An article from Forbes revealed that, “92% of marketers claimed that social media marketing was important for their business, with 80% indicating their efforts increased traffic to their websites.” If you’re trying to raise awareness for matching gift programs, social media offers fruitful options.
Websites such as Facebook and Twitter allow you to appeal to your decidedly tech savvy audience, which, in our technologically reliant world, could be a bulk of your donors. Furthermore, a sizable online following offers social proof that your nonprofit is both credible and well-respected.
Marketing matching gifts through social media is both its own step and a conglomeration of all your social media tactics. Let’s take a look at the Twitter profile of CASA Pikes Peak Region to see social media versatility in action:
The tweet in the green box is an example of straight pitching matching gift programs. This is the actual call-to-action, and this is what you need to do on social media to increase matching gift awareness. The other tweets all help to build follower interest, so, when this matching-gift-specific tweet gets posted, people actually pay attention to it because they’re emotionally engaged with both the organization and the content that they share.
You can’t market matching gifts all of the time, and you shouldn’t, as your followers will grow bored. Share meaningful material and build relationships so that when the time for marketing comes it feels organic and unimposing to your followers.
What types of posts best spread the word about matching gifts? There are more social media sites than you could ever use, so we’ve selected the two main players. You’ve likely heard of these sites, and we’ll provide concrete examples of posts that will engage donors.
Facebook
Facebook algorithms pick up on gimmicks, so, unless you pay to promote your content, you need to remain abreast of what Facebook will prioritize and what they will hide. With tens of thousands of possible posts to present each time a user logs on, Facebook continuously tweaks its standards for what content people see.
Facebook communications director Brandon McCormick told Businessweek that, “People would rather see posts about a sale, or a new pair of pants that’s come in. Keeping the posts relevant to the kind of business that you have is really important.” In essence, stay on task with your content in terms of what people want to see and who you are as a nonprofit. Talk about matching gift programs, but in a creative way.
CMTA include both a link to their matching gift page and a conspicuous graphic. It’s hard to miss their appeal for matching gifts and it is simple to navigate to the applicable matching gift webpage.
If a matching gift post could be a rockstar, this would be Kurt Cobain. Much like the CMTA post, the National Kidney Foundation combines informative text with an attention grabbing graphic, but look at all those Likes, Comments, and Shares.
The graphic is split in two, with the question mark grabbing the attention and the white text holding the attention. Chances are that most people will check out the graphic first, but then they’ll likely read the text above, too, and see the link. That link takes donors to a dedicated matching gift page, which is a crucial step towards landing more donations. Donor engagement with this post helps it to appear on more newsfeeds, so more donors become aware of matching gifts, which should lead to increased fundraising success. You want to go viral.
Additional Matching Gift Facebook Post Templates
We sincerely appreciate all donations to [Your Organization’s Name]. Did you know that your generosity has the potential to be doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled? Check to see if your employer offers a matching gift program. [Insert Your Double the Donation Matching Gift URL]
A huge thanks to all of our donors, and a double thanks to those who submitted matching fund requests. Does your employer offer a matching gift program? Check today. [Insert Your Double the Donation Matching Gift URL]
What do Microsoft, Bank of America, IBM, and Verizon have in common? They all match employee donations to nonprofit organizations. If you donate, or have donated, to us and work for one of these four companies, your employer will double your donation. Many major employers offer similar programs. Searchto discover if your employer offers a matching gift program, as well as to gain access to program guidelines, how-to instructions, and relevant forms. Thank you for taking five minutes to double your donation. [Insert Your Double the Donation Matching Gift URL]
In addition to text, graphics help to grab readers’ attentions. If your image doubles as a clickable link, that’s even better.
Example dedicated matching gift page from the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation
The link is the tweet’s call to action in action. The goal is to earn a click in order to take donors to where it’s a simple five minute process of discovering if their employers match gifts and submitting the necessary forms.
Additional matching gift Twitter post templates
Did you donate to us in 2014? There’s still time to submit a matching gift request to your employer. Click, don’t scroll! [Insert Your Double the Donation Matching Gift URL]
It takes only a few minutes to submit corporate employee matching gift forms. Have you submitted yours? [Insert Your Double the Donation Matching Gift URL]
It’s February – do you love us? We love you, too! Click here to see if your company will double your donation: [Insert Your Double the Donation Matching Gift URL]
Facebook has the largest community. Twitter is the modern way donors stay up to date with the organizations they care about. Leverage your social following with well-crafted posts and you can increase corporate matching donations.
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/matching-gifts-social-media.png321845Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2015-02-14 14:38:062024-02-08 20:22:35Feature Matching Gifts in Your Nonprofit’s Facebook and Twitter Posts
Have you ever wondered what the actual online matching gift submission process is like for donors?
If so, this article is designed to shed light on the steps your nonprofit’s donors take when submitting a matching gift online.
