Top Fundraisers with Standout Matching Gift Success

5 Fundraisers with Standout Matching Gift Success

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Double the Donation works with thousands of clients in the nonprofit and educational fundraising spaces. And just about all of our clients have seen significant matching gift success when employing our tools!

In this post, we wanted to spotlight a few standout examples of impactful matching gift strategies from top fundraisers. These include:

  1. Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
  2. The Greater Boston Food Bank
  3. Southern California Public Radio
  4. Humane Society International
  5. Marietta College

As we explore tried-and-true practices exemplified by these notable organizations, make a note of the strategies you can leverage in your own team’s matching gift fundraising efforts.

Matching gift success story: LLS

Matching Gift Success Story #1: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Founded in 1949, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is one of the largest medical research organizations in the world. With a specific dedication to blood cancer treatment, the nonprofit averages over $285 million in annual contributions and has funded more than $1.6 billion in groundbreaking advancements.

LLS also hosts a few of the largest peer-to-peer-focused nonprofit fundraising events. This includes its Light the Night Walk, which collects more than $70,000,000 from over 1 million participants each year.

And a significant portion of their workplace giving fundraising has been made available through corporate matching gifts programs!

Matching Gift Facts and Figures

  • LLS began leveraging Double the Donation’s matching gift automation platform, 360MatchPro, in June 2017.
  • Since getting started with Double the Donation, the organization increased its matching gift revenue year-over-year by more than 48%, bringing in an additional $3.4 million through corporate matching for the cause.
  • More than 1,500,000+ LLS donors interact with 360MatchPro tools throughout and following the donation process itself.

Let’s take a look at some of the main functionality leveraged by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in regard to their matching gift growth:

  • Email domain screening and streamlined search tool on donation forms to identify match-eligible gifts;
  • Detailed matching gift program results and forms on donation confirmation/thank-you page;
  • Automated messaging to match-eligible and unknown donors with customized email sending logic, branding, sending domain (from @lls.org), subject lines, graphics, and more;
  • Matching gift plugin across multiple websites and forms;
  • Outbound calling to top match prospect opportunities;
  • Custom sending limits for major and recurring gifts;
  • Top-notch data security measures, including data encryption, intrusion detection software, intrusion penetration software, multi-factor logins, malware detection, and vulnerability scanning;
  • Full CRM sync to make the most of donor data collected through matching gift strategies.

Want to see it in action? View Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s matching gifts page here:

LLS matching gift page

Matching gift success story: Greater Boston Food Bank

Matching Gift Success Story #2: The Greater Boston Food Bank

The Greater Boston Food Bank was founded in 1981 and has since grown into the largest hunger relief organization in all of New England. Through free mobile markets, SNAP assistance, forward-thinking research, and more, GBFB empowers those struggling with food insecurity in Eastern Massachusetts.

With over 80,000 donors annually supporting their efforts, the Greater Boston Food Bank brings in more than $175 million in total revenue each year.

Matching Gift Facts and Figures

  • The GBFB saw a 56% increase in its annual matching gift revenue after getting started with Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro.
  • In their first year using the tools, GBFB matching gift revenue grew from $1,188,585 to over $1,853,036⁠—a difference of more than $660,000.
  • Over $790,000 worth of match-eligible dollars were identified by 360MatchPro in a twelve-month period.

Here are the primary components of our matching gift solution employed by the Greater Boston Food Bank:

  • Email domain screening and streamlined search tool on donation forms, which enables the organization to quickly and easily uncover match opportunities;
  • Full, company-specific matching gift program guidelines and links to request forms automatically populating on donation confirmation pages;
  • Custom restrictions and email logic, and organization-specific sending domain, providing a targeted outreach experience for each donor;
  • Automated donor segmentation by match eligibility (likely match-eligible, likely match-ineligible, unknown eligibility) with personalized next steps for each type.

See what they’re doing to drive success! View The Greater Boston Food Bank’s matching gifts page here:

Greater Boston Food Bank matching gift page

Matching gift success story: SCPR

Matching Gift Success Story #3: Southern California Public Radio

Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) is a member-supported public media network operating multiple radio stations in the Southern California region. Its primary station (formerly known as KPCC and since re-branded as LAist 89.3) is a non-commercial educational radio provider.

Together, the network of stations reaches more than 800,000 listeners, with a goal to provide high-quality news and other informational content to its audiences. SCPR has a total annual revenue of over $40 million through individual and corporate contributions alike.

Matching Gift Facts and Figures

  • Southern California Public Radio saw a 55% increase in matching gift revenue after employing Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro to increase awareness of match opportunities among donors.
  • More than 75,000 SCPR donors interact with 360MatchPro technology, from the company search tool and program guideline plugin to follow-up emails and submission portal links.

Here’s how SCPR is using Double the Donation to drive more matching gifts to completion:

  • Multiple donor screening methods to identify and follow up on available matches⁠—including email domain screening and our matching gift database search tool;
  • Full matching gift company guidelines available on gift confirmation screens, providing details such as minimum and maximum donation amounts, match ratios, qualifying nonprofit and employee types, submission deadlines, and links to request forms;
  • Automated and custom-branded email messaging for match-eligible and unknown donors;
  • Personalized donor experiences, encouraging supporters to take outlined next steps and pursue matching gifts using custom email sending logic;
  • Access to matching gift search tool plugin across multiple website domains and online giving forms, ensuring donors have easy access to the information they need;
  • Custom sending limits for recurring and major gift donors, complete with email blocklist and unsubscribe functionality;
  • High levels of data security, including data encryption, IDS, IPS, multi-factor login, and malware and vulnerability scanning to keep donor information safe and secure.

See for yourself! View Southern California Public Radio’s matching gifts page here:

SCPR matching gift page

Matching gift success story: Humane Society International

Matching Gift Success Story #4: Humane Society International

Since 1991, Humane Society International (also known as HSI) has served in the animal welfare space to promote positive relations between humans and animals across the globe. With an annual revenue nearly totaling $24 million, HSI leverages individual donors, corporate support, and more to make a difference in the lives of creatures everywhere.

Matching Gift Facts and Figures

  • HSI saw an increase of more than 17% in its matching gift revenue year-over-year by employing Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro solution.
  • $234,000+ match-eligible donations were identified in the first year using matching gift automation.
  • Over 68,000 matching gift emails were sent in a twelve-month period⁠—including matching gift program guidelines, submission reminders, and more.

Specifically, Humane Society International leveraged Double the Donation to enable:

  • Easy match-eligible donor identification (through email domain screening, donation form search tools, etc.);
  • Detailed matching program guidelines and next steps, providing easy access to company match criteria, deadlines, and submission instructions;
  • Automated matching gift messaging, such as program eligibility and reminders;
  • Customized email functionality (e.g., sending logic, limits and restrictions, sending domains, subject lines, image branding, and more) to ensure personalized donor communications;
  • High-level data security measures (including encryption, intrusion detection, and vulnerability scanning).

Take a look for yourself⁠—click here to see Humane Society International’s matching gifts page:

Humane Society International matching gift page

Matching gift success story: Marietta College

Matching Gift Success Story #5: Marietta College

Established in 1835 in Marietta, Ohio, Marietta College is a private liberal arts school. Offering more than 50 undergraduate and graduate majors, Marietta College provides focus areas across arts, sciences, humanities, and more.

All in all, the college receives over $70 million in annual revenue per year, with nearly $46 million coming from tuition and fees and more than $22 million from donor funding and grants⁠—including corporate matching.

Matching Gift Facts and Figures

  • Marietta College identified more than $40,000 in match-eligible donations in the first year of using 360MatchPro.
  • The school boasts an open rate of 60% for their automated matching gift emails, which is approximately three times the industry average open rate of 20%.

Here’s how Marietta College and Double the Donation teamed up to maximize matching gifts with these key features:

  • Corporate email domain screening and donation form search fields to collect employment information;
  • Complete match results auto-populating through confirmation screens, email follow-ups, and match page searches;
  • Customization of email sending logic, company restrictions, message sending limits, email domains, subject lines, and more.
  • Automated email follow-ups for donors identifies as match-eligible, match-ineligible, and unknown employment status, providing detailed next steps and actionable insights to drive matching gifts.

Get schooled! View Marietta College’s matching gifts page here:

Marietta College matching gift page

Wrapping Up

Most nonprofits receive some amount of matching gift revenue even without a dedicated plan in place. However, a much smaller percentage of organizations have a well-thought-out strategy with the tools to implement it. Ultimately, the latter group comprises those that are making the most of the opportunity at hand.

When you take a long look at these groups (such as those highlighted above), you can uncover the practices that produce standout matching gift success. Then, begin emulating such tips and tricks in your own team’s efforts with strategic matching gift training and access to innovative technology. And Double the Donation is here to help!

Double donations with our matching gift marketing plan template

Interested in learning more about matching gift fundraising and how your nonprofit can maximize revenue through the source? Check out our other educational resources below:

Bring matching gift success to your own organization with Double the Donation

Alternative Fundraising Avenues: Recouping After Lost Funding Sources

Alternative Fundraising Avenues: Recouping After Lost Funding Sources

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There are many different funding types at the disposal of nonprofit causes. These sources empower organizations like yours to bankroll mission programming and behind-the-scenes operations alike. Still, most fundraisers end up relying on a few primary channels to power the brunt of their operations.

So what happens when one of those key sources becomes unavailable? Oftentimes, that means it’s time to begin searching for alternative fundraising avenues.

And we’re here to help! In this guide, we’ll cover:

Ready to dive in? Let’s start at the beginning.

Why your nonprofit might lose a funding source

The loss of a nonprofit funding source can be jarring⁠, and you might not always see it coming. However, understanding common causes behind lost fundraising avenues can make a big difference in preparing to overcome whatever obstacles are thrown your way.

Some scenarios in which your organization finds itself without a key funding source might include losses of major donors (whether due to passing, changing financial circumstances, or other reasoning), specific grants not coming through, and more.

One of the most prominent⁠—and widespread⁠—examples of this occurred at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. Still, the lingering effects remained for years after the fact. And that’s when organizations across the globe that had been previously dependent on revenue generated through in-person fundraising events were now without access to the source.

Luckily, all was not lost! Instead, organizations went to work rapidly transitioning events to the virtual realm in order to maintain donor engagement and giving.

Another, more recent instance? The cessation of Amazon’s philanthropic initiative, AmazonSmile, in February 2023. This program had been a fairly effortless source of income for over one million local and national causes, producing more than $365 million for participating organizations. Once the closing of the program was announced, tons of nonprofits began scrambling to locate new ways to make up the income they’d been depending on.

And that brings us to our next section!

Next steps after losing a funding source

If your nonprofit has just lost a key source of funding, you may be tempted to enter panic mode. But first, we recommend taking a few easy steps to get your organization back on track for financial success.

Determine how much was lost from the source.

First and foremost, start by gauging exactly how much was lost from the source.

If you were expecting a particular grant payout or a donor had been contributing a static amount year after year, you could fairly simply determine the amount you were accounting for. On the other hand, more variable sources⁠—e.g., fundraising events or programs like AmazonSmile⁠—can be estimated by calculating the average dollar amounts received over a period of time, such as the last months or years.

For example, many organizations are (understandably) fretting about the AmazonSmile program shutting down. However, reports indicate that the average annual payout for the program was a mere $230.

Looking at it this way can help contextualize the loss and make an actionable plan to compensate for the lack of funding.

Pursue new fundraising avenues.

Now, begin brainstorming ways to make up for the lost funding. When one door closes, another one may be opening. That means it might be time to pursue a brand new funding avenue.

A few examples may include:

  • Launching an online store (such as selling branded merchandise for your cause!)
  • Exploring fee-for-service models (e.g., summer camp, youth programming, etc.)
  • Hosting a nonprofit crowdfunding campaign

Keep in mind that this idea can look vastly different from one organization to the next. After all, there’s a world of opportunities readily available.

Ramp up existing (yet often underutilized) funding types.

What about those revenue streams that produce some funding for your cause, but you don’t have a particularly built-out strategy for making the most of the resource? It’s a great chance to optimize your efforts regarding those funding types, as well!

For many organizations, this is where corporate giving programs fall. Perhaps you’ve received a number of matching donations, maybe even a few volunteer grants. However, you might generally rely on individual supporters to pursue those avenues on their own. In that case, now might be the best opportunity to ramp up your efforts to help ensure no matches are ultimately going unclaimed.

Diversifying funds with 10+ alternative revenue streams

When you rely too heavily on any one type of funding, you run the risk of financial instability should something happen to that source. Thus, one of the best ways to prepare your organization prior to losing potential revenue streams is to ensure a well-rounded and sustainable funding model.

