying where and how you talk about corporate philanthropy, you ensure that no matter how a supporter interacts with your brand, they are invited to maximize their impact.

Ready to take your workplace giving marketing to the next level? Explore these additional resources:

• Free Download: Guide to Developing a Workplace Giving Plan. If you’re looking to promote workplace giving in your organization’s fundraising strategy, this complete guide is here to help!
• 5 Steps to Market Workplace Giving on Your Nonprofit Website. Your website is one of your most essential marketing tools! Explore our step-by-step overview on how your team can get started.
• Winning Workplace Giving Strategies & How to Leverage Them. Take a deep dive into top workplace giving programs and actionable strategies you can adopt to make the most of them.

Plus, if you’re interested in learning even more about promoting workplace giving (or submitting your own marketing examples for our next round of awards), register for the upcoming Workplace Fundraising + Volunteering Summit!