8 Ways to Encourage Donors to Submit Matching Gift Requests

8 Ways to Encourage Donors to Submit Employee Matching Gift Requests

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:

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 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 Double the Donation 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

Why Companies Have Matching Gift Programs: A Complete Guide

Why Companies Have Matching Gift Programs: A Complete Guide

More and more companies are offering corporate matching gift programs in order to prioritize corporate social responsibility or CSRThrough 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 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, Double the Donation, identifies match-eligible donors and reminds them to complete the match process through automated emails.

Here’s how it works:

  1. An individual donates to your nonprofit.
  2. Double the Donation 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.

11 Exceptional Capital Campaign Consulting Firms to Consider

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
Convergent Nonprofit SolutionsDirect fundraising solicitations
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

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.

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.

The Convergent Nonprofit Solutions logo, one of the top capital campaign consultants

4. Convergent Nonprofit Solutions — Top Capital Campaign Consultant for Hands-On Fundraising

Overview

Convergent Nonprofit Solutions is a capital campaign consulting firm with decades of experience meeting nonprofit fundraising goals and fulfilling visions. Their team constantly strives to exceed funding expectations by positioning your organization as a valuable community asset that positively impacts the community and warrants large-scale investment.

Convergent’s team combines their expertise in nonprofits, fundraising, and business principles to engage funders’ rational decision-making and demonstrate your organization’s value.

A cornerstone of Convergent’s strategy is the belief that your organization is worthy of funding because of the good work you do. Instead of using the term “donors,” they refer to them as “investors” to reflect the relationship between your nonprofit and individuals who are passionate about your organization’s work and willing to contribute. Convergent is dedicated to aiding your nonprofit in delivering the results and impact your investors expect.

Services

Convergent offers many services, including:Convergent Nonprofit Solutions’s capital campaign consulting services, also described below

  • Full-service capital and comprehensive campaigns
  • Funding feasibility studies
  • Strategic fundraising solutions
  • Development audits
  • Resource development

What sets Convergent apart from other capital campaign consultants is their hands-on approach to fundraising. They don’t just coach you through the process—they handle it for you, including making asks from your nonprofit’s investors. Convergent leverages their Investment Driven Model™ for fundraising to help clearly articulate the value each nonprofit delivers to various stakeholders and funders to cultivate a deeper understanding of each nonprofit’s value proposition to their community.

Type of Client

Convergent works with nonprofits that need to secure significant funding for capital projects, operational sustainability, or program expansion, as well as comprehensive campaigns that align various funding streams and priorities. Some of their most prestigious clients include The Rodale Institute, Alamo Colleges District, various YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs chapters, and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

This capital campaign consulting firm is proud to work with organizations of all sizes in all sectors.

Location

Convergent is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, but works with organizations nationwide in the U.S.

Convergent’s website on a laptop screen

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

5. 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.

6. 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

Alexander Haas is another top capital campaign consultant.

7. 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

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

8. 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.

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

9. 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.

The Curtis Group is a dynamic capital campaign consulting firm.

10. 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

11. 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

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!


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.


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.


The Benefits of Acquiring and Retaining Young Donors

The Benefits of Acquiring and Retaining Young Donors

How the Next Generation Influences Fundraising and Workplace Giving

According to charitable giving research, overall giving revenue was reportedly elevated in 2021. However, the number of individual donors giving had dropped.

So what does that mean for organizations like yours that rely on contributions from supporters to bankroll mission programming? More than likely, you have an opportunity to reach new, previously under-targeted segments of supporters to continue growing your donor base—and with it, your total funding. One of the best markets to consider is that of young donors.

Many nonprofits, educational institutions, and other fundraising organizations are interested in learning how to engage donors to drive the best results. At the same time, donor retention remains at top-of-mind for most. Young donors are a critical piece of the puzzle, and yet they continue to be overlooked in terms of fundraising potential.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the basics of young donor fundraising, how it can differ from traditional engagement efforts, and how you can make the most of those relationships as they grow. We’ll cover:

Adapting your marketing, fundraising, and overall donor engagement strategies to attract and connect with individuals of all ages is one of the greatest ways to ensure your team is leveraging your supporter base to its fullest potential.

Want to find out how to do so⁠—particularly in regards to the youngest of donors in your network? Read on!

Why young donors matter

Why Engaging With Young Donors Matters

Engaging with all of your donors is an essential component of a successful fundraising strategy. What many organizations are seeing, however, is that young donors continue to be an under-targeted market when it comes to seeking donations.

Gen Z and young millennial donors are often referred to as “the donors of tomorrow” or “the donors of the future.” But the truth is that these up-and-coming generations are the donors of NOW. So why are organizations overlooking their potential? It might be because young donors tend to have more limited funding at their disposal to contribute as compared to older, more established supporters.

But consider this: is it easier to ask a new donor for a $10,000 donation and hope they spring for it, or to start out small with a $20-50 donation ask from a young donor who will then become increasingly engaged with your organization over time? In most cases, the answer is the latter.

Not to mention, young donors bring with them nearly unlimited potential. That college-aged individual making a $25 gift out of their part-time paycheck could very well become the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company that doesn’t even exist yet. And as their income grows, their gifts would likely grow alongside it.

The bottom line?

Be willing to start small and watch the impact of continuous engagement increase drastically over time.

Acquiring and retaining young donors

Acquiring & Retaining New Generations of Donors

Like any group, to engage with young donors, you’ll need to focus on two crucial components of your strategy—getting them and keeping them. As far as the basics of the donor lifecycle go, this refers to acquisition and retention.

Here’s what you should know about each pertaining to younger generations of donors;

Acquiring Young Donors

Young donor fundraising involves bringing young donors into your network of support, to begin with. And you may need to take an adjusted approach than what you might use with your general, middle-aged-and-older audience.

For one, attracting young donors can be particularly impactful when using social proof to your best advantage. Social proof, or the idea that people are more likely to do something if they see their peers doing the same—and a founding principle behind peer-to-peer fundraising—tends to be even more effective among the younger generations.

In other words, once you get one young donor in your corner, you have one of the best tools to draw in others in their circle. At the same time, other key practices include reaching donors where they are, such as on social media sites and mobile technology⁠—but more on those tips later.

Retaining Young Donors

Once you’ve laid the groundwork for a supporter relationship and even secured your first donation, you’ll want to put in the time and effort to elevate the connection to new heights.

Even more than your typical donor, Gen Z and young millennials desire to feel connected to the organizations with which they get involved. They want to know that their funding is going to impactful causes, so excellent financial stewardship efforts are essential (top tip: demonstrate that you’re making the most of each dollar you receive by emphasizing corporate matching opportunities!).

It’s also a great idea to offer streamlined recurring giving options⁠—and to ensure donors of all ages are aware of the opportunities. After all, what better way is there to ensure your new donors return time and time again than to essentially get them set up on auto-pay? In fact, research into young donor trends reports that young donors are more likely than the average donor to be enrolled in a monthly giving program (36% overall enrollment rates, with donors aged 18-29 coming in at 48%). Be sure to give them what they want, and market the ability accordingly.

Factors that can impact gifts over time from young donors

Factors That Can Impact Gift Size Over Time

Many young donors are likely to start out by giving low-level donations to the organizations they support. But every dollar counts and their potential to give can increase exponentially as time goes on.

Young donors giving more over time

Here are a few factors that can impact gift size and lead to continually growing donations;

Increasing income

The average person’s income tends to rise over time, whether by receiving promotions, moving employers, diving into new industries, or even exploring an entrepreneurial spirit. As donors of all ages benefit from elevated incomes, their ability to give to the causes they care about tends to rise proportionately as well⁠—oftentimes at an even higher rate than the income or salary increase itself.

Deepening connections to the organization

Finally, an individual’s personal connections to a nonprofit can be a significant factor when it comes to determining their gift size. Sure, a charitable-minded donor might make a $25 gift to a random organization when asked, but they’re likely to reserve more substantial funding for the causes and groups they feel most passionate about. And when you start developing that personal relationship early on, these individuals (i.e., your young donors) will be more likely to continue supporting your organization⁠ in larger and larger amounts as time goes on.

Young donors and workplace giving

Young Donors & Workplace Giving

Another key factor that can have a substantial effect on young and old donors’ giving alike is employer giving⁠—otherwise known as workplace giving or philanthropy. Thousands of companies offer employee or workplace giving programs such as matching gifts and volunteer grants, and over 26 million individuals can qualify for the opportunities through their personal nonprofit contributions. Obviously, these programs benefit the nonprofits receiving the corporate funding⁠, but there’s a lesser-known benefit as well: employer giving eligibility tends to drive increased individual engagement.

In fact, our corporate giving data reports that 84% of individuals are more likely to donate if a corporate match is offered, while 1 in 3 donors indicate they’d give a larger gift if matching is applied to their donation. All in all, this brings about findings that donor messaging that mentions matching gifts leads to a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in the average donation amount, thus resulting in elevated conversions, gift sizes, and donor engagement. Though the exact reasoning behind the increase is unknown, organizations theorize it has to do with donors aiming to meet their employers’ minimum match requirements along with the understanding of magnified donation impact.

So what does that have to do with the young donors in your network? As these individuals enter the workforce, and more specifically, the corporate world, their chance of qualifying for donation matching, volunteer grants, and other forms of workplace giving skyrockets⁠—and with it, their individual donations.

Not to mention, young donors are increasingly demanding corporate social responsibility from the brands they buy from and work for. In fact, nearly 2/3 of young employees won’t take a job at a company with poor CSR practices. Thus, your younger supporters are more likely to work for businesses that match employee donations in the first place, effectively elevating their chances at eligibility.

Meanwhile, as Gen Z and millennials continue taking up more and more of the workforce and consumer population, more and more companies are following suit by implementing and improving their workplace giving programs. And when offered, young donors partake in employer giving in droves with studies showing that over 59% of young professionals gave through a workplace program in 2022, compared to 37% of professionals overall.

Best practices for young donor fundraising

Best Practices for Strategic Young Donor Fundraising

The better you engage with your donors of all generations, the more likely you are to raise funding effectively. Prepare your team to deepen relationships with young donors by incorporating the following tips;

1. Segment fundraising efforts by age group.

Fundraising is not a one-size-fits-all effort, and as a result, one-size-fits-all donor engagement strategies are not likely to be particularly effective. And, as you likely know, one of the largest segmenting factors has to do with donor age.

Young donors want to get involved with the organizations and causes they care about, but you’ll want your tactics to reflect a targeted approach. A 22-year-old, fresh-out-of-college graduate and a 70-year-old retired schoolteacher can each be excellent supporters of your nonprofit⁠—but it might take different initiatives to reach them both.