Example alternative fundraising avenues to pursue

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular⁠—and impactful⁠—kinds of nonprofit funding to consider. Keep in mind that a versatile fundraising strategy likely incorporates many, if not all, of these earning types.

1. Corporate Giving

According to corporate giving research, corporations contribute, on average, over $21 billion each year. Much of this funding is donated through generous programs, such as:

  • Matching gifts
  • Volunteer grants
  • Corporate sponsorships

However, billions of dollars in workplace giving revenue is left on the table each year, largely due to a lack of knowledge surrounding the programs.

Want to increase participation in corporate philanthropy and drive additional corporate funding to your cause? Raise awareness among donors⁠—and encourage them to get their employers involved. (Don’t worry: we’ll share more on matching gifts later.)

2. Individual Gifts

Many nonprofits make up the majority of their annual fundraising revenue through individual donor giving. This typically includes a number of specific giving types, such as:

  • Small-dollar gifts
  • Mid-size gifts
  • Major gifts
  • Planned gifts

In order to maximize individual giving, be sure to send personalized and targeted fundraising appeals. You’ll also want to emphasize the tangible impact of generous donations on your nonprofit’s mission.

Plus, the above-cited research shows that simply highlighting matching gifts in donation asks results in a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in average gift amount.

3. Grants

Nonprofit (or fundraising) grants are a specific type of monetary contribution made to a charitable cause. They are typically larger than the average donation amount and are often restricted to funding a particular project or program.

Grants can be made by a range of different institutions but generally fall into one of the following categories:

  • Foundation grants
  • Government grants (federal, state, and local)
  • Corporate grants

Most grants require some sort of application process and may include a dedicated proposal to be submitted. In order to secure more grant funding for your organization, it’s a good idea to spend some time researching opportunities and creating optimized proposal materials.

4. Event Revenue

Nonprofit fundraising events can certainly be fan-favorite experiences⁠—and can range from informal run/walk/ride competitions to elegant gala affairs. And each event typically encompasses multiple opportunities for generating revenue.

For example, your event may collect funding from:

  • Ticket sales or entrance fees
  • Auction bids
  • Merchandise sales
  • Individual donations
  • Event sponsorships

When you choose to host a fundraising event for your organization, be sure to invest time and resources into marketing the opportunity effectively beforehand. After all, your audience would love to participate to support your cause, but they need to know the event is happening in order to attend.

5. Online Giving

In line with the digital revolution, online giving has increased steadily, seeing consistent year-over-year growth throughout the past decade and beyond.

Remember: donors want an easy digital giving experience, so the tools you use to power online donations are a critical component of your strategy.

(Hint: Double the Donation partners with some of the greatest online donation platforms in the industry. Check out our integrations to learn more!)

6. Direct Mail Donations

Though many assume that direct mail is an outdated fundraising strategy, the truth is that it remains an excellent way to engage with your donors in an offline manner.

In fact, recent fundraising statistics report that direct mail is the second-highest reported giving preference among Baby Boomer donors worldwide. At the same time, it’s one of the top four most inspirational channels to drive action among supporters in Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boomer generations alike.

One way to modernize the giving avenue, however, is to provide an online option for giving⁠—even when an individual is being prompted through a direct mail ask. For example, you might include a scannable QR code or an easy-to-type digital giving page URL.

7. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Also known as social or P2P fundraising, peer-to-peer fundraising is an impactful way for nonprofits to raise substantial levels of funding while also expanding their campaign reach to new heights.

In these initiatives, organizations equip dedicated supporters with the tools they need to raise money on behalf of their favorite causes. Volunteer fundraisers then solicit donations from their own networks of friends, family members, and more.

In the end, P2P campaigns often culminate in an engaging event experience, such as a walk-a-thon!

8. Membership Fees

Some nonprofits take a membership-based approach to supplement their other existing funding sources. This is a particularly popular model among school PTAs, community programming organizations, and more. And it can be a great way to incentivize giving and foster a sense of camaraderie among members!

Organizations that choose to enact membership fees (sometimes referred to as dues) typically provide exclusive perks for those who join and aim to set their prices at an affordable monthly or yearly rate.

9. Recurring Gifts

Recurring donations offer a wide range of benefits for the nonprofits receiving them. Not only do individual supporters typically end up giving more through these programs, but it also aids organizations in estimating incoming revenue.

And leveling up your recurring gifts can be as easy as incorporating a button on your online donation pages! You may be pleasantly surprised as to how many donors opt to become regular supporters of your cause when presented with the easy opportunity to do so. In fact, average online monthly giving grew by over 40% as recurring donation options became an increasingly popular choice among online supporters.

10. In-Kind Donations

While not a direct source of funding, in-kind donations (i.e., any non-cash gifts of goods, services, or time) are an essential component of nonprofit fundraising. After all, these types of contributions empower organizations to stretch their budgets further than otherwise possible. And that allows them to allocate revenue to other areas of their operations.

To drive more in-kind donations, make sure to market the opportunity to your donors! Many individuals love supporting nonprofits by providing gifts-in-kind and seeing the impact that their tangible purchases can have on their favorite causes. Plus, Amazon still offers an easy way for charities to create and share online wishlists from which their supporters can purchase and send items directly to the organization.

Our favorite fundraising avenue: employee matching gifts!

While all of the above funding sources can provide significant benefits for the nonprofits who choose to establish the initiatives, our #1 favorite method is employee matching gifts. After all, this top alternative fundraising avenue has huge potential⁠—though it’s still going largely underutilized.

In fact, Double the Donation research indicates that an estimated $2 – $3 billion is donated through matching gift programs each year. However, an additional $4 – $7 billion goes unclaimed on an annual basis.

Not to mention, corporate matching gifts are an opportunity that nearly all nonprofit organizations qualify to participate in. Over 26 million individuals work for companies with matching gift programs, including over 65% of the Fortune 500. More than likely, a key segment of your existing and prospective donors falls into that matching-gift-eligible group.

When you highlight the widespread availability of these programs, your organization can benefit not only from increased corporate funding but from elevated donor giving, as well. The above-mentioned studies also show that individual supporters are more likely to give (71% growth in gift conversion rates) and to give more (51% higher average transaction amount) when matching gifts are promoted. Thus, in the end, your organization receives additional revenue streams and new opportunities for communication and engagement. Talk about a win-win!

Plus, if you’re looking for a particularly impactful source of fundraising revenue that doesn’t require a ton of staff time and resources, dedicated matching gift technology is the way to go. Leveraging a matching gift automation tool (like Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro) increases matching gift funds for nonprofits by over 61%, with innovative new auto-submission functionality projected to yield more than an 80% increase in match revenue.

Pursuing alternative fundraising avenues with 360MatchPro

And in the face of adversity, you generally won’t have to worry about a negative impact on matching gifts. In reality, many companies were reported to have developed new and improved employee matching initiatives in the wake of COVID-19 and other economic downturns. Besides, should one company roll back its programming, you’ll likely have a number of additional matching opportunities to pursue⁠—making it a particularly sustainable fundraising practice over time.

Final Thoughts

Preparing your team with a range of diversified revenue can go a long way toward continuous operational success⁠. Even in the midst of lost funding avenues, you’ll have a number of alternative fundraising streams supporting your organization.

And when you have a plan in place for optimizing passive income opportunities (such as employer matching gifts and more), you can continue driving forward mission impact despite losing access to other sources.

Ready to dive deeper into some of our favorite alternative fundraising avenues for nonprofits and schools? Check out these additional resources below:

Diversify your fundraising avenues with Double the Donation

This guide explores how to promote matching gifts with the Google Ad Grant.

How to Promote Matching Gifts with the Google Ad Grant

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If your nonprofit is serious about driving more matching gift revenue, it’s time to step up and get creative with your outreach. As one of the most innovative outreach channels, Google Ads might just be the missing piece to your matching gift marketing strategy.

For those who are paid marketing rookies, Google Ads is an online advertising platform where advertisers can display short ads that promote their web content to users on Google Search. Nonprofits that use the platform typically promote content related to fundraising, volunteering, and services.

Pay-per-click marketing can add up, though. Luckily, Google realizes this! That’s why they offer eligible nonprofits free access to Google Ads, making it the perfect opportunity to strengthen your organization’s digital presence. Crafting a high-performing ad campaign for matching gifts takes a bit more than writing a few sentences, directing people to your website, and calling it a day, though.

To help supercharge your marketing, we’ll share everything we know about promoting matching gifts with Google Ads. Here’s what we’ll cover:

A lot of work goes into managing a Google Ad Grants account and creating winning ads for your fundraising initiatives. That’s why we recommend working with a professional Google Grants manager! From pinpointing the right keywords to creating inspiring ads for matching gifts, our friends at Getting Attention know what it takes to stand out using Google Ads.

While waiting to discuss your Google Ad needs with their team, explore our suggestions below. That way, you can come prepared with some ideas for your Google Ad Grants marketing strategy!

Get help from our recommended agency to promote matching gifts with Google Ads.
Let's review the basics of using Google Ad Grants and spreading matching gift awareness.

An Overview of Promoting Matching Gifts with Google Ads

Before diving headfirst into specific marketing strategies, take some time to learn the basics of the Google Ad Grant program. You’ll find that a carefully-crafted Ad Grants strategy can amplify several parts of your mission, including everything from corporate giving to volunteer registrations.

What Are Google Ad Grants?

Created in 2003, Google Ad Grants has transformed into a popular corporate giving program that provides eligible nonprofits with $10,000 in free advertising credits every month. Organizations can spend these credits to bid on different mission-related keywords and promote their web content.

Nonprofits most often promote donation pages, service pages, and educational content, depending on the keywords they’re bidding on. Then, ads are placed strategically on the search engine results pages for those keywords, such as at the very top above the organic results.

Getting Attention’s Google Ad Grants guide explains that you should “think of it as your secret weapon for spreading awareness for your cause, expanding your donor and volunteer network, sharing essential updates with your supporters, and ranking higher on Google.”

The bottom line: The Ad Grants program makes it easy to fold Google Ads into your matching gift marketing strategy without blowing your marketing budget.

Not sure if you’re eligible for the Google Ad Grants program? Before applying, check out our guide to determining your Google Grants eligibility.

The Importance of Marketing Matching Gifts

Corporate giving makes up a sizeable portion of any nonprofit’s revenue. In fact, fundraising research estimates that corporations donate roughly $3 billion through matching gifts alone each year. Even with these incredible contributions, around 78% of match-eligible donors are unaware that their companies offer matching gift programs. That’s why effective marketing is vital!

If your donors aren’t aware of their match eligibility, they won’t follow through with submitting their requests. While matching gift automation will deliver automated email reminders to donors, using other avenues to promote matching gifts will help you reach prospects who haven’t donated yet.

From emails to Google Ads, there’s a lot you can do to spread awareness to donors and prospects who need an extra push to donate.

Why Nonprofits Promote Matching Gifts With Google Ad Grants

One of the reasons that the Google Ad Grant is a game-changer is that you can create highly-customized ads that showcase your cause.

Using a feature called sitelink extensions, you can build out your ads with additional landing pages, providing users with a variety of ways to engage with your cause. In other words, you can share several touchpoints all within the same ad.

Not to mention, you have complete control over the keywords you target. That means you can make sure you’re only targeting search queries that connect you with qualified leads. Plus, you can use Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) to test out different versions of your ads to drive more clicks.

Above all, Google Search empowers you to connect with donors from all over the world. Available to organizations in 51 countries, the Google Ad Grant breaks down geographical barriers, so you can connect with motivated supporters wherever they are.

Nonprofits Source’s online giving research provides a few convincing statistics that speak to the power of Google Ads:

These impressive statistics show the power of Google Ads.

  • Google processes about 3.7 billion search queries every day and owns over 84% of the desktop search engine market.
  • With an average ROI of $4.78, search ads have the highest ROI for nonprofits using paid advertising.
  • View-through revenue (revenue from donors who saw but didn’t click on an ad) accounts for 35% of all giving sourced from digital ads.

In other words, the Google Ad Grants program gives you the power to supercharge your digital marketing and increase matching gift awareness more than ever before. By carefully selecting keywords and creating persuasive ads, you can connect with donors who are ready to donate and submit their matching gift requests to employers.

Promoting matching gifts with Google Ads is just one piece of the marketing puzzle. Explore other creative ways to market matching gifts.

Develop the right website content to promote matching gifts via Google Ads.

Types of Matching Gift Website Content to Promote with Google Ads

So you’re convinced that Google Ads is a viable way to grow matching gift awareness. Great! We wholeheartedly agree. Now, it’s time to take the next step: determining what content to promote with Google Ads. Or, if you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to create matching gift content on your website to attach to your ads.

