Learn more about matching gifts and higher education, including top companies that match gifts to colleges and universities.

Matching Gifts & Higher Education: Companies That Match [+Tips]

If you’ve graduated college, chances are, your alma mater has contacted you asking for a donation at some point. Perhaps this happened even before you graduated. Statistics show that many alumni actually do donate to their colleges and universities. Luckily, many of these generous gifts can be matched by alumni’s employers.

If you’d like to optimize your school’s matching gift fundraising efforts by targeting impactful corporate programs, incorporating tried-and-true best practices, and exploring examples put in place by similar institutions, this is the guide for you! We’ll cover:

Most matching gift programs began with only matching to colleges and universities. Since then, many companies have expanded their programs to include most other nonprofit organizations. However, there still remains a large contingent of companies that only match to higher education, excluding K-12 educational organizations and schools. And that means extra potential matching opportunities for your institution!

Let’s dive right in.

Here are some top companies that match gifts to colleges and universities to boost your matching gifts and higher education strategies.Top Companies that Match Gifts to Colleges and Universities

Almost all the companies you’ve heard offer matching gift programs (such as Bank of America, GE, Coca-Cola, Home Depot) will match gifts to colleges or universities, too. However, for this post, we decided to put together a list of some companies with lesser-known matching gift programs. Oftentimes, when a company only matches to higher education colleges and universities, their program flies under the radar.

If your college or university is looking to boost its matching gift revenue, be on the lookout for these popular matching gift companies!

Allstate Insurance

Allstate, a company that matches gifts to colleges and universities, that also offers volunteer grants.Allstate has an employee matching gift program completely devoted to higher education. Through the Good Hands Matching Grant Program, Allstate matches donations made to higher education institutions at a 1:1 rate. In other words, employee donations can potentially be doubled.

The company will match a range of donations from $25 to $5,000. Individuals who are eligible include employees, agency owners, personal financial representatives, and retirees.

Plus, Allstate also offers volunteer grants for employees who’d rather donate their time than money. Through the Hands in the Community Grants Program, employees and agency owners who volunteer more than 16 hours in a calendar year are eligible for volunteer grants.

The volunteer grant amount depends on the employee’s position. While regular employees are eligible for $500 volunteer grants, agency owners are eligible for $1,000 volunteer grants.

Read more about Allstate’s matching gift program.

ConAgra Foods, Inc.

ConAgra is a company that matches gifts of $25 to $1,000 made to colleges and universities.ConAgra will match gifts made to higher education between $25 and $1,000. Both full-time and part-time employees are eligible. However, retirees are not eligible. They also donate to other educational organizations, such as nutrition education programs.

To submit a request, employees either fill out a paper form or an electronic form. Unlike most companies, employees aren’t restricted to just one type of form. However, they do have to submit the matching gift request within 90 days of the initial donation. After that point, the company will no longer match the donation.

Read more about the ConAgra Foods matching gift program.

eBay, Inc.

eBay is a popular company that matches gifts to higher education as well as volunteer grants.The popular online auction site, eBay, will match employee donations made between $25 and $10,000 per year. The company increased the maximum from $500 just a few years ago, which is a substantial jump!

While full-time and part-time employees are eligible for the program, retired employees are not. In addition to matching gifts to education, eBay will also match gifts to most other nonprofit organizations. Unlike some companies, employees are urged to submit matching gift requests as soon as possible, because there’s a company-wide annual limit.

As part of its corporate philanthropy initiative, eBay also offers volunteer grants. Grant amounts are tier-based, depending on the number of volunteer hours employees finish:

  • 8-24 hours = a $100 grant
  • 25-49 hours = a $250 grant
  • 50+ hours = a $500 grant

Be on the lookout for this popular employer when developing your corporate giving strategy.

Read more about eBay’s matching gift program.

Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin Williams is a major company that offers matching gifts for colleges and universities.Sherwin-Williams offers a matching gift program where the company matches up to $3,000 in donations to a wide variety of nonprofits. This includes higher education institutions. The company’s matching gift program is open to both current employees as well as retirees.

The company matches at a 1.5:1 ratio. For instance, if a match-eligible individual donates $100 to your school, your institution will receive a $150 match, totaling $350.

In case that’s not impressive enough, Sherwin-Williams also has a great volunteer grant program. After an employee volunteers 50 hours, Sherwin-Williams provides the eligible organization or school with $200. Each employee can request up to three separate grants each year, totaling $600.

Read more about Sherwin-Williams’ matching gift program.

ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, a company that offers matching gifts to colleges and universities, has a giving program dedicated to higher education.ExxonMobil is very well-known for its corporate philanthropy, specifically for its efforts toward educational institutions. The company offers two matching gift programs, the Arts and Cultural Matching Gift Program and the Educational Matching Gift Program.

Through the Educational Matching Gift Program, ExxonMobil will match donations to higher education institutions, including U.S. colleges and universities. They’ll provide up to $22,500 in matching gift funds per year. However, for cultural organizations, the company only matches up to $2,000.

Plus, the company offers two volunteer grant programs. For its individual grant program, when an employee or retiree volunteers for 20 hours, ExxonMobil provides a volunteer grant of $500. Each individual can request up to four grants per year. For its team volunteer involvement program, ExxonMobil awards a $500 grant when a team of five or more eligible participants volunteers for a combined total of at least 20 hours. While employees are limited to $2,000 in grants per year, individual organizations are limited to $5,000.

Read more about ExxonMobil’s matching gift program.

Here are some top tips for making the most of matching gifts and higher education, including partnering with companies that match gifts to colleges and universities.7 Best Practices for Matching Gifts and Higher Education

Now that you know of a few major companies that offer matching gifts to higher education institutions, let’s dive into a few ways you can incorporate them into your fundraising strategy. Let’s explore seven tried-and-true tips here!

1. Ensure your team understands the importance of matching gifts and higher education.

Before you can promote (and communicate the value of) matching gifts to your institution’s donor base, it’s critical that your fundraising team is up to speed. Be sure to incorporate department-wide meetings to explore matching gift opportunities, what that means for your institution, and how you can collect more corporate funding for your efforts.

And if you’re not sure your team understands the impact of matching gifts, consider sharing powerful statistics like these:

  • More than 26 million individuals work for companies that offer matching gift programs.
  • Over 78% of that 26 million (or approximately 20.3 million) people have no idea whether their employer matches gifts.
  • An estimated $2 to $3 billion is donated annually through corporate matching gift programs.
  • An additional $4 to $7 billion in available match funding is left on the table each year, largely due to a lack of awareness.
  • 84% of survey participants reported that they’d be more likely to donate to a nonprofit if their employer was matching the donation.
  • 1 in 3 participants stated that they’d likely make a larger donation if it was being matched.

Then, once they’re on board, you’ll likely want your development and fundraising staff to be familiar with top companies that match gifts to colleges and universities, common matching gift program guidelines to look out for, and how to assist donors as they walk through the process of requesting their employer matches.

And that’s just the beginning! As you continue to develop your matching gift strategy to direct more corporate dollars toward your school, it’s essential that everyone stays on the same page.

2. Enlist multiple methods for collecting alumni employment information.

Your alumni are likely some of your school’s most dedicated supporters. As they move on from your institution and begin their careers in the real world, make sure you have a process in place for collecting and tracking graduates’ employment information. This will enable you to screen donors and alumni against some of the most generous matching gift companies, such as those mentioned above.

More than likely, your alumni employment data search will include some combination of the following:

  • Matching gift software
  • Email domain screening
  • Employer appends
  • Alumni outreach

But you don’t have to pick just one method, either! The more you know, the better. Our research shows even that incorporating more than one approach for identifying matching gift eligible donors results in 77% more identified potential matches. So perhaps you might leverage domain screening and donor outreach, then utilize an employer appending service to help fill in any remaining gaps. You can even attend fundraising conferences to uncover new techniques for determining matching gift eligibility.

3. Screen donors and prospects for employers with matching gift programs.

Once you’ve located donor and alumni employment data, you can utilize the information to identify matching gift eligible donors. Here are a few best practices you can follow as you do so:

  • Check out top matching gift programs from well-known companies like these.
  • Emphasize companies that match gifts to colleges and universities.
  • Explore additional matching gift companies with a comprehensive database.

Studies show that more than 26 million individuals work for companies that offer some form of matching gift program. More than likely, that’s a significant portion of your school’s donors⁠—you just have to figure out which ones are eligible and where to go from there.

4. Communicate the value of matching gifts and higher education impact to donors.

Donors love participating in their employers’ gift-matching programs because the initiatives enable them to make a larger impact through their initial donations. Because this is one of the top motivating factors for participation, it’s a good idea to place a significant emphasis on doubled (and sometimes even tripled!) benefits that a matching gift can bring.

For example, let’s say a donor contributed $500 to provide 100 books for your newly built library. Be sure to highlight that, should that individual secure a match for their already-generous donation, they can essentially provide 200 books to make twice the impact⁠—all without having to reach back into their own wallets.

5. Follow up with donors on match-eligible gifts and provide employer-specific guidelines.

Your school’s online donation process should gather ample information about your donors as they complete the giving process⁠—including their employment status. After the transaction is complete, your fundraising team can (and should) leverage those collected insights in order to drive more matches to completion.

Picture this: Let’s say Donor Johnny entered his employer’s name in your donation page search tool, and you see that he works for the Home Depot. Afterward, you’ve collected that information, along with the data on the $1,000 gift that he made, to determine that his donation is matching gift eligible. But Johnny might not know that himself!

That’s why we recommend that you follow up with donors post-transaction to share whichever insights you’ve collected about their employers’ matching gift program availability. This should include minimum and maximum match amounts, match ratios, types of qualifying donors and organizations, and submission deadlines. And in order to really seal the deal, you can even equip donors with direct links to their employers’ matching program online submission forms!

6. Integrate matching gifts in your university’s Giving Day strategy.

Hundreds of higher education institutions host annual Giving Days as a way to drive engagement with their schools each year. These efforts are often particularly effective fundraising campaigns, with many schools collecting the majority of their revenue in a short, 24-hour period.

With such high levels of traffic interacting with an institution’s donation forms in that time-frame, it makes sense to use the opportunity to promote employer matching gifts. And doing so enables donors to double (or sometimes even triple!) their impact on your school.

Matching gifts and giving days

If you’re planning an upcoming Giving Day for your school, we recommend getting up and running with innovative matching gift software beforehand—which brings us to our next tip!

7. Streamline your efforts with matching gifts and higher education software.

By adding a matching gift database like Double the Donation to your tech toolkit, you significantly boost your fundraising potential without putting a ton of added work on your team members’ plates. This fully automated matching gift platform identifies more match-eligible donors, automatically follows up with them, and even creates an automated match plan for you.

Not to mention, you can easily integrate Double the Donation’s matching gift automation tool⁠—360MatchPro⁠—across higher education fundraising channels such as GiveCampus, Anthology, Almabase, Ellucian, and more. Thanks to available matching gift and higher education software partnerships, institutions like yours can quickly raise more by adding company gift-matching functionality to their existing fundraising systems!

Take a look at these examples of using a matching gift tool to pinpoint companies that offer matching gifts to colleges and universities. Boost matching gifts and higher education!