Giving trends according to young and old donors alike

For example, giving studies indicate that younger donors tend to be most inspired to donate via social media, while older supporters are more impacted by email fundraising⁠—and that’s not even taking Gen Z-ers into consideration!

Overall, we recommend reaching younger supporters and prospects by prioritizing mobile and digital engagement strategies, incorporating valuable and eye-catching visuals (through images and video), and demonstrating donation and organization impact whenever you can.

2. Offer multiple ways to get involved with your organization.

Young donors often desire diversity in the ways they engage with an organization. And not receiving that can lead to donor fatigue and, ultimately, lapsing support.

Thus, be sure to provide a plethora of methods for individual donor involvement⁠—whether they involve financial support or not.

So, what kinds of opportunities can you establish (and promote to) your donors? These might include (but are certainly not limited to):

  • Volunteering at a dedicated event or on a regular basis;
  • Taking part in a corporate giving program like matching gifts or volunteer grants;
  • Attending a fundraising event like an auction, gala, or walk-a-thon.
  • Participating in the organization’s board of directors;
  • Exploring a peer-to-peer fundraising role by soliciting donations from friends and family on the nonprofit’s behalf.

Regardless of the many ways an individual chooses to get involved, remember to communicate your gratitude as well as the tangible ways their engagement impacts your cause.

3. Increase suggested donation amounts over time.

As online giving becomes more and more prevalent, studies have been conducted to determine the impact of suggested donation amounts on total fundraising revenue. And overall, organizations tend to see elevated average donation amounts when they do so (meaning if you’re not already providing gift size suggestions, you should be).

Taking this concept a step further, however, is the idea that your team can increase the amount you request from donors over time to continue growing relationships and donor contributions.

For example, an individual might bring in four times the salary they had when they started giving to your organization. But if they donate on a regular basis, they might never take the initiative to increase their gift size⁠—that is, unless your team chooses to coax them in that direction. And it can be as simple as requesting $100 from Donor A in your next annual fund appeal after determining they’ve contributed $50 for the last few years.

4. Inform donors about workplace giving programs.

We mentioned that donors often choose to give more often and in larger amounts when workplace giving opportunities⁠ (like matching gifts⁠) are in place. And with many young donors becoming eligible for these programs for the first time, it’s essential that they’re made aware of the programs.

After all, over 78% of individuals employed by companies that match employee donations have no idea that they do so⁠—or that they themselves would be eligible to participate. This knowledge gap regarding the programs is one of the leading causes of billions of dollars in unclaimed matching gift funding being left on the table each year.

So get proactive about it! Be sure donors are informed about matching gifts and other employee giving initiatives by highlighting the programs within your organization’s —

Workplace giving marketing is a particularly impactful engagement tool, driving participation in corporate philanthropy programs alongside individual contributions. And if you’re looking to take your young donor engagement to new heights, you won’t want to overlook these initiatives and the impact they bring.


Interested in learning more about engaging young donors? Check out our immersive webinar on the topic!

Reaching Young Donors Webinar

Explore these 16 nonprofit webinars to strengthen your skills and advance your organization's mission.

16 Free & Low-Cost Nonprofit Webinars To Amplify Your Work

As a nonprofit professional, you know how important it is to stay on top of changing trends, connect with others in your field, and keep your skills sharp. Fortunately, there are a variety of training courses, events, and lectures designed just for nonprofit professionals that cover a wide range of topics.

To get the convenience of attending an event from home without missing out on learning from a variety of professionals, consider attending a nonprofit webinar. Nonprofit webinars and panels are online meetings that allow attendees to connect with one another and learn from influential nonprofit experts from around the world.

Nonprofit webinars are hosted practically every day — you just have to know where to look for them! Some of these events are free and open to the public, while others have limited seats or members-only tickets. Whether you’re looking to learn more about leveraging corporate giving or marketing your nonprofit, there’s training out there for everything.

To help you find the nonprofit webinar that fits your needs, this article will dive into 16 of the top nonprofit webinars and panels currently hosting events. Let’s dive in!

Check out Double the Donation's nonprofit fundraising webinars to learn more about corporate giving.

1. Double the Donation

Overview

Here at Double the Donation, we strive to help nonprofits leverage corporate giving through powerful matching gift tools. With more than $4-$7 billion in matching gifts going unclaimed every year, we believe that proper education backed by the right software can transform your fundraising strategies and tap into missed opportunities. To help your nonprofit take advantage of corporate giving, we regularly host webinars for nonprofits.

Join one of our online events to hear about pressing topics like:

  • Engaging donors with matching gifts and volunteer grants
  • Increasing corporate and individual contributions during the giving season
  • Managing corporate sponsorships

Our rich educational sessions are designed to propel your mission forward and start a deeper conversation about corporate giving.

Explore

Check our nonprofit webinar schedule to see a complete calendar of upcoming events. If you missed one of our webinars or just can’t wait for the next one, no worries! You can also access past nonprofit fundraising webinars on demand.

Or if you’re interested in more in-depth insights, consider Double the Donation’s complete Matching Gift Academy for a low, one-time cost!

NXUnite hosts some of the best nonprofit webinars.

2. NXUnite

Overview

If you’re looking for panels with a diverse set of nonprofit professionals that can offer insight into a variety of topics, look no further than NXUnite’s webinar and panel series. NXUnite partners with a wide range of leading nonprofit experts and influencers, allowing their webinars to go into depth on numerous topics, including:

  • Fundraising
  • Grant Writing
  • Donor Appreciation
  • Volunteer Management
  • Fiscal Best Practices
  • And Many More…

NXUnite has webinars scheduled throughout the entire year, all of which are free and open for anyone to attend. Their easy registration process requires attendees to submit just their email to receive an access link, making it possible to sign up in seconds.

Plus, if you’re a nonprofit professional ready to share your perspective, NXUnite even allows you to apply to become a panelist. This ensures their webinars will always be staffed by diverse professional voices who can offer their unique perspectives.

Explore

Interested in attending a webinar hosted by NXUnite? Check out their collection of upcoming webinars and panels to register, view recorded webinars, and even sign up to be a future panelist.

Join one of NXUnite's upcoming nonprofit webinars.

Nonprofit Tech for Good hosts marketing webinars for nonprofits.

3. Nonprofit Tech for Good

Overview

Nonprofit Tech for Good delivers valuable news and resources related to digital marketing, fundraising, and technology. As part of their offerings, they’ve ventured into the world of nonprofit webinars.

They have an expansive and evergrowing schedule of webinars lined up, coving topics like:

  • Social media strategies and platform-specific advice
  • Blogging best practices
  • Online fundraising techniques

Their free and low-cost webinars are available to nonprofit professionals worldwide, making them an accessible resource for improving your digital fundraising and communications.

Explore

Check out their schedule of nonprofit webinars for upcoming events. Even if you can’t attend one of the events live, you can still register. Then, they’ll email you a link to the recording within 48 hours of the end of the webinar. You can also browse Nonprofit Tech for Good’s archive of webinars to watch past recordings.

Moz hosts some of the best nonprofit webinars.

4. Moz

Overview

Moz’s SEO learning center contains a variety of resources for all organizations interested in improving their SEO. Their webinars focus on different aspects of SEO, and visitors searching through their archives can organize content by difficulty to find resources that match their technical expertise level.

All Moz webinars cover topics related to SEO, including:

  • Analytics and Reporting
  • Link Building
  • Crawling and Site Audits

Moz also features a variety of articles and video lessons on SEO, allowing visitors to learn in whatever style works best for them.

Explore

Browse Moz’s webinar archive by filtering by content category, type, and difficulty level to find the most relevant information on SEO.

Firespring hosts some of the best nonprofit webinars.

5. Firespring

Overview

Firespring partners with a range of other organizations in the digital marketing space to present webinars on marketing strategy, culture building, and social impact. These webinars promise tips to help nonprofits elevate their brands and fulfill their missions by covering topics such as:

Participants who register for a webinar can sometimes also opt-in to receive additional educational resources from Nonprofit Hub and the organization sponsoring the webinar.

Explore

Firespring only allows live access to upcoming webinars. Sign up for a webinar in advance to attend the live session.

TechSoup hosts some of the best nonprofit webinars.

6. TechSoup

Overview

TechSoup hosts nonprofit webinars and online events that can see over 1,000 attendees per session. These events are hosted by professionals from organizations related to faith-based fundraising, digital privacy, grant management, and more.

Sign up for a TechSoup webinar to learn more about topics like:

  • Grant Writing
  • Data Security
  • Creating Online Graphics

To attend a TechSoup webinar for nonprofits, you must create an account with their website. Be sure to do so ahead of time to make the registration process as easy as possible.

Explore

TechSoup records all of their webinars, and their archive of on-demand nonprofit webinars can be viewed on the same page as their upcoming events. To view a past recording, visitors can simply click on the webinar that interests them and begin watching.

Auctria hosts some of the best nonprofit webinars.

7. Auctria

Overview

Auctria hosts webinars for nonprofit professionals about auctions, fundraising best practices, and how to make the best use of their fundraising website. These webinars are also often hosted in parts, allowing attendees to learn about extensive topics in more manageable sections over the course of several days.

Auctria covers auction-related topics, such as:

  • Procuring Specific Auction Items
  • Event Marketing
  • Event Fundraising Strategies

Auctia webinars are hosted by their staff and other qualified guests with years of experience hosting nonprofit auctions.

Explore

View past Auctria webinars on their website. You can even scroll through each presentation’s slides while viewing the recording, allowing visitors to follow along easily or look through a webinar’s notes.

Learn about a range of topics be attending Candid's webinars for nonprofits.

8. Candid

Overview

Candid provides educational resources to mission-driven organizations to empower nonprofits to tackle the social sector’s critical challenges. As part of this, they offer plenty of live and on-demand webinars and training.

Delve into topics related to:

Open to anyone looking to enhance their nonprofit management skills, these virtual training opportunities are a prime opportunity to learn from experts and peers in the field.

Explore

Candid is always adding new webinars for nonprofits to their site. Visit Candid Learning, where you can filter training opportunities by topic and location. Be sure to select “online” if you’re exclusively looking for nonprofit webinars. While you’re there, you can also explore their impressive catalog of on-demand training.

Nonprofit Quarterly hosts some of the best nonprofit webinars.

9. Nonprofit Quarterly

Overview

Nonprofit Quarterly hosts a nonprofit webinar series that addresses hard-hitting topics related to ongoing conversations in the nonprofit sector, such as equity, advocacy, and combatting disinformation. These monthly webinars are hosted by different panelists, providing a diverse range of speakers on each topic.