One of the rules of the Google Ad Grant program is that your nonprofit must have high-quality website content. After all, that content is what you’ll be promoting with your ads. Let’s explore a few pages related to matching gifts you’ll want to create on your site.

Your Donation Form

A donation form is one of the most popular pages that nonprofits promote using the Google Ad Grant. Luckily, the donation process is the perfect time to encourage users to check their matching gift eligibility! Anyone visiting this page is clearly already thinking about donating, and they might even increase their donation if they know their employer will match it.

Using one of 360MatchPro’s donation form integrations, simply embed your employer search tool into this page. This will empower donors to take action immediately after clicking one of your Google Ads.

Your donation form is the perfect place to drive traffic via Google Ads and promote matching gifts.

While creating brand-new matching gift content takes some time, updating your existing donation page with an employer search tool is a quick way to incorporate Google Ads into your matching gift promotion.

A Matching Gifts Page

While the concept of matching gifts is simple, companies’ programs can be tricky to navigate. They each have their own requirements and processes donors must follow to qualify. That’s why you’ll want to create a landing page that guides users through the process and allows them to determine their eligibility.

Your page should feature:

  • Basic information regarding what matching gift programs are
  • How the process of requesting a matching gift works
  • Corporate giving statistics that convey the impact of matching gifts
  • Your employer search tool so that users can research their companies’ programs

A dedicated matching gifts page will play a vital role in your Google Ads strategy. Your goal with this page should be to teach donors about matching gifts and spur them into action to submit the necessary forms. Then, when they click through to your site from your ad, they’ll know exactly what next step to take.

A Ways to Give Page

A Ways to Give page covers every way a prospect can support your work, from monthly giving to volunteering to matching gifts. Best of all, you probably already have this type of page published on your site.

Use Google Ads to drive donors to your Ways to Give page, where you can promote matching gifts.

Easily update your Ways to Give page with matching gift content. At a minimum, we recommend that you:

As an added bonus, this page is great to include in other ads! You can expand your other ad campaigns using the sitelink extension feature. Then, link to your Ways to Give page, directing all types of prospects to it to learn more about supporting your work.

Blog Articles

Occasionally, you’ll encounter donors who are confused about matching gifts, the process, and how to determine their eligibility. Clear up any confusion by publishing blog articles about matching gifts. This is also a great opportunity to share stories about how corporate giving has impacted your cause.

As you brainstorm your approach, here are a few other ways to create motivational blog articles about matching gifts:

  • Post insightful stories about matching gifts and the effects these programs can have on your organization’s mission.
  • Incorporate a graphic that advertises matching gifts on the side of all blog posts to help increase awareness.
  • Review the basics of matching gifts and give donors clear steps for checking their eligibility and submitting requests to their employers.

Like we mentioned, you can promote all sorts of content with the Google Ad Grant, including educational content about matching gifts! Dedicate some of your marketing team’s time to creating these articles. Then, when you create a particularly captivating article, you can promote it using Google Ads.

Dive into other common ways to market matching gifts to your donors across your website.

When marketing matching gifts on Google, make sure to choose the right keywords.

Choosing Keywords for Your Matching Gift Google Ads

One of the main components of your Google Ads is your keywords. Your keywords can make or break your Google Ads. Picking the right search terms will help you connect with motivated prospects who are likely to donate and submit matching gift requests to their employers.

Through Google for Nonprofits, you’ll gain access to helpful keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner. Use these tools to pinpoint the terms your donors are searching on Google. Or, if you’re feeling wary about picking your keywords, a Google Grants manager can step in to do the research for you.

To build effective keyword lists and optimize your Google Ad Grant account, follow these quick tips:

  1. Think like your donors. Ask, “What would a donor search to find out more about supporting our organization?” Then, think about how to promote matching gifts through those terms.
  2. Select general keywords to expand your reach. As we mentioned, a lot of donors don’t know about matching gifts. To reach a large audience, target generic keywords that relate to supporting your cause. Then, you can direct users to specific pages that promote matching gifts.
  3. Narrow your audience with specific keywords. To reach donors who already know about matching gifts, you might bid on more specific terms. Know that specific keywords tend to be less competitive, meaning your ads are more likely to be shown to users. However, keep in mind that keywords that are too specific will limit who you’re able to reach with your Google Ads since not many people will search these terms.
  4. Know that you don’t have to add every variant of every keyword. Your keywords can capture traffic from closely related variations of whichever ones you choose. In other words, you don’t need to add every search query you come up with.

Let’s give a quick example so that you can see how this might look in practice. Let’s say you work for a heart disease prevention organization. Your donors might be looking to learn more about supporting heart disease research.

In this case, you might target search queries like “ways to give to heart disease research” and “donate to fight heart disease.” Then, you can direct traffic to your donation form and expand your ad with additional links to your Ways to Give page and dedicated matching gift page.

More specific matching gift keywords, like “matching donations to heart disease research” won’t receive much traffic. Targeting terms like this means you’ll severely limit your audience and likely won’t increase matching gift awareness very much.

So considering that your goal is to promote matching gifts with the Google Ad Grant, we suggest leaning into the first strategy of choosing more generic keywords. Then, you can use more specific keywords to spread awareness among knowledgeable donors.

Learn how to promote matching gifts with the Google Ad Grant by looking at examples.

Examples Showing How to Promote Matching Gifts with Google Ads

You can read all day about how to promote matching gifts with the Google Ad Grant. However, it’s much more useful to see some examples from real organizations! Here are a few of the ways we’ve seen nonprofits increase matching gift awareness through well-written Google Ads.

ASPCA

This example image shows how ASPCA uses Google Ads to promote matching gifts.

For this Google Ad, ASPCA targets focused keywords like “matching gifts for ASPCA.” The intent for this keyword shows that the user is knowledgeable about matching gifts and is likely wondering if they can have their donation to the organization matched.

That’s why the Google Ad directs the user to their dedicated matching gifts page. Then, it showcases the nonprofit’s Ways to Give page by using a sitelink extension, giving the user an additional way to engage with the organization.

Muslim American Society

To learn how to promote matching gifts with Google Ads, take a look at this example from the Muslim American Society.

In this Google Ad example, the Muslim American Society promotes matching gifts to users who are ready to donate. Someone who searches “give to Muslim American Society” is clearly on the verge of donating, making it the perfect time to promote matching gifts!

The landing page for this Google Ad is the organization’s donation form which prominently features matching gifts. There’s information about common guidelines and the process for submitting a match request alongside the form. Then, donors can research their eligibility using an embedded employer search tool.

Work with a Google Ad Grant agency to start promoting matching gifts on Google.

Getting Started Promoting Matching Gifts with Google Ads

Now that you know the basics of promoting matching gifts with Google Ads, it’s time to dive in and create your campaigns!

If you need some additional help, you don’t have to go into it alone! We suggest turning to the Google Grant managers at Getting Attention. These experts know everything there is to know about the Google Ad Grant. They devote their time to learning the intricacies of the program, empowering their nonprofit partners to connect with new prospects on Google Search.

Whether you want to promote matching gifts with Google Ads or drive awareness in other areas, they know what it takes to stand out. They provide services for every aspect of Google Ad Grant management, including:

  • Google Ad Grant eligibility check and application
  • Ad creation (including keyword research)
  • Ongoing account management to comply with Google’s rules
  • Landing page relaunch (including design work)
  • Account reactivation for lapsed or deactivated accounts

So, if promoting matching gifts with Google Ads sounds out of your wheelhouse, trust these experts to handle it for you! They’ll help you create compelling ads that drive real results for your cause. Plus, you can chat with their team about how the Google Ad Grant falls into your marketing strategy as a whole.

Get a Free Consultation!

Check out these additional resource to learn how to promote matching gifts and leverage Google Ad Grants.

Final Thoughts

When you get creative, the Google Ad Grant can transform your digital marketing and increase visibility for corporate giving opportunities. Whether you’re advertising your donation form or a dedicated matching gifts page, there’s a lot you can do to make donors aware of their matching gift potential through the program.

For the quickest results, we highly recommend working with a Google Grants manager. These experts know the ins and outs of the program, so you can focus on other aspects of your mission while they design compelling ads.

As you get up and running, check out these resources to learn more about Google Ad Grants and how to promote matching gifts:

Work with our recommended Google Ad Grants agency to promote matching gifts to prospects.

This guide explains how your nonprofit can manage and optimize its Google Ad Grant account.

Google Grant Optimization: Nonprofit Grant Management Tips

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Organizations with effective nonprofit marketing strategies utilize many tools to reach their audiences. From email blasts to social media posts, these organizations leverage numerous platforms to communicate valuable information. Among all these platforms, one source of truth remains constant—your nonprofit’s website. Whether you’re promoting matching gifts or an upcoming fundraising event, most communications point back to your nonprofit’s website for more information.

If your nonprofit takes advantage of the $10,000 Ad Grant from Google, you’re taking the right steps to promote your site and your organization’s most valuable information. However, the Google Ad Grant program isn’t a single-step process.

Nonprofits are not only required to maintain their eligibility for the Google Ad Grant but also must optimize their ads and accounts to drive real results from the program. In this guide, we’ll show you how to optimize your Google Grant by covering the following topics:

Truly making the most of this grant means managing it on a regular basis. When you do, you’ll expand your outreach as you increase website traffic and consistently appeal to new internet searchers. Understand what it means to optimize your Google Grant so you can develop a strategy that will effectively reach a large audience of potential supporters.

Click this graphic to learn more about the Google Ad Grant and how it can help promote your nonprofit’s matching gift program.

This section defines Google Grant account optimization.

What is Google Grant optimization?

Google Grant optimization means managing your nonprofit’s Google Ad Grant account and the advertisements you’ve created to ensure everything stays compliant with Google’s management policies and relevant to users’ search intents. Although you can optimize almost any aspect of your Google Ad Grant participation, some common areas for improvement include:

  • Keyword specificity: Ensure your ads target specific keywords (preferably long-tail, non-competitive terms). Look for opportunities to refine your keyword choices so that they’re more relevant to your organization’s current operations or goals. For example, an increase in the kitten population during the spring months might prompt an animal shelter to target keywords such as “spring kitten adoptions.”
  • Data organization: In order to keep keywords relevant to your cause, your nonprofit will have to keep hygienic keyword data. This means regularly checking the quality and relevance of your keywords so that you can adjust any keywords that aren’t performing well. An animal shelter might remove the keyword “pet adoptions as Christmas gifts” in February when it becomes irrelevant to the ad’s landing page. To determine when a keyword becomes outdated or nonvaluable, nonprofits should track keyword metrics, such as click-through rate (CTR), to understand how the keyword is performing.
  • Website improvements: Ensure that your website is relevant to the advertisement and provides a positive user experience for searchers who click on your ad. For starters, you can check to make sure the page is branded to your nonprofit, provides valuable information for the user, and includes the keyword targeted in the ad. Don’t stop at your landing page, though; ensure your website as a whole is valuable and easy to use for its visitors.
  • Account structure: Google’s guidelines for the way you use your Google Ad Grants account require nonprofits to maintain an orderly account structure. For example, you must include more than one ad per ad group and at least two ad groups per campaign. If your nonprofit doesn’t already follow this structure, you’re not only at risk of account deactivation but also missing out on valuable keyword insight.

These aspects of your Google Ad Grant participation are just a few elements that need regular maintenance. Remember, there are countless opportunities for optimization, and it’s a crucial part of leveraging Google Ads for your nonprofit’s outreach efforts. Both the account itself and the ads you create must be refreshed to meet your audience’s needs.

It’s natural for this to seem overwhelming—after all, the Google Ad Grant is free marketing funding. Shouldn’t it make nonprofit marketing easier? If you didn’t want a Google Ad Grant agency’s help during the application process, this is where their services can be especially helpful. They’ll manage your account so that all optimization tasks are completely handled while your nonprofit’s leaders focus on fulfilling your mission.

This section explains how your nonprofit can optimize its Google Ad Grant account to meet compliance requirements.

How to manage your nonprofit’s Google Ad Grant compliance

To break down optimization even further, it can be approached in two stages: account compliance and ad updates. Start with your account—make sure you’re in compliance with all the Google Ad Grant requirements. After all, optimized ads will be no good if your account is suspended!

The list of requirements is long, but there are a few crucial ones that your nonprofit should keep in mind:

  • Maintain regular activity within your account.
  • Make sure your ads are specifically targeted and relevant to your nonprofit.
  • Conduct monthly keyword research and optimize your list where necessary.
  • Maintain a minimum of a 5% click-through rate (CTR).
  • Track and report conversions and CTR.