Matching Gifts and Higher Education: Examples to Follow

Hundreds of schools and universities have successfully implemented these strategies to effectively promote matching gift fundraising opportunities to donors, alumni, and their overall communities. Let’s look at a few examples of how the right matching gift solutions can help boost your college’s funds!

Flagler College’s Dedicated Matching Gift Page

If alumni are looking for different ways to support their alma mater, well-designed matching gift pages can offer helpful information about multiplying their contributions. Check out this example of a dedicated matching gift page from Flagler College!

Some colleges and universities promote matching gifts and higher education companies on a dedicated matching gift webpage.

Flagler College’s web page provides alumni with instructions on how to obtain a matching donation from their employer. Plus, they’ve embedded the search tool and encouraged donors to look for more in-depth information about their employers’ matching gift programs. Not to mention, they offer vital contact information in case donors have additional questions.

Eckerd College’s Donation Form

Donation forms are another great way to start the conversation about matching gifts. At this stage, Eckerd College knows its users are ready to give and will be more motivated to multiply their contributions without reaching back into their own pockets.

Check out this example of this school’s donation form and how it promotes matching gifts:

Eckerd College example - matching gifts and higher education donation page

In addition to the other donation options on the page, Eckerd College offers donors the chance to look into their employers’ matching gift programs with a searchable database tool (specifically through Double the Donation!).

University of Utah’s Ways to Give Page

Many institutions have a Ways to Give page on their university or alumni website—the University of Utah being one of them. In order to drive fundraising efforts, this school includes different donation methods (e.g. online with a credit card or through the mail) through which donors can contribute. And the University of Utah also knows that its Ways to Give page is a key location to promote corporate matching gift programs!

Here’s what this school’s Ways to Give page looks like:

Some higher education institutions promote matching gifts on their Ways to Give pages to elevate their matching gifts and higher education strategies simultaneously.

This school not only shares general information about matching gift programs but also provides donors with Double the Donation’s embedded search tool to learn more about their specific employer’s gift matching policies. The more ways a donor or prospect knows to support your institution (including corporate gift-matching), the more likely they are to follow through with the process!


Matching gifts are a valuable resource, so ensure that your institution is taking advantage of all available revenue. In fact, the colleges and universities that have the most matching gift success incorporate matching gifts throughout their broader fundraising efforts. It won’t take much, but, as you can see from the corporate guidelines sampled above, a little goes a long way with matching gifts.

This list, while helpful, doesn’t come close to covering all matching gift opportunities. Rather, it’s a sampling of well-known companies with matching gift programs. While these major companies do offer generous matching gift programs for educational institutions, they aren’t the only companies that do. Make sure to stay up-to-date with your donors’ employers. That way, you can maximize your revenue potential!

Watch the video below to hear how University of Lynchburg leverages 360MatchPro to boost matching gift revenue.

University of Lynchburg- Matching Gift Success with 360MatchPro from Double the Donation on Vimeo.

Interested in learning more about matching gifts for colleges and universities? Check out these educational resources:

  • Top Matching Gift Companies. For more matching gift companies (most of which match gifts to higher educational institutions), go over this list of some standout opportunities. Then, see if your alumni or donors work for these businesses!
  • 12 School & Higher Ed Fundraising Platforms That Grow Matching Gifts. Looking for top software that will help you grow matching gifts and higher education fundraising efforts? Check out our list of twelve fantastic solutions.
  • Marketing Matching Gifts. Learn how to promote matching gifts for higher education with this Double the Donation guide. Ensure your school doesn’t miss out on revenue opportunities by incorporating these practices.

Matching gifts and higher education can benefit from Double the Donation's software.

Check out the top matching gift software vendors for nonprofits and companies!

Matching Gift Software Vendors: The Comprehensive List

Whether your company is managing a corporate giving program or your nonprofit is seeking matching gift revenue, corporate philanthropy can be tricky to master.

For businesses, creating an effective matching gift program entails substantial hard work that will ultimately pay off. For nonprofits, it takes ongoing research to acquire much-deserved matching gift revenue. Nonetheless, corporate social responsibility is a growing, impactful phenomenon.

Matching gift programs are naturally complex, but fortunately, there are several technology solutions on the market. To kick off your research, let’s go through each of these major areas:

  1. Top software providers for nonprofits
  2. Top software vendors for companies

If you’re not already familiar with these philanthropic programs, take a look at this comprehensive guide on corporate giving. Otherwise, let’s jump straight into the top matching gift software providers!
When constructing your fundraising strategy, consider these matching gift software vendors for nonprofits.

1. Top Matching Gift Software Providers for Nonprofits

Corporate giving represents a major revenue opportunity for nonprofits, but researching your donors’ employers can be fairly difficult and time-consuming. Plus, for nonprofits, this process never ends.

Once you initially gather information on local companies’ matching gift programs, your team has to stay up-to-date on the changes made within these programs. You also have to be constantly on the lookout for new employers each time a donor submits a gift. 

This may be doable for very small nonprofits, but as their donor bases grow, staying updated without effective software is virtually impossible.

Why It’s Important for Nonprofits to Use Matching Gift Software

Many donors don’t know how to navigate their employer’s corporate giving process—and some are unaware that their employers even offer matching gift programs at all. For that reason, nonprofits tend to leave a substantial amount of revenue on the table every year.

In fact, an estimated $4-$7 billion in matching gift funds goes unclaimed annually.

Matching gift software not only helps spread awareness around matching gift programs, but also helps guide donors through the process in an easy and intuitive way. Any size nonprofit can benefit from a matching gift database—no matter how small or large. Without a comprehensive system, your nonprofit will inevitably overlook these major revenue opportunities.

So how do you choose the right matching gift software? Be sure to invest in a solution that’s frequently updated, comprehensive, and easy to use, such as the leading matching gift solution: 360MatchPro by Double the Donation.

360MatchPro by Double the Donation is the leading matching gift software vendor for nonprofits.

360MatchPro by Double the Donation

360MatchPro by Double the Donation is the complete end-to-end matching gift solution that automates the majority of the process. The platform pulls directly from Double the Donation’s extensive matching gift database, giving you the most comprehensive coverage of matching gift programs.

Here’s how it works to simplify corporate giving for nonprofits:

  1. An individual submits a donation. When donors enter their information into your donation forms, the platform automatically identifies their matching gift eligibility by searching for the details they provide in a database of corporate philanthropy programs. This may include email domains or employer information. 
  2. 360MatchPro automatically follows up. Depending on the donor’s eligibility, the platform automatically triggers customizable follow-up emails to these donors. If they’re eligible for a matching gift, they will be prompted to submit a request. If their eligibility is unknown or they are ineligible, they will be prompted to double check using the search tool.
  3. The platform tracks matches to completion. 360MatchPro enables customizable tracking so you know where your donors are in the match process.

360MatchPro by Double the Donation is the leading matching gift software vendor for nonprofits.

Benefits of using 360MatchPro by Double the Donation include:

  • More matching gift opportunities. 360MatchPro allows you to automatically determine matching gift eligibility among your donors, which means more matching gift requests will be successfully submitted.
  • More matches driven to completion. The platform directs donors to their company’s matching gift forms right after the donation has been made and continues to follow up afterward. This means more submissions will be completed and bring in exponentially more matching gift revenue for your organization.
  • More time to focus on top opportunities. Because 360MatchPro automates every matching gift opportunity, big or small, your organization can focus its efforts on the most valuable match-eligible donations.
  • Closer relationships with corporate partners. Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro is also the only matching gift software that offers custom matching gift program management functionality (where a company commits to matching donations made by employees to a specific nonprofit). This feature empowers organizations to facilitate unique or one-off match opportunities directly with the companies in their network, and the ease with which the programs are managed from both sides leads not only to more matching gift opportunities but to increasing donor reach, positive fundraising outcomes, and deepening long-term partnerships!
    *As a note, this feature is designed specifically for fundraisers looking to manage custom matching gift initiatives—360MatchPro 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.
  • Less effort for donors to get involved. Donors love elevating their giving impact with matching programs, but complicated processes can lead to eligible matches going unclaimed. 360MatchPro helps simplify the experience for qualifying donors, including with new streamlined auto-submission functionality.

Check out our one-page matching gift auto-submission guide

360MatchPro by Double the Donation will ensure your organization doesn’t leave large sums of matching gift revenue on the table. The platform essentially serves as your own matching gift team, automating the process so your staff can focus on the most important thing: serving your mission.

What to look for: Fundraising integrations

Unlike many matching gift software solutions for nonprofits, 360MatchPro integrates with more than 50 of the leading fundraising platforms. In other words, if your organization already leverages specific donation or CRM software, you won’t have to worry about transferring your donor data between platforms.

The system also has state-of-the-art security (as illustrated by its SOC 2 Type II Compliance) that will protect all of your donors’ data and help your team gain better insight into your revenue opportunities.

360MatchPro’s integrations include:

  • CRMs, such as Blackbaud (Raiser’s Edge NXT) and Salesforce
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising platforms, such as Classy and DonorDrive
  • Donation software, such as Luminate, Convio, Funraise, and iModules
  • Corporate giving software, such as Millie, POINT, and Selflessly

These integrations allow you to continue using the fundraising software you already leverage while also sending the data through 360MatchPro’s platform so you can automatically identify new matching gift opportunities.

360MatchPro is the next evolution of advanced matching gift tools for nonprofits. If your organization isn’t using dedicated matching gift software, there’s no doubt that you’re missing out on major opportunities.

Interested in learning more about smart matching gift fundraising and best practices for leveraging 360MatchPro to your greatest potential? Check out Double the Donation’s Matching Gift Academy here!

These are the benefits of using 360MatchPro, the top matching gift software vendor for nonprofits.Explore 360MatchPro matching gift case studies

There are several major matching gift software vendors for companies.

2. Matching Gift Software Vendors for Companies

If your company doesn’t already have a philanthropic program in place, there’s no time like the present to get started! After all, there are innumerable benefits to having these programs, including heightened employee engagement and a positive company reputation.

If you already have a match program in place, your company may be considering switching to an electronic matching gift system. Not only does that save valuable time, but it also ensures there aren’t any gaps in your guidelines.

Let’s go through each of the leading software vendors for companies:

These vendors deliver everything a company needs to outsource the employee matching gift administration process, volunteer grants, disaster relief, and broader workplace giving programs. And for your convenience, we’ve separated them out based on a key distinguishing factor⁠—whether they offer auto-submission functionality.

Image of badge indicating that an organization is a certified leader in matching gift automation (CLMA)

What to look for: Is the matching gift software CLMA-certified?

For the best results, companies in the matching gift software buying process should prioritize CLMA-certified solutions in order to provide optimal encounters for their employees and the organizations they support. What does that mean?

Platforms with the official CLMA Certificate have been deemed Certified Leaders in Matching Automation, providing the most streamlined and intuitive matching gift experience for their users. This, in turn, encourages higher rates of employee participation and reduces the administrative burden for companies and nonprofits alike.

What to look for: Does the matching gift software offer auto-submission?

Traditionally, donors looking to participate in matching programs have been required to submit their donation to a nonprofit organization, then complete a separate request process with their employer to secure the corporate match. This separate request often asks for information about the receiving organization, specific donations, and even the employee themselves, and it’s often a critical roadblock keeping employee donors from completing their matches.

Today, many companies are rolling out matching gift auto-submission abilities, which allow donors to submit their match requests directly from their favorite organizations’ donation confirmation pages with a single click.