Attend a Nonprofit Quarterly webinar to learn more about subjects like:

  • Community Advocacy
  • Racial Justice
  • Tech Policies and Management

Nonprofit Quarterly’s most recent webinar series, Remaking the Economy, focuses heavily on injustice, equality, and wealth distribution. If your nonprofit deals with causes related to these topics, consider attending a Nonprofit Quarterly webinar.

Explore

All of Nonprofit Quarterly’s webinars are hosted on their website, dating back to their earliest on-demand webinar from 2012.

Learn about volunteer-centric topics with VolunteerMatch's webinars for nonprofits.

10. VolunteerMatch

Overview

VolunteerMatch is a virtual job board for volunteer opportunities, enabling nonprofits to recruit qualified and passionate volunteers. To help volunteer managers drive lasting relationships with supporters, VolunteerMatch hosts an online Learning Center, rich with resources on finding, training, and managing volunteers. As part of their Learning Center, you’ll find plenty of nonprofit webinars designed to meet you where you are, no matter your experience level.

Explore volunteer-centric topics like:

  • Recruiting qualified volunteers
  • Implementing volunteer program changes
  • Managing remote volunteers

If you’re ready to build a robust volunteer program, look no further than VolunteerMatch’s webinars for nonprofits!

Explore

Visit VolunteerMatch’s Resource Center, which is jam-packed with plenty of resources! You’ll find a calendar of events featuring their webinars for nonprofits. Best of all, there are agendas for each event, so you can attend the events that are most relevant to you. Note that they don’t record their webinars, so you’ll need to do your best to attend them live.

DipJar hosts some of the best nonprofit webinars.

11. DipJar

Overview

DipJar hosts its nonprofit webinars in partnership with NXUnite, combining the resources of both organizations to present high-quality webinars on assorted topics. These panels are held semi-infrequently, so be sure to check in on DipJar and NXUnite’s websites to see when the next webinar is planned.

DipJar’s webinars cover key nonprofit topics such as:

  • Social Media Strategies
  • Strategic Planning
  • Legacy Giving

With plenty of past resources on their site, you’re sure to find helpful resources while you wait for the next live event!

Explore

To attend a DipJar webinar, sign up through NXUnite. In the meantime, browse DipJar’s past nonprofit webinars and review slides from previous presentations for free on their website.

Achieve hosts some of the best nonprofit webinars.

12. Achieve

Overview

Achieve offers nonprofit webinars hosted by a variety of experts in the nonprofit sector. By subscribing to Achieve’s mailing list, you can stay up to date with the most recent news about upcoming events and webinars.

With Achieve’s webinars you can learn about topics like:

  • Annual Reports
  • Donor Engagement
  • Peer-to-Peer Campaigns

Achieve’s webinars are hosted monthly, so be sure to subscribe to their mailing list to stay informed when the next one is scheduled.

Explore

Achieve’s past nonprofit webinars are hosted on their website for easy viewing, and visitors can even download the slides for each presentation without needing to give their contact information.

Attend one of Nonprofit Marketing Guide's webinars for nonprofits to strengthen your communication skills.

13. Nonprofit Marketing Guide

Overview

Nonprofit Marketing Guide is an online hub of tips, training, and resources that helps nonprofit marketers level up their skills. Every month, their team presents lecture-style nonprofit webinars and interactive, hands-on workshops. Designed with the busy nonprofit communicator in mind, these nonprofit webinars are a fantastic way to learn new tricks and see real-world examples of effective marketing.

Hear from industry experts on topics like:

  • Nonprofit Branding and Storytelling
  • Website Management and SEO for Nonprofits
  • Creating a Newsjacking and Crisis Response Plan

Whether you’re a brand new marketeer or a seasoned professional, you’re sure to find marketing ideas that will level up your communications strategies.

Explore

Browse Nonprofit Marketing Guide’s nonprofit webinars and workshops to see upcoming topics. Register for upcoming events and see which topics will be covered and open for registration later on. You can either pay for each event individually or purchase an all-access pass for $200. Note that some workshops are pass-holder exclusive.

Dive into the world of technology by joining one of Tech Impact's nonprofit webinars.

14. Tech Impact

Overview

Tech Impact offers technology services to nonprofits, empowering them to leverage technology and advance social impact. As part of this, they offer the occasional tech-centric webinar for nonprofits. That way, organizations can strengthen their technology strategies to enhance team collaboration, fundraise more efficiently, and track data.

By attending, you’ll gain advice on topics like:

  • Technology planning and budgeting
  • Digital media production
  • Cloud-based collaboration platforms

If you’re looking to enhance your technology skills to further your mission, Tech Impact is a solid place to start!

Explore

Visit Tech Impact’s schedule to see when they’re hosting upcoming webinars for nonprofits like yours. These sessions are typically free with an account, so you can become a tech wiz even if you’re operating on a budget!

Plenty of experts host nonprofit webinars on Eventbrite's event management platform.

15. Eventbrite

Overview

Eventbrite is an event management platform where users can browse and create events. Thanks to its livestreaming features, industry leaders can host webinars for other nonprofit professionals, empowering them to learn about different sector-specific subjects. On its platform, you’ll find an incredible range of nonprofit webinars and other online events that can transform every aspect of your nonprofit management.

Level up your nonprofit skills on both general and niche topics like:

  • Managing and Sustaining Nonprofit Startups
  • Nonprofit Finance
  • Board Management, Engagement, and Diversity

Hear from a range of professionals across the industry and the globe! With plenty of webinars for nonprofits happening every day, you’re sure to find training opportunities that pertain to you.

Explore

Browse Eventbrite’s endless list of nonprofit webinars to find upcoming events. Make sure to filter for online events, rather than selecting a specific location. You can also narrow down the results by date, price, and category, so you can find exactly what you want.

Join an in-depth communications and nonprofit fundraising webinar with Nonprofit Toolkit.

16. Nonprofit Toolkit

Overview

Nonprofit Toolkit is a hub of digital courses and classes designed to help nonprofit professionals level up their skills. Created for mission-driven marketers, their on-demand content and live events alike share informative communications advice.

Learn about topics like:

  • Brand Development and Marketing
  • Website Development and Graphic Design
  • Copywriting

Through their courses, Nonprofit Toolkit strives to cover topics in-depth, so expect classes to run for about 90 minutes. This gives plenty of time for speakers to thoroughly review the materials and have time for interactive polls, discussions, and questions.

Explore

Visit their website to see upcoming training sessions. Note that they do charge a few for most of their classes, enabling them to provide quality education and thorough answers. You can browse and purchase their on-demand courses to see past events and courses, too. To hear about upcoming events, sign up for their email list, and you’ll receive a monthly newsletter with information about their upcoming programs.

Continue exploring nonprofit fundraising webinars and resources.

Get Started Attending Nonprofit Webinars

Whether you’re looking to learn the basics of starting a nonprofit or receive targeted fundraising advice for corporate giving, there’s a nonprofit webinar out there for you!

It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to the space or a seasoned professional. You should never stop learning. By exploring this list of nonprofit webinars and training opportunities, you’re off to a great start. But don’t stop there! After you sign up for your next online event, keep learning with these other educational resources while waiting for the big day:

Improve your skills and learn more by attending a nonprofit webinar. Explore NXUnite

How to Manage Your CyberGrants Portal For Smart Nonprofits

How to Manage Your CyberGrants Portal [For Smart Nonprofits]

Corporate matching gifts are one of the best ways for nonprofits to maximize their fundraising with bonus donations and increased donor engagement. And how exactly do nonprofit organizations receive funding through these matching programs? It all starts with a request from the initial donor and typically is processed through a corporate giving or CSR platform.

In terms of CSR platforms, one key platform to keep in mind is CyberGrants.

Corporate giving platforms like CyberGrants are sold to corporations looking to manage their philanthropy. But there’s another side of the platform that is designed specifically for nonprofits⁠—a portal with which fundraisers can manage their incoming matches, verify initial donations, facilitate volunteer grant requests, and more. And best of all? It’s free!

If you’re interested in learning more about CyberGrants for nonprofits and how to best manage your CyberGrants portal for maximal success, you’ve certainly come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the following:

In the end, you should have a solid foundation of knowledge surrounding CyberGrants and its nonprofit-specific tools that can lead your organization in the right direction.

Ready to dive in? Let’s get started with the basics.

What to Know About CyberGrants

With over 400 corporate customers, CyberGrants is one of the largest providers of matching gift and corporate giving software for companies⁠, and it’s known for allowing the most customization of any CSR platform. In summary, each company that organizes a matching gift program through CyberGrants can adjust its donation verification process, types of gifts to match, email notifications, number of subaccounts, and more.

From the perspective of the organizations receiving the matches, this can sometimes lead to an overwhelming process. That’s why we recommend nonprofits setting themselves up for CyberGrants success by documenting and keeping up with the information they need to complete their end of the matching gift process. And we’re here to provide you with tips and tricks on how to do so!

How to Manage Your CyberGrants Portal - and what to know about CyberGrants

Benefits of CyberGrants for Nonprofits

Some of the largest matching gift companies in the world⁠—including Verizon, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, American Express, and many more⁠—use CyberGrants to manage their corporate giving. The more companies that utilize any particular platform, the more likely your organization is to qualify for matching gifts made available through said platform. Thus, CyberGrants is a particularly beneficial portal to get started with.

Learn how to manage your CyberGrants portal so you can accept matches from companies like these.

From there, registering your organization with the nonprofit portal will allow you to increase the visibility of your cause among charitable givers, elevate your matching gift eligibility, and simplify matching gift requests for your donors⁠—all of which elevate the likelihood of matches being driven to completion.

Not to mention, pre-registering your cause with platforms like CyberGrants will streamline the process for you and your team when matching gifts do become available. You’ll already have the legwork down, meaning you’re ready to verify gifts and accept matches with ease.

CyberGrants’ Matching Gift Verification Process Overview

The exact matching gift process⁠—from initial donation and employer match request to nonprofit verification and corporate match disbursement⁠—can vary greatly from one company to the next. On the nonprofit end, one of the biggest priorities has to do with verifying with the company that an employee donor’s contribution was actually made.

Today, the majority of companies that use CyberGrants require the NPO in question to verify that the organization received the employee’s initial donation. However, other employers do not require manual verification at all, instead opting to authenticate donations through gift receipts or rely on the goodwill of their employees.

For each matching gift request from CyberGrants, the NPO will receive a unique Gift ID to identify that donation via automated email. From there, the Gift ID and donor’s last name will be used to verify the donation in the CyberGrants portal. Depending on the company’s settings, a donation amount, contribution date, and access code may be provided as well.