Since your ads will lead users to your nonprofit’s website, Google also has specific website guidelines, including:

  • Your nonprofit must own the domain.
  • You must add any additional domains that your nonprofit owns to your Google Grants account.
  • Your website should host high-quality and well-maintained web pages.
  • Avoid commercial activity that is irrelevant to your nonprofit’s mission.

Bookmark Google’s guidelines and check regularly for updates. You’ll be notified when anything big changes, but it’s always a good idea to stay on top of the rules and make sure your account is compliant. Especially as you optimize your website and advertisements, keep the account criteria in mind so you don’t accidentally violate the guidelines amidst new changes.

This section gives an overview of Google Ad campaign performance tracking so your nonprofit can identify areas that need optimization.

How to gauge your nonprofit’s campaign performance

You may have heard the saying about not trying to fix something that isn’t broken. The implied first step in that statement is actually knowing something is broken. In the same way, your nonprofit will have to gauge its campaign performance before knowing what should be optimized. Evaluate your campaign performance by tracking:

  • CTR. Compare the number of people who clicked on your ad to the amount that saw it. A high click-through rate might indicate that your ad is compelling enough to prompt viewers to take action. Consider how you can adjust your other ads to match this quality or plan how your future ads will be similar.
  • Conversion data. Conversions, which refer to the users who take a desired action after seeing your ad, are likely the goal of your campaign. Track this data to determine if your Google Ads are producing the desired results. For example, an ad that invites users to register for a volunteer event is effective if the number of volunteer registrations has increased due to your Google Ad.
  • Cost-per-conversion. Consider the cost of your desired results. How much did an ad and keyword cost your nonprofit? How many conversions can you attribute to this ad? Although you won’t specifically pay for conversions, this comparison can give your nonprofit an estimate of how much of its budget is spent producing the ad’s desired results.

Most metrics can be tracked by Google Analytics when you link your accounts. However, you’ll need to compare this to your organization-specific metrics to see the tangible impact of your Google Ads performance. For example, to see the impact of a Google Ad on your matching gift program, you’ll have to combine your own data of the number of gifts matched with the ad’s CTR.

For this reason, it’s crucial that you keep your own data organized, as well. Consider using a database to host all this information in the same place, or hiring a Google Ad Grant agency to track and report your data for you.

This section explains how to optimize your nonprofit’s Google Grant account ads.

How to optimize your nonprofit’s Google Grant account ads

As you evaluate your campaign metrics, change your perspective of underperformance. Optimization doesn’t strictly target failing elements of your Google Ad Grant efforts but makes every aspect of your advertising more successful.

As you narrow your optimization from account structure to individual ads, consider which ones produce the greatest results. Then, adjust the rest of your ads to mimic this strategy. For example, if you find that your highest-performing ad highlights a unique attribute of your organization’s work, you might incorporate that fact into the copy of your other ads. In general, to improve your ads, you can:

  • Rephrase your ad copy. The ad copy is the meat of your advertisement. Make it compelling but concise, and use the keyword or its variations to draw in your audience. A tempting call to action will also prompt searchers to click on your ad, especially if it’s specific and relevant to the search.
  • Link to targeted landing pages. You’ll have varying ads for different keywords, and specificity here is key. If your ad’s headline is misleading, users will quickly become disinterested in the content of your landing page. In contrast, a landing page that is highly specific to the purpose of the ad will retain site visitors and ultimately prompt them to get involved.
  • Revise your ad groups. Make sure that the associated keywords for your ad groups are still relevant to your target audience. Also, build out your ads so that you’re using 3-5 ads per group. This variety allows you to try different targeting methods to determine what tactic is most successful.
  • Organize your campaigns. Campaign management can also impact the way you plan and develop your ads. Assign a theme to each campaign and use those categories to target broader ideas with specific keywords. For example, an animal shelter’s campaign theme might be “adoptions” and the targeted keywords for different ad groups could be “spring kitten adoptions” and “no-fee dog adoptions.” Another theme would be “animal fosters” with keywords such as “dog foster application” and “cat foster fees.”

Although some tactics for Google Ad Grant management require technical account optimization and research, your actual ads are the component that has the potential to convert a user into a supporter. Adjust your ads based on what you know about your supporters and revisit them regularly to make changes as needed.

This section provides concluding remarks and additional resources to use for more information about Google Grant optimization.

Conclusion and additional resources

Once you’ve identified the changes you need to make to your Google Grant account, you can proceed with optimizations to ensure you’re making the most of this free marketing funding. Remember, optimization is not a one-time update. It’s important that you frequently check your Google Grant account and advertisements and make adjustments whenever it’s necessary.

This can be a big undertaking, both initially and as optimizations become a regular part of your account maintenance. Research Google Ad Grant agencies to determine if hiring one will benefit your nonprofit. Our recommendation, Getting Attention, is a full-service agency that can manage every aspect of your grant.

If you’re interested in other types of free marketing funding or methods of donor engagement, check out these additional resources:

Click this graphic to learn more about expert Google Grant optimization from the top professional Ad Grant agency, Getting Attention.

What to Know About Our Standard Matching Gift Request Form

What to Know About Double the Donation’s Standard Matching Gift Form

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Corporate matching gifts can offer a significant revenue source for charitable organizations. In order to leverage the programs, a nonprofit’s donors typically must submit a matching gift form to their employers. The form essentially allows an individual to provide details about their own qualifying donation and request an associated corporate match.

Unfortunately, this has long been a critical drop-off point for organizations looking to make the most of available matching opportunities. Many donors lack an understanding of the request process that is required of them. That’s why, for more than a decade, Double the Donation has created software aimed to simplify the process by providing company-specific details, next steps, and more.

Now, we’re taking it a step further with our easier-than-ever-before standard matching gift form. And in this guide, we’ll tell you all about it as we walk through the basics:

Unclaimed matches hinder the impact potential of charitable organizations, their donors, and the businesses partaking in workplace giving programs alike. By streamlining and automating the request process altogether, we can take an additional step toward maximal usage.

Let’s see how Double the Donation’s intuitive standard matching gift request form can help.

Top tip! Consider working with one of our suggested CSR platforms as your #1 choice for workplace giving program management. But if you’re not ready for that, our standard matching gift form is a great backup!

What is Double the Donation’s standard matching gift form?

There is a range of ways that a donor can submit a matching gift request to their employing company, and a lot of that depends on the company the individual works for. For example, one old-fashioned company might still accept paper forms that require employees to complete and scan or mail back to process. At the same time, a different business may have moved to a completely online system using a digital submission portal.

Regardless of the method with which documentation is completed, a matching gift form generally encapsulates the same information. Most often, these include three types of data points:

  • Donor Information ⁠— Details about the donors themselves; Frequently some combination of name, contact information, and perhaps an employee identification number.
  • Recipient Nonprofit Information ⁠— Provides an overview of the nonprofit the individual donor supported; Typically asks for the organization name, mailing address, EIN, and other contact information.
  • Donation Information ⁠— Pertaining to the recent transaction; Generally involves a donation amount and date.

Here's an example of Double the Donation's standard matching gift request form

As you might guess, a lot of the above information can be a bit redundant for the donor. Now, Double the Donation’s standard matching gift form pulls the necessary data points directly from the transaction, as well as information collected from nonprofits, to automatically fill in the document. Once completed, a PDF is immediately sent to the matching gift coordinator via email designated by the company.

It’s an easier process for donors and ultimately results in a greater matching gift program impact.

How does the standard matching gift request form work?

Perhaps you’re thinking, “sounds great⁠—but how does it actually work?” In that case, let’s see the process in action for participating companies, step by step.

1. An individual makes a donation to their favorite nonprofit cause, entering their employer’s name in Double the Donation’s company search tool.

If their employing company has enabled matching gift e-submission through our standard request form, the donor will be prompted to authorize Double the Donation to submit a match on their behalf. (Typically, all the individual is required to do is enter their corporate email address and check a box!)

Donors can complete the matching gift request process from the confirmation page when their employer uses Double the Donation's standard matching gift form

2. Double the Donation automatically fills in the blanks on our standard matching gift form to provide the employing company with the information they need.

Generally, donor and transaction information is pulled from the donation record itself, while nonprofit details are made available through pre-filled organization profiles within 360MatchPro.

Here's an example of Double the Donation's completed standard matching gift request form

 

3. The auto-filled match request form is emailed in a PDF document to the matching gift coordinator identified by the company.

From there, the employer reviews the match request, as usual, to ensure the initial donation meets the company’s predetermined match eligibility criteria. Assuming it does, the match is approved, and funding is provided to the nonprofit cause!

Standard matching gift form confirmation

Key benefits of our standard form for donors, nonprofits, and companies

The more you can simplify the matching gift process, the better your overall results will be. This is true whether you’re on the corporate or the nonprofit side of things. And luckily, Double the Donation’s standard match request form is designed to do just that for both parties⁠—plus your common denominator, employee donors.

Let’s dive into a few key advantages for each perspective.

For Donors

Donors love participating in matching gift programs (in fact, 84% of individuals report being more likely to give if they know a match is being offered). But when the process involved gets too complicated or time-consuming, even dedicated and eligible donors sometimes fail to complete the task.

When all that’s asked of them is to enter their corporate email address, on the other hand, individuals will be much more likely to follow through. And in doing so, participating donors receive the benefit of knowing their support is going twice as far for a cause they care about.

For Nonprofits

According to matching gift research, only 8% of eligible donors know their employers offer a matching gift program and know how to go about submitting a match request. This significant knowledge gap plays a huge role in more than $4 to $7 billion in available match funding going unclaimed each year.

By simplifying the request process and providing an easy way for donors to submit requests to their companies, Double the Donation’s standard match form results in increased funding for nonprofit organizations.

For Companies

Companies that accept the standard matching gift form receive all the benefits of offering a matching gift program in the first place⁠—in larger quantities. After all, the more a business donates to charitable causes, the better its overall CSR. Optimal CSR leads to elevated employee engagement (productivity, longevity, recruitment, etc.), improved image (increased sales and brand loyalty), and more.

Leveraging Double the Donation’s standard match form simplifies employee participation, thus maximizing program use levels.

Getting started with our matching gift request form

We’ve designed our standard matching gift form to be as simple as possible⁠—while still accomplishing the intended task. And that includes the ease with which organizations and businesses can get set up.

Interested in taking the next steps? Here’s how you can quickly begin leveraging the benefits of the common match request form for your team.

For Nonprofits

If your nonprofit employs Double the Donation’s matching gift automation solution, there’s good news! Your donors are already set to partake in streamlined e-submission through our standard request form. When a qualifying individual makes a donation using your online giving form and selects their employer during the donation experience, they’ll be prompted to submit their match request automatically from your gift confirmation screen.

To ensure the match form is completed with accurate information, be sure to fill out your Organization Profile in 360MatchPro. This also increases the likelihood that matches are approved by participating companies. And it simplifies the process for you, your donors, and their employers.

If your organization has yet to get started with 360MatchPro, you can schedule a demo here to see our tools in action⁠—and learn more about the impact of the standard match form.

For Companies

Double the Donation’s matching gift form can certainly simplify the matching gift request process for employees. Still, we recommend that companies leverage a complete corporate giving platform to manage their philanthropic efforts. But if you’re looking for a temporary solution to streamline matching gifts from the donor’s perspective or would like to accept our standard matching gift form in addition to your more built-out process, getting started is quick and easy.

Here’s how:

If your company has developed an employee matching program for the first time, click here to add your initiative to our comprehensive database. As you provide information about your company’s submission process, be sure to select that you’d like to use Double the Donation’s standard form.

On the other hand, if your company’s existing program is already listed in Double the Donation’s database, click here to suggest updates to your program guidelines. Then, indicate that you’d like to accept the standard match form. You’ll be prompted to enter the name, phone number, and email of the person who manages the company’s giving initiatives.

And that’s it! From there, the specified contact person will receive completed match request forms each time an employee makes a donation to a qualifying nonprofit and selects the automated e-submission choice.

Final Thoughts

The future of matching gifts is here, and it’s increasingly reliant on innovative technology to streamline and simplify the process. Double the Donation’s standard matching gift form is one example of this. As corporate philanthropy continues to become a higher priority by companies across the globe, the demand for matching gifts⁠—and standardized processes with them⁠—will continue to grow.

Ready to learn more about corporate matching gift programs and the tools that power them? Check out our other recommended resources:

Learn more about our standard matching gift form and auto-submission offerings

New and Improved Functionality: Matching Gift Form E-Sign

New and Improved Functionality: Matching Gift Form E-Sign

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Matching gift programs have been revolutionized in the last several years, with companies of all shapes and sizes getting involved. And with this transformation is also that of matching gift forms. Ideally, employers want to offer a request process that is quick and easy for team members to participate and reduces administrative workload behind the scenes. So where does matching gift form e-sign come in?

