Matching Gifts With ActBlue + Double the Donation
Imagine you run an organization working to promote social good in your community. You’ve been tasked with planning an upcoming fundraising campaign for your group, and you’ll need to collect as much revenue as you can in a short amount of time.
But there’s one problem—the majority of your organization’s support network are low and mid-size donors who often don’t have the capacity to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for your cause. And that’s where matching gifts come in!
Corporate matching gift programs enable donors to double the impact of their donations by requesting gift matches from participating employers. As a result, donations go twice as far, and these donors see their support being stretched to do even greater things.
So, how do you get started leveraging this widely available yet continually underutilized form of funding? For this example, let’s say your team is already equipped with ActBlue’s online donation platform. All you need to do to get the ball rolling with matching gifts is integrate Double the Donation’s workplace giving software into your existing ActBlue donation process!
This guide will provide you with an overview of the ActBlue + Double the Donation integration, what that means for organizations like yours, and how to make the most of matching gifts with the right tools. Then, we’ll share a quick story of an organization that leverages ActBlue and Double the Donation to successfully raise more with matching gifts.
Let’s dive in!
What is ActBlue?
ActBlue is a leading nonprofit technology provider that works to equip left-leaning organizations, Democratic candidates, and more with the tools they need to fund their efforts. Founded in 2004, ActBlue has helped progressive groups raise nearly $10 billion with their free online fundraising solution.
As a nonprofit itself, ActBlue targets “small-dollar” donors in order to make big changes—including its own supporters!
ActBlue + Double the Donation: What Does the Integration Offer?
With an integration between ActBlue and Double the Donation, both platforms aim to empower more donors to make a greater impact on their favorite causes. Here’s what they have to offer:
- For embeddable forms: Organizations utilizing ActBlue’s embeddable donation forms can easily configure Double the Donation’s autocomplete employer search tool within their donation confirmation pages. Once the tool is embedded, data is collected through the donation process and within the search tool, which automatically flows into their 360MatchPro account.
- For non-embeddable forms: Non-embeddable or hosted forms are able to use webhooks to enable data flow from the donation process to Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro portal. However, the autocomplete search tool is unable to be embedded within the confirmation page.
- Match-eligible gift identification: The more information you have on donors, the better. ActBlue and Double the Donation provide multiple solutions for matching gift-eligible donation identification, enabling your organization to target and prioritize high-value potential matches. Identification tactics include your confirmation page tool, email domain screening, and more.
- Automated follow-ups: After each donor gives to your organization, Double the Donation’s automated email streams enable you to trigger personalized follow-up messaging. This allows fundraisers to easily inform donors about available matching gift programs and provide eligibility information through the matching gift company database.
And if you’re not sure how to get set up or are looking to troubleshoot a concern, ActBlue and Double the Donation each prioritizes friendly, responsive, and trustworthy client support teams to help guide your way. You’ll receive timely and effective solutions that empower you to utilize your software to the greatest extent.
Client Case Study: How Rideshare2Vote Aware Matches Gifts With ActBlue + Double the Donation
Rideshare2Vote Aware is a nonprofit organization dedicated to training mission-driven leaders, transporting voters to get to the polls during elections, and elevating community and civic engagement overall.
In order to fund their efforts, R2V Aware relies on generous donations from like-minded supporters. Now, the organization has partnered with ActBlue and Double the Donation to raise more through matching gifts by leveraging the comprehensive fundraising solution (and incorporating many of the tips shared above).
Since getting up and running with their software integration, Rideshare2Vote Aware has established a fantastic matching gifts page on their website, as you can see here.
These are some things that R2V Aware’s matching gift web page does well:
- Incorporated a detailed FAQ section to equip donors with the answers to common and expected questions about matching gifts.
- Provided information about volunteer grants as well (another top source of workplace giving revenue!).
- Prominently displayed their contact information and EIN to simplify the match request process for donors.
- Embedded Double the Donation’s easy-to-use matching gift search tool within the page for donors to quickly determine their matching gift eligibility through their employer.
With these matching gift best practices in place, the Rideshare2Vote Aware team is able to inform their donors about available matching gift opportunities and encourage individuals to pursue matches through their employers. Increased exposure to matching gifts through online promotion and targeted email follow-ups leads to increased matches submitted, which ultimately leads to increased matching funding for their cause.
3 Tips for Driving More Matches with ActBlue and Double the Donation
Matching gifts enable small-dollar donors to make a larger impact on the organizations and campaigns they support and to do so at a level they might have been unable to reach on their own.
If you’re looking to leverage the software integration between ActBlue and Double the Donation as described above, consider implementing these best practices in your strategy:
1. Create a dedicated matching gift web page.
Your website is one of your organization’s most valuable marketing assets for all sorts of purposes—from sharing information about your services to the funds you need to power your mission. It makes sense that matching gifts should be promoted heavily across your website! This should include a mention in your navigation menu, a brief overview on your “ways to give” page, and a solid description on a dedicated matching gift web page.
This page should be quick to locate from any other area on your website, incorporate the information donors need to be inspired by the impact of matching gifts and provide easy ways for users to determine their next steps for getting involved.
2. Highlight matching gifts on your donation confirmation page.
When a donor clicks “submit” on their donation, they’re typically redirected to the organization’s confirmation page, where the organization provides a brief thank-you message. However, your donation confirmation screens offer one of the best and most impactful ways to promote matching gifts to your donors.
At this stage in the giving experience, many donors are still riding their post-donation high. Make the most of this giving momentum by encouraging individuals to take the next step in order to acquire a matching gift for your cause.
To do so, we recommend embedding a matching gift search tool directly into your confirmation screen! Donors are prompted to complete a quick search of their employer’s name, which provides ample information about the company’s matching gift process (and what to do next).
Bonus tip: This practice is really simple to incorporate if your organization utilizes ActBlue’s embeddable donation forms alongside Double the Donation’s tools!
3. Incorporate personalized matching gift donation follow-ups.
Not everyone will complete their matching gift request from your confirmation screen. And for those individuals, sending customized reminder messaging after the fact can be a great way to get supporters back in the giving mood—especially when it doesn’t require them to reach back into their own pockets.
If you have donor employer data on record, you can even provide company-specific matching gift program guidelines and submission forms without lifting a finger. Armed with this information, donors are more likely to complete their matching gift request process.
Your organization receives additional funding, and your donor knows they were able to impact your cause in an even greater way!
ActBlue and Double the Donation each function to provide organizations like yours with best-in-class technology for raising more. When you utilize the two solutions together, the results can show significantly elevated matching gifts and overall fundraising efforts.
Interested in getting started with ActBlue and Double the Donation? Learn more about the partnership with our detailed integration guide or request a personalized demo of Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro here!