Take a look at this example of a matching gift request;

Learn how to manage your CyberGrants portal with sample emails.

Meanwhile, here’s a sample matching gift request with different information, including an access code;

Learn how to manage your CyberGrants portal with sample emails.

In each sample email, the organization is prompted to follow the instructions provided by CyberGrants on behalf of the donor’s employer. In both cases, the matching gift recipient is asked to navigate to the CyberGrants website, enter the supplied information, and verify the donor’s gift.

From there, the company can approve the match and disburse the appropriate funding to the organization.

FAQ | How to Manage Your CyberGrants Portal

Still have questions? Many organizations do⁠. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most-asked questions (and answers) from nonprofits looking to manage their CyberGrants portals to produce the greatest results.

What is FrontDoor?

FrontDoor is CyberGrants’ consolidated portal with which nonprofits can register to manage and verify gifts across employers and programs with ease.

Currently, companies that utilize CyberGrants for matching gift management have the choice to opt into participating via FrontDoor’s portal. At this time, CyberGrants is actively advocating for more companies to get started with FrontDoor⁠ and make the most of innovative features, such as the Donations Tab. This allows nonprofit users to verify donations in a single window, rather than requiring that they manually log into each company or subaccount’s portal through a separate URL.

Here’s what it looks like for nonprofit users;

How to manage your CyberGrants portal using FrontDoor

Overall, FrontDoor makes the verification process faster and easier for users and enables nonprofits like yours to get more out of available matching programs.

What are subaccounts?

Subaccounts are essentially additional accounts nested within an organization’s main account and can be created by the nonprofit itself or by a donor, depending on a company’s subaccount creation and management settings.

Let’s take a look at a company with a few subaccounts nested in their main portal;

How to manage your CyberGrants portal with subaccounts

And here’s a company that chose to create a central portal with no subaccounts;

How to manage your CyberGrants portal with no subaccounts

Generally, subaccounts can reflect an organization’s multiple chapters, branches, or locations within the organization, or they can be nominated by a donor who didn’t see an account that reflected their desired organization. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the more subaccounts in a portal, the greater the likelihood that there will be matching gift requests that end up “hiding” from them.

Most companies have subaccounts within their company portal. The number of subaccounts able to be created is dictated by the company (for example, there might be an unlimited number of subaccounts that can be created or this ability may not even be available to their employees). Some have over 70, while others have only a central portal or 2-3 subaccounts.

Why do we receive grants from companies for which we have not confirmed any matching gift requests?

Not all companies require verification from the organization for matching gifts and volunteer grant requests. Typically, if a company doesn’t ask the nonprofit to verify a gift or volunteer hours, it is because the employee has already verified the gift by attaching a donation receipt or proof of hours volunteered with their submission request.

Some, but not all, of these companies will send email notices of approved requests that let the nonprofit know when a payment is on the way. Companies may also utilize CyberGrants to allow their employees to make payroll deductions to an organization, which may or may not result in an email notification being triggered through the system.

What happens if we receive a request we don’t qualify for?

Occasionally, your organization may receive a gift verification request from a company even though your cause doesn’t qualify for the company’s matching program. For example, this may occur in cases where a company matches solely to educational institutions or won’t match to religious or politically affiliated organizations, and your organization falls into an excluded category.

However, regardless of the company’s requirements, employees can still submit match requests, which is why your team may see ineligible verification requests flowing in. Even if your organization verifies the initial gift in your portal, it’s likely that the company will reject the match request and no payment will be sent.

Will all pending matching gift and volunteer grant requests show up on the Donations Tab?

Unfortunately, not all requests will show up in FrontDoor’s Donations Tab. Some companies have opted out of using the tab entirely, whereas others have opted in only partially. In these cases, some requests may not populate in your organization’s Donations Tab.

To know if a particular company has opted in, you can submit a support request to the company via CyberGrants. From there, we recommend recording and organizing their response so your organization can develop the proper verification process in the future.

Why is there a gift under the Donations Tab that is from a company not listed under the Company Portals Tab?

If a gift is listed under the Donations Tab and not under the Company Portals Tab, the company might be new to CyberGrants and is still being configured. Or alternatively, this is your organization’s first gift request from the company.

The gift can be confirmed in the Donations Tab, but you will likely want to add the company to your sidebar for easier access to future gifts. To do so, input the donor’s last name and the gift ID into the Add Company section at the bottom of the portal’s sidebar. Submit and confirm access, and the company should be visible immediately after refreshing the page. If not, you can send a support ticket, and CyberGrants should be able to add the company from their end.

Best Practices for Nonprofits Using CyberGrants

Now that you understand the basics of CyberGrants, let’s go over a few tried-and-true tips for making the most of the platform.

To simplify the process as much as possible and minimize the amount of overhead required, we recommend the following;

1. Create a login sheet.

Companies that have yet to fully transition to CyberGrants’ FrontDoor have a different link to their company portal that cannot be accessed through the main FrontDoor link.
As such, it’s a good idea for organizations to identify those that don’t use FrontDoor and establish and maintain detailed documentation for these companies⁠—including the URL and login information for each.

Additionally, it’s ideal that an organization uses the same contact information for each company portal beyond FrontDoor. Most essentially, be sure to utilize a single email address for your CyberGrants logins as the main notification channel for gift verifications. This will establish that all emails requesting confirmation of gifts will be sent to the correct inbox that your staff will have access to and know to check on a regular basis.

2. Establish a process for locating “hidden” gifts.

Each company that uses CyberGrants can configure if and how they want to notify organizations about new matching gift requests⁠—and some companies opt not to enable notifications at all.

As a result, nonprofits should have an established system in place to regularly check for matching gift requests that either ⁠—

  • Don’t show up in the Donations Tab;
  • Haven’t been automatically emailed to the organization.

Fortunately, these “hidden” gift requests should make up a small percentage of the total gift requests that the nonprofit receives, so these checks could be infrequent⁠—such as a few times a year.

Keep in mind that although many companies allow twelve or more months for submitted requests to be approved by the organization, some offer as little as 90 days from the date of submission. Thus, teams should factor each company’s deadlines into their decision-making process regarding exactly how frequently to check that company’s portal for gifts.

3. Make a plan for subaccounts.

Sometimes, an organization will receive an email from CyberGrants informing them that a company’s employee has nominated the nonprofit for inclusion in their Employee Giving Program. When this occurs, the organization has a few options regarding how it can respond.

For example, the nonprofit can choose to follow the instructions provided in the email to review and edit the information in the nomination request. Then, they can later confirm it, which will create a new subaccount in that company’s portal.

Alternatively, the organization can respond to the request and ask that CyberGrants associate the nominated account with one of the existing subaccounts for that company. This option can be helpful when the organization has several existing subaccounts and does not want any more to manage and follow up with. (Hint: Nonprofits should especially monitor and limit the number of subaccounts created in portals that utilize hidden gifts.)

4. Produce a “Portal Information” document.

To simplify gift verification, we recommend that nonprofits have a dedicated document they can reference while confirming initial donations. This document should host basic details about your organization (such as mailing address, contact information, EIN, and more) and ACH information, if applicable.

Each company requires different data for its verification process. Some ask for little to no information, while others may request a list of current board members, race/ethnicity breakdowns of the population served, and even the nonprofit’s annual budget. Having a unified location from which to derive all these particulars will make it significantly easier for the organization to confirm its pending gift requests.


CyberGrants is an invaluable tool for nonprofits looking to make the most of matching gifts. By managing your organization’s portal well and taking steps to streamline and standardize matching gift requests, you can set your team up for ongoing success using all the resources at your disposal.

Interested in learning more about matching gift programs and best practices to maximize your organization’s success? Check out our other educational resources:

Get started with matching gift best practices, with Double the Donation.

This is a basic guide about how you can use corporate giving to increase employee engagement at your company.

Increase Employee Engagement with Corporate Giving

The importance of employee engagement, which is defined as the emotional and functional commitment an employee has to their organization, cannot be overstated. According to Gallup, companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%.

As we discuss in another article, engaged employees are also happier, stay with companies longer, and are more philanthropically minded.

While the benefits are clear, employee engagement is a struggle for most companies, with over 71% of employees reporting that they are not fully engaged.

One effective way your company can increase employee engagement is through corporate giving. When companies offer accessible ways for employees to get involved in philanthropic endeavors, whether that’s through matching gifts, corporate volunteerism, or other forms of nonprofit support, employees will be more likely to participate. This in turn boosts their engagement level.

In this article, we’ll discuss some basics of employee engagement and dive into how you can use corporate giving programs to increase your employees’ engagement. This includes:

Let’s get started.

Here are the key drivers of employee engagement.

Three Key Drivers of Employee Engagement

It’s said that employees don’t leave companies; they leave people, and it’s true. Many of the reasons employees claim they aren’t engaged in their company have to do with people.

Let’s take a look at these statistics and the key drivers behind employee engagement:

Here are the three key drivers of employee engagement.

  1. Employees’ relationships with their direct managers: 80% of employees who were dissatisfied with their direct manager were disengaged.
  2. Employees’ belief in senior leadership: 70% of employees who lack confidence in the abilities of senior leadership are not fully engaged.
  3. Employees’ pride in working for the company: 54% of employees who are proud of their company’s contributions to society are engaged.

Offering corporate giving programs can have a positive impact on all three drivers of engagement. When leadership takes an interest in corporate philanthropy and makes a point to focus on how the company can help the community, employees tend to view this in a positive light.

Here's how you can increase employee engagement at your company.

How Companies Can Increase Employee Engagement

There are many strategies companies can use to increase employee engagement. Dale Carnegie highlights five great reasons to do so, and we’ve added a few ideas that our own research has shown enhances employee engagement:

  1. Senior leadership must articulate a clear vision to all employees. Without a clear goal, employees will not know what they’re working toward.
  2. Employees should be encouraged to openly communicate and influence the company’s vision with their input.
  3. Direct managers should foster healthy relationships with their employees.
  4. Senior leadership should continuously demonstrate that employees have an impact on their work environment.
  5. Managers should show employees that they are valued as true contributors, giving them a sense of empowerment.
  6. Managers should organize and encourage team volunteerism in communities as a way of giving back and encouraging social interaction outside the office.
  7. Companies should give back to local nonprofits. Corporate giving programs, like matching gift programs and volunteer grants, are a great way for corporations to support organizations that employees care about.

Management and senior leadership should take a hands-on approach to encouraging employees to engage with these opportunities at their company. Now that we’ve covered the basics of employee engagement, let’s jump into corporate giving specifically.

This is how you can use corporate philanthropy to boost your employee engagement levels.