Dive in to explore key trends and current happenings regarding employee match fundraising, particularly in terms of matching gift e-sign. We’ll walk through:

Double the Donation has long been at the forefront of corporate giving innovation. That’s why we’re here to provide your team with the context you need to understand matching gift technology, functionality, and more.

The historical significance of matching gift form e-sign functionality

Historically, many companies required donors to submit matching gift request forms on paper. After all, General Electric launched the very first matching gift program in 1954, when electronic mail was still the stuff of science fiction. Over the next few decades, many matching gift programs used the paper form model for their original program launches as they were created.

Now, let’s fast forward to 2011, when Double the Donation was established. Some forward-thinking companies had already begun offering online submission to simplify the matching gift process for their employees. As a result, Double the Donation was perfectly positioned to help these donors submit their matching gift requests by linking directly to those online portals. But some companies were dragging their feet and still requiring paper matching gift forms.

How could Double the Donation support donors whose companies required paper forms? Our solution was to develop cutting-edge matching gift form e-sign functionality. With Double the Donation e-sign, donors could simply complete a pre-filled online PDF and send it to their company’s matching gift program managers that way.

And it worked! We saw an immediate increase in the percentage of these paper-only donors who submitted matching gift requests. But at the same time, the transition to electronic-only submission in the industry was already accelerating.

The move away from paper matching gift forms

As online submissions are increasing, the inverse is true for historic paper forms⁠—in the past few years, we’ve seen paper forms becoming significantly less popular.

For context, when Double the Donation got its start, about 70% of match-eligible employees had a paper or PDF option for submitting their matching gift requests. But by 2017, the percentage of match-eligible employees eligible to submit a paper form dropped all the way to 7.1%. And the number who actually chose to use the forms was even lower.

That’s because online portal submission is easier, faster, more secure, and all-around better for donors, the companies they work for, and the organizations they support. It’s been proven time and time again: When both an electronic submission option and a paper one are offered to the same employee group, more matching gift submissions are completed through the online process.

In fact, some of the most well-known philanthropic companies have adapted to an online-only submission process over the past few years. Check out these quotes from the following employers:

  • IBM: “New process for 2017. Next year, we will introduce an online process for matching grants and eliminate the use of printed applications.”
  • Merck: “Please discontinue the use of all paper request forms. Matching gift funds should be submitted via the Merck website.”
  • Alliant Energy: “We moved to an online request process only in 2015. This will provide a more efficient method for our Foundation.”
  • Prudential: “We will no longer offer paper forms for the Matching Gifts Program.”

And that was just the tip of the iceberg!

Discontinuation of Double the Donation’s prior matching gift form e-sign feature

So what did this mean for us?

With these process changes occurring, the percentage of donors submitting paper match requests continued to fall. By the end of 2018, only an estimated 4% of donors ⁠used the historical paper-only approach—and that figure has decreased steadily since then.

All these factors led us to the easy decision to shift our focus away from the e-signing of paper forms and toward the future of matching gifts.

Now, you might ask⁠—But haven’t you heard the statistic that 50% of companies use paper matching gift forms?

We certainly have! But it’s important to remember that in a changing industry, statistics and assumptions have to be continually re-assessed. Double the Donation commits to always looking into the data to recognize when we need to re-evaluate. This is one of those situations.

It may have been true years ago that 50% (or so) of companies required paper matching gift form submission. However, more recent analysis has shown that this statistic is not just outdated⁠—it doesn’t tell the full story.

Think about the different companies that have matching gift programs. Businesses of all shapes and sizes come to mind, from Home Depot with half a million employees to the local pizzeria that employs five individuals. Home Depot requires electronic form submission, while the local pizza joint requires paper forms. You can see that Home Depot’s program affects significantly more donors than the pizzeria.

In other words, ask yourself this:

What is more useful for your organization to know in this scenario: that 50%—or at this point, likely less⁠—of companies require paper forms or that a tiny percentage of match-eligible donors use paper forms? Which statistic should you base your fundraising decisions on?

Our answer to the previous question is exactly why we’ve started weighing our analysis by employee count⁠. And the resulting statistics tell a compelling story. The biggest matching gift programs affecting the largest percentages of donors have already moved away from paper matching gift forms. And we’re seeing smaller programs following suit, as well!

Therefore, at Double the Donation, we’re doing the same with our own development priorities.

The future of matching gift fundraising

The move to online matching isn’t the only trend we’re seeing in corporate social responsibility. In the past decade, we’ve also kept our fingers on the pulse of another trend: the increasing consolidation of workplace giving solutions.

More and more often, companies are turning to workplace giving platforms like Benevity, CyberGrants, YourCause, and more to help facilitate their matching gift programs. And it’s not just the Fortune 500 companies that are doing so! In fact, many breakthrough solutions⁠—such as Millie, Selflessly, Givinga, and POINT—have been designed specifically to aid small and mid-sized businesses in offering powerful matching gift programs.

Leveraging this type of software empowers charitable companies to do more with their philanthropic initiatives while minimizing the administrative workload. Meanwhile, we’ve also noticed that companies that outsource facilitation of their giving process can offer more streamlined and optimized processes for employees wanting to get involved. This tends to result in elevated program usage, highly engaged team members, and more dollars funneling into nonprofit causes overall.

Breakthrough auto-submission with CSR partners

In the spirit of continuous improvement when it comes to matching gift technology and the match request process, Double the Donation has recently released a new game-changing feature⁠—auto-submission.

This innovative functionality, made possible through strategic integrations with forward-thinking corporate giving platforms, enables employees to request matches directly from an organization’s gift confirmation screen. This allows them to bypass the request process almost entirely. All they typically have to do is provide their email address and authorize Double the Donation to submit their match.

Auto-submission and matching gift form e-sign process

We’ve certainly come a long way since paper forms; now, some donors don’t have to complete a form at all! And this benefits every party involved. Employee donors can request their matches in less time and with fewer roadblocks. Nonprofit organizations receive increased match funding and more highly engaged supporters. Companies see elevated program usage, satisfied employees, and better public images.

Benefits of auto-submission and matching gift form e-sign

E-submission with our standard matching gift form

And that’s not all! The Double the Donation team has also developed a standard online matching gift form that employers can use to authorize automated electronic submissions themselves.

We recommend that all companies participating in workplace giving enlist the aid of a dedicated CSR platform. But for companies that may not be ready to take that next step but are interested in simplifying the matching gift request process, it’s now quick and easy to get started with our new standard submission form.

Matching gift form e-sign with Double the Donation's standard matching gift form

This basic form collects all the data an employer would need to review and approve a match request. This includes:

  • Donor information ⁠such as their name, corporate email address, and/or employee ID number;
  • Donation information ⁠such as donation amount and transaction date;
  • Nonprofit information ⁠such as name, website, mailing address, EIN, and more.

And it’s all automated so that donors can submit their matches quickly and easily, ultimately removing common roadblocks and driving more matching gifts to completion.

Top tip! Nonprofits looking to make the most of matching gift auto-submission and Double the Donation’s standard matching gift form should be sure to fill out their Organization Profile in 360MatchPro. This allows the right information to be incorporated into the automated submission form, making it more likely that the match is ultimately approved and paid out.

Final thoughts

Matching gift submission processes are becoming increasingly standardized, centralized, and digitized. So how can we support nonprofits, schools, and other fundraising organizations in this shifting environment? The answer lies in guiding donors through the electronic portal submission process.

At Double the Donation, we focus on giving donors confidence, speed, and accuracy when submitting their matching gift requests. That means prioritizing personalized automation flows and database accuracy.

We’re heading into the future, and we hope you’ll join us!

Interested in learning more about Double the Donation’s innovative matching gift tips and tools? Check out these other educational resources:

Learn more about Double the Donation matching gift form e-sign auto-submission

8 Ways to Encourage Donors to Submit Matching Gift Requests

8 Ways to Encourage Donors to Submit Employee Matching Gift Requests

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As a fundraising leader, you may have put a lot of thought into how to market matching gifts before and during the donation process. For example, you might host a matching donation challenge and mention matching gifts as a way to increase the impact of donations. That’s great—doing so lays a solid foundation and begins increasing awareness about the opportunity. Not to mention, it allows your team to collect much-needed data points regarding your donors’ employing companies.

But for the donor, clicking submit or mailing a check often feels like the final step. And for this reason alone, many eligible matches go unclaimed⁠—thus, resulting in available funds being left on the table.

The solution? Strategic follow-ups post-donation.

Getting in touch with donors after they complete their gifts allows you to remind individuals of matching gift programs at hand and encourage them to take the next steps to submit their matching donation requests. Plus, it provides a unique opportunity to retain your organization and its purpose at the forefront of supporters’ minds, reiterate your mission and vision and highlight key opportunities for furthering engagement.

And in this guide, we’ll share eight of the best ways to do so. These include the following:

  1. Educate your staff.
  2. Share guidelines on the confirmation page.
  3. Link to request forms and next steps.
  4. Send a follow-up email.
  5. Pick up the phone.
  6. Utilize snail mail.
  7. Incorporate SMS outreach.

Don’t let your organization’s matching gift opportunities fall through the cracks! Incorporating these follow-up methods enables your team to drive more corporate matches to completion, ultimately ensuring you get the biggest bang for your fundraising buck.

1. Educate your staff.

One of the first things you can do to easily raise your match submission rates among donors involves looking inward. In other words, make sure that, when it comes to matching gifts, your organization is cultivating a knowledgeable staff.

At the very least, every employee should understand:

When your team is equipped with a solid foundation of matching gift information and feels confident explaining the process, benefits, and more, you can work together to create an outreach strategy that is specific to your donor base. And don’t forget about volunteers, either!

We recommend hosting dedicated internal training sessions to cover all of the above information, providing in-depth resources for learning more, and incorporating matching gift information in team-wide onboarding going forward.

2. Share guidelines on the confirmation page.

Immediately following the donation process, many donors’ engagement levels remain high. That said, a nonprofit’s confirmation page or thank-you screen can be a valuable resource for promoting actionable next steps. In this case, it’s one of the best opportunities to begin actively encouraging individuals to submit their matching gifts.

When communicated effectively, match information on the confirmation screen can be positioned as a logical extension of the giving experience. And when you’ve collected employment information within the donation form, you can use the opportunity to provide company-specific eligibility criteria.

When available, this should include minimum and maximum match thresholds, corporate donation ratios, qualifying employees and nonprofits, submission deadlines, and more.

When available, this should include:

  • Minimum and maximum match thresholds (on average, between $34 and $3,728);
  • Corporate donation ratios (most typically 1:1, though some companies go lower, such as .5:1, or higher, such as 2, 3, or even 4:1);
  • Qualifying employees (full-time, part-time, retired, spouses);
  • Qualifying nonprofit mission types (education, community service, religious, etc.);
  • Submission deadlines (# of months post-donation, end of the calendar year, end of calendar year plus a grace period);
  • And more.

Encouraging donors to submit matching gift requests on the confirmation page

3. Link to request forms and next steps.

Each company that offers a matching gift program is able to establish its own submission process. These typically range from paper forms to online request portals. However, not all employers take a proactive approach to communicating the process to their employees. And many donors can be overwhelmed by a lack of direction⁠—even if the experience itself is quick and easy.

Thus, you don’t want your donors to have to do a ton of research on their own to determine how to submit their matching gift. If that’s the case, they’re significantly more likely to abandon their potential match altogether.

In order to streamline the experience for your donors, providing direct links to the forms they need can go a long way. And if that information is unavailable, sharing contact information for a person or team at the company to reach out to can be helpful as well.

Encouraging donors to submit matching gift requests with links to request forms

5. Send a follow-up email.

Looking to re-engage your donors after they leave your donation page? Send a quick email that specifically asks them to follow up and submit their matching gift requests.

Encouraging donors to submit matching gift requests with email follow-ups

Make sure to incorporate an explanation of matching gifts and the benefits they can bring to your organization. Plus, demonstrate the simplicity with which a donor can complete their request by walking them through the process.

Top tip ⁠— Send your follow-up email within 24 hours of receiving an individual donation in order to retain giving momentum. Matching gift emails sent within this time frame see a 53% open rate, which is more than 2-3 times higher than the average nonprofit open rate!

Here’s a sample:

“Dear Jody, thank you for your generous donation to the Cat Rescue Club. Did you know that your employer, Home Depot, will match your gift of $100 to our organization?

Matching gifts enable us to support twice as many furry friends. And it’s quick and easy for you to complete your match. Click here to log into your company’s matching gift request portal and submit your request.”

Even better, use Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro platform to trigger personalized outreach to donors. When individuals contribute to your cause, they are automatically triaged by match eligibility. Thus, they’re sent a targeted email that incorporates employer-specific program information. This typically includes the company’s minimum and maximum donation amounts, match ratios, and direct links to online forms.