How matching gift auto-submission works How matching gifts without auto-submission

Let’s take a look at some of the breakthrough matching gift software providers that are empowering companies and their employees with this functionality;

Millie is one of the top matching gift software vendors for companies.

Millie

Image of badge indicating that an organization is a certified leader in matching gift automation (CLMA)

Millie provides workplace giving tools for all by allowing companies to create simple and flexible social impact programs on a budget. Their platform brings the power of a giving wallet to everyday donors by providing financial tools that allow for easy, simple, and strategic giving.

Millie allows companies to:

  • Match employee donations
  • Manage employee volunteerism by creating events and tracking impact
  • Build giving campaigns
  • Gift charitable dollars to employees and customers

Millie’s workplace giving platform is designed to provide a comprehensive and affordable solution for companies of all sizes so that reaching CSR goals is achievable for all. Plus, they integrate with Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro to offer innovative auto-submission for their corporate clients.

Millie DTD corporate giving vendor partnership - Donor Amplification

Learn more about Millie on their website here or check out our case study to see their matching gift auto-submission in action!

POINT is one of our favorite matching gift software vendors for businesses.

POINT

Image of badge indicating that an organization is a certified leader in matching gift automation (CLMA)POINT is the ready-to-go social impact platform for companies serious about impact. Manage employee volunteering, giving, and nonprofit partnerships on one platform employees actually want to use.

As an innovative corporate giving provider, POINT enables businesses to:

  • Manage matching donation campaigns and initiatives
  • Manage employee volunteerism
  • Organize virtual volunteer opportunities
  • Co-host volunteer opportunities with local nonprofits
  • Fulfill tangible nonprofit needs through in-kind giving
  • Automatically track volunteering and giving statistics and reporting
  • Track impact of workplace giving initiatives

Plus, when companies purchase a subscription to POINT, they can gift the nonprofit POINT platform to nonprofits for free. Companies can collaborate with nonprofits on the same platform and give nonprofits the tools they need to find and manage volunteers seamlessly, saving them up to 15 hours per week.

Not to mention, POINT now offers matching gift auto-submission to make matching gifts as simple as possible for companies, donors, and nonprofits alike.

Learn more about POINT!

Selflessly is one of our favorite matching gift software vendors.

Selflessly

Image of badge indicating that an organization is a certified leader in matching gift automation (CLMA)Selflessly is a comprehensive matching gift and corporate philanthropy management software. Developed in 2018, they aim to provide small and mid-sized businesses with the resources needed to launch and maintain their philanthropic initiatives effectively.

Selflessly helps businesses:

  • Donate to millions of local and national charities
  • Provide simple employee giving processes
  • Match employee donations
  • Report on giving and impact
  • Promote employee engagement
  • Locate and manage volunteer opportunities
  • Track volunteer time off

If you’re looking for a powerful yet affordable matching gift solution for your business, Selflessly is a great way to go. As an added bonus, they even partner with our matching gift automation tool, 360MatchPro, to further streamline the giving and matching processes for employers and employees alike through matching gift auto-submission abilities!

Learn more about Selflessly on their website here or read our case study to see how this matching gift vendor is changing the game with auto-submission!


Does Not Yet Offer Matching Gift Auto-Submission

These other CSR platforms can offer excellent features and functionality regarding matching gift program management for companies, though they have not yet built out auto-submission capabilities with Double the Donation. This means that employees will be required to complete separate request processes to participate in their companies’ giving initiatives.

However, matching gift auto-submission is the future of corporate gift-matching, so keep an eye out as more of these providers shift to automatic submissions as well.

America's Charities is one of the top matching gift software vendors for companies.

America’s Charities

America’s Charities offers an entire suite of tools for companies. Their most comprehensive solution, Engage, is an end-to-end giving and corporate social responsibility (CSR) solution that offers a holistic view of your global impact.

The platform provides a comprehensive and flexible solution to help your company streamline community programs and maximize your social investment. Best of all? You can manage all of your corporate philanthropy and giving programs from one place.

Engage helps organize:

  • Corporate philanthropy, grants, and sponsorships
  • Donation matching
  • Employee workplace giving
  • Employee engagement
  • Volunteer programs

You can also track your goals easily and share eye-catching reports and dashboards using real-time data. Unfortunately, however, Engage does not currently offer matching gift auto-submission capabilities.

Learn more about America’s Charities!

Benevity is one of the top matching gift software vendors for companies.

Benevity

Originally founded in Canada in 2008, Benevity has rapidly developed a major presence with companies based in the United States as well.

This workplace giving platform strives to create compelling corporate giving programs that help companies attract, retain, and engage employees. In addition to a matching gift program, the vendor allows businesses to implement other philanthropic programs, such as volunteer grants and charitable gift cards to motivate employees to generously give.

Through Benevity, corporations can evaluate their success in making a positive impact on their communities. That way, they can adjust their efforts to create the best possible giving program. However, Benevity has yet to offer matching gift auto-submission functionality.

Learn more about Benevity!

Bright Funds is one of the top matching gift software vendors for companies.

Bright Funds

Bright Funds is a leading provider of corporate giving software as a service for workplace giving, volunteering, and grants management. With nearly a decade of experience, Bright Funds helps companies of all sizes multiply their impact through an intuitive, comprehensive corporate social responsibility platform.

Companies can build a culture of giving and grow their employees’ impact with a matching gifts program on Bright Funds. Matching rules can be set up with a single click from the admin dashboard. The platform automatically enforces matching rules and budget limits, while ensuring that employees can only donate to vetted, eligible organizations. That gives companies more time to focus on engaging employees to participate and give back to the causes they care about.

With Bright Funds, companies can scale their impact from a single, flexible platform that includes:

  • Employee giving (one time and recurring donations)
  • Support for 1.8 million global nonprofits and 100 countries
  • Donation matching
  • Employee engagement
  • Full volunteer program management with a preloaded list of over 8 million opportunities
  • Integrated grants management
  • Managed donations disbursement
  • Real-time impact reporting
  • Integrations with many payroll, HRIS, volunteering, and other systems

Empower today’s purpose-driven workforce to do good through Bright Funds’ all-in-one corporate responsibility platform. As of yet, however, Bright Funds has not established an auto-submission functionality.

Learn more about Bright Funds!

Charityvest is one of the top matching gift software vendors for companies.

Charityvest

Charityvest simplifies the giving process for both donors and charities alike. By allowing users to create personal charitable giving funds, donors can securely and freely donate stock and cash to charities without losing a percentage to transaction fees.

Charityvest for Workplaces provides employees with tax-deductible giving accounts and unlocks automatic charitable matching, reporting, and administration for companies. Their workplace giving programs are trusted and utilized by companies nationwide.

With Charityvest for Workplaces, your company can implement fully automated, rules-based grant matching, provide employees with unlimited zero-fee giving to millions of charities, and view real-time reporting on charitable impact. In the future, Charityvest for Workplaces may develop auto-submission functionality, but for now, employees are resigned to partake in manual submission processes.

Learn more about Charityvest!

CyberGrants is one of the top matching gift software vendors for companies.

CyberGrants

For over 20 years, CyberGrants has been a leader in the online grantmaking space. Over time, the company has recorded many firsts through its initiatives, including:

  • Developing the first online application
  • Providing the first online grants administration tools
  • Creating the first online workplace giving and volunteering systems for corporations

A few years ago, CyberGrants merged with the JK Group, which owned the Consiva and Easymatch platforms. Today, it manages employee giving programs for many global companies.

As a flexible philanthropic software platform, CyberGrants provides numerous innovative ways for companies to develop their workplace giving programs. CyberGrants has yet to roll out auto-submission features, still relying on manual requests from employee donors through the system.

Learn more about CyberGrants!

SmartSimple is one of the top matching gift software vendors for companies.

SmartSimple

SmartSimple offers companies robust tools for grant management, employee giving, matching gifts, volunteer management, and more. 

When companies use SmartSimple to manage their workplace giving strategies, they can:

  • Approve matching gift requests while following their company guidelines
  • Manage volunteer programs and award grants
  • Manage in-kind giving
  • Monitor impact through detailed reporting

SmartSimple streamlines nearly every aspect of your company’s workplace giving program, making it incredibly easy for employees to participate and boost your CSR impact in the greater community. However, they’ve yet to offer auto-submission functionality, which may be enabled in the future.

Learn more about SmartSimple!

 Matching Gift Software Vendors YourCause

YourCause

Through its dedicated corporate social responsibility platform, YourCause helps corporations of all sizes. This platform, called CSRconnect, is a customizable community tool that centralizes employee engagement.

When businesses invest in the CSRconnect platform, they can enable year-round matching gifts, annual pledge campaigns, and more. Additionally, the platform leverages peer-to-peer fundraising. In other words, employees will raise money on behalf of the nonprofits they care about, and companies can match those donations⁠—though they’ve yet to establish a process for matching gift auto-submissions.

As a business professional, you’ve likely heard of the leading CRM platform Blackbaud. YourCause integrates with this major CRM software, meaning you won’t have to spend time transferring your employees’ data. If that’s not convincing enough, the customizable software allows companies and employees to access 300,000+ global nonprofits from 170 countries!

Learn more about YourCause!


For nonprofits and companies alike, corporate social responsibility is highly influential and catching on rapidly. From the nonprofit perspective, corporate philanthropy means boosting revenue. Not leveraging a matching gift database equates to not fulfilling your matching gift potential.

From the business perspective, corporate philanthropy means developing a brand, promoting a generous workplace, and giving back to the community. However, developing and maintaining a giving program is nearly impossible without the right software.

Now that you know more about specific software solutions, start leveraging this technology in your corporate giving strategy today!

Additional Resources for Nonprofits

Additional Resources for Corporations

  • Announcing New Matching Gift Auto-Submission Functionality.  Make the most of your company’s matching gift programs by enabling auto-submission functionality! The easiest way to do so is by partnering with a corporate giving software provider that integrates with Double the Donation. The simpler the process, the more likely your employees are to get involved.
  • Matching Gifts: The Definitive Guide for Employers. A surprising number of companies have not yet started a matching gift program, even though these programs are proven to help retain and engage employees, showcase CSR, and make a positive impact in the community. This guide from America’s Charities will break down the basics and benefits of matching gift programs, explain how to set one up, offer advice from America’s Charities’ team of experts, and more. Take advantage of their years of experience, research, and expertise, and download this guide!

Find out how to drive corporate philanthropy at your company!

How to Pick a Fundraising Consultant for Your Annual Fund

If you’re looking for ways to amp up your annual fund, then you should consider hiring a nonprofit consultant. Fundraising consultants are professional advisers that can offer your nonprofit effective solutions to improve your annual fund.

Since there are so many different nonprofit consulting firms out there, the search may seem like a daunting task. However, with a few strategies, you can find the right adviser for your nonprofit.

Let’s take a look at six strategies you can use to start your search on the right foot.

  1. Set up clear and actionable goals.
  2. Determine what services you need.
  3. Find a firm with annual fund experience.
  4. Work with a consultant that can connect often.
  5. Consider the cost of a consultant.
  6. Narrow down your picks and request proposals.

If you’re looking for more strategies to improve your annual fund, check out this helpful guide.