Using Corporate Philanthropy to Increase Employee Engagement

Keeping employees engaged and helping the community at the same time seems like a pretty great deal, right? That’s why many companies are investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR) to help improve the communities in which their employees live and work. 

One major component of CSR is corporate philanthropy, and within that, there are several corporate giving programs companies can offer. When employees participate in those programs, this enhances their view of the company and gives them an opportunity to help nonprofit organizations that they care about. More and more companies are realizing these benefits, leading to an increasing trend of corporate philanthropy programs being implemented and expanded by businesses across the country.

In order to boost employee engagement, companies can:

This is how companies can increase employee engagement using corporate giving programs.

  1. Offer matching gift programs. Nearly two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies offer a matching gift program that makes employees’ charitable contributions go twice as far. Matching gift programs help engage employees by showing them that the company not only encourages donating, but takes part in it as well. Employees can feel proud knowing their employer gives back.
  2. Encourage volunteerism. Whether a company offers paid time off for employees to volunteer or encourages employees to team up and participate in fundraising events, employee engagement can skyrocket when volunteerism is part of a company’s philanthropic culture. Allowing employees to band together to better the community helps them feel like the company supports them and will boost their dedication.
  3. Offer volunteer grants. Volunteer grants are donations that companies make to nonprofits after an employee has volunteered for a certain amount of time. Volunteer grants demonstrate a company’s commitment to helping worthy causes and instills a shared sense of philanthropy among employees, boosting engagement and satisfaction.

When companies support the causes their employees care about, this helps strengthen the relationship between not just the company and its employees, but also between the company and the nonprofits they help. All of these effects come together to create a positive reputation for the company, happy employees, and a better community.

This is how you can implement and maintain your corporate giving program as you focus on employee engagement.

How to Implement or Enhance Your Corporate Giving Program

When it comes to corporate giving, managing your program can be overwhelming. After all, if your company offers a matching gift or volunteer grant program, you’ll need to track each employee donation and volunteer hour, as well as the requests that come through for matches or grants.

Corporate giving software for companies is an effective option that many corporations already take advantage of. These solutions allow companies to manage workplace giving, matching gifts, volunteer opportunities, and more.

For example, the right corporate giving solution equips your company to:

  • Set up and view employee donations, such as automatic payroll deductions.
  • Review and/or automatically approve matching gift requests.
  • List volunteer opportunities for employees.
  • Track employee volunteer hours.
  • Manage and approve volunteer grant requests.

Whether you’re setting up a new corporate giving program or trying to build on what you already have, corporate giving software can help you get the most out of your program. After all, the easier it is for employees to log in and participate, the more engagement you’ll get in the long run.

If you’re looking to get started with corporate giving or improve and better manage your company’s philanthropic programing, working with a software provider will allow you to incorporate all of the recommendations above and begin seeing real results as soon as possible.

This is why corporate giving programs are a win-win for everyone when it comes to employee engagement.

Conclusion: Why Corporate Giving Programs are a Win-Win for Everyone

In summary, there are many benefits of incorporating giving programs like matching gifts, volunteer grants, and volunteerism. These include:

  • Employees getting to experience an enjoyable and rewarding team-building event.
  • The corporation giving back to the community.
  • The corporation’s reputation in the community being enhanced through positive press coverage and other channels.
  • The nonprofits receiving volunteer support and/or additional funding.

While there are a multitude of ways to increase employee engagement, utilizing corporate giving programs can be one of the most beneficial options for employees, companies, and nonprofits alike.

Here are some additional employee engagement and corporate giving resources.

Additional Employee Engagement & Corporate Giving Resources

If you’re interested in learning more about corporate giving and employee engagement, we’ve compiled some excellent resources for you:

Find out how to drive corporate philanthropy at your company!

How to start a matching gift program [for companies]

How to Start a Matching Gift Program [For Companies]

Thousands of companies host matching gift programs that encourage and amplify employee giving to nonprofit causes. When an individual works for such a company, they are able to make a donation to their favorite charitable organization and request a corporate match as well. This stretches the impact of their initial gift further, allowing them to make a more significant difference with their dollars.

While these types of programs are continuing to grow in popularity among companies and their employees alike, unfortunately, not all businesses offer gift-matching. But it’s not too late to get started!

If you’re a corporate leader looking to find out how to start a matching gift program for your company, you’ve come to the right place. In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk through the key actions that, when done right, will enable you to develop an effective matching program for your business. These steps include:

  1. Setting a budget and goals for your donation-matching program.
  2. Identifying matching gift threshold criteria.
  3. Determining eligibility for your matching gift programs.
  4. Deciding how your company will facilitate matching.
  5. Establishing your matching gift request process (and deadline).
  6. Exploring matching gift auto-submission to simplify participation.
  7. Crafting an employee-facing matching gift policy document.
  8. Informing employees about your matching gift initiative.
  9. Ensuring your matching gift program is added to the top matching database.
  10. Collecting data, tracking impact, and making program improvements.

Companies match gifts for a wide range of reasons. These typically encompass business-related benefits such as increased employee engagement, improved reputation, tax deductions, and more⁠. In fact, employees and consumers alike are now more than ever demanding corporate social responsibility from the brands they support.

Studies show that more than 77% of employees reported a sense of purpose as a part of the reason they selected their current employer, while 2/3 of young employees won’t take a job at a company with poor CSR practices, and 55% of employees would even take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company. At the same time, 90% of consumers worldwide are likely to switch to brands supporting good causes, while 66% would pay more to CSR-focused businesses.

Reasons why companies should start matching gift programs

However, genuine altruism can be another key driver behind matching gifts and other workplace and corporate philanthropy programs. Corporate leaders know they have the opportunity to make a real difference in the world and utilize their businesses to do so. And launching a matching gift program is a particularly impactful way to go.

Let’s dive in with the first step.

1. Set a budget and goals for your donation-matching program.

Before you can (or should) launch any new corporate initiative, it’s important to begin with your budget and goals. The same is true for matching gifts. These two criteria will guide the rest of your efforts⁠—your budget because it allows you to determine your new program’s limits and goals to help prioritize objectives and establish what success looks like.

When it comes to budget, we recommend setting a figure that is on the higher end of realistic for your business. That is because, although not every employee will choose to partake, you want to be sure you have the funding should you end up with higher participation rates than you’d initially expected.

You’ll also need to determine where this money will come from. Keep in mind that, though some companies reallocate funding for their matching gift programs from an existing philanthropic budget, others opt to establish a match reserve that is above and beyond any prior giving.

Now, for your goals; two of the most common types of objectives that a company might set in terms of matching gift program success have to do with dollars donated or employee participation. For example, you may decide that your goal for the first twelve months of your program is to contribute $X thousand dollars through employee matching gifts. On the other hand, perhaps you set a primary objective to incite X% staff participation in your matching gift program’s foundational year.

For additional context, take a look at the participation rates from several top matching gift companies in the financial, technology, consumer goods, and pharmaceutical industries:

Employee participation rate is one of the more crucial matching gift statistics.

Regardless, either objective structure works; it’s just a matter of ensuring your team is on the same page.

2. Identify matching gift threshold criteria.

Once you have your budget and goals set, it’s time to establish the boundaries of your program. Essentially, this criteria determines the total amount of funding that is available to each employee on an annual basis and should include the following details:

  • Ratios ⁠— Your matching gift ratio is the rate at which you agree to match employee donations. 1:1 is by far the most common match rate, with 91% of companies match donations doing so at a 1:1 ratio. However, some companies (approximately 4%) choose to match at a lower rate, such as .5:1, while others (5%) match at a higher rate, such as 2, 3, or even 4:1. For context, if an employee were to make a $100 donation, a 1:1 match would involve a $100 corporate gift, while a .5:1 match would result in a $50 match, and a 2:1 ratio would produce a $200 match.
  • Minimum amounts ⁠— Next is the minimum amount that your company agrees to match. Minimums are typically set in order to ensure employees are requesting corporate funds for the organizations they truly care about and support with their own dollars. Overall, 93% of companies with matching gift programs have a minimum match requirement of less than or equal to $50, with the average falling at $34. However, minimums can be as low as $1, and some companies choose not to set minimum gift amounts in the first place.
  • Maximum amounts ⁠— On the other end of the spectrum, nearly all companies set maximum match amounts that they’re willing to pay. Maximum caps allow corporations to manage their budgets properly and ensure there is funding available for any eligible employee to participate. Our research shows that 80% of companies’ matching gift maximums fall between $500 and $10,000 annually per employee, the mean amount coming in at $3,728.

Some businesses even vary their guidelines depending on an individual’s employment status or job type. For example, executive-level team members may be eligible for a 2:1 match up to $20,000, while all other employees receive a 1:1 match up to $10,000. In the same vein, you may decide that part-time and retired employees can request a particular amount of match funding, while current full-time staff are eligible for a higher level.

3. Determine eligibility for your matching gift programs.

Beyond monetary amounts, many companies also set specific eligibility criteria regarding the employee types that qualify to request matches, nonprofit mission types that qualify to receive matches, and contribution types that qualify as initial donations. Let’s take a look at each in further detail as you decide which kinds of gifts your company is willing to match:

  • Employee participants ⁠— Most matching gift programs are divided into eligibility status based on employment with the company offering the program. Typically, any combination of current, full-time, current part-time, and retired employees will qualify to get involved. However, some companies take things a step further by offering program eligibility to spouses and other family members of current and former staff members as well.
  • Donation types ⁠— By this point, you should have already determined the amounts you’re willing to match per employee in a pre-determined period. Now comes the question of which types of donations are eligible for corporate matching. Nonprofit donations can be made through a wide range of channels, including (but not limited to) an organization’s website, online donation tools, peer-to-peer giving campaigns, text giving, direct mail, recurring donations, phonathons, paycheck deductions, event pledges, stock donations and other gifts of securities, and more.
  • Nonprofit recipients ⁠— Though many companies will match gifts to any nonprofit organizations, others will choose specific mission types to either focus on or exclude from the matching initiative. For example, churches and other strictly religious organizations are some of the most common exclusions from companies’ matching programs. On the other hand, some companies will choose a specific cause type (often educational institutions) to which they will exclusively direct matching gift funds. Overall, companies typically choose from organizations in categories such as higher educational institutions, K-12 schools, health and human services, arts and cultural organizations, civic and community organizations, environmental organizations, and more.

In order to ensure an optimal employee giving experience, experts recommend providing a large number of choices for employees to give⁠ and to get their gifts matched⁠. Similarly, your company will likely see significantly increased participation levels should you open the program to as many employees and nonprofits as possible.