Not to mention, emails can be sent from your organization’s domain and branded to match your colors, fonts, and overall styles. And when you leverage automation, you can ensure each donor receives timely and actionable follow-ups. No more worries about prospective matches slipping through the cracks, and it’s less legwork for your team to handle!

6. Pick up the phone.

To make your efforts really stand out, consider sorting through recent donations and identifying your top contributors. Then, call these donors to thank them for their gifts and encourage them to submit their matching gift requests.

Many donors would be happy to support your organization in this way, and taking the time to make a phone call demonstrates the importance of donation matches to your team.

Lack of donor awareness is one of the biggest hurdles to increasing matching gift revenue. If you’re able to briefly walk a donor through the process and provide them with the information they need, they’ll be more likely to complete their end of the matching gift request.

Feel free to use this sample phone script as a jumping-off point for your efforts: “Hi Jeff! It’s Anita from the Cat Rescue Club. We just wanted to call and let you know that we are so appreciative of your generous support for our mission. Because of you, we’re able to feed and care for more than 100 furry friends while they wait for their forever homes.

Did you know that tens of thousands of companies offer corporate matching gift programs where they agree to match employee donations to their favorite charitable causes? Our records indicate that your recent donation of $1,000 is likely eligible for a match from your employer, Apple! All it takes is to fill out a brief online form, which we can send directly to your email address on file for easy access.

Would you be willing to double your impact on our cause by submitting a matching donation request to your employer? Thanks again!”

7. Utilize snail mail.

Good old-fashioned postage is still a great way to touch base with your donors! Physical mailers can work as impactful calls to action that encourage donors to submit their matching gift requests.

This might include:

  • Letters (handwritten or printed)
  • Postcards
  • Direct mail inserts
  • Thank-you notes
  • Return envelopes

Many companies have very generous matching gift request submission deadlines. In fact, this window is often open between three months and over a year. This gives donors plenty of time to get their donations doubled—even when leveraging so-called snail mail to promote the opportunity.

And by sending tangible follow-ups to your supporters’ mailboxes (likely in tangent with alternative outreach as well), it can help your team break through the ever-increasing digital clutter. In order to keep your costs down, consider reserving direct mail marketing for your highest-value matching gift opportunities.

Encouraging donors to submit matching gift requests with direct mail

8. Incorporate SMS outreach.

Mobile outreach is becoming an increasingly popular method of communication for nonprofit fundraising. Consider incorporating this channel into your organization’s strategy as well. It’s a great way to reach your donors exactly where they are⁠—wherever they are⁠.

In fact, recent studies indicate that text message marketing boasts open rates of up to 98%, compared to only 20% open rates for emails. People tend to always have their cell phones on them⁠, making SMS an effective outreach method, particularly for the on-the-go donor.

For the best results, matching gift text messaging should be short, sweet, and to the point⁠—as compared to a follow-up email that may incorporate longer blocks of text. Inform or remind donors about matching gift opportunities and provide direct links to additional resources and next steps.

Encouraging donors to submit matching gift requests with SMS outreach

Interested in streamlining and elevating your text messaging efforts? Currently, automated matching gift text streams are available for 360MatchPro Enterprise clients to make use of!

Next Steps

The most effective way to encourage donors to submit their matching gift requests is to mention matching gifts as often as possible. Include corporate matching information in your acknowledgment letters, emails, text messages, and more. You can even integrate a more generalized approach by leveraging your website, social media posts, and regular newsletters, too.

The bottom line is that the more your donors hear about matching gift opportunities (and the widespread benefits that are involved), the more likely they are to take part when the time comes. And the more personalized your outreach, the better!

Ready to learn more? Dive into our other educational resources on matching gift tips and best practices:

How to Encourage Donors to Submit Employee Matching Gift Requests

Encourage donors to submit employee matching gift requests with Double the Donation

The Ultimate Fundraising Event Software Buyer's Guide

The Ultimate Fundraising Event Software Buyer’s Guide

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It takes a lot to plan and execute a nonprofit event. From getting started with goal-setting and budgeting through organizing and promoting your event experience and finally hosting and engaging with donors, there’s a lot to juggle. Luckily, the right fundraising event software can make organizing an impactful event a breeze.

But even the software buying process can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re looking for. That’s where this helpful guide comes in handy!

Here, we’ll cover everything you need to know about event fundraising tools, including:

At Double the Donation, we’ve worked with many different providers in the space, and we gathered some of our top tips for choosing the best fundraising event software for your team. In the end, these practices should help guide your decision-making process as you continue to develop your perfect toolkit of nonprofit technology.

Not to mention, you’ll be all set to get started with optimal fundraising events with the right tools to power your efforts. Let’s begin!

Why invest in event fundraising software?

Why Invest in Fundraising Event Software?

Fundraising event software is a critical component of any organization’s fully built-out tech stack. After all, a significant portion of many nonprofits’ overall revenue is collected through engaging fundraising events. And the right tools can make organizing and hosting as easy and effective as ever.

Not to mention, more and more fundraising events are involving increasingly technical aspects. Even in-person gatherings are becoming dependent on behind-the-scenes software and user-facing technology to run smoothly and elevate the event experience.

Thus, if your organization is looking to develop or optimize your event fundraising strategy, investing in the right tools to power your efforts is essential.

Event fundraising software features to consider

Features to Consider For Your Event Software

The term “fundraising event software” can encompass a lot of different kinds of tools. And each one offers key benefits to your organization, the events you organize, and the individuals who support your efforts.

Let’s explore a few of these key functions.

(Top tip: As you walk through the following types of features and functionality commonly associated with nonprofit event software, keep in mind that you may have to prioritize offerings in order of importance. Consider flagging elements as “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves.”)

Online Event Pages

In order to pull off an effective event, it’s crucial that your supporters are aware of the opportunity. And one of the best ways to spread the word about upcoming events involves engaging online event pages or microsites.

Here’s what this event software functionality should include:

  • Pre-built and customizable web page templates;
  • Landing page and microsite options.
  • Personalized branding that matches your organization’s existing materials;
  • Mobile-optimized pages that are easy to use on screens of all shapes and sizes;
  • Search engine optimization and accessibility tools;

Fundraising event software web page

Ticketing Services

Make sure your team and your attendees are prepared for your event with intuitive ticketing functionality. Consider these key features:

  • Easy-to-use online ticketing forms;
  • Free and paid ticket purchases for in-person and virtual events;
  • Online RSVP management and automated receipting;
  • Customizable questions, such as meal preferences and t-shirt sizes;
  • Multiple ticketing tiers and packages.

Fundraising event software ticketing services

Payment & Donation Processing

Regardless of whether you’re hosting free or paid events, it’s essential that your team has the tools for processing payments from supporters. This should include:

  • Accepting payments online and in-person;
  • Leveraging multiple payment methods;
  • Processing payments for event tickets, merchandise, pledges, and more;
  • Collecting donations, in addition to ticketing and other sales.

Fundraising event software payment processing

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Capability

Peer-to-peer fundraising and nonprofit events often go hand-in-hand. Some of the most impactful social fundraising efforts cumulate in a final event to drive engagement and celebrate success. Think⁠—run/walk/rides and other “a-thon” style events.

Here are a few peer-to-peer fundraising features to consider in your search for nonprofit event technology:

  • Online event participant registration;
  • Customizable participant fundraising pages;
  • Gamification tools, such as fundraising thermometers, badges, and prizes;
  • Donation and pledge processing and fulfillment.

Fundraising event software peer-to-peer capabilities

Auction Management

Charity auctions are many nonprofit organizations’ most profitable fundraising events time and time again. So when it comes to event software buying, it’s a good idea to keep auction tools in mind. These typically include:

  • Item procurement and tracking capabilities;
  • Facilitation of live and silent in-person, virtual, and hybrid auction events;
  • Online and mobile bidding functionality for attendees;
  • Real-time bid tracking and other analytics.

Fundraising event software auction management

Data Reporting

Nonprofit events produce a lot of powerful data. It’s important to have the tools you need to collect, analyze, and leverage that information for the greatest results! That’s where an event software’s data reporting functionality comes in.

Consider these key features:

  • Event attendee supporter profiles to track ongoing engagement;
  • Budgeting and revenue tools to determine ROI calculations;
  • Real-time event data reporting;
  • Birds-eye view and in-depth options.

Fundraising event software data

Matching Gift Automation

Did you know that nearly 27 million individuals work for companies that match gifts? But approximately 78% of this group has no idea that their employers offer these programs?

That’s why increasing awareness of match opportunities is essential⁠—and your event software can help! Matching gift software, or event fundraising software with a dedicated matching gift component, should:

  • Collect supporter employment information through email domain screening or with an integrated company search tool;
  • Provide donors and event attendees with employer-specific matching gift guidelines (eligibility criteria, online forms, etc.);
  • Automatically follow up with match-eligible or unknown donors post-engagement to remind individuals about matching opportunities and drive more successful matches to completion.

Organizations that enhance matching gift efforts by utilizing top software offerings tend to see elevated event and other fundraising experiences. In many cases, it’s the equivalent of a two-for-one sale on charitable donations!

Nonprofit event fundraising software with matching gift tools

Integrations

Expand your event software’s reach with seamless integrations⁠—especially with the tools your organization already uses on a day-to-day basis.

Software integrations essentially form unified systems between varying platforms, allowing different tools to speak to one another. Therefore, integrating your event fundraising software with your organization’s existing fundraising solutions empowers your technology to do more with less manual tasks and configurations.

As you consider fundraising event software integrations, this might include:

  • Online donation tools;
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising platforms;
  • Data management systems;
  • Corporate giving software;
  • Marketing and outreach solutions.

Fundraising event software integrations

Making your event fundraising software choice

How to Make Your Fundraising Event Software Choice

As you work to narrow down your event technology options, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

Consider bundling event tools with a comprehensive fundraising platform. While some event tools are made available in an à la carte or piecemeal format, others are offered as a bundle in an overall fundraising software package. In the latter scenario, your event-specific technology may be integrated directly with an online donation tool, CRM, and more for an all-in-one solution. Many organizations prefer this type of software collection for ease of use and seamless communication between platforms.

Set a software budget to guide your buying decisions. One of the best ways to narrow down your available options is to go into the buying process with a set budget in mind. This way, you can devote your time to the software your organization can afford. As you look for cost-effective solutions, be sure to consider base price, startup costs, ongoing fees, expansions or add-ons, scalability, and more.

Seek software with matching gift functionality. Beyond typical event software features, one element that can drastically improve your team’s fundraising efforts⁠—event-based and otherwise⁠—is matching gift functionality. Corporate matching gifts enable many donors and event attendees to double their impact on your cause. Luckily, tools like Double the Donation integrate with top event platforms to enable seamless match identification and automated follow-ups.

Request a demo to see prospective tools in action. Before you make your final decisions, it’s a good idea to request some demos. Many companies can provide access to a pre-recorded video, though a live demo offers a more personalized encounter. As you experience the software in action, consider how the tools will look from a user’s perspective⁠. And don’t be afraid to ask questions, either!

Final Thoughts

In the recent past, events of all kinds have become increasingly technology-based⁠—from innovative in-person elements to virtual and hybrid experiences. And it’s important that your nonprofit has the tools to keep up with the times!

As you look to revolutionize your organization’s event offerings with powerful software, we recommend exploring Double the Donation’s integration partners. Many of these top-of-the-line fundraising software providers offer impactful tools that can bring your event endeavors to the next level. Then, don’t forget to factor matching gifts into your strategy, as well!

Want to learn more? Check out these other educational resources to elevate your organization’s event, workplace giving, and overall fundraising strategies:

Explore top fundraising event software with our integration partners

Why Companies Have Matching Gift Programs: A Complete Guide

Why Companies Have Matching Gift Programs: A Complete Guide

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More and more companies are offering corporate matching gift programs in order to prioritize corporate social responsibility or CSR. Through these initiatives, businesses agree to match employee donations to a wide range of nonprofits. And with the matches, companies and their teams are able to double, or sometimes even triple, the initial donation impact.

As a company, it’s important to consider the impact that implementing a CSR program can have on your image, your employees, and your contributions to society. If you haven’t already established such a program, hopefully these reasons can drive you in that direction.

And as a nonprofit, understanding the purpose and benefits behind these programs should allow your team to better utilize the offerings and set your organization up for ultimate corporate fundraising success.

There are many reasons for companies to offer a matching gift program. These include (but are not limited to) the following:

In this article, we’ll address each of these key motivators for companies matching employee donations. Plus, we’ll share countless resources for employers looking to implement the matching programs today.

Keep in mind that as a nonprofit professional, it’s your job to get the word out about these programs to your donors to maximize usage. If you’re looking for a way to increase your matching gift revenue, consider investing in matching gift software! We’ll cover more about how to make the most of corporate matching gift programs⁠—and how 360MatchPro by Double the Donation can help⁠—below.

Reason #1: Matching Gifts Creates a Positive Company Brand

Matching gift programs improve a company's brand.

What is the biggest misconception people have about branding? Brands are logos, and logos are brands. However, the way people perceive a company and its products goes much deeper than a simple graphic.

Instead, your brand is influenced by previous interactions, advertising, and what people have read, know, and assume about the company. And a business’s philanthropic efforts can play a significant role!

For example, many consumers’ buying decisions are heavily influenced by how a company brands itself as a leader in philanthropy. In fact, research reports that over 77% of consumers are particularly motivated to purchase from companies that aim to make the world a better place. In other words, people feel good doing business with charitable-focused businesses, which makes them want to continue supporting the companies’ efforts. That’s why businesses offer matching gifts and engage in other CSR initiatives like corporate matching grants and volunteer programs.

We often mention companies like Google for their robust spirit of philanthropy. Consumers trust Google because it has a reputation for doing good, including its generous matching gift and volunteer grant programs. In the business world, trust means everything.

Reason #2: Matching Gifts Encourages Employees to Give

Matching gift programs encourage employees to give.Oftentimes, businesses want to support the community that supports them. That way, their local consumer base will take pride in advocating for them. By creating well-designed programs, companies convey their desire to give back to the community.

Charitable employees are drawn to businesses that offer these programs (71% of employees state that it’s very important to work at a company that partakes in philanthropy), creating a well-rounded and generous work environment. Even if employees don’t already donate time and money to nonprofits, they’ll become much more aware of these opportunities. 

In addition, a giving program that increases employees’ potential impact may also be the push an individual needs to donate or volunteer. Doubling, and even sometimes tripling, their employees’ contributions makes it much more appealing to donate and volunteer with local nonprofits. In fact, 84% of donors say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered.

Generous employees also look good for overall company branding. Microsoft, for instance, can boast that its employees have raised over $1 billion dollars for charity since the inception of its giving program. While that can certainly be attributed to the employees involved, it also has a lot to do with the culture of generosity that the company has fostered.

Reason #3: Matching Gifts Reduces Employee Turnover

Having a matching gift program reduces employee turnover.When your company is contributing to the greater social good through CSR, this can greatly reduce your employee turnover rate. Why? Employees are more socially aware in this day in age and want to contribute to causes they’re passionate about—especially on a global scale.

If your company offers employees the ability to make an even bigger difference through matching gifts and other forms of corporate philanthropy, they will be more likely to engage with your company and remain loyal. In fact, one study found that a company engaging in socially valuable efforts can reduce staff turnover by approximately 50%.

This means your employee turnover rate will decrease, helping you retain awesome employees who continue to bring value to your company.

Reason #4: Matching Gifts Democratizes the Giving Process

Matching gift programs democratize the giving process.

You may be wondering why companies don’t just donate their entire giving budget to a few select charities. And some do⁠—but this often limits the overall benefits offered by strategic corporate giving participation.

For one, matching employee donations can forgo difficult screening processes for charities. Companies don’t want to donate money to charities that are inefficient or otherwise have a bad name. Matching employee donations puts the research responsibilities on the employee rather than the company.

It also avoids debates about which nonprofits should receive funds by democratizing the process. In other words, the employees have a say in how their company spends its giving budget.

In short, matching gifts is a simpler way of enacting corporate donations, allowing corporate giving revenue to be more evenly distributed to a wider range of nonprofit recipients. When an employee shows their employer which causes they care about, companies know how to allocate their giving budget.

Reason #5: Matching Gifts Increases Employee Engagement

Matching gift programs boost employee engagement.Employees who are engaged with their company feel a stronger connection to their employer’s values, mission, and vision. In fact, more than 54% of employees who are proud of their company’s contributions to society report being fully engaged in their job, compared to an industry average of only 15%. This means companies that encourage employee giving and volunteerism are more likely to keep their employees engaged and give back to the community at the same time.

For example, matching gift programs show employees that the company not only encourages charitable giving but is committed to making the donations go further, as well. In addition, companies that offer paid time off for employees to volunteer or participate in fundraising events also boost engagement. Employees get to experience an enjoyable and rewarding team-building event, and the company enhances its reputation in the public eye.

Reason #6: Matching Gifts Attracts Talent

Matching gift programs attract talented employees to the company.Companies that offer CSR programs, especially matching gifts and volunteer grants, are more likely to attract top talent. This is because a large portion of the workforce, namely Millennials, want their companies to offer them a sense of purpose and pride. More and more job seekers are looking into a company’s CSR efforts prior to accepting a position.

To demonstrate this idea, previously cited corporate giving research indicates that 77% of employees reported a sense of purpose as part of the reason they selected their current employer, while nearly 2/3 of Gen Z and Millenial employees won’t take a job at a company with poor CSR practices.

Offering CSR programs—especially those with a global reach—gives companies the ability to attract this group of talented employees and keep them as part of their company for the long term.

Reason #7: Matching Gifts Provides Tax Benefits

Companies participating in corporate philanthropy also see significant impacts in terms of tax benefits⁠—and matching gift programs allow employers to reap even greater benefits.

According to the IRS, corporations are typically eligible to request up to 10% of their annual revenue in tax deductions from charitable giving. However, one of the major exceptions to the 10% rule is matching gifts. Companies matching employee donations that go above and beyond 10% of their yearly income can continue to deduct matches from their overall taxable dollars.

As the company reduces its taxable income, they decrease the amount of money it’ll pay in taxes for the year⁠—thus providing additional funds that can be reinvested into its business, social impact efforts, and more.

Bonus: Resources for Creating Matching Gift Programs

If your company⁠—or a corporate partner⁠—is looking to implement a new matching gift program or grow an existing philanthropic effort, check out these resources below to help jumpstart planning!

For Companies Launching New Matching Gift Programs

Looking to create a brand new matching gift program? Start educating your team with the below resources:

  • Matching Gift Basics: While this article is geared toward nonprofits, it includes a solid overview of different aspects of matching gift programs. Dive in with the basics of matching gift program guidelines, examples, best practices, and more.
  • How to Start a Matching Gift Program. Follow this step-by-step guide to walk through the process of launching a corporate matching gift program⁠—from setting your budget to promoting your new initiative to team members.
  • Matching Gift Policy Template. When you roll out a matching gift program, it’s important to create and communicate guidelines for employee participation. The easiest way to do so is by drafting a matching gift policy document, and we’ve created an easy template to help you do so.

For Companies Creating Volunteer Grant Programs

Volunteer grant programs can offer many of the same benefits for companies that matching employee donations do. Want to encourage volunteerism within your company? Here are some great resources to jumpstart your efforts:

  • Volunteer Grant Basics: While this article is also written for a nonprofit audience, it provides readers with a comprehensive overview of corporate volunteer grant programs. For companies looking to roll out these initiatives, this can be an excellent place to begin.
  • Top Volunteer Grant Companies: Interested in what other companies are doing in terms of volunteer grant offerings? We highlight some of the top companies that provide generous grant initiatives. Find out what makes them stand out and implement those ideas in your own programs!

For Companies Implementing or Elevating Employee Giving Programs

Looking for some examples of how you can implement, promote, and organize your employee giving programs? Check out these resources:

  • Matching Gift Software Vendors: The Comprehensive List: Whether you’re launching a new employee giving program or bringing an existing program to the next level, corporate giving software can help! Be sure to check out these leading vendors that have worked with countless companies to design their employee giving systems.
  • Matching Gift Auto-Submission + CSR Platforms | What to Know. Amplify the impacts of your corporate matching program by enabling match auto-submission! Explore this guide to discover the benefits of streamlined employee participation and see how your company can get started with this new feature.

For Companies Looking to Be Inspired by Standout Programs

Want to research some of the best examples of employee giving programs? We’ve spotlighted these top companies with outstanding employee giving programs and an overview of their matching gifts policies.

Each employer has a unique component to its match programs that causes them to stand out among its peers. Get inspired by standout programs⁠—maybe one day, your business will be among them!

  • Walt Disney Corporation: Disney matches donations to most nonprofits at a 1:1 ratio with a generous maximum of $25,000.
  • Microsoft: Microsoft matches up to $15,000 at a 1:1 ratio to most nonprofits, and the company also boasts some of the highest rates of employee matching gift participation.
  • Merck & Co.: Merck & Co. matches up to $30,000 per employee per year at a 1:1 ratio to most nonprofits.
  • Coca-Cola Company: Coca-Cola (or Coke) matches employee donations at a 2:1 ratio⁠—essentially tripling the value of individual contributions up to $20,000 per year.
  • Innovative Discovery: Innovative Discovery makes the matching gift process quick and easy for its employees to partake by enabling auto-submission by utilizing Selflessly’s innovative corporate giving software. Eligible individuals can now submit their corporate match requests straight from their favorite nonprofits’ websites!
  • Checkr: Checkr has also established matching gift auto-submission functionality for employees through its CSR platform, Millie. Plus, the company offers no minimum donation amount for participation.


Here's now nonprofits can leverage matching gift programs.

How Matching Gift Databases Help Nonprofits

Nonprofits benefit from matching gifts because they receive an additional donation for the work of soliciting one, allowing them to elevate their revenue potential with ease. However, many organizations continue to underutilize this fundraising opportunity.

That’s because, unfortunately, nonprofits often lack the time, resources, and staff needed to identify and follow up with matching gift opportunities on a manual basis. Luckily, that’s where a comprehensive matching gift database and automation solution like Double the Donation comes in handy.

Double the Donation offers the world’s leading matching gift database, holding data on more than 20,000 companies representing more than 26 million match-eligible individuals. Pulling from Double the Donation’s database, the automation platform, 360MatchPro, identifies match-eligible donors and reminds them to complete the match process through automated emails.

Use 360MatchPro by Double the Donation to secure more matching gift revenue.

Here’s how it works:

  1. An individual donates to your nonprofit.
  2. 360MatchPro scans the information provided on the donation form (e.g., email domain, employer details, etc.) to determine the individual’s eligibility for a donation match.
  3. Based on the individual’s eligibility, the platform triggers customizable emails to them, outlining relevant next steps they can take to submit a match request.

360MatchPro by Double the Donation can help nonprofits secure revenue from matching gift programs.

Because the platform automatically identifies and encourages donors to pursue eligible opportunities, your organization will drive more matches to completion. This leaves your team more time to focus on top matching gift opportunities and serving your mission.

It’s important to understand the matching gift process and its impact, whether you work for a nonprofit or a corporation. As a company, you can boost your corporate image while supporting your communities and the greater good. As a nonprofit, you can bring in the extra funding you need to serve your mission with little to no added effort.

Looking for even more information about matching gifts? Check out the additional resources below:


This blog post explores the top exceptional capital campaign consulting firms.

10 Exceptional Capital Campaign Consulting Firms to Consider

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Planning for a capital campaign is a huge endeavor, and even the most experienced nonprofits need some assistance. Your nonprofit can get help by hiring a capital campaign consultant or a capital campaign consulting firm.

To make sure we’re on the same page, a capital campaign consultant is a professional adviser that can provide counsel on how to plan for your campaign. Consultants can help complete common capital campaign tasks, such as performing a feasibility study, writing a case for support, and training your leadership.

You can hire a consultant to assist you throughout the duration of the campaign or for just a few small tasks here and there.

If you’re not sure who to hire, we’ve compiled the top capital campaign consulting firms that you can consider. 

Top Capital Campaign Consulting FirmsDistinguishing Feature
DonorlyFirst capital campaigns
BWFData-driven insights
Aly Sterling Philanthropy Philanthropy Blueprint assessment
Averill Fundraising Solutions Capacity building
Capital Campaign Pro Digital Resources
Alexander HaasCapital campaign counsel for churches
Brian LacyWealth screening
J.F. Smith GroupCampaign outreach
The Curtis GroupCampaign design and branding
Gail Perry GroupFeasibility studies

In case you were wondering, we picked these top capital campaign consulting firms based on client satisfaction, knowledge of capital campaigns, and strength of approach.

The logo for Donorly, one of the top capital campaign consulting firms

1. Donorly – Top Capital Campaign Consultant for First Campaigns

Overview

Donorly was founded on the idea that small and mid-size nonprofits should have access to the same resources as larger organizations, especially when it comes to donor research.

The capital campaign consultants at Donorly specialize in helping smaller nonprofits launch their very first capital campaigns. And they’re good at it—they’ve helped organizations raise over $300 million and triple their fundraising revenue.