Typical Online Matching Gift Submission Process for Donors:
While the online submission process can vary by company, it typically involves the following steps:
Employees log into the company’s matching gift submission website
Employees search for the nonprofit they donated to
Employees select the nonprofit from the search results (if not found, they enter the organization’s information)
Employees register their donation
Employees submit the matching gift request
Step-by-Step Overview of Home Depot’s Online Matching Gift Process:
While some employers develop their own matching gift submission process internally, most contract it out to one of the main companies that administers matching gift programs on behalf of companies.
The following screenshots are for Home Depot’s electronic submission process and are representative of the process for employees of most large companies with matching gift programs.
Step #1: Employees log into the company’s online matching gift submission website.
Step #2: Employees search for the nonprofit they donated to.
Step #3: Employees select the nonprofit from the search results.
Step #4: Employees enter information about their donation.
Step #5: Employees submit the matching gift request.
That’s it! Just those quick five steps and the donors have done their parts. The rest of the process involves your nonprofit verifying to the companies that the donations were made and then the companies issuing the matching funds.
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Our-Tool-2.png321845Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2015-02-10 04:01:512023-09-11 17:38:57Matching Gift Online Submission Process Example | Home Depot
Your homepage is the first thing people see when they visit your site, and priority number one is letting people know who you are and what you do. Part of what you do is receive donations, and matching gifts for those donations, so including links to information about matching gift programs is a good idea.
The two approaches (which can be combined, of course) are placing matching gift links such that people can find them if they are looking for them (navigation bars) and inserting links so that they jump out at site visitors, such that the link is more or less an advertisement for matching gifts (banner ads).
Let’s take a closer look at each approach through proven strategies.
Navigation Bars
Every useful website has a navigation bar that helps people to discover relevant information. Including a link to matching gift programs in your navigation bar puts matching gifts in a visible location where donors can easily find and access the information. A link in the navigation bar won’t advertise matching gifts to unknowing donors, but if a donor is on your site and looking for how to apply for a matching gift then he will easily be able to navigate to a page to learn how.
To get a better idea of how navigation bars work, here’s an example from Lafayette Partners in Education:
Screenshot of Lafayette Partners in Education’s Website
(http://lpie.org/)
This is a clean, modern site, with an easily visible and useable navigation bar. They incorporate matching gifts under the fundraising tab, so it’s part of a larger topic. This link won’t function as an advertisement, but, for someone who is looking for matching gifts or ways which they can contribute to the organization, the website provides an intuitive way to access that information.
When a website visitor clicks on the “Matching Gift Program” link they’re taken to Lafayette Partner In Education’s dedicated matching gift page:
If you want to advertise matching gifts on your homepage then banner ads are a great way to go. A banner ad will catch eyes and make people think about matching gifts. This informs donors about matching gifts when they may be visiting your site for other purposes.
Here’s a banner ad in action from Autism Speaks:
Screenshot of an Event Page for Autism Speaks
Highlighted by the green box, this banner ad works because it’s clean, easy to read, and its color stands out from the color scheme of the homepage. People notice when something stands out in a crowd. A 2011 study in the journal Emotion claimed that reaction times become faster and more forceful when people see a bright color, so the choice of color was well selected. Little factors such as color can play vital roles in whether or not people respond to your banner ads, so if you have the time to get intricate with your banners it will be time well spent.
Autism Speaks also created their own custom matching graphics to include throughout their website. Examples of individualized banners used by Autism Speaks include:
Everything about these banners is clean and easy to read. The iconic puzzle piece logos add a touch of intimate personality that separates the images from plain text graphics. The difference in shapes, square versus rectangle, highlights that your banner can and should be tailored to the size that works best on your website.
Still clean and basic, this banner adds simple details, such as a faded color scheme and the orange ribbon in the top right corner. The image works great on donation confirmation screens, and make sure to link the graphic to your dedicated matching gift page.
The picture of the gift box is enough to signal to the user that this banner has something to do with giving or gifts prior to the user engaging with the white text. And the white text is easy to read and the large, capitalized letters, which will likely be the first words you read, tell you exactly what the box is addressing. As for the psychological effects of the color, green is commonly associated with balance and harmony, such as the balance a matching gift brings to the original donation and the harmony between you and donors. There are serious benefits to thinking out the minor details of banner ads in order to leverage major psychological impacts.
Your nonprofit does not have to advertise for matching gifts on its homepage, but it’s a good idea if you want to raise awareness for matching gifts. Regardless, including information about matching gifts in a logical place, such as a navigation bar, is a must.
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Untitled-design.png321845Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2015-02-02 13:03:002022-06-20 07:54:20Feature Matching Gifts on Your Homepage and Across Your Website
According to recent studies, more than 26 million individuals work for companies that match employee gifts. However, an estimated 78% of the group has never been informed about the available philanthropic programming. Thus, in order to maximize funding, it’s important to increase matching gift awareness across your network of support.
In this guide, we’ll touch on some impactful marketing efforts to get your donors ramped up to submit those matching gift forms to their employers. But we’ll also cover why awareness is crucial to matching gift success, how you can set your staff up to champion your efforts, and what to do after educating donors about the opportunities at hand.