How to pick a nonprofit consultant for your annual fund - Set up clear and actionable goals

1. Set up clear and actionable goals.

Before you can start searching for the right nonprofit consulting firm, you need to come up with your goals. Your goals can be anything from a timeline of when you want to have a nonprofit consultant hired to what you want to achieve once you hire someone. Create as many goals as you need to create a clear picture of what you want to gain. 

Goals are important because they not only help you see what you’re trying to achieve, but they also help your fundraising consultant figure out the best solution. If you can’t give your adviser a clear idea of what you want, he or she doesn’t know what direction to take.

Setting goals helps you point out the areas in your fundraising you need help with and gives your nonprofit consultant somewhere to start when coming up with solutions.

While improving your annual fund may be your overall goal, it’s not specific enough. If you want assistance that’s tailored to your nonprofit, you’ll need to be as detailed as possible.

To figure out your goals, you should start by determining where you need the most support. Your nonprofit may need help:

  • Honing in on what makes supporters give.
  • Creating a plan for your year-end fundraising.
  • Writing an impactful appeal.
  • Finding unique ways to interact with donors.

The important part is to figure out where you need the most help so that the professional can focus on those areas.

The takeaway: Goals set the groundwork for what you need. They give you more than just a way to measure success. Goals help your nonprofit consultant figure out what direction to take so that you can reach the best possible outcome.

How to pick a nonprofit consultant for your annual fund - Determine what services you need

2. Determine what services you need.

Now that you’ve got your goals, it’s time to assess how a nonprofit consulting firm can help you. By knowing what services you need, you can narrow down your choice to those that only offer what you need. In order to know what services you want, it’s important to know what a fundraising consultant can do.

That way, when you do hire someone, you can both start your project on the same page and with the same expectations.

In general, every firm offers slightly different services. We’ll cover some of the nonprofit consulting services you can expect to see among most firms:

  • Conduct research on your donors’ giving behaviors.
  • Create fundraising strategies.
  • Assist you with hiring nonprofit professionals.
  • Motivate and educate your staff on all things concerning fundraising.

In addition to the services mentioned above, many consulting firms specialize in a particular aspect of fundraising. For instance, digital fundraising consultants can design and develop customized fundraising solutions to meet your nonprofit’s needs.

Let’s say your organization is using Luminate, a fundraising tool created by Blackbaud; you might hire a digital consultant to customize your Luminate system to help track and market matching gifts to boost your annual fund.

Once you have a better idea of what a consultant firm can offer, you can start figuring out which services align best with your needs. You may need just one service or a combination of all that the firm has to offer.

The takeaway: The more you know about what a nonprofit consultant offers, the better idea you’ll have about whether or not you need their services.

How to pick a nonprofit consultant for your annual fund - Find a firm with annual fund experience

3. Find a firm with previous annual fund experience.

While a nonprofit consultant can’t guarantee you success, working with someone that has previous experience planning annual fund strategies gives you a higher chance of having positive results.

We’ll take a look at three things that your fundraising consultant should be knowledgeable in.

A. Matching gift programs.

As you are probably aware, matching gift programs can help you double your donations. Matched giving requires a lot of promotion and education in order to encourage donors to submit a request to their employer.

You want to hire a fundraising consultant that has prior experience working with the various matching gift programs.

If you choose a nonprofit consulting firm that already has knowledge on this subject, they can help you figure out how to best incorporate matching gifts into your appeals. They might even be able to suggest different services that can help make matching gift promotion easier.

B. Online donation software.

Optimizing your online donation forms is key if you want to encourage donors to participate in recurring giving and gift matching. Find a fundraising consultant that can suggest online donation form best practices.

Additionally, you want to find a firm that is familiar with donor abandonment and how to avoid it. The more your consultant knows about donors’ giving behaviors, the better he or she can guide you on how to make your forms better.

C. Unique ideas for communicating with supporters.

You should look for a nonprofit consultant who can offer you a new perspective on how to approach your annual fund.

For instance, if your nonprofit’s past annual fund communications have been largely through direct mail, in-person events, and phone calls, you could consider bringing someone on with a background in online marketing and fundraising to give your next campaign a new edge. The consultant could help coach you through a complete digital strategy from email to social media.

Essentially, you want to find a consultant who can help you both improve upon what you’re already doing and add new skills and approaches to your repertoire.

With new ideas, your consultant can help you discover different, unique ways to communicate with donors and build those long-lasting relationships. Ultimately, lasting relationships with your supporters will help motive them to give regularly.

The takeaway: When you find someone with the right skills and prior knowledge on annual funds, you don’t have to spend time explaining concepts and can start working on solutions right away.

How to pick a nonprofit consultant for your annual fund - Work with a consultant that can connect often

4. Work with a consultant who can connect often.

Communication is key to working successfully with a nonprofit consulting firm. Establishing communication from the beginning means that there will be less confusion later.

Connecting often with a consultant is important because your nonprofit can:

  • Get regular updates on your annual fund plan and strategies.
  • Communicate your concerns promptly so that the consultant can make changes early on.
  • Explain all your needs and what you hope to achieve.

Depending on your nonprofit consulting needs, you may want to choose a local consultant.

Finding a local fundraising consulting firm will help to ensure that you both are familiar with your nonprofit’s donor community and outreach.

This regional bond can help your nonprofit feel more comfortable with a fundraising consultant and spend more time developing in-depth strategies that target your local demographic’s needs and interests.

That being said, finding a firm that’s close by isn’t always feasible. Plus, remote nonprofit consultants present their own strengths that can be extremely beneficial.

Since remote consultants won’t have the luxury of dropping by your office at the drop of a hat, they’re more likely to stay on schedule (and ensure that your nonprofit does, too!). Additionally, remote consultants can bring a fresh perspective and a different frame of reference to the table.

If you’re considering nonprofit consulting firms that are further away, always make a note to ask them how they communicate with their clients. For instance, having the majority of interactions via email might not be the most ideal approach seeing as some messages might get misinterpreted or overlooked.

Instead, make the effort to have more direct communications with non-local firms through regular phone or video chat sessions.

It’s also a good idea to meet with your nonprofit consulting firm in person as often as you can, especially early in the process so that you can clearly explain all your needs and gain a solid understanding of what plan they have in place for your nonprofit.

The takeaway: Connecting regularly with your nonprofit consultant is important because it allows you to know immediately how things are going to be planned. Plus, you can voice your concerns as soon as they arise.

How to pick a nonprofit consultant for your annual fund - Consider the cost of a consultant

5. Consider how much a consultant will cost.

Not every nonprofit consulting firm will cost the same, and there are no set guidelines on how a consultant is paid. Some may charge by the hour or day while others may charge per project. Additionally, you might be charged food, travel, hotel fees, and other expenses. It all depends on the firm that you decided to work with.

As you consider the price of a nonprofit consultant, ask yourself what’s most important. Do you want: 

  • Someone that meshes well with your nonprofit’s culture?
  • A consultant with lots of experience handling similar nonprofits?
  • A firm that can offer creative and unique suggestions for your annual fund strategy?

Once you’ve figured out what is crucial for your nonprofit, you can start to narrow down your options. Perhaps paying a little extra for the skills and characteristics you need won’t seem like such a bad thing in the long run.

The takeaway: The cost of a fundraising consultant is inevitable; make sure that you get the best return on your investment. Consider what services or skills you want from your firm and then compare prices.

How to pick a nonprofit consultant for your annual fund - Narrow down your picks and request a proposal

6. Narrow down your selection and request a proposal.

Before you make your final choice, it’s a good idea to request a proposal or ask your top firms to pitch their suggestions. A proposal will give you a better idea of what each nonprofit consulting firm suggests you do to improve your annual fund. In other words, it will give you a taste of what to expect.

The proposal can be a formal, in-person presentation or a document that firms send to you with their suggestions. Either way, you should request the same type of proposal from all your top picks to be consistent.

When you request your pitches, give the nonprofit consultant some time to really come up with solutions. If you give them too little time, they’re likely going to send you general pitches that aren’t specific to your nonprofit’s needs. Give them at least 3 weeks to submit their solutions.

After every firm turns in their proposal or presents their pitch, take some time to consider every firms’ suggestions. As you take each one into consideration, make sure you ask the following questions:

  • Did the firm offer you solutions specific to your nonprofit’s goals?
  • Were they confident in their solutions?
  • Did they offer any statistics to back up their suggestions?

Of course, you can add to this list with other questions that are important to you.

Now it’s time to make your choice! Use all the information you’ve gained about each firm to help you decide which one is best for you.

The takeaway: Requesting a pitch is one way to get a better understanding of what each nonprofit consultant suggests your nonprofit do to improve your annual fund. Use this step as a way to narrow down your options and pick the best solution.


With these tips, you can start searching for the fundraising consulting firm that best fits your needs. Look for a firm that meshes well with your nonprofit’s culture and has prior experience working with similar organizations.

If you would like to learn more about hiring a fundraising consultant, check out these helpful resources: 

  1. 11 Top Fundraising ConsultantsNow that you’ve got tips to help you hire a fundraising consultant, it’s time to start your search. Check out this list of our top consultants.
  2. Top 10 Fundraising Consulting Firms As you begin looking, you might realize that not every consultant offers the same services. Check out these consulting firms to find one that meets all your organization’s needs.
  3. Nonprofit Fundraising IdeasLooking for more ways to boost your annual fund? Get our full list of fundraising ideas to help you raise even more funds this year!
  4. Nonprofit Tools and Best Practices. In addition to consultant tips, 501 Commons provides resources that every nonprofit organization can take advantage of. Check out what they have to say about choosing a consultant, plus more.
  5. Top Fundraising Consultants in Ohio and IndianaIf you think that hiring a local consultant is the best option for your nonprofit, check out our list of consultants located in the Midwest.

In this guide, you’ll discover more than 10 online fundraising ideas to bring in revenue for your nonprofit.

10+ Online Fundraising Ideas: Raise Money in the Digital Age

We all know that online fundraising is quickly taking the nonprofit world by storm. More people than ever are making their charitable contributions via online avenues. That’s why we’ve compiled 11 of the best online fundraising ideas that can help your nonprofit raise more money in the digital age!

Here’s what we’ll be covering:

  1. Crowdfunding
  2. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
  3. Matching Gift Drive
  4. T-Shirt Fundraising
  5. Gift Card Fundraisers
  6. Online Donation Forms [Free or Paid]
  7. Online Giving Days
  8. Text-to-Give Campaign
  9. Online Auctions/a>
  10. Viral Fundraising Campaign
  11. Online Cashback Websites
  12. Donation for a Vote

Tools mentioned:

Let’s take a look at each of these online fundraising ideas in more detail.

Online Fundraising Idea #1: Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is proving to be one of the most popular ways for nonprofits and individuals alike to raise money for causes, projects, or events that they care about.

For those new to the term, crowdfunding essentially makes use of a nonprofit’s or individual’s existing network of supporters, friends, family members, coworkers, peers, and even acquaintances.

Nonprofits and individuals can set up crowdfunding pages and then share those pages on social media sites and via email.

A typical nonprofit crowdfunding page looks like this:

Fundly's crowdfunding pages make online fundraising quick and simple.

Most crowdfunding platforms allow nonprofits to:

  • Upload images and videos.
  • Write a detailed description.
  • Post updates and comments.
  • Share the campaign across social media sites and email.
  • Set up giving levels or tiers.
  • Send out automatic acknowledgements to donors.
  • Track metrics like number of donors, average donation amount, and total amount raised.