However, if your company does not have the budget or the bandwidth to introduce a fully-fledged matching gift program, another option to consider would be a custom matching gifts program. What’s the difference? Rather than matching gifts to any or all nonprofit causes, a custom matching gift initiative involves a more direct partnership with a single fundraising organization. From there, a time constraint is typically established (for example, doubling all staff donations to a breast cancer research center made throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month). You’ll want to encourage employees to support the selected nonprofit during the span of the campaign, then your company will match the total given to make each dollar go farther toward the organization’s mission.

While more limited in scope, custom matching gift programs can be an excellent way to forge mutually beneficial nonprofit-corporate partnerships, rally employees around a particular cause, and gain critical experience in matching gifts. When you see the impact you can make with a custom program, you might even decide to go all in with a traditional matching gift offering!

*While Double the Donation offers custom matching gift management functionality, this feature is designed specifically for fundraisers looking to manage custom matching gift initiatives—Double the Donation does not work directly with corporations. If you’re a company interested in creating a matching gift program, contact us, and we’ll share information about our corporate vendor partners.

4. Decide how your company will facilitate matching.

Even after launching your matching gift offering, maintaining an effective program will require some continuous upkeep from company leadership. However, you don’t have to do it all manually if you choose not to.

There are generally two key management methods you can choose from:

  • In-house program management ⁠— Many companies⁠—particularly small businesses⁠—start by matching gifts on their own. While this can keep program overhead costs low, it will require additional investments of time and effort from corporate management. After employees submit their matching gift requests, there must be a process in place to facilitate the review of employee submissions, verify initial donations meet matching criteria, approve corporate matches, and disburse match funding.
  • Outsourcing to third-party solution ⁠— The alternative to in-house management is outsourcing aspects of your matching gift program to a third-party solution. Though this path will typically involve paying fees to various software vendors, it ultimately saves your team time, effort, and resources. Working with a matching gift software vendor (we have reviews of several top providers for businesses of all shapes and sizes here) allows your company to take a more hands-off approach to matching gifts while streamlining the processes involved for employee participants.

Either practice works, and many companies find that they begin with an in-house management style but later upgrade with corporate giving technology to elevate their efforts. As you make your decision, keep in mind that CSR is an investment that tends to bring substantial benefits to your business as a whole.

Start a matching gift program with a top CSR partner!

5. Establish your matching gift request process (and deadline).

In order to participate in your newly developed matching gift program, employees need to know how to participate and how long they have after making their initial nonprofit donations to complete the request process. Regarding the latter, most companies set their program participation deadlines according to one of the following schedule approaches:

  • Number of months following an initial donation ⁠— Most commonly six or twelve months following the date of an employee’s initial donation, this type of matching gift deadline works on a rolling basis. If an employee donated to a nonprofit on a certain day one year, they might qualify to request their match until the same date the following year. Or, they might remain eligible for six, nine, or even eighteen months after their original gift, depending on the company offering the program.
  • End of the calendar year ⁠— For companies that utilize the calendar year to organize their matching gift programs, it’s simple to determine when a match request is due. Whichever year the initial donation was made, the match must be submitted by December 31st of the same year. This is true regardless of whether the gift was contributed on January 1st or December 1st. However, this can result in employees who give later in the year having significantly less time to submit their matches.
  • End of the calendar year + grace period ⁠— Similar to the previous type, some companies choose to enact a matching gift deadline based on the end of the calendar year and then add on a grace period. The grace period is typically a few additional months into the next year. This means that an individual’s match request would typically be due by February, March, or April following the year in which the initial donation was made.
  • End of the fiscal year ⁠— If your company operates on a schedule other than the calendar year, it might make sense for your team to set your matching gift deadline in relation to the end of that year instead. Drawbacks to this method may occur if employees are not aware of the fiscal year the company runs on, so be sure to proactively communicate your deadline to employees if so.

Other common stipulations include that the employee must be gainfully employed by the company at both the time the donation is made and the time the match request is submitted and paid out.

As you craft your submission deadlines, you’ll also want to determine which information you’ll request from employees looking to submit their match requests. Common requirements include the employee’s name, organization name, mailing address, and tax ID number, and donation amount and type. You may also ask for a copy of the individual’s donation receipt, and some companies choose to verify each donation with the organization itself (though that can be a hassle for all parties involved).

You’ll also need to establish and ultimately communicate the way in which employees will go about requesting their matches. If you choose to manage your program with a matching gift software vendor, be sure to direct team members to the company’s online match request portal. If you end up facilitating your program in-house, ensure individuals know how to complete the submission process and have the resources they need to do so.

6. Explore matching gift auto-submission to simplify participation.

When you offer a matching gift program for your employees, you want them to partake. Otherwise, you limit the benefits of the initiative that you’ve invested your time, energy, and resources into developing.

Thus, in order to boost participation in your program, it’s important that you make the process involved in doing so as quick, easy, and painless as possible. And the best way to do so is by enabling matching gift auto-submission!

Auto-submission functionality is a trailblazing initiative made available through Double the Donation and its innovative CSR platform partners—including Millie, Selflessly, POINT, and more.

When a company leverages one of these corporate giving solutions to facilitate its matching gift program, they automatically empower employees to get their gifts matched directly from their favorite nonprofits’ websites. Whereas previously, donors were required to complete a separate request process and provide nonprofit and donor information, all they need to do with auto-submission is provide their corporate email address (or another piece of identifying information).

Starting a matching gift program with auto-submission

From there, the software systems process the request seamlessly behind the scenes, reducing roadblocks for employees and resulting in elevated engagement in the programming.

Working with a matching gift vendor that offers auto-submission will also allow your company to become a Certified Leader in Matching Automation (CLMA). That means you’ll be recognized for offering the most universally accessible, easy-to-complete matching gift process for your employees.

Remember: the more easily your staff can participate in matching gifts, the more likely they’ll be to complete their end of the process. Fortunately, offering auto-submission (and becoming CLMA-certified) is the best way to do so.

7. Craft an employee-facing matching gift policy document.

Some of the biggest reasons employees fail to participate in their companies’ matching gift programs, even if they make qualifying donations, is that they are unaware of their eligibility or lack understanding of the match request process and, subsequently, end up missing the deadline. Therefore, it’s essential that you take steps to communicate your program’s guidelines and instructions for participation to eligible employees.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to do so is by producing employee-facing documentation with all the information your staff will need to get involved. This should include your company’s match criteria, such as:

  • Match ratio
  • Minimum and maximum donation amounts
  • Qualifying employees and nonprofit causes
  • Types of donations and submission deadlines
  • Matching gift request process and links to online forms
  • Participation in auto-submission

Once you have all the information in one place, it’s easy for employees to determine whether their most recent donations are eligible for matching and take the initiative to participate. Keep in mind that, as you make adjustments to your matching gift program, it’s important to ensure your corporate giving policy documentation is as accurate and up-to-date as possible.

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE MATCHING GIFT POLICY TEMPLATE

8. Inform employees about your matching gift initiative.

Once your program is live, it’s time to begin promoting the opportunity to your employees. This is an essential, though often overlooked, step in the process. In fact, our research shows that despite 26 million individuals working for companies that match gifts, more than 78% of the group has never been made aware of the programs.

Unfortunately, many of those individuals never go to request corporate matches regardless of their eligibility to participate. In the end, that means companies are not reaping the maximum benefit of the programs they worked to establish.

Thus, in order to make the most of your business’ match initiative, it’s imperative that you take the time to ensure your workforce is aware. What this looks like specifically can vary from company to company.

You might:

  • Send out a team-wide email;
  • Announce the inception of your program at a meeting;
  • Add a section to your office policy handbook;
  • Incorporate matching gifts in your onboarding process going forward;

Or even all of the above.

The bottom line is that your employees should know about the program and be reminded of the opportunity multiple times throughout the year.

9. Ensure your matching gift program is added to the top matching database.

Directly informing your staff about your newly developed matching gift program is critical. Now your team should be aware of the initiative and ready to get involved. But you also want to ensure that employees are reminded of the program opportunities directly after making eligible nonprofit donations⁠—ideally from the organizations themselves.

For that to occur, you’ll need to first confirm that your matching gift program is added to the leading database of corporate matching gift program information: Double the Donation. Once added, employees will be able to search your company and receive program-specific details straight from the organizations they support, often within a donation confirmation screen widget or follow-up email.

Add your company to Double the Donation's database after starting your company's matching gift program

From there, employees can navigate to your company’s matching gift request forms online and complete their submissions while leveraging their post-donation momentum. It simplifies the process involved for team members and results in significantly more matches being completed⁠—meaning more nonprofits receiving funding and increased benefits for your company.

To add your company, follow this link and provide the information requested. This includes your company name, submission materials (such as links to online forms, PDF uploads), and eligibility criteria.

(Hint: the more information you share, the easier it will be for employees to participate in your program.)

10. Collect data, track impact, and make program improvements.

This last stage of the matching gift development process involves taking a look at the program you’ve created and determining whether it meets the criteria previously set in place during step #1. You should be collecting and analyzing data throughout the process (made particularly simple when utilizing program management software). Now, this data comes in handy to help determine program success.

For example, did you meet or exceed your goals? If so⁠—what happens now? Will you set loftier goals for the future and continue matching? If not, how will you adjust your program strategy to ensure your team is on track to reach your goals this time around?

You can also take a closer look at your company’s data to determine and communicate program impact. This should answer questions like how many and to which nonprofits did your company give? What amounts were donated through both employee gifts and corporate matches?

Finally, you’ll want to explore ways to continuously improve your matching gift program in the months and years to come. Consider ways to drive employee engagement in your programming. Elevate giving by increasing your match ratio or maximum donation cap. Or simplify participation in your program by enabling matching gift auto-submission for your employees! You can even use dedicated employee recognition platforms to call out those who participate. As your company grows, your matching gift initiative should grow alongside it.


Final Thoughts & Additional Resources

It doesn’t have to be difficult to get started with matching gifts, and your company’s programming doesn’t have to be the most built-out initiative before you can make it available to employees. Everyone has to begin somewhere, and following the nine steps above will allow you to build a solid foundation for your workforce.

Good luck, and happy matching!

Interested in learning more about matching gifts and developing optimized employee giving initiatives? Check out these other educational resources for companies here:

Start a matching gift program with a top CSR partner!

Find out how Venmo for nonprofits can help your organization raise more.

How Venmo for Nonprofits Can Help Organizations Raise More

Every day, millions of people use Venmo to send and receive money from each other. Nonprofits receive money in the form of donations all the time, so of course, they also benefit from using Venmo!

While there isn’t a specific version of Venmo for nonprofits, organizations can still leverage regular Venmo accounts to effectively collect donations on the app. Venmo simplifies the fundraising process and allows nonprofits to reach a wider audience of supporters, including younger donors.