Surely, your organization aims to maximize the impact of each donation you receive. Matching gifts are one of the best ways to do so—but in order to drive results, your supporters need to know about them.
Let’s get started!
Why increasing matching gift awareness matters
Ensuring donors are aware of matching gifts is one of the biggest obstacles your organization will face. However, it’s essential for increasing funding through these programs.
There are billions (yes, billions—to the tune of $4,000,000,000 to $7,000,000,000 worth) of corporate giving dollars left unclaimed each year. Why? Largely because the majority of eligible donors have never been informed of the opportunity.
In fact, without a strategic approach to increase matching gift awareness…
78% of donors do not know if their company offers a matching gift program;
15% of donors know their company has a program but are unsure if they’re eligible or how to submit a matching gift request;
Only 7% of donors are aware that their company matches gifts, know they’re eligible, and understand how to submit their matching gift requests.
Not to mention, donors love participating in matching gift programs—so long as they know they exist. These initiatives allow them to double or even triple the impact of their giving to the charitable organizations they support. And they don’t even have to reach back into their own wallets to do so!
An analysis of donor behavior even indicates that nonprofit supporters are more likely to give—and to give more—when they know their donations will be matched. In fact, 84% of survey participants say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered. And 1 in 3 donors would give a larger gift if matching is applied!
As a result, organizations saw a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in average donation amount when matching gifts were mentioned.
That means when donors are aware of the opportunities, your organization can benefit not only from more corporate matches but from increased individual giving altogether.
Starting with your staff; driving awareness internally
Increasing matching gift awareness among donors is critical for a nonprofit to maximize its fundraising potential. However, before a nonprofit can effectively communicate the benefits of matching gifts to donors, it is crucial that its internal team fully understands the opportunity themselves.
After all, a nonprofit’s staff (or volunteers) are likely the primary point of contact with supporters. Therefore, it’s essential that the internal team understands the concepts behind corporate matching gifts and is equipped to support donors interested in participating.
Here’s what we recommend:
Conducting regularly scheduled dedicated matching gift training sessions for all donor-facing staff and volunteers;
Incorporating matching gift information in new team member onboarding materials going forward;
Developing easily accessible internal materials that provide an overview of matching gifts, frequently asked questions and answers, benefits, and more;
Establishing a matching gift team leader to whom the rest of the team can direct inquiries regarding matching gifts to learn more.
Luckily, Double the Donation offers a wide range of free resources that can help guide you through the process—from educational blog posts to immersive webinars and more.
Staff members who are familiar with matching gift programs can best serve as advocates for the opportunity to eligible donors. By equipping staff members with the knowledge and tools necessary to promote corporate matching, a nonprofit can effectively communicate the benefits of matching gifts to donors and maximize its fundraising potential.
10 marketing methods to increase matching gift awareness among donors
Now it’s time to make your donors aware of the available programming that can double their impact on your cause.
There are a ton of ways to do so—but we’ve selected a few of our favorite marketing strategies to increase matching gift awareness for your audience here.
1. Create a matching gift web page.
To make it easy for donors to learn about matching gift programs, create a dedicated matching gift web page on your nonprofit’s website.
This centralized hub of matching gift information should provide an overview of corporate donation-matching, explain the tangible benefits of these programs for your cause, and include an intuitive database search tool for donors to uncover their own eligibility.
You’ll also want to include basic information about your organization, including contact details for your matching gift coordinator, your tax ID number, and more.
In doing so, you can target supporters who are perusing your website—which can actually drive them further down the donation funnel and encourage them to give more—and provide donors with a trusted resource with everything they need to get started.
Then, you can link to this hub in your other marketing materials, demonstrating how donors can learn more about the opportunity. You might even use your match page to train your internal staff on matching gifts!
2. Highlight matching in fundraising appeals.
We mentioned previously that when donors are informed of matching gift opportunities prior to making their contributions, they’re more likely to give and give in larger amounts. In order to drive awareness beforehand, your fundraising appeals can really come in handy.
As you craft your next donation appeal, incorporate a quick blurb about matching gifts and the amplified impact they bring. This can be just what you need to drive on-the-fence supporters into action-taking donors!
Here’s an example: “Dear [donor], Do you work for a match-maker? Thousands of companies—employing millions of qualifying donors—agree to match the charitable gifts their team members contribute to nonprofits like ours. Find out if your company participates by searching here. Then, head to our donation form to make a match-eligible gift (or request a match from a previous and still-eligible donation)!”
3. Embed in online donation pages.
If an individual navigates to your nonprofit donation page, chances are that they’d like to support your cause. That makes your online giving forms the perfect place to promote gift-matching.
And it’s also one of your best opportunities to request employment information. [Hint: Once collected, this detail can directly aid your team in uncovering and pursuing match-eligible donations.]