If you want to make the most of your nonprofit’s crowdfunding campaign, follow these best practices:

  1. Interact with your supporters: Your donors want to know how your online fundraising campaign is going! Keep them in the loop by posting updates and responding to their comments on your crowdfunding page.
  2. Post at least 4 photos or videos: Media gives your donors some context and allows them to see exactly what they’re donating to. Make sure that your photos look professional and highlight the people, animals, or communities that your nonprofit serves.
  3. Set up giving levels: Including donation tiers or giving levels on your campaign page allows donors to select the one that they prefer. To create an even bigger impact, you can list out the specific actions that your nonprofit can accomplish with each donation amount.

Main Takeaway: Crowdfunding is one of the best online fundraising ideas for nonprofits. Most crowdfunding platforms enable you to get up and running in just a few minutes, and you can start raising money from your supporters in no time!

Bonus: Start your crowdfunding campaign today!

Online Fundraising Idea #2: Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising or virtual events are a type of fundraising that many nonprofits pair with fundraising events like walkathons, marathons, and in-person events that need to be transitioned to virtual.

Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns typically follow this structure:

  1. A nonprofit sets a goal, determines a timeline, and plans a peer-to-peer event.
  2. The nonprofit reaches out to loyal supporters and asks them if they want to participate in the fundraiser.
  3. If supporters are willing to participate, they then set up their own online fundraising pages (with the nonprofit’s help). These individual pages link up to the nonprofit’s main peer-to-peer fundraising page.
  4. Individuals reach out to their networks to ask for donations on the nonprofit’s behalf.
  5. Supporters’ friends and family members make donations via the individual’s peer-to-peer fundraising page.
  6. The nonprofit collects the donations, acknowledges and thanks supporters and donors, and hosts the (typically active) event.

This individual peer-to-peer fundraising page is linked to the nonprofit’s primary fundraising page.

This peer-to-peer campaign follows a few best practices that we’re a huge fan of:

  1. They include several images: Both the nonprofit’s main page and the individual’s campaign page have images and videos that allow supporters to see exactly what their donations are going toward.
  2. They describe what the contributions will help accomplish: Each page highlights the need for homes and volunteer time in Austin. Both pages have giving tiers that describe what a donation amount will be able to buy. For example, $300 will buy a stove, while $500 will buy a roof.
  3. Each description is detailed: A good peer-to-peer campaign description is the key to encouraging people to donate to your cause. Without it, people won’t know why you’re raising money! This campaign has listed out the reasons for fundraising and lets people know why building homes in Austin is important.

Main Takeaway: Peer-to-peer fundraising is a type of online fundraising that enables your nonprofit to raise more money and acquire more donors. As your supporters reach out to their networks, your nonprofit can introduce more people to your cause and mission.

Bonus: Check out the top priorities you should be looking at as you evaluate the various peer-to-peer fundraising platforms!

Online Fundraising Idea #3: Matching Gift Drive

Take online giving one step further by encouraging your donors to search for the matching gift programs for which they might be eligible. Companies of all sizes will often match (or more than match) their employees’ donations to nonprofit organizations!

There are even useful tools you can embed directly onto your websites or campaign emails. Here’s how the National Audobon Society incorporated a user-friendly search tools directly into their ways to give page:

Check out how the National Audobon Society incorporated matching gifts tools into their site.

For a fundraising campaign, create some buzz by asking a local company or major donor to match donations made on a particular day. Time sensitive drive campaigns work well because they create urgency, a good motivator for supporters. Plus, since each donation goes twice as far, donors will be more likely to participate.

Best of all, and unlike ongoing corporate matching gift programs that apply to eligible employees, matching gift drives don’t have restrictions on who can participate!

The key to a prosperous matching gift drive is promotion. Get the most people to participate by sending emails to your donors on the days leading up to the event. 

Social media is also an effective place to promote your online fundraiser. If your museum is running a matching gift drive, for example, you can publish posts on Facebook and Twitter that tell donors any tickets purchased or contributions made during your drive will be doubled by your sponsor.

Also, let donors know about the many ways they can contribute. Provide your donors convenient ways to give, such as:

  • Donation pages.
  • Text-to-give.
  • Mobile-responsive forms.
  • Crowdfunding pages.

The more fundraising options donors have, the more likely they are to make a donation.

Additionally, if you’re hosting a giving day, but only accept donations through a form on your website, this limits the number of people that can contribute to your cause. 

Always ensure that you have a variety of ways to collect donations before launching your matching gift drive.

Main Takeaway: Knowing that their gifts will double for a limited time is a great motivator for donors. Use that knowledge to your advantage and host a matching gift drive.

Bonus:  For matching gifts year-round, check out another example of how Mercy Corps helps their supporters determine if their employer matches donations on their branded matching gifts page from Double the Donation.

Online Fundraising Idea #4: T-Shirt Fundraising

Another effective way for nonprofits to fundraise online is by selling t-shirts. Your nonprofit can deisgn t-shirts as merchandise for your organization and sell them online to your supporters.

T-shirt fundraisers are a fun, engaging way to raise money for your nonprofit because they allow supporters to show their love for your organization while still getting something back in return.

For supporters who many not be able to donate as much as they would like due to financial limitations, t-shirt fundraisers offer them the opportunity to contribute to your cause without breaking the bank.

Your nonprofit can get started by promoting t-shirt sales in conjunction with different fundraising campaigns. For example, you might sell holiday-themed t-shirts during year-end giving to capitalize on the seasonal spirit.

Even further, the t-shirts you sell can double as marketing materials for your nonprofit’s brand. When people see their friends wearing your organization’s shirts, they may get inspired to start contributing to your nonprofit.

T-shirt fundraising is a great way to raise money quickly.

When choosing an online host for your t-shirt fundraising initiative, select one that:

  • Offers plenty of t-shirt customization options.
  • Allows you to upload original designs for your shirts.
  • Gives you the freedom to set your own t-shirt prices.
  • Charges a low-overhead fee so you can keep more of your profits.
  • Gives you the ability to customize your nonprofit’s t-shirt sales page.

As your organization starts selling t-shirts, remember that customization is key! Supporters are more likely to buy your organization’s shirts if they feel the product (and sales process) reflects the brand they have come to know and love.

Bonus: Learn more about selling t-shirts to raise money for your nonprofit with Bonfire!

Online Fundraising Idea #5: Gift Card Fundraisers

What if you could raise money by having supporters do something they were probably going to do anyway? Gift card fundraising is an innovative way to bring in revenue online, and it’s convenient for supporters because they get to contribute to your cause simply by buying a gift card for a friend or family member.

Digital gift cards tend to work best for these types of fundraisers, as they can be delivered to supporters’ inboxes within minutes of their purchase. Then, supporters can forward their email to the loved one they want to give the card to as a gift.

Every time someone buys a gift card through your fundraiser, a percentage of the sale automatically goes back to your nonprofit. The exact amount varies depending on the retailer who provided the gift card, but it’s often around 5.5%. However, these contributions add up over time to make a major difference for your organization!

To launch a gift card fundraiser through a gift card fundraising platform (like ShopRaise), follow these three easy steps:

This is a screenshot of the landing page for ShopRaise's gift card fundraiser, a convenient online fundraising idea.

  1. Register your organization. The experts who run your fundraising platform will walk you through a simple onboarding process, answer any questions you may have, and provide the app your supporters will use to purchase their gift cards.
  2. Spread the word. Marketing is essential to a successful gift card fundraiser. Leverage all of the communication channels your nonprofit uses to make supporters aware of your fundraiser and provide instructions for getting started. The platform you partner with may be able to provide some marketing materials to help you with this step.
  3. Track results. Your organization’s dashboard will display real-time fundraising data to help you thank your top supporters individually and encourage them to continue buying gift cards to support your cause.

Consider starting your gift card fundraiser at a time of year when people are likely to be buying a lot of gifts. For instance, you could launch in November to prepare for the holiday season or in April as your supporters start thinking about Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, peak wedding season, and upcoming graduations. Just make sure to leave your fundraiser open year-round so supporters can buy gift cards for their loved ones’ birthdays in between these busy seasons.

Main takeaway: Gift card fundraisers are an easy virtual idea that can be run year-round. They’re free for your organization to launch and convenient for supporters as they can contribute to your cause by buying gift cards they were going to purchase anyway.

Bonus: Explore the ins and outs of gift card fundraising with ShopRaise!

Online Fundraising Idea #6: Online Donation Forms

One of the most traditional ways to raise money online is through the tried-and-true online donation form. In many cases, donation forms allow you to brand your page and create special fields to capture specific, related information.

Best of all, online donation forms can be mobile-friendly so even more of your supporters have access. 

Since there are many customization capabilities available, your organization can create a form that is completely unique to your brand.

There are many vendors available that offer both free donation forms and paid donation forms.

Here is an example of what your online donation form could look like:

Optimized online donation forms are key to success in digital fundraising.

As you can see, the Water Project does a lot of great things with their donation form:

  • First, the donation form has preset giving buttons, making it easy for the donor to choose a gift amount.
  • Secondly, donors have the option to set recurring gifts.
  • Last, the option to share contributions on Facebook and Twitter is predominantly displayed.

All these features not only help boost your awareness and funds, but they also make the giving process convenient for your donors.

Of course, if your organization wants all of these features (and more!), you’ll have to choose an excellent fundraising software provider.

Look for a vendor that has a responsive technical support team and an easy-to-use interface; you shouldn’t have to be an expert in CSS and HTML to create a professional-looking form. With a simple donation form builder, your organization should be able to drag and drop the elements you want to use and customize them to fit your needs.

If you’re using a fully customizable platform, you’ll be able to create a form that is unique to your organization or recruit a technology consultant who can design a form catered to your needs.

When creating your online donation forms, be considerate of your donors’ time and keep your donations quick and simple.

Main Takeaway: Creating a convenient and beautifully designed donation page starts with finding the right software. Find a provider that offers the features that will make donating quick and easy.

Online Fundraising Idea #7: Online Giving Days

The most common online giving day is #GivingTuesday, a national day of charitable giving started a few years ago by the 92nd Street Y in New York.

While your nonprofit might already participate in #GivingTuesday, that doesn’t mean that you can’t organize your own online giving day for your supporters!

Just so we’re clear, an online giving day is a 24-hour period where a nonprofit tries to raise as much money as possible from its supporters.

An online giving day has to have a lot of digital promotion and advertising to make it effective. Reach out to your supporters:

  • With emails.
  • Over social media.
  • Via text message.
  • On your website.
  • With videos.

These digital outreach methods should contain information about your giving day such as the time, ways to donate, what the funds will go toward, and how supporters can get more involved.

Here’s an example of an animal nonprofit that promotes #GivingTuesday on Twitter:

Of course, Twitter has character limitations, so this tweet had to be short and sweet. Your other digital promotions for your giving day can go a bit more in-depth and include more specific information about your online fundraiser.

Whatever route you take, make sure that you explain what the funds are going toward and provide supporters with a link to your online donation page.

Main Takeaway: An online giving day can be an energetic and fast-paced way to raise money for your cause. Electrify your donor base with lots of digital promotions and encourage them to give as much as they can in just 24 hours!