Whether you’re familiar with Venmo or not, we’ll make sure you understand how to use it effectively for your nonprofit.

At Double the Donation, we connect nonprofits with matching gift opportunities. We know how important it is to maximize your organization’s fundraising potential. Just like matching gifts, Venmo fundraising is another way to ensure that you’re collecting as many donations as possible. We’re happy to share this guide to Venmo for nonprofits to help you reach your fundraising goals and continue running your organization smoothly.

Here are the topics we’ll cover in this article:

Follow along to learn how Venmo works, why your nonprofit should use it, and how you can leverage it to its fullest potential.

Maximize your Venmo fundraising with matching gift software.

These are the basics of Venmo for nonprofits.

The Venmo for Nonprofits Basics

Let’s start with a basic definition of Venmo. Venmo is a peer-to-peer mobile payment service that allows people to request and accept funds from each other. Instead of using cash, checks, or direct bank transfers, Venmo securely deducts money from users’ bank accounts and sends it to the intended recipients. That way, transactions are easy and protective of your sensitive information.

Venmo is one of many payment processing apps, but it’s certainly one of the most popular options. Check out these statistics about Venmo’s size and scope:

  • Venmo has more than 83 million users.
  • Its largest user age group is 25-34-year-olds.
  • The app processed about $230 billion in payments in 2021.

Here are some important Venmo for nonprofits statistics.

Why do so many people rely on Venmo for their payment processing needs? For starters, it’s extremely simple to use. Once you link your bank account, debit card, or credit card to your account, all you have to do is find who you want to pay, type in the payment amount, and send it.

Another useful feature of Venmo is that you can keep money in your account to use in the future or transfer it to your bank account for safekeeping. For a combination of the two, you can input the amount you’d like to transfer and leave the rest in your account.

You might already use a more traditional payment processing platform like PayPal. While Venmo supports nonprofits in the same way PayPal does, it’s still an effective and secure fundraising method.

Check out the advantages of Venmo for nonprofits.

Advantages of Venmo Fundraising

People use Venmo all the time to pay their friends, family, and even some businesses. Making a Venmo account for your nonprofit changes the game for donations. Instead of going through the formal process of filling out your donation form, donors can now send you money just like they would for people they know. That way, the process is easy and familiar to donors.

These are the advantages of Venmo for nonprofits and donors.

Benefits for Donors

Venmo fundraising provides a whole new donation experience. Here are some of the key benefits the app offers to donors:

  • Ease of use. Since people are familiar with Venmo, using it for donations makes it easier for donors to lend their support. The app itself has a simple interface that new users can quickly pick up on. Instead of navigating to your donation page, donors now have the ability to donate to as many nonprofits as they would like all within the same app.
  • Reliability. Venmo is a reputable payment processing platform with ample encryption. They take care to protect your account information and monitor your account activity to thwart suspicious transactions. Using Venmo, donors can feel comfortable donating to their favorite causes without worrying about their information being compromised.
  • Smaller transactions. With an average transaction amount of around $60, Venmo invites donors of all giving capacities to contribute. People can feel comfortable giving $10, $100, or $1,000 through Venmo because of the nature of the app.

Donors will appreciate the opportunity to donate through a well-trusted, easy-to-use platform.

Benefits for Nonprofits

While Venmo is a great platform for prioritizing the donor experience, it also boasts many advantages for nonprofits that create an account, such as:

  • Affordability. Nonprofits are always looking for ways to keep their costs down. Venmo makes it easy because they don’t charge any monthly fees. They also don’t charge any fees for sending money with a linked bank account or debit card. When accepting donations, the associated fee is only 1.9% + $0.10. Other than that, the only other fees are for sending money with a credit card or initiating instant transfers to your bank account, both of which are optional.
  • Free publicity. One of the unique features of Venmo is that it functions like a social media app. You can add your friends and family to see their transactions and vice versa. This feature allows donors to show off their support for your cause and encourage others to do the same.
  • Stronger donor relationships. Since people use Venmo primarily with friends and family, they associate the app with people they know. Therefore, using Venmo to donate to your organization may help donors feel a more personal connection to your nonprofit. Additionally, nonprofits can comment on the donations they receive to thank donors and even start a conversation with them.

Using Venmo for nonprofits is a win for both donors and organizations accepting donations. The app is easy to use and invites donors to form a deeper connection to the causes they care about. Your nonprofit can obtain all the benefits we’ve discussed by simply setting up an account.

We'll walk you through how to create your Venmo fundraising account.

Creating Your Venmo for Nonprofits Account

Just as using the app is easy, creating your nonprofit’s Venmo account is even simpler. While Venmo doesn’t yet have a nonprofit account option, they are performing a private beta test for a select group of nonprofits, so nonprofit Venmo accounts could be coming soon.

For now, though, nonprofits can create regular accounts following these steps:

Follow these steps to create your Venmo for nonprofits account.

  1. Download the Venmo app or visit the Venmo website.
  2. Choose your sign-up method and create your password.
  3. Verify your phone number and email address.
  4. Add and verify your bank account.
  5. Change your username and add a profile picture that represents your nonprofit.

It couldn’t be easier to create your account. As soon as your nonprofit sets up its Venmo account, you can spread the word to your donors so they can start taking advantage of your new fundraising method.

We'll give you tips for how to promote your Venmo for nonprofits account.

Promoting Your Nonprofit’s Venmo Account

Once you create your nonprofit’s Venmo account, the next step is to let your supporters know about it. Current donors will be excited about this new and easy way to donate, and prospective donors may be more enticed to start giving with this option.

There are several ways that you can tell your donors about your new capacity for Venmo fundraising. Check out some of our ideas:

Promote your Venmo for nonprofits account using these methods.

  • Create a Venmo donation tutorial. It’s safe to assume that many of your supporters know how Venmo works, but not all of them. Help them out by filming a video tutorial that teaches donors how to set up their own Venmo account and how they can use it to donate to your cause. Post the video on your website and social media to spread the word.
  • Link your Venmo account to your social media. Speaking of social media, it’s one of the most powerful tools for communicating with your supporters. Create a post introducing the concept of Venmo donations and provide a link to your account in your bio. Additionally, include your Venmo username in all email newsletters alongside your other social media profiles.
  • Share your Venmo QR code. Venmo provides each account with a unique QR code, making it easier to find the Venmo account you’re looking for. You can post your nonprofit’s QR code on social media, include it in email newsletters, and print physical copies to hand out at events.
  • Indicate Venmo as an option on your donation page. You likely feature a donation form on your nonprofit’s website. However, telling visitors on this page that Venmo is another option for donations can allow people to decide which method they prefer and donate accordingly.

Your supporters will be thrilled to hear that your nonprofit is making strides to create a seamless donor experience with Venmo. However, there are extra steps your organization can take to strengthen relationships with your supporters through the app.

Venmo fundraising provides opportunities to connect with donors.

Connecting with Donors Through Venmo Fundraising

Venmo presents a unique opportunity to build relationships with your donors when they lend you their support. While the format of the app itself allows you to interact with others like on other social media platforms, there are additional ways your organization can intentionally connect with donors on Venmo.

Connect with donors using Venmo fundraising.

Ask for small donations.

Of course, large donations are always appreciated, but every donation counts. Considering that Venmo has a younger audience, you might be better off encouraging smaller donations. That way, you can acquire new donors who never would’ve considered donating before through more traditional methods.

Try asking your nonprofit’s social media followers to direct message your organization with their Venmo username and how much they’re willing to donate. Then, you can send them a request for that amount so that they won’t forget.

Respond to each donor.

It’s important to show your appreciation for your donors. Venmo makes it easy by allowing you to like and comment on Venmo transactions. Use it as an opportunity to thank donors and maybe even start a conversation about your cause.

You can ask donors why they chose to donate to learn more about them. Then, feature the best answers on your social media with their permission. This way, you can show others why your donors feel compelled to support your organization.

Know your audience.

Younger generations dominate Venmo, so it’s important to keep that in mind when running your account. Make your responses fun by using emojis and GIFs that Venmo provides.

You also might want to select certain donors and give them a shoutout on your social media. Younger donors will love being recognized for their fundraising efforts.

Incentivize donations.

A little healthy competition can make donating more fun. Plus, you’ll raise even more for your cause. Try hosting a fundraising competition by splitting supporters into teams. You can let people form their own teams, create teams based on demographic factors, or choose groups randomly.

Each team will compete for who can raise the most money. Give the winning team a prize such as a social media shoutout, gift cards, or free branded merchandise. Turning donating into a game will encourage more people to join in on the fun.

Bear in mind that this serves as a form of peer-to-peer fundraising, and some employers will match the amount their employees raise for an organization. Promote the opportunity to incentivize participation and drive greater fundraising results!

Encourage more Venmo donations with matching gifts.

Matching gifts allow you to double or even triple the amount you earn for your organization. Plus, donors will feel good knowing they had an even larger impact on your organization than they anticipated.

Using employer appends, you can determine which of your donors’ employers have matching gift programs. Then, you can reach out to those donors letting them know that their employers will match their donations to your nonprofit, even those made through Venmo. That way, you can maximize your fundraising potential and highlight Venmo as a viable donation platform.

With Venmo, you can really get to know your donors, make the donation process fun, and raise more for your cause.

Check out these additional resources that will help you maximize the impact of your Venmo fundraising.

Additional Resources

Nonprofits are always looking for ways to increase their donations. While most typically search for new ways to promote their organization as a whole, why not try out a different fundraising platform altogether?

Using Venmo for nonprofits is the best way to encourage donations by connecting with younger supporters on an app they already use regularly. For Venmo users, donating to your cause can become just another part of their Venmo routine alongside splitting checks and paying rent.

Once you’ve set up your nonprofit’s Venmo account, you might start looking for new ways to maximize your fundraising potential. Matching gifts allow you to gain the support of your donors’ employers. With your new Venmo donations rolling in, you’ll want to check out these resources to see how you can double or even triple them:

Double the Donation can help you maximize your Venmo fundraising with matching gifts.

How to advocate for a matching gift program to your employer

How to Advocate for a Matching Gift Program to Your Employer

Matching gifts are one of the simplest and most impactful ways for nonprofit donors to amplify their support for their favorite causes. Unfortunately, not all companies offer these initiatives⁠—which is why you’re searching for best practices on how to advocate for a matching gift program.

You’ve come to the right place! Double the Donation is full of experts on matching gift programs, and we’ve compiled a list of easy tips for individual employees to take in order to effectively communicate the value of matching gift programs to the corporate leaders at their company.