We recommend embedding Double the Donation’s smart company search tool that allows donors to choose from auto-completing search results. It even takes into account common typos and company subsidiaries for the most accurate results, ensuring users can quickly select their employer from our robust database and move on to the next steps without slowing down the giving experience.
To encourage donors to complete the optional field, you’ll also want to include a short blurb about matching gifts that provides context as to why you’re asking for employment data. Here’s an example: “Millions of donors qualify to have their charitable gifts matched by their employers. See if your company offers such a program by entering your employer’s name in the box.”
4. Mention on your confirmation screen.
Immediately after completing an online donation, nonprofit supporters typically remain at a high level of engagement. It’s important to take advantage of this momentum and immediately encourage eligible donors to secure a matching gift.
And your donation confirmation or thank-you screen is a great place to begin! After all, matching gifts make a great “Next Steps” option for supporters looking to increase their impact after they submit their donations.
Consider adding a message to your confirmation screen such as this: “Thanks for your donation! Did you know your employer may match your gift and double its impact? Check if your contribution is eligible by searching for your company here.”
And when you embed Double the Donation’s matching gift plugin, you can provide quick and easy access to company-specific guidelines, forms, and more. Plus, if the individual provides their employer’s name during the giving process, the plugin tool will automatically populate with that company’s program details and direct links to submission forms!
This allows individuals to quickly move from the “general awareness of matching gift programs as a concept” phase to the “specific knowledge of their company’s initiatives and guidelines” in no time. And remember—the latter is where you want your donors to be!
5. Include matching gift information in donation acknowledgments.
If your nonprofit organization is not already including information about matching gift opportunities in donor acknowledgment letters, it’s super easy to start. Keep in mind, though, that you won’t want this to be your sole matching gift promotion. Automated donation acknowledgments and gift receipts are often quickly discarded and may ultimately end up in a “trash” box before the donor arrives at the included matching gift mention.
Still, including a brief section about corporate matching gift opportunities can be an excellent way to whet your supporters’ appetites regarding the programs. Direct donors to your aforementioned matching gift web page, and let them know that they should soon expect to receive an additional email follow-up dedicated to matching gifts.
It can be as simple as this: “Did you know that many corporations offer employee giving programs where they match donations to [your organization’s name]? Search for your company on our matching gift page to see if they provide matching gifts! Or keep an eye out for detailed next steps in a separate email.”
6. Send separate matching gift follow-up emails.
Chances are, some donors are likely to miss out on your confirmation page and/or acknowledgment promotions. But you still want to ensure that all of your supporters are exposed to matching gift information so they can make an informed decision about their next steps.
The best way to do this?Send dedicated matching gift emails after each donation you receive.
(This is also a great reminder avenue for donors who did become aware of matching gifts previously but ultimately opted to procrastinate their requests.)
If you have a record of a donor’s employer, you can even incorporate detailed and company-specific program guidelines. This will help recipients quickly determine match eligibility and lead them directly to their companies’ online submission forms to complete the request. If you’ve yet to identify a supporter’s employer, encourage them once again to provide that information so you can guide them through the matching process.
By highlighting matching gifts while your organization and its cause are still fresh on donors’ minds, you increase the likelihood that they will take action to double their gifts. That’s why we recommend sending these follow-up messages within 24 hours of receiving the initial gift. In fact, organizations that do so see an estimated 53% open rate, which is more than two to three times the average nonprofit email open rate.
7. Engage on social media.
Social media sites can be a great way to increase matching gift awareness across a wider audience. Plus, you can encourage supporters to interact with and share your content with their own followers.
Make sure to schedule regular messages throughout the year, noting occasions like Matching Gift Month and more. Use your social platforms to share stories about how the money raised for your organization is helping grow your mission—and how doubling those gifts helps amplify impact.
For the best results, adjust your messaging based on the platform on which you plan to share it. For example…
Twitter is great for short-and-sweet blurbs about matching gifts;
Facebook posts can be a bit longer and more in-depth;
Instagram is designed for image-sharing—so be sure to choose eye-catching graphics that help demonstrate the power of matching gifts.
And don’t forget about vide0-sharing sites, either—YouTube and even TikTok offer excellent opportunities for sharing matching gift videos and more.
Regardless of what you post or where you post it, you’ll want to provide direct links to resources users can access for additional information.
8. Enlist snail-mail promotions.
While electronic communication is speedy and efficient, there are still donors who would still rather the personal touch of a tangible mailing. If your organization employs direct mail outreach in your fundraising, consider exploring the tactic to increase matching gift awareness among your direct-mail-preferred donor segment.
However, you’ll want to keep in mind that the investment for this strategy can add up quickly—so make sure you’re still expecting an appropriate return.
There are a number of ways to keep your costs low, too. For example, if you’re already hosting a direct mail campaign, you might include an insert on matching gifts into your existing fundraising packet. Or similarly, you can even print matching gift information directly onto your donation return envelopes!
Still, we recommend retaining physical mailings for only your most lucrative matching gift opportunities.