With their human-centered approach, the Donorly team can be by your side throughout every phase of your campaign, ultimately helping you kickstart your nonprofit’s long-term growth.

Services

Donorly’s main services include:

  • Fundraising feasibility studies
  • Ongoing capital campaign counsel
  • Prospect research subscriptions
  • Fundraising training
  • Transitional nonprofit staffing

Along with capital campaigns, Donorly specializes in major donor research and cultivation strategies. If you’re worried about finding enough major donors for your campaign, Donorly is the perfect choice.

Type of Client

Donorly’s capital campaign consultants work most often with small to mid-size nonprofits, especially those launching their first major campaigns.

Some of Donorly’s notable past clients include the New York Theatre Workshop, RIP Medical Debt, the Seattle Children’s Museum, and Playwrights Horizons.

Location

The Donorly team is headquartered in New York City, but they work with nonprofits across the country.

A laptop showing the website homepage for Donorly, one of our top capital campaign consultants

Partner with the consultants at Donorly

BWF is one of our top choices for capital campaign consultants (logo shown here)

2. BWF – Top Capital Campaign Consultant for Data-Driven Insights

Overview

BWF is a trusted fundraising consulting partner for nonprofits in the higher education, healthcare, faith-based, public and human services, environment and animals, and arts and culture sectors. For over 40 years, BWF has worked with purpose-driven organizations to build capacity and achieve long-term goals.

BWF’s four primary services to support capital campaigns

Organizations turn to this fundraising partner when they’re ready to launch their most ambitious campaigns yet—and the results speak for themselves. With BWF’s help, one client saw year-end fundraising revenue increase by 51% and first-time donor retention increase by 25%.

Driven by values like tenacity, optimism, and collaboration, BWF’s team manages all partner relationships with transparency and respect.

Services

BWF’s core capabilities include:

  • Planning and managing campaigns and building fundraising strategies
  • Optimizing technology and operations
  • Enhancing the donor experience
  • Building sustainable enterprise solutions

BWF leverages capacity-building and data science services to help organizations get campaigns up and running smoothly.

Type of Client

BWF offers both a global and local perspective as well as extensive practical experience working with a variety of sectors, allowing them to partner with nonprofit organizations from diverse backgrounds. Hospitals, universities, foundations, arts and culture organizations, and other purpose-driven organizations have all found success from partnering with BWF.

Location

BWF is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but they are proud to work with local, national, and international organizations.

Learn more about BWF’s campaign services!

Aly Sterling Philanthropy is our top choice capital campaign consultant firm.

3. Aly Sterling Philanthropy — Top Capital Campaign Consultant for Assessments

Overview

Aly Sterling Philanthropy is a full-service consulting firm, with years of experience guiding organizations through capital campaigns.

Their team is comprised of experienced professionals that understand the importance of strong leadership and a solid infrastructure. 
Aly Sterling Philanthropy's capital campaign consultants assess fundraising strategies with their unique Philanthropy Blueprint.

When working with Aly Sterling Philanthropy, the consultants will conduct a Philanthropy Blueprint, which is a 6-step process that assesses your organization to pinpoint where you need the most help.

Services

Aly Sterling offers services, such as:

  • Performing feasibility studies
  • Writing a case for support
  • Training leadership
  • Researching prospective donors

In addition to the services listed above, their website includes resources to help nonprofits navigate the planning process for capital campaigns (and other fundraisers!).

Type of Client

Aly Sterling Philanthropy, a member of The Giving Institute, has worked with the Boys and Girls Club of Toledo, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern West Virginia, and Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity.

They are proud to work with organizations of any size that serve a range of causes, including arts and culture, healthcare, and social justice advocacy. 

Location

While headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Aly Sterling welcomes clients located anywhere in the United States.

Learn more about Aly Sterling Philanthropy's full suite of capital campaign services.

Learn more about the capital campaign services at Aly Sterling Philanthropy!

Averill Fundraising Solutions is our favorite capital campaign consultant for nonprofits.

3. Averill Fundraising Solutions — Top Capital Campaign Consultant for Capacity Building

Overview

When you hire Averill Fundraising Solutions to serve as your capital campaign consultant, you can trust you’re gaining a partner that has diverse experience throughout the nonprofit sector.Averill Fundraising Solutions's capital campaign consultants offer a wide range of services.

Averill’s consultants can help your team during the pre-planning phase by developing key collateral (like case statements and prospect lists), or they can stay on for the whole campaign as your capital campaign’s director.

Since they have over 75 years of experience working with charities, faith-based organizations, schools, and other nonprofits, they’ll be ready to take on any challenge your capital campaign presents.

Depending on your needs, they may even embed a capital campaign consultant in your organization to provide extra guidance from the inside out.

Services

You can rely on Averill for:

  • Campaign direction
  • Campaign planning and feasibility studies
  • Annual fund direction
  • Executive search
  • Embedded staffing

With any of these services, Averill’s capital campaign consultants will stay with you every step of the way as partners.

Type of Client

Large organizations representing a wide variety of interests have consulted with Averill in the past, including the Salvation Army in Sierra del Mar, California, and the Boys and Girls Club in Newark, New Jersey. 

Averill also partners with mature organizations at a smaller scale to help them grow into the institutions they want to become.

Location

Located in New York, Averill is in the neighborhood of some of the top major gift giving prospects in the United States. However, the firm works with organizations all across the U.S. and Canada.

Averill Fundraising Solutions has consulted with faith-based, healthcare, and educational organizations on their capital campaigns.

Capital Campaign Pro is a top resource for nonprofit professionals uninterested in traditional capital campaign consulting firms.

4. Capital Campaign Pro — Our Top Pick for Digital Resources & Advising

Overview

We understand that not every campaign director will desire the assistance of traditional capital campaign consulting. For those nonprofit professionals, we recommend Capital Campaign Pro.

Capital Campaign Pro is the only fully online, virtual campaign resource for nonprofits.

Their system breaks capital campaigns out into a seven-phase plan, spanning from pre-campaign planning to post-campaign analysis. Along the way, it empowers nonprofit professionals with the knowledge, confidence, resources, and expert support needed to hold an effective capital campaign.

Capital Campaign Pro services

Services

Capital Campaign Pro includes the following features and services:

  • A step-by-step capital campaign plan
  • Campaign templates, checklists, assessments and worksheets
  • A Guided Feasibility Study
  • Expert capital campaign advisors

Capital Campaign Pro (as well as comprehensive free resources on its website, such as this guide to capital campaigns) empowers nonprofit professionals to successfully navigate their next capital campaign on their own terms. However, you can also work with their team of expert advisors for additional support.

Type of Client

Capital Campaign Pro was created for leaders of all size nonprofits who:

  • Are uninterested in traditional consulting.
  • Want to be empowered and learn successful campaign strategy and techniques.
  • Are seeking an online-powered approach.
  • Want a community of colleagues who are leading successful campaigns.
  • Are looking for budget-friendly support and advising.

Whether due to budgetary constraints or poor experiences with consultants in the past, this system was created for those seeking a refreshing campaign experience.

Location

Capital Campaign Pro is a fully online, virtual resource that is incredibly accessible for nonprofit leaders across the country and around the world. This means that regardless of location, your organization can make the most of the its resources.

Capital Campaign Pro homepage

Find out more about the resources offered by Capital Campaign Pro.

Alexander Haas is another top capital campaign consultant.

5. Alexander Haas

Overview

As one of the leading fundraising consulting firms in the nation and a member of The Giving Institute, Alexander Haas has years of experience planning capital campaigns. 

In their own words, they “know what it takes to be successful in today’s philanthropic marketplace and how to help you get the results it takes to prosper.”

Services

Nonprofits interested in Alexander Haas will find services that include:

  • Pre-campaign counsel
  • Feasibility studies
  • Plan development

They provide services for more than just capital campaigns; nonprofits can get assistance with their annual fund or donor stewardship.

Type of Client

Educational and faith-based institutions are some of the common types of clients that the consultants at Alexander Haas work with. Plus, they work with any size organization, large or small.

Location

The Alexander Haas consulting firm is located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Learn more about the capital campaign services at Alexander Haas

Check out more of the services on the Alexander Haas website.

Brian Lacy & Associates is another great fundraising consultant for nonprofits.

6. Brian Lacy and Associates

Overview

Brian Lacy and Associates is a fundraising and data services consulting firm with 3 decades of experience providing “leading industry resources and veteran talent to maximize what your [nonprofit] team can do across the giving spectrum.”
They have helped over 400 organizations raise more than $1 billion in contributions.  

Services

If you need help with your capital campaign, Brian Lacy and Associates offers many different services for your nonprofit.

They cover services like:

  • Prospect screening
  • Securing funds to reach fundraising goals
  • Marketing and communications

Type of Client

Some of their clients include Brooklyn College Foundation, Appalachian State University, and Mississippi State. In addition to educational institutions, they aid healthcare and art and culture organizations.

Location

Brian Lacy and Associates is located in Houston, Texas.

Learn more about Brian Lacy and Associates and their capital campaign services.

Visit Brian Lacy and Associates to learn more about their services.

Your nonprofit can find excellent capital campaign consultants at J.F. Smith Group.

7. J.F. Smith Group

Overview

The J.F. Smith Group has over 25 years of capital campaign experience to help guide nonprofits throughout their fundraising.

Their goal is “helping clients fulfill their dreams through a unique, professionally directed development partnership.”

Services

One of the most important parts of a capital campaign is the feasibility study, and J.F. Smith Group will conduct interviews with participants so you don’t have to!

Additionally, J.F. Smith Group can also help with:

  • Staff training
  • Campaign strategy
  • Wealth screening

Aside from capital campaigns, nonprofits can hire J.F. Smith for other fundraising projects as well.

Type of client

The J.F. Smith Group works with medium-sized organizations. They’ve worked with clients such as Auburn Humane Society, Jacksonville State University, and Auburn University.

Location

J.F. Smith Group is headquartered in Auburn, Alabama.

Learn more about J.F. Smith Group and their capital campaign consulting services.

Check out more of J.F. Smith Group’s services on their website.

The Curtis Group is a dynamic capital campaign consulting firm.

8. The Curtis Group Consultants

Overview

Founded in 1989, The Curtis Group has over 25 years of experience working with nonprofits to improve their fundraising. 

Their philosophy is “To be there. For you. With you. Working alongside you in every phase of the campaign until you reach your goal.”

Services

The Curtis Group can handle many aspects of a nonprofit’s capital campaign, from the initial planning to training your board of directors.

Along with creating a unified brand for a capital campaign, The Curtis Group can help design and create:

  • Brochures
  • Case statements
  • Major donor presentation kits

Type of client

The Curtis Group has worked with over 150 arts and culture, educational, and healthcare organizations. While they work with any size organization, The Curtis Group finds that they can provide the best services to small and medium size nonprofits.

Location

The Curtis Group is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Learn more about The Curtis Group and the capital campaign consulting services available.

Gail Perry Group

9. Gail Perry Group

Overview

Founded in 1994, the Gail Perry Group has spent over 25 years helping nonprofits of all kinds reach their goals through effective capital campaigns, major giving programs, and fundraising strategies. 

The Gail Perry Group uses a proprietary data-driven methodology, Campaigns by the Numbers, to identify hidden major gift opportunities for clients. GPG also helps clients learn the easy Conversational Ask method of securing transformational gifts from happy donors.  

Services

Gail Perry Group offers services such as: 

  • Feasibility studies
  • Training retreats for board members
  • Capital campaign planning and counsel 

Type of client

The Gail Perry Group worked with nonprofits of all sizes. Former clients include schools and universities, health organizations, foundations, arts and culture institutions, and many other nonprofits.

Location

The Gail Perry Group is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and works nationally.

Gail Perry Group Homepage

Visit The Curtis Group website to learn more about their capital campaign services.

Additional Capital Campaign Resources

Guide to Capital Campaigns




Brush up on capital campaign basics and best practices before hiring a consultant. This guide provides the strategies to help you raise more money during your campaign.

Keep reading if you want to learn the ins and outs of capital campaigns!


Learn more about the basics of capital campaigns!

Planning a Capital Campaign




Launching a capital campaign requires a lot of planning. That’s why we’ve found this guide so helpful! It details every step to help you get through the planning phase.

Keep reading if you’re looking for a step-by-step guide to planning your capital campaign.


Plan your capital campaign with these expert steps!

Capital Campaign Consultant




Finding the best-fit capital campaign consultant for your nonprofit isn’t always easy, and you’ll want to know what to expect during this comprehensive hiring process.

Averill Fundraising Solutions has the guide you need to make your decision.


Learn more about hiring a capital campaign consultant!