Bonus: Take a look at these #GivingTuesday promotional resources.

Online Fundraising Idea 7: Text-to-Give Campaign

Text-to-give came on the scene as a digital fundraising method in 2010 when millions of dollars were donated to the American Red Cross to support victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Since then, text-to-give (or text-to-tithe for churches) has become a mainstream way to raise money for any organization or cause!

Today, text-to-give tends to work like this:

  1. A donor will text a keyword to a specific number that has been assigned to a nonprofit.
  2. The donor will receive a link as a text message.
  3. The link takes the donors to a mobile-responsive donation page where they can make a contribution.

It’s that easy!

When choosing a text-to-give tool, look for a provider that is PCI-compliant, which means the company follows strict rules to ensure a high level of security.

Ease of use and integration are also vital characteristics to look for in a text-to-give tool. You want the giving process to be quick and simple for donors as well as have a way to export data to your CRM.

Many nonprofits, schools, and churches use text-to-give technology as an online fundraising avenue throughout the year, but it’s also a popular donation method during fundraising events. One of your speakers can make a live appeal and ask people to give with their cellphones (all of your attendees will likely have their phones in their pockets or purses!).

Main Takeaway: Text-to-give is quickly becoming one of the most popular online fundraising ideas. Don’t get left behind by this fundraising trend!

Bonus: Check out the ultimate guide to text-to-give.

Online Fundraising Idea #9: Online Auctions

Online auctions are essentially digital silent auctions that are more cost-effective and are open to all your supporters, increasing fundraising potential even more.

For your digital venue, you can opt to use auction software or an online marketplace like eBay to host your online auction. 

Just like with any charity auction, you’ll need to procure items and experiences that excite your guests and encourage them to place bids.

Look for unique items that your guests won’t be able to find anywhere else. Look at the following suggestions to help you get started:

    • Sports memorabilia.
    • Backstage passes to a concert.
    • Tickets to an exclusive museum exhibit.
    • And so much more!

Generate excitement before your event by creating an auction catalog with images and a description of each item (or experience) and teach registered guests how to place bids to prepare them for the big day. Plus, with dedicated auction software (like OneCause) you can track the progress of your online auctions in real time:

Online charity auctions make it easy to engage your donors and raise funds.

Main Takeaway: Online auctions make it possible for supporters from all over the world to participate and are cost-effective so that you can raise the most money from your event.

Online Fundraising Idea #10: Viral Fundraising Campaign

You’ve likely heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, but you may not know just how successful that particular viral fundraising campaign was.

In just a month and a half, the ALS Association was able to raise $115 million (and tons of awareness!) for ALS research by asking people to pour cold water on their heads.

Another example of a viral fundraising campaign is “Movember.” For this viral campaign, men grow out their facial hair during the month of November and make donations in support of men’s health.

These are just two of the many viral fundraising campaigns that nonprofits have started. Why not start your own?

Keep these tips in mind before trying to launch a viral fundraising campaign. And remember, it might take a few months or even more than a year for your campaign to go truly viral.

  1. Don’t ask for too much. You aren’t going to receive a ton of donations if you ask for $500 every time. Instead, ask people for small contributions like $5, $10, or $20. Once a campaign goes viral, all of those little donations will add up!
  2. Create a memorable hashtag. Hashtags help group your social media posts and make your nonprofit’s message easier to find on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Create a memorable and punchy hashtag. Use it in all of your social media posts and encourage your supporters to use it, as well!
  3. Get to the point. A viral campaign has to be focused and targeted. It’s not the time to explain every single detail of your nonprofit’s mission. Instead, boil down your vision to a few key points and use them interchangeably throughout the duration of your campaign.
  4. Make use of all of your digital channels. Post on Facebook. Tweet out a promotional message. Snap a picture and post it to Instagram. Start a Pinterest board. Send out emails. Use every digital communications channel at your disposal!

Main Takeaway: It might take time to get a viral fundraising campaign off the ground, but if you can do it, your nonprofit’s mission and vision will be made known to supporters across the country and even around the world!

Online Fundraising Idea #11: Online Cashback Websites

Online cashback sites can be used by nonprofits as well as individuals who are looking to raise a little extra money while doing something that nearly everyone loves: shopping online!

Let’s break down how most online cashback websites work:

  1. Someone in your nonprofit needs to buy office supplies or something else online.
  2. The staff member begins their search for office supplies at an online cashback site.
  3. Once the items have been purchased, a percentage of the total amount is deposited into a cashback account.
  4. Your nonprofit can withdraw the cashback amount at regular intervals (typically monthly or quarterly).

Common cashback sites include:

 

While cashback sites aren’t going to help your nonprofit break any fundraising records, they are an easy way to raise more money from online shopping. Signing up for most of these cashback sites is easy, and everyone in your nonprofit can participate!

Main Takeaway: Online cashback sites can supplement your existing fundraising efforts. If your staff does a lot of online shopping, sites like Ebates and Amazon can be an easy way to raise extra funds!

Online Fundraising Idea #12: Donation for a Vote

The donation for a vote online fundraising idea gets your supporters engaged in a silly challenge in return for their contributions.

Here’s how this fundraiser works:

  1. Create a list of silly challenges that your staff or volunteers are willing to complete.
  2. Create a poll, asking your supporters to vote (with a donation) for the challenge they’d like to see your team complete.
  3. At the end of the poll, record your team completing whatever challenge received the most votes and post it on social media.

The challenges you pick should be interesting and if possible, related to your cause in some way.

In the video, thank your supporters for their contributions, and mention how the funds will be used to further your cause.

Supporters will get a kick out of seeing you do a silly task, and you’ll raise more money for your cause!

Not only will donors like seeing a hilarious video, but they’ll also appreciate that you want their opinion and input. Plus, supporters will encourage their peers to vote so they can see their favorite challenge win. 

Main Takeaway: Donation for a vote is a fun (and potentially viral) way to raise money for your cause. Makes sure to choose your challenges and continue to encourage your supporters to vote.


We hope that these online fundraising ideas have inspired you to go out and try some different fundraising techniques.

For more ideas and tips, check out these helpful resources:

  • 80+ Fundraising IdeasCouldn’t find what you were looking for with our online fundraising ideas? Check out our full list of ideas. You’re sure to find the perfect fundraiser for your cause!
  • Church Fundraising IdeasIf you’re looking for ways to raise money for churches and other faith-based organizations, we’ve got a list of ideas that will help you reach your goals.
  • School Fundraising IdeasSchools need to find family-friendly ways to raise money and engage their students. Check out this list of top ideas from Fundly to get started!
  • Top Online Donation Tools. If you want to start fundraising online, you’ll need software to accept donations. Use this list of top tools to find online donation software for your organization!

Check out our 13 tips to avoid mistakes when choosing a donor database.

Choosing a Donor Database: 13 Tips to Avoid Mistakes

With so many platforms and vendors out there, choosing the right donor database for your nonprofit is no easy feat.

But when you consider how crucial your donor database is to the success of your operations, it couldn’t be more important to choose the right one.

With the right platform on your side, you’ll be able to get a comprehensive picture of your donors and more efficiently manage your efforts to see better fundraising results.

Unfortunately, many nonprofits go into the buying process unprepared. Without having done their research and knowing the right questions to ask, these organizations fall into many mistakes that can hurt their operations and limit their success.

Luckily, these mistakes are completely avoidable if you know what to expect when shopping for a new nonprofit CRM.

To prevent you from falling into the same traps, we’ll take you through the top 13 tips to keep you from making mistakes when choosing a donor database:

  1. Don’t shop for the wrong type of software.
  2. Put thought into your reasons for buying.
  3. Select a platform that supports all of the users you need.
  4. Find a platform that has room to accommodate all of your constituents.
  5. Give your organization room to grow.
  6. Choose a platform that supports all of the necessary functionalities.
  7. Make sure the database can be integrated with the necessary third-party platforms.
  8. Explicitly ask about price.
  9. Make sure your platform doesn’t require difficult data migration.
  10. Your platform must be secure.
  11. The platform should come with enough training.
  12. Make sure your organization will receive sufficient support.
  13. Consult a second opinion.

By the time we’re done, you’ll be prepared to pick the perfect donor database. Let’s get started!

Need a refresher on buying software? Check out Salsa’s infographic before diving in.
Don't shop for the wrong type of donor database for your organization.

Donor Database Tip #1: Don’t shop for the wrong type of software.

Fortunately for nonprofits everywhere, there are tons of different fundraising software solutions to help organizations optimize the fundraising process.

Unfortunately, this multiplicity only complicates the buying process.

When shopping for a new nonprofit donor database, you’ll first want to make sure that a donor database is actually the type of software you need.

To refresh, nonprofits use donor databases to house all of the important information they receive about their donors throughout the span of the donor’s’ relationship with the organization.

You can track virtually anything, like:

  • Biographical information and demographics
  • Contact information
  • Households and relationships
  • Donation and volunteer history
  • Interests and affinities
  • And much more!

Donor databases allow organizations to track all donor data centrally, so all data sources can communicate with each other to give nonprofits a 360° view of their donors.

All different types of nonprofits rely on databases to keep track of constituent information and daily operations. There are general, all-purpose nonprofit databases as well as specialized, industry-specific solutions such as museum management tools or camp databases. If your nonprofit has highly specific needs, make sure you search for software that supports those goals!

For all nonprofits, creating a centralized system for storing all of the information you collect from donors and other supporters is one of the first steps to developing more targeted fundraising and engagement strategies. Learn more about what goes into effective data management by reading this post from DNL OmniMedia.

The takeaway: There are many different types of fundraising software out there. If you’re shopping for a donor database, make sure it’s the best solution to fit your needs.

Put though into your organization's reasons for buying a donor database.

Donor Database Tip #2: Put thought into your reasons for buying.

If you’re considering a new donor database, it’s probably because your organization needs a change.

Maybe you’re limited by the incomplete insights you’ve been receiving from housing your donor data in multiple platforms.

Maybe you’re tired of wasting so many man hours cleaning up your data.

Maybe you’re already using a platform that’s too expensive, and you just want something a little more affordable.

Point is, there are many reasons why nonprofits shop for a new (or their first!) donor database.

While we couldn’t possibly list out all of the reasons organizations shop for new software, here are a few of the most common:

  • To gain a more complete understanding of their donors.
  • To achieve more efficient or seamless operations.
  • To free up staff time.
  • To better organize their data.
  • To better oversee staff and volunteer efforts.
  • To switch to a platform that’s easier to use.
  • To upgrade to a platform that’s larger or more scalable.
  • To switch to a platform with a more comprehensive feature set.
  • To find a platform with better support or training.
  • To change to a platform that’s more cost-effective.

While all platforms will provide similar benefits, some platforms will be better at providing certain functionalities than others.

That’s why it’s important to determine exactly why you’re shopping for a new nonprofit CRM. That way, you can make sure that the platform you end up buying actually aligns with your reasons for shopping.

The takeaway: Going into the buying process aware of why you’re shopping will ensure that your organization finds a solution that can address the areas you’d most like to improve.

Select a donor database platform that supports all the users you need.

Donor Database Tip #3: Select a platform that supports all of the users you need.

To accommodate nonprofits of all sizes, donor database vendors usually price their software partially based off of how many people can use it.

Unfortunately, many organizations go into the buying process unaware of this fact and end up buying a solution that can’t support all of the users they need.

That means at least one important staff member won’t have access to all of the tools and information required to help them do their job as well as possible, limiting the greater success of the organization.

Luckily, this mistake is super easy to avoid. All you need to do is determine how many staff members will be using the software before you buy. This way, you can select an interface that gives you the right number of users for your organization, like DonorPerfect:

Make sure your platform can handle all of the necessary users.

While some organizations with small staffs only need access for one or two users, large organizations might need a platform that supports dozens. It all depends on the needs and makeup of your organization.

The takeaway: Don’t buy a solution only to find out that all of the necessary staff members don’t have access to it. Think about how many users you’ll need from the beginning to find a donor database that’s the perfect size for your organization.

Find a donor database platform that has the room to accommodate all of your constituents.

Donor Database Tip #4: Find a platform that has room to accommodate all of your constituents.

The price of donor databases is also usually influenced by the number of constituent profiles that it allows.

And it makes sense! Nonprofit donor databases are donor-centric, so it’s only natural that their price would be determined by the number of donors they can accommodate.

As such, you’ll want to check (and double check!) that the nonprofit CRM you’re considering can hold the entirety of your donor base.

If not, you won’t be able to track all of your donors’ important information, leaving you with little to no insight into a portion of your base.

Check out DonorPerfect’s donor database software to see what a comprehensive product looks like for your constituent profiles. Below you’ll see a list of donor profiles:

Make sure you can accommodate all of the constituents your organization has in your donor database.

Considering that one of the main benefits of using a donor database is to give your organization the most complete picture of your donors available, buying a platform that’s too small would totally defeat the purpose of buying new software.

The takeaway: Find a platform that’s the right size for you so that all of your donors will be housed comfortably in your new donor database.

Give your organization room to grow within your donor database.

Donor Database Tip #5: Give your organization room to grow.

On that note, when determining how many supporter profiles your new nonprofit CRM should hold, you’ll also want to look towards the future.

Chances are, your nonprofit is growing and changing quickly. And with the help of your new donor database, your growth should skyrocket!

Your donor database shouldn’t just support the number of donor profiles you have right now; it should also give you room to grow.

Buying a scalable solution ensures that you can continue accommodating all of the new donor information you receive as your base expands. If you buy a solution that’s too limited, you’ll only be buying a new donor database sooner.

However, be wary. While you want to dream big, you also don’t want to buy a solution that’s too large, or else you’ll be wasting money on something you don’t need.

The takeaway: When determining how many donor profiles your new database should support, consider the foreseeable future. You’ll want to strike the perfect balance by finding a solution that can grow with you but that still fits your current needs.

Choose a donor database platform that supports all of the necessary functionalities.

Donor Database Tip #6: Choose a platform that supports all of the necessary functionalities.

While most donor databases will have a similar set of basic functionalities, some are more comprehensive or specialized than others.

Because features vary from platform to platform, you’ll need to determine whether or not the provider you’re considering has all of the functionalities you need to execute your efforts.

For example, if you’re buying software with the main goal of making your operations more efficient, you’ll want to find a donor database with as many automated features as possible, such as generating donation receipts after supporters submit their donations online.

In addition to automation features, to get the most out of your CRM, you should look for the following capabilities:

  • Detailed constituent profiles. Not only is it important for you to track a donor’s basic information and past giving history. To get a complete picture of each donor, you should be able to add custom fields to your profiles to track a donor’s interests and past interactions with your nonprofit.
  • Gift management and custom webforms. When you have a CRM that can process donations and build forms, you don’t have to worry about transferring your donor data; it will already be integrated with your donor database.
  • Email Communications. Collecting donor data can be used to improve your communications and provide donors with the most relevant information. With that said, having the ability to send out mass and automated emails through your CRM can make the process seamless. For instance, your segmented list of donors can easily be linked to your automated communications so that you can send targeted emails.
  • Reporting and analyticsAnother piece of your CRM should be focused on analyzing the data from your donor profiles and donation forms to provide you with reports on giving habits, as well as preferred donation methods. This information can help you improve your online fundraising efforts. Check out Salsa’s reports:

Check out Salsa's reports.

If the base platform you’re considering doesn’t have all of the functionalities you need, these gaps can often be addressed by compounding your donor database with expansions.

Expansions simply refer to other software solutions that have been developed by the same vendor and, as such, are easily integrated with your donor database.

For example, because Salsa specializes in CRMs, they provide excellent donor management software that can be integrated with your CRM to provide a more comprehensive set of features.

Whether you’re supplementing your donor database with expansions or just need the base software, make sure that your platform of choice will support all of the features you need.

If not, it’s time to look at a different solution!

The takeaway: Buy a donor database that has all of the required features so you can most effectively manage your fundraising efforts.

Make sure the donor database can be integrated with the necessary third-party platforms.

Donor Database Tip #7: Make sure the platform can be integrated with the necessary third party platform.

If the platform you’re looking at doesn’t have all of the features you need, you might still be able to supply those features with integrations.

Integrations are similar to expansions in that they can be added onto your donor database to provide additional functionality.

The only difference is that these platforms that have been developed by a third-party vendor, so incorporating them into your donor database might prove a little more difficult.

Some common donor database integrations include:

  • Matching gift services
  • Accounting
  • Email marketing
  • Social media management
  • Wealth screening and prospect research services

Make sure that your donor database can support any integrations you need to fill in the features you’re missing.

If you’re already using a third-party platform to supply these missing functionalities, this will be as simple as asking your vendor if the software can integrate with your current platform.

Check out Salsa Labs’ donor database integrations with both Double the Donation’s matching gift tools below:

Check out Salsa's integration with Double the Donation's tools.

Salsa integrates with DonorSearch’s prospect research tools, too:

Check out Salsa's integration with DonorSearch.

It will be much more difficult (and potentially detrimental to your operations) if it turns out that the third-party platform you’re using isn’t integratable with your new donor database.

Switching to a new platform will require more data transfer and time, since you’ll have to learn a new interface. In other words, it will only detract from your fundraising efforts.

The takeaway: Your new donor database should support all of the integrations you need to provide all of the features that will set you up for success!

Explicitly ask about the price of your donor database.

Donor Database Tip #8: Explicitly ask about price.

Considering that price is one of the biggest anxieties that nonprofits have when shopping for new software, you’d be surprised by how many organizations don’t ask about price.

It’s an all-too-easy mistake to make. The organization goes onto the vendor’s website, sees the list price, and automatically assumes that’s what they’ll be paying.

While we would all like to hope that any donor database vendor would be transparent and spell out the costs, unfortunately that won’t always be the case.

That’s why it could not be more important for your organization to ask about the costs outright.

Donor databases are highly customizable tools. Thus, even the same platform can vary drastically in price.

The list price (that displayed on the pricing page of the vendor’s website) usually only accounts for the number of users, the number of donor profiles, and the basic feature set.

However, there are many other factors that can influence the price of your nonprofit CRM, such as:

  • Expansions and integrations.
  • Costs associated with training and IT support.
  • Payment processing fees.
  • Data transfer and clean-up.
  • Updates to your software as technology advances.

Make sure your donor database actually fits into your budget by asking about costs at the beginning of the buying process.

The takeaway: The price of donor databases can be impacted by many different factors. Ask your vendor explicitly about costs to make sure your purchase won’t strain your organization fiscally.

Make sure your donor database platform doesn't require difficult data migration.

Donor Database Tip #9: Make sure your platform doesn’t require difficult data migration.

In order to get up and running with your new donor database, you’ll need to transfer over all of the donor data you already have.

Unfortunately, data migration will always come with difficulties. It’s a long process that requires:

  • Cleaning up your existing data (as to only transfer what’s relevant).
  • Exporting it from the old platform.
  • Importing it into the new platform.
  • Going back over your data to ensure that it was correctly transferred.

Just how difficult this process is will depend on how compatible your current systems are with your new donor database and how much support the vendor provides.

With some platforms, data transfer will be much more involved. While this might not seem like a big deal, choosing software that requires an especially difficult data migration process is a big mistake.

Not only will this be a headache for your organization, but it can also put a dent in your operations.

Think about it: the longer it takes you to transfer your data over, the longer it will be before you can start using your new software to improve your fundraising.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean you should jump right in and do it yourself. Data migration is a complex process, and each platform is different. The best vendors will assess your data and provide you with assistance, if necessary.

Remember that your constituent data is the most valuable data your organization has — importing it right the first time will ensure your organization can raise more and be more efficient in the long run.

The takeaway: Data migration is a huge part of getting your donor database set up. Find a vendor who will provide you with the support you need so that it won’t be hassle.

Your donor database platform must be secure.

Donor Database Tip #10: Your platform must be secure.

Your donor database will be home to all of your donor data, including your donor’s sensitive information.

That being the case, you’ll want to be absolutely sure that the donor database you’re considering has the proper security measures in place to protect this information.

One of the main features your donor database should include is advanced control over permissions. This feature will allow you to give only certain staff members access to information, so that only the people who absolutely need access to confidential information will have it.

Additionally, if your donor database comes with online fundraising tools (or you’re otherwise accepting donors’ payment information), you should make sure that the database is PCI-compliant. Being PCI-compliant simply means that the platform’s payment processing tools are in keeping with the security standards set out by the Payment Card Industry.

Failing to ask about security could mean that you’re putting your supporters’ confidential information in jeopardy.

If that information were to fall into the wrong hands, not only would you be damaging the trust you’ve so carefully built up with your donors, but you might also face legal repercussions.

Secure your peace of mind by asking your vendor about security!

The takeaway: Handling sensitive information requires the right precautions. Asking your vendor about security is the only way to ensure that your donor database can properly protect your donors.

Your donor database platform should come with enough training.

Donor Database Tip #11: The platform should come with enough training.

Let’s be honest—many of us aren’t as savvy with technology as we’d like to think.

While we hope that your donor database will be relatively intuitive for your staff to use, learning how to use any new platform will naturally require some training.

Without the proper training, you and your staff might be able to use your donor database, but you definitely won’t be able to utilize it as effectively as possible.

Get the most out of your new software by making sure it comes with the level of training you need.

Most vendors offer a couple of different options for training to accommodate for a range of budgets.

The most basic option is usually a free, pre-recorded training video you can watch on the computer. While this will give your staff a general idea of the platform’s interface and functionality, training won’t be adjusted to fit the unique needs of your organization.

If you’re willing to splurge a little bit, you can pay to receive custom training. With this option, someone will walk your staff through the platform with a specific focus on the modules you’ll be using most. Training can either be done online or on-site, and staff will have the opportunity to ask any questions that might come up.

Whether or not customized training is worth it to you will depend on the needs and resources of your organization. But if you need it, make sure it’s a viable option.

The takeaway: The proper level of training will allow your staff to make the most out of the new donor database to see the best fundraising results.

Make sure your organization will receive sufficient support from your donor database provider.

Donor Database Tip #12: Make sure your organization will receive sufficient support.

Your working relationship with your vendor won’t just end the minute they’ve set up your donor database and taught you how to use it.

You’ll be using your platform for years to come (at least, we hope so!). Chances are, at some point during these many years, you’ll run into some technical difficulties.

If your vendor provides excellent support, this will be no big deal. They’ll quickly field your problem and get you back on track before you’ve strayed too far.

Now imagine the other scenario: your donor database suddenly crashes, and you can’t get a consultant on the phone. You try to contact them by email, but still no luck. Days go by before—finally—you hear something back.

After days of waiting, it looks like your problem is going to be resolved. But once you have that consultant on the phone, they’re inattentive and unhelpful, and it still takes them a week to fix the issue.

Meanwhile, your organization has been missing out on a countless number of fundraising opportunities. Who knows how many dollars you’ve lost or how many new donors you’ve missed out on.

Point being, it could not be more important to make sure that your platform comes with sufficient support. Your vendor should be readily available to help you with any issues that come up and should be able to address these issues with little turnaround time.

When it comes to your fundraising, it could make all the difference!

The takeaway: Buying a donor database with insufficient support can be detrimental to your fundraising. Make sure your software is always running at top speed by choosing a donor database with support that’s attentive, efficient, and available.

Consult a second opinion before you purchase donor database software.

Donor Database Tip #13: Consult a second opinion.

Say you’re making a big purchase like a car or a mattress.

You’re shelling out your hard-earned dollars, so you wouldn’t just go into the purchase blind. We’re willing to bet that you’d probably go online or flip through Consumer Reports first to see if you could find any reviews that would help you make your decision. You might even ask one of your friends for their advice on which product they like best.

So, why wouldn’t you do the same when shopping for your donor database?

Second opinions not only attest firsthand to the value of the product you’re considering, but they can also give you that extra boost of confidence you might need before going through with the purchase.

In other words, consulting a second opinion will help you decide if the platform you’re considering is really the right one for you.

For the best advice, turn to current users.

While you can likely find reviews online, you should also ask your vendor if they can refer you to any of their other clients whose organizations are similar to your own.

The advice of current users will be invaluable. They use the platform every day, likely to assist with efforts similar to your own.

Nobody better understands the day-to-day difficulties that nonprofits face, so they’ll be able to give you a well-rounded view of the platform’s strengths and weaknesses.

It never hurts to ask, so don’t be shy about requesting references from your vendor. If they have happy customers and a truly great product, they’ll want to put you in touch!

The takeaway: A second opinion will give you the assurance and insight you need to decide if the new donor database you’ve been considering is the perfect fit for your organization.


There are a lot of considerations that go into choosing the right donor database for your organization. With so much to think about from fundraising to constituent profiles, it’s no wonder that nonprofits can run into so many obstacles.

However, if you go into the buying process prepared, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to avoid these mistakes.

Now, start the search for your perfect donor database!

For more information on donor databases, take a look at these additional resources:

  1. Nonprofit CRM Software. Check out our guide on CRM software for all the tips and helpful pointers your organization needs.
  2. Donor Database Software: Top 10 Nonprofit Platforms. Take a look at out top 10 donor database platforms for nonprofits to get your search started.
  3. Salsa’s 7 Tips to Convince Your Board to Invest in Fundraising Software. If you need help convincing your board to invest in fundraising software, check out Salsa’s tips to win them over.

Download Our Premade PowerPoint Presentation: Develop A Matching Gift Roadmap

PowerPoint Presentation: Develop A Matching Gift Roadmap

Use this presentation to lead your team through a conversation about increasing your matching gift revenue. These slides are easily edited to include your organization’s specific matching gift numbers, which can provide a great launch point for building an even better matching gift program!

Portal Management: 8 Best Practices

Matching gifts are a fundraising goldmine for nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, yet many organizations are unsure of how to make the most of the most popular type of corporate philanthropy. Many companies and corporations offer these matching gift programs, and the process is actually quite simple.

First, the donor makes a contribution. Then they submit a matching gift request to their employer, who confirms that the donation was made as reported. Finally, the company sends a matching donation to the organization or institution that their employee donated to.

Many companies outsource their matching gift programs to a third party vendor, or portal, that manages the matching gift program for them. This includes both the verification of the initial donations and the disbursement process for the companies’ matching donations.

Some of the major portal vendors include Benevity, YourCause, Cybergrants, and EasyMatch. Managing these portals can be a difficult part of the matching gift process, so we’ve put together the eight best practices for streamlining this process to make it easier on your staff.

1.  Create one universal username and password for your portal(s)

Oftentimes, your organization will be required to verify a donation in order to receive the matching gift, so you may need to log in to an online portal. This can get tedious when the number of donations awaiting verification grows and grows. Plus, your organization can accumulate access to multiple different portals and accounts.

Having one set of login credentials for your matching gift process will make logging into multiple portals so much easier. These login credentials can be shared amongst your organization. We recommend making your matching gift email address something simple, like matchinggifts@yourorganization.org.

Consolidating your login information will streamline the portal process in a few ways:

  • You’ll receive all verification requests in one email inbox, ensuring that not a single matching gift opportunity falls through the cracks
  • You can prevent losing access to accounts that may be tied to a specific employee at your organization
  • You’ll have fewer sets of credentials to remember and keep straight when logging into your multiple portals

2. Create a master list of your portal links

Now that you’ve streamlined your portal login information, you’ll still need to find a way to organize the different portal URLs held by your organization. For example, Cybergrants (a matching gift portal) may send you a URL for every company that a match has been requested from. Meanwhile, YourCause (another portal) may send a different URL for each donation that needs to be verified.

In order to keep these links organized, compile them into a master list including:

  1. Name of portal vendor
  2. URL link
  3. Name of company matching the gift
  4. Frequency — track how often you need to check each particular portal

You may also consider dividing your list into relevant categories. For example, sort the portals by match deadline from the shortest to the longest. You could also sort the portals by the amount of claims they’ve typically had in the past so that you know which portals take more time to check.

Once you’ve created a master list of your portal URLs, it’s important to keep your list as current as possible.

3. Assign each portal to a specific portal manager

If you don’t have the capacity to assign all matching gift portals to one full-time staff member, consider dividing your portals among staff members. Assign each portal to a specific staff member who will own the management of that particular portal. Doing this will help your staff divide and conquer so that nothing falls through the cracks.

4. Determine a strategy for checking portals

Now that you have streamlined your login information and created an organized process for delegating and tracking your portals, you can determine a more detailed strategy for checking your portals. It’s not uncommon for organizations to lose sight of their portals and allow donations to sit dormant waiting to be verified.

Do you have a portal that you haven’t logged into for a while? Do you have more than one? Some portals may be less active and will only need to be checked when you receive a verification request. However, others may be full of requests and need to be checked every other week.

Determine how often you will need to check each portal and track the frequency on your master list. This ensures that the staff member assigned to each portal knows exactly how often to check it. Once you’ve put this strategy in place, stick to it so that no portal (or donations) will be forgotten about again!

5. Always record matches in your CRM or database

Tracking your matching gifts helps you to develop a better understanding of how much you’re raising specifically in matching gift revenue, which companies are donating the most in matches, and which companies may need follow-up if their matching dollars haven’t come in.

Chances are, you’ve already got a system of reconciliation in place, but may be forgetting to track matching gifts. You may choose to record them as “pledges” or “promised” under the donor’s record or as unconfirmed donations under the company’s record. However you choose to record them in your CRM or database, find a system that makes sense for your organization and track those matching dollars.

6. Work toward closing the loop with your donors through acknowledgment and reconciliation

After you’ve mastered your system of tracking your matching gifts, the next step is to determine a strategy to close the loop with your donors. Acknowledge your donors, not just for their donations, but also for their time and efforts to get their donations matched. You can send them a letter once a year for all the matches they’ve requested or send a quick email each time their matching gift comes through.

Thanking your donors for their matching gifts encourages them to make sending a matching gift request a part of their donation process every time. This also removes any doubt that their company’s matching dollars were received. Plus, this gives you a chance to highlight the impact that their matching donations have had on your organization.

7. Educate all staff members on matching gift portals

One of the best ways to enhance your overall matching gift strategy is to make sure that all staff at your organization, not just those involved in development and fundraising, know what matching gifts are and how your organization can get them. Educate all of your staff on the simple workflow of matching gifts.

Further, educate your staff on the verification process and the different portals that companies use for their matching gift programs. When your staff understands the process, they will recognize a matching gift verification request when it comes in and will feel confident about how to handle it.

8. Collaborate with portal vendors

Each of the portal vendors are different, and they each service thousands of companies who have varying matching gift programs. If you’re not finding the details you need, have questions, or have feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out directly to the portal for help! The best way to have your specific needs met is to work with their support team.


Conclusion: One of the most effective ways to make sure that your organization is making the most of matching gifts is by mastering your matching gift portals. It can be a bit daunting to untangle your existing portal information, but once you do, it’s so worth it! Now you can sit back and watch the matching gift revenue roll in.

Download the Ultimate Guide to Corporate Philanthropy

The Ultimate Guide to Corporate Philanthropy Created by Double the Donation
(Updated July, 2019)

Use this guide to get up to speed on all there is to know about corporate philanthropy!  In this downloadable eBook, we will:

  • Provide an overview of corporate philanthropy
  • Share some of the top corporate giving programs
  • Explain how to make the most of corporate philanthropy
  • And so much more!

Click the image below to download The Ultimate Guide to Corporate Philanthropy!

Download the Ultimate Guide to Volunteer Grants

[Free Download] The Ultimate Guide to Volunteer Grants

What is the Ultimate Guide to Volunteer Grants?

Double the Donation’s Ultimate Guide to Volunteer Grants is designed to be your go-to resource for understanding, leveraging, and maximizing corporate volunteer grant opportunities for your nonprofit. Volunteer grants, often overlooked, are an incredible source of funding for organizations—offered by companies to financially reward nonprofits for their employees’ volunteer hours. However, many nonprofits aren’t fully aware of how these programs work, or how to tap into them effectively.

In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know about volunteer grants, from understanding the basics and eligibility requirements to actionable tips on how to increase participation and track volunteer hours. We’ll provide examples of companies offering generous volunteer grant programs, best practices for educating and engaging volunteers, and strategies for fostering relationships with corporate partners.

Whether you’re new to the concept of volunteer grants or looking to refine your existing approach, this resource offers detailed insights to help you unlock additional funding and deepen your engagement with both volunteers and corporate supporters.

Why download the Ultimate Guide to Volunteer Grants?

Incorporate easy-to-follow strategies.

Our guide breaks down the steps to implement successful volunteer grant campaigns, helping you engage both volunteers and their employers effectively.

Maximize volunteer impact for your cause.

See how volunteer hours can transform into tangible financial support, motivating volunteers to contribute more time and effort to your cause.

Boost funding to support your efforts.

Learn how to tap into corporate volunteer grant programs that can increase your nonprofit’s revenue without needing additional donations.

Expand corporate relationships.

Discover how to strengthen relationships with corporate partners by utilizing volunteer grants, which can lead to long-term support and sponsorships.

Additional Recommended Resources

What to Know About Volunteer Time Off


Volunteer Time Off Download

Strategies for Corporate Volunteer Incentives



Matching Gifts in the Donor Journey


Matching Gifts Donor Journey Download

Download Our Pre-Written Articles!

Pre-Written Articles Created by Double the Donation

Use these articles on your website and in newsletters to inform your donors about matching gifts and volunteer grants. This download includes three articles:

  • An introduction to matching gifts
  • An introduction to volunteer grants
  • An introduction to corporate giving, including matching gifts and volunteer grants