Specifically, we recommend taking the following steps:

  1. Cover the basics of matching gift programs.
  2. Explain the benefits of matching employee gifts.
  3. Highlight similar businesses with matching gift programs.
  4. Share resources to streamline program development.
  5. Emphasize simplicity with auto-submission and CSR platforms.
  6. Use a template to communicate your request.

In this guide, we’ll walk through each practice in detail. Ready to learn more about how to convince your boss to build a matching gift program?

Let’s begin!

1. Cover the basics of matching gift programs.

First things first, it’s a good idea to begin with a solid foundation of knowledge regarding workplace giving programs and matching gifts. Not only will this help you to understand the value of the constantly growing opportunity, but it can also enable you to better advocate for the programs to your employer.

Matching gifts are one of the most popular forms of corporate philanthropy⁠—both in terms of the number of programs available and the high regard for the initiatives among companies, employees, and nonprofits alike.

This is typically an ongoing opportunity where a company agrees to match monetary donations their team members make to qualifying nonprofit causes. For example, Employee A decides to contribute $100 to Nonprofit B. Employee A then submits a match request to their employer, Company C. Company C reviews the submission, verifies the initial gift, and makes their own corporate donation to Nonprofit B. In the end, Nonprofit B receives double the funding, while Employee A is able to see their dollars make a larger impact and their employer support the causes that they care about.

Knowing the basics of matching gifts can help advocate for a matching gift program.

It helps to make your request as detailed as possible so your employer knows exactly what your matching gift program entails and isn’t surprised down the line. A helpful timeline to include is the general steps of starting a matching gift program. Consider these essential steps from re: charity’s Guide to Starting a Corporate Matching Gift Program:

  1. Establish your minimum and maximum giving amounts
  2. Determine which types of causes and which employees are eligible for participation 
  3. Create a submission process
  4. Launch your program

Most matching gifts go unclaimed due to employees being unaware that their company offers a matching gift program. Thus, your company should prioritize promoting your program to employees so it can achieve its maximum potential.

You may also want to take the opportunity to highlight typical matching gift parameters. Each company that builds a matching gift program has the chance to set its own matching gift ratio, minimum and maximum match amounts, submission deadline, and more. They can even determine which types of employees and nonprofits are eligible to participate, thus tailoring the program to meet the company’s specific needs and abilities.

In order to provide some more context into what existing companies are doing, we also have key statistics and benchmarks that can be shared. For example, 93% of companies have a minimum match requirement of less than or equal to $50, with the average landing at $34. On the other end of the spectrum, 80% of companies’ matching gift maximums fall between $500 and $10,000 annually per employee, for a mean of $3,728. And when it comes to ratios, 91% of companies match at a 1:1 rate, while 4% match at a lower rate (such as .5:1) and 5% match at a higher rate (such as 2:1, 3:1, or even 4:1).

2. Explain the benefits of matching employee gifts.

Once you have the basics of matching gift programs down, it’ll be essential to understand and communicate the range of ways in which a company can benefit from offering employee matching gifts. As your employer considers developing a matching program, it’s important to continuously highlight the value that will be derived from it.

Use these stats to advocate for a matching gift program at your company.

Specifically, we can break things down into both internal and external advantages.

Internal

People want to work for companies that support the greater good. That’s why businesses that give back to the community tend to see:

  • Increased levels of employee engagement. When employees feel good about the companies they work for, they’ll be more likely to be highly engaged in their jobs. By matching employee donations, a company can elevate engagement levels while simultaneously giving back to their communities and society as a whole.
  • Higher rates of team member productivity. This piggybacks off of employee engagement. Highly engaged employees are more likely to see high levels of productivity in their roles, having been increasingly inspired to drive forward the company and its success with their own efforts.
  • Longer staff tenures overall. More and more, individuals are looking for companies to work for that make a difference. When businesses offer socially responsible benefits such as matching gift programs, employees will have fewer reasons to seek employment elsewhere.
  • Opportunities to attract new talent to the workforce. Individuals looking for employment with companies that benefit nonprofits, and specifically the causes their employees care about, will be more likely to apply and accept positions with CSR-focused businesses.

In fact, research shows that over 77% of surveyed individuals report a sense of purpose as part of the reason they selected their current employer, while more than 54% of employees who are proud of their company’s contributions to society report being fully engaged in their job. Even more, 55% reported being willing to take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company.

Corporate leaders know that a positive work environment is essential to running a successful business. Thus, philanthropy is key⁠—and giving directly to employees’ favorite causes through matching gifts can produce even greater results than supporting nonprofits in a more general sense.

External

The reasons to launch a matching gift program don’t stop at internal benefits, either. Companies can also see substantial advantages when it comes to their consumers.

Research into CSR, and specifically matching gifts, reports that 77% of consumers are motivated to purchase from companies committed to making the world a better place and that over 90% of consumers are likely to switch to brands supporting good causes. Plus, 66% of consumers would pay more to socially and environmentally responsible businesses.

Thus, if businesses are looking to best appeal to their buyers, they know to contribute to nonprofit causes and that matching gifts are an effective way to do it. Because consumers are now expecting⁠—and even demanding⁠—social responsibility from their favorite brands, not participating in such programs can even cause businesses to lose out on a major competitive advantage.

3. Highlight similar businesses with matching gift programs.

One of the most impactful ways to persuade your employer to launch a matching gift initiative is to show them a number of well-known businesses that are already doing so. It’s its own kind of social proof! They’ll see other companies, perhaps even their competitors, benefiting from matching employee donations and be increasingly inspired to get involved.

You can even provide examples based on the industry in which you’re employed. For instance, let’s say you work for a bank. You may consider the following companies’ match programs as a model:

  • Truist Bank ⁠— matches full-time employees’ donations of between $50 and $2,500 at a 1:1 ratio to most nonprofit organizations
  • PNC Financial Services Group ⁠— matches full-time employees’ donations of between $50 and $2,500 at up to a 4:1 ratio to many nonprofit organizations
  • Bank of America ⁠— matches current employees’ donations of between $24 and $5,000 at a 1:1 ratio to nearly all nonprofit organizations

Meanwhile, if you work for a retailer, you might highlight programs from companies like these:

  • The Home Depot ⁠— matches current employees’ donations of between $25 and $3,000 at a 1:1 ratio to most nonprofit organizations
  • Gap Corporation ⁠— matches current and retired employees’ donations of between $10 and $10,000 at a 1:1 ratio to most nonprofit organizations
  • Macy’s ⁠— matches current and retired employees’ donations of between $25 and $500 at a 1:1 ratio to most nonprofit organizations

Perhaps you’re employed by an airline. In that case, get inspired by Alaska Airlines’ matching gift program. Work for a hotel? Check out Choice Hotels’ standout program!

Or, if you want to provide a few matching gift companies in the same area as your employer, we’ve produced several geographic-based lists to help. Encourage your company to look at examples of powerful matching gift programs in Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and so on. Just search “matching gift companies in [the city of your choice]” to locate even more inspirational programs.

The bottom line is that there are tons of existing matching gift companies to aspire to. By sharing sample programs with your employer, you can help inspire them to take steps to develop their own initiative.

4. Share resources to streamline program development.

One of the most significant roadblocks for many companies interested in matching gifts is that they simply don’t know where to start. You can help remove obstacles before they occur by sharing useful resources from the beginning.

For example, we created a step-by-step guide on how to establish a matching gift program for companies in situations just like this. This resource covers key undertakings, which include setting a budget and objectives, determining eligibility criteria, promoting the program to employees, tracking data and making improvements, and more. Or we’ve also created a free downloadable template that companies can use to customize their program policies.

If you’re interested in other corporate-facing assets, we have these resources as well:

Feel free to forward the guides to your employer to help kick things into action.

5. Emphasize simplicity with auto-submission and CSR platforms.

A common hindrance for new companies considering exploring matching gift programs is that it can seem like a significant undertaking—both in terms of getting the program off the ground as well as managing matching gifts in the long run. Luckily, dedicated technology known as CSR or corporate giving platforms enable businesses to launch and facilitate matching programs with ease.

In order to overcome this potential roadblock with your employer, we recommend coming prepared with information about such solutions and how they can help. For example, some corporate giving technology empowers companies and their employees to give quickly and easily with new matching gift auto-submission abilities made available through tightened integrations between nonprofits, donors, companies, and employees.

This innovative functionality allows employers to decrease time spent on matching gift requests for themselves and their employees, consequently resulting in more completed matches, and amplifying the ROI of these programs.

Advocating for a matching gift program with auto-submission

6. Use a template to communicate your request.

Now, it’s time to put everything together and begin actively advocating for a matching gift program at your company. During this stage, you want to ensure your matching gift program request is as well-thought-out and well-written as possible. You also want to make sure you can hit all the points discussed above.

Get a headstart on drafting a message to your employer by utilizing a customizable template like this:

Subject line: Request for a corporate matching gift program

Hi [manager or HR representative name],

I am writing to request the addition of a corporate matching gift program at [company name].

If you weren’t aware, thousands of companies across the globe have begun establishing employee matching gift programs as a way to support their staffs and the nonprofit causes they contribute to. Companies that offer these programs essentially agree to match gifts made by their employees to qualifying nonprofit causes with their own corporate donations.

This is an extremely beneficial program to host for every party involved⁠—including the company, its employees, and the nonprofits they support. For the companies specifically, matching gift programs tend to result in substantial advantages in terms of employee engagement and retention, opportunities to attract competitive candidates, improved brand image, and even increasing sales.

And on the employee’s end, team members love knowing that their employer is willing to contribute to their favorite causes; hence, why they end up having longer tenures in the business and seeing higher levels of engagement than ever before.

In order to best understand the impact that matching gifts can have on [company name], I recommend checking out matching programs from well-known businesses such as General Electric, Gap Corporation, Coca-Cola Company, and the Home Depot.

If you’d like to take steps to establish a matching gift program for the company, Double the Donation has provided a detailed guide that walks corporate leaders through the process. You can access the resource here in hopes that it will help simplify the creation of such a beneficial program and use this free template to kickstart your policy creation.

Thank you for your consideration,

[Your name]
[Job position]
[Contact information]

If you choose to go with a face-to-face meeting with management, feel free to use the above template as conversation talking points or a presentation follow-up message instead. Overall, a combination of verbal and written communication touch-points is likely going to produce the greatest results.


More and more companies are developing matching gift programs, and your employer just might be one of them. By promoting the opportunity to the decision-makers at the company you work for, you can help communicate the increasing demand for this type of socially responsible corporate initiative.

Best of luck!

Interested in diving deeper into matching gifts and other corporate philanthropy initiatives to help prepare your company for success? Explore our other educational resources here:

Double the Donation can help individuals advocate for a matching gift program.