9. Host a live-stream event.
If they’ve never heard of the programs before, your donors are likely to have a number of questions about matching gifts. As you begin to integrate donation-matching promotions into your overall fundraising efforts, consider hosting a live-stream event.
This will allow you to engage with your audience in real-time, encouraging supporters to attend, ask questions, and learn more about getting involved with their employers’ corporate giving programs.
Not to mention, it will also provide a unique opportunity for your team to show the persons behind your organization with a virtual, yet face-to-face experience.
10. Employ end-of-year reminders.
Unfortunately, donations typically have a limited time span during which they qualify for corporate matching. Though it can differ from company to company, many program windows close at the end of the year. Thus, it’s critical that you increase matching gift awareness among donors before it’s too late.
And end-of-year reminders can be a great way to do so.
As the year comes to a close, consider sending additional outreach that reiterates the availability of matching gifts. This can be especially beneficial for those who had been marked match-eligible despite not seeming to have submitted their matches.
Remember: the urgency at the end of the year can be an excellent tool for driving action along with awareness. So make the most of it!
After awareness — next steps to consider
Informing individuals about matching gift opportunities is phase one in securing additional financial support. But you can’t stop there!
After ensuring awareness of matching gifts, there are a few next steps we recommend to ultimately drive matches to completion, determine success, and thank donors for their above-and-beyond support.
Remind supporters about matching gifts.
Sometimes the initial steps you take to inform your audience about matching gifts won’t be enough to actually produce results. In those cases, take the extra step to remind qualifying donors about their matching gift eligibility after the fact.
To do so, it helps to track which identified matches have been submitted by donors and which ones appear to remain unclaimed. Then, follow up on incomplete matches by reminding donors about the opportunity and how easily they can get involved.
Here’s a hint: manually tracking and following up on matching gifts can be quite the undertaking. We recommend employing automation software like 360MatchPro to identify, pursue, and monitor matches throughout the process.
Thank donors for their submissions.
Once you’re notified that an individual has completed their end of the matching gift request process, be sure to thank them for doing so. Communicate the amplified impact of an individual donation when matched, and show your appreciation accordingly.
To make your gratitude stand out in your recipients’ inboxes, consider employing customizable donor recognition eCards. It’s a fun and creative way to thank your matching gift donors for taking the next steps to amplify their giving impact. And it will keep your organization at the forefront of the recipient’s mind for longer, too!
Communicate gratitude for completed matches.
Your supporters also want to know if and when your organization receives the associated match to their donation. Despite the matching gift not coming from an individual’s own wallet, it’s important to recognize that the additional contribution would not have been possible without their actions on your behalf.
Plus, it helps close the loop with the original donor, confirming with them that the match was ultimately successful. Otherwise, they might never know it was completed, and they wouldn’t be as likely to request a match in the future.
Bonus tip: In your acknowledgments, you can even link a survey that asks donors how they learned about matching gifts. Consider listing your primary marketing efforts along with an “other” field or free response option. This will help determine which efforts are worth prioritizing in the future as well as which may be less impactful for your particular audience.
Identify ongoing opportunities.
Your organization should also be able to determine if a majority of matching gifts are coming from one company in particular or from a wide array of employers.
This is noteworthy because if your matching gifts seem to be coming from a few major employers, consider publicly recognizing the company as a valuable partner to your organization.
You can even reach out to pursue additional corporate sponsorships. This might include upcoming events, cause marketing opportunities, in-kind donations, workplace giving campaigns, and more.
Measure matching gift marketing impact.
Our final recommended step involves ensuring that your above-mentioned marketing efforts are actually working. One key piece of advice we have is to visualize your data with a chart or graph. This way, you can easily view the total (number, revenue, or percentage) of matching gifts received in a set time period.
Then, compare that figure to your previous month, year, etc., to show the difference between your results pre- and post-marketing strategy. Can you see a discernible difference in the number of matching gifts being sent in?
But to scale up your reporting capabilities, the right matching gift software can make a big difference here as well. For example, Double the Donation empowers organizations to easily track metrics such as their:
Total individual donations
Percentage of donations flagged as match-eligible
Total number of matching gifts submitted
Number of matching gifts verified by your organization
Number of matching gifts ultimately received
Percentage of matching gifts completed
Value of received matching gifts
Percentage increase due to matching gift revenue
And more!
From there, you can take a look at your data, locate apparent trends, identify successes, and explore areas with room for improvement.
Wrapping Up
There are a variety of ways to market matching gifts to your donors, and increasing awareness of the opportunity can go a long way.
Too much money goes unclaimed by nonprofits and their donors due to a lack of awareness about corporate giving initiatives. This shouldn’t be the case!
Make sure you’re educating your supporters on a consistent and ongoing basis, and you could be well on your way to a substantial increase in matching gift fundraising success.
Interested in learning more about matching gift opportunities and how to drive participation for your nonprofit cause? Check out these additional recommended resources:
How to Get Matching Gifts Trending at Your Organization. How can you use current marketing trends to get the word out about matching gift opportunities? We share several innovative ideas, from social media usage to artificial intelligence, in this recent blog post.
Top Matching Gift Practices | Actionable Insights & Examples. Explore real-world examples of matching gift success. This guide walks through tried-and-true tips from the nation’s leading nonprofits—and how they promote matching gifts to their audiences.
Interested in learning more about communicating the value of matching gifts and securing buy-in from your stakeholders? Check out our immersive webinar on the topic!
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/DTD_How-to-Increase-Donor-Awareness-about-Matching-Gift-Programs_Feature.png6001600Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2014-08-25 21:31:022023-07-21 14:23:05Increase Matching Gift Awareness [And Revenue!]
At Double the Donation, we receive a wide range of inquiries from organizations seeking to maximize their matching gift revenue by proactively pursuing matches for all qualifying donations. One question that comes up on occasion has to do with matching gifts-in-kind—and whether in-kind donations are eligible to be matched through corporate matching gift programs.
The answer to this question can be a bit nuanced as the matching gift eligibility of gifts can vary based on company-specific guidelines. But let’s dive deeper into the subject by exploring some of the most commonly asked questions along with hearing from real companies’ matching gift programs.
Interested in learning more about matching gift best practices, leveraging in-kind donations, and how the two fit together? Let’s begin!
FAQ from Nonprofits and Donors on Matching Gifts-in-Kind
Understanding matching gifts and in-kind donations can be tricky. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions from nonprofits like yours (and sometimes even their donors!).
What are in-kind donations?
In-kind donations—or gifts-in-kind—are typically considered any type of non-monetary contribution to a nonprofit cause. While many donors provide cash (or check, credit card, bank transfer, etc.) that allows the organization to purchase goods and services required to keep their mission running, in-kind donations are offerings of the goods and services themselves.
One of the most common examples of gifts-in-kind is that of a canned food drive for a local food bank or pantry. People within a community are asked to provide donations of non-perishable food items which will then be distributed to the organization’s beneficiaries, as opposed to providing funds that the organization uses to make food purchases themselves.
Other types of in-kind donations you might see include crypto-currency gifts, vehicle donations, clothing drives, fundraising event prizes (such as auction items), technology and office equipment, free rentals (such as meeting spaces), or volunteer hours of specialized skills (such as graphic design, tax consulting, etc.).
Are gifts-in-kind eligible to be matched through matching gift programs?
This is a frequently asked question regarding gifts-in-kind—by both the donors contributing the in-kind donations and the nonprofits receiving them. Here are a few examples of inquiries you might see:
From a donor —
“I work for a company with a matching gift program and want to donate food and supplies to a nonprofit to assist with a recent natural disaster. Do most companies match these in-kind donations?”
From a nonprofit —
“We’re reviewing our list of donors from the past few months and noticed that some individuals who made in-kind donations work for companies with matching gift programs. Are these donations eligible to be matched?”
If you’re looking for a quick explanation, you can assume the answer can vary depending on the company being asked, especially if the in-kind donation is given in the form of stocks or crypto-currencies.
This nuance adds a layer of complexity to matching gift programs – even if some parties define stock or crypto donations as “in-kind” gifts of property, many corporations classify these assets differently than personal property like a tractor trailer or canned food.
Because each company develops its own unique set of matching gift program guidelines, it can be difficult to provide a blanket answer for for which types of in-kind gifts are match-eligible. However, we’ll explore a few businesses’ eligibility criteria below to get a better sense of the relationship between matching gifts and in-kind donations.
Another thing to keep an eye out for when it comes to in-kind donations of time and services (rather than goods and products) is volunteer grants!
Similar to matching gifts, volunteer grants are workplace giving programs offered by companies where they agree to financially support the nonprofits their employees are involved with. Though not all volunteer work is considered an in-kind donation (it typically must be an individual volunteering their “specialized skills”), supporters who work for companies with volunteer grants may want to look into these offerings as well.
How do you determine whether a gift-in-kind is match-eligible?
The easiest way to find out if any nonprofit donation is matchable is by utilizing a company database such as Double the Donation. This is true for gifts-in-kind as well as your traditional monetary contributions.
With this tool in hand, all you (or your donors) need to do is begin a quick search of the company’s name—the database widget will even autocomplete search inquiries and account for spelling errors, name variations, and subsidiaries—and the specific matching gift guidelines will be available in seconds.
If a donor’s employer is listed in the database, it should include a document or online portal where users can go to find out more information about program eligibility. This is likely where the information about in-kind match qualifications is housed, which will provide you with your answer.
What Popular Matching Gift Companies Say About In-Kind Gifts
Thousands of companies offer corporate matching gift programs where they agree to financially match donations made by their employees. Employees and nonprofits want to know whether gifts-in-kind are matching gift eligible, but it can be difficult to determine as it varies from company to company.
But let’s hear from some real companies! Here are excerpts from a few companies with matching gift programs and what they say about in-kind matching in their program guidelines!
It’s important to note: While some of these companies do not offer matches on personal or real property, they do offer matches for stock and marketable securities – this distinction shows the nuance in matching gift programs that are important to learn. If you have employees who work for a match-eligible company, make sure they know if their stock or crypto-currency gifts qualify for a match, even if their “property” (as defined by their company), does not!
Google is well known for offering a variety of employee giving programs. With matching gifts on personal donations, a fundraising match, and a dollars for doers program, Google supports organizations that employees are passionate about in a number of ways.
In terms of matching gifts-in-kind, here’s what Google’s program guidelines have to say:
“Your gift must be in the form of check, credit card, or marketable securities with a quoted market value. Gifts of securities will be matched with cash. The value of the stock will be calculated using the price at the close of the market on the day of the transfer of the security. We don’t match any other forms of personal or real property, including in-kind gifts.
Google does offer a volunteer grant program where they contribute $10 for each hour an employee volunteers with a charitable organization.”
John Deere offers a matching gift program for employees where each employee is able to request matching funds on up to $1,000 of personal contributions each year. John Deere matches donations to nearly all 501(c)(3) organizations.
In terms of matching gifts-in-kind, here’s what John Deere’s program guidelines have to say:
“To qualify for a program match, employee gifts must:
Be paid before a match is paid – pledges do not qualify.
Be paid in cash, by check or credit card.
Qualify as a deductible charitable contribution by the U. S. Internal Revenue Service.
Be personal contributions by employees only – funds cannot be collected from others and pooled for program match purposes.
John Deere also offers a generous volunteer grant program, where eligible employees may request grants worth $25 for each hour they volunteer with an organization—up to $1,000 per year!”
Did you know that General Electric was the first company to institute a matching gift program? Yes it’s true. Back in 1954, General Electric created the Corporate Alumni Program to support its employees in their personal philanthropy and charitable giving. Since then, it has become a model for countless other employee matching gift programs.
In terms of matching gifts-in-kind, here’s what General Electric’s program guidelines have to say:
“Gifts may be made via cash, check, credit card or stock. Gifts may also be made by current payment from an entity such as a personal foundation or donor advised fund if that entity has been funded solely by the eligible GE participant (note that gifts made to such an entity cannot be matched). The GE Foundation will not match real estate, in-kind, or non-monetary contributions (e.g. services, materials, supplies, etc.).”
Beam Inc. matches donations from employees to a wide range of organizations, including educational institutions (K-12 and higher education alike), arts and cultural organizations, and youth-based nonprofit causes.
In terms of matching gifts-in-kind, here’s what Beam Inc.’s program guidelines have to say:
“Examples of donations that are not eligible for a matching gift are those involving:
Dues, payments, subscriptions, and contributions which accrue significant personal benefits to the donor (e.g., gifts, which cover the cost of services, tuition, fees, subscriptions, tickets, or other considerations).
Alvaria offers both an employee matching gift program as well as a volunteer grant program. Through its matching gift program, Alvaria matches up to $1,000 annually per employee per year. Additionally, through its Dollars for Doers program, the company provides $10 per every hour an employee volunteers (max $250 annually).
In terms of matching gifts-in-kind, here’s what Alvaria’s program guidelines have to say:
“What gifts are ineligible?
Gifts that result in a benefit to the employee. Examples include dues, subscriptions, fees, loan repayments, bequests, insurance premiums, tuition, tickets, and dinners.
Gifts or payments for primarily political or religious purposes, unless specified for a community outreach program, such as a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
In-kind gifts or gifts of real estate.
And a number of other common restrictions.
Alvaria will provide $10 per hour in volunteer grants up to $250 per employee per year”
State Farm Insurance offers a generous employee matching gift program where they agree to match up to $4,500 in individual donations per year. And all sorts of employees—including current full-time, part-time, and retired team members alike—are eligible to participate.
In terms of matching gifts-in-kind, here’s what State Farm’s program guidelines have to say:
“Ineligible Donations/Contributions and Designations –
Contributions that are directed toward event tickets, dinners, gala, entry fees, and raffles.
Bequests.
Dues to organizations, groups, or clubs.
Magazine or newsletter subscriptions.
Payments for books, loans, or student fees.
Tuition payments or other contributions that reduce or eliminate tuition.
Unpaid, pledged contributions.
In-kind donations and gifts made in lieu of a pledge.
Insurance premiums other than life insurance.
State Farm offers a volunteer grant program (known as State Farm’s Good Neighbor Grant Program) which entitles an employee to request a $500 grant on behalf of a nonprofit organization they volunteered 40 hours of time with”
Each type of donation offers organizations like yours the opportunity to better pursue their mission and make their mark on the world. Unfortunately, most in-kind donations are not going to be eligible for corporate matches through donors’ employers. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have successful matching gift strategies alongside your in-kind fundraising efforts!
Learn more about matching gifts and the opportunities they bring nonprofit fundraisers with other Double the Donation resources:
Nonprofit Stock Donations and Matching Gifts | What to Know. Stock donations are one of the most common types of in-kind donations for a lot of organizations. Check out this in-depth guide for nonprofits accepting gifts of securities and looking to make the most of matching gifts.
Corporate Giving and Matching Gift Statistics [Updated 2022]. Though many in-kind donations are not likely to result in a matching gift, matching gifts are more common than you might think! Explore these impressive matching gift statistics to better understand the opportunity at hand.
Many nonprofits host special event fundraisers like galas to boost them toward their revenue goals. However, only a few organizations realize that tickets and donations made during the event might be eligible for corporate matching gifts.
When brainstorming ideas for your next fundraiser, don’t steer clear of special events. Instead, research your donors’ employers and your corporate match opportunities. To kick off your research, review the following key examples and commonalities between companies’ giving programs:
Ready to learn more about matching gifts for special event fundraisers? Let’s get started!
1. Examples of Donations at Annual Galas and Special Events
Because of your familiarity with the nonprofit world, you likely know that organizations typically incorporate donations with their special events.
Let’s take a look at some notable special events hosted by some major, well-known organizations:
The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association gives individuals an opportunity to name one of its animals. For donations between $1,000-$50,000, you can name an animal, receive recognition in the zoo publication, have your photo taken with the animal, and get a VIP tour.
The Atlanta Botanical Garden has its Garden of Eden Gala, the organization’s largest annual fundraiser. Tickets range in price from a few hundred dollars to $25,000 if you want to be the presenting sponsor. Benefits include tickets to the organization’s Ball, a Patron Party, and much more.
NEXT for Autism (formerly New York Collaborates for Autism) hosts its annual “Night of Too Many Stars”. Celebrities such as Jon Stewart, Katie Perry, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Seth Rogan, and many others auction off once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to hang out with them. For instance, becoming “best friends with Amy Poehler & Tina Fey” for an evening was auctioned for thousands of dollars a few years ago.
Most nonprofits aren’t quite on this huge event level, but it’s a great place to start researching. Take the time to look at special events hosted by major nonprofits whose missions are similar to yours. Who knows? Their major fundraisers may inspire your next event!
2. Eligibility of Donations Made at Galas and Special Events
It may come as a surprise, but many companies that offer matching gift programs will match donations made at special events!
When reviewing a company’s matching gift form, you may notice a sentence similar to “the corporation will not match tickets or subscriptions.” For instance, if your organization is a symphony selling a concert ticket or a science museum selling an IMAX ticket, companies won’t match the ticket price.
The reason for this is that donors are receiving a tangible benefit that would be charged by other for-profit organizations. For example, an IMAX movie could be compared to a regular movie ticket while the symphony could be compared to a sporting event ticket.
If that’s the case, then why are gala tickets and special event tickets often eligible?
If you look at the fine print on many nonprofits’ special event tickets, you’ll notice that it mentions a tax-deductible amount for each ticket. The tax-deductible dollar amount is what’s eligible to be matched.
In general, at galas, you must subtract the cost of a similar meal and any gifts that guests receive. Otherwise, it won’t be considered matching-gift eligible. For instance, if you host a gala and sell $500 tickets, you have to determine the fair market value of the benefits. In other words, how much would someone spend on the event if it wasn’t a fundraiser?
Let’s say people would typically spend $100 for a gala like yours plus $50 on the meal at a local restaurant. That makes the fair market value $150, meaning the tax-deductible amount is $350. In this case, $350 is the amount that would eligible for matches.
The Bottom Line: A significant percentage of a gala ticket’s price is tax-deductible and is often eligible to be matched by an employee’s company. However, corporate guidelines do vary by company.
3. Matching Gifts for Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers
When researching corporate match programs, you may come across some companies that match the fundraising efforts of its employees. In other words, if their employees voluntarily fundraise for your cause (i.e. peer-to-peer fundraising), a company that offers this program will match the entire amount up to a certain limit.
Some of the major companies that offer these generous programs are:
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a common strategy for boosting nonprofit revenue. With these campaigns, your volunteer fundraisers receive their own personalized webpages where they raise money for your cause. The most common example of these effective fundraisers is walkathons. Though these campaigns are heavily reliant on online tactics, once you master the peer-to-peer approach, you’ll boost your fundraising potential!
4. Tips for Promoting Matching Gifts to Special Event Attendees
Unfortunately, for organizations, it’s less common to receive employee matching gifts for galas and special events than it is for regular donations or annual fund contributions.
As with all donations, you have to raise awareness and make it easy for donors to submit matching gift requests. However, there’s an extra component when it comes to galas and special events.
Even if an individual knows about their company’s matching gift program, they rarely realize a portion of their recently purchased ticket is tax-deductible and often match-eligible. Therefore, you need to promote this. Start by doing the following:
Include the tax-deductible amount on the ticket with a line such as “Did you know $X of your ticket is tax-deductible? If your employer offers a matching gift program, it may be eligible to be matched.”
If you subscribe to Double the Donation’s matching gift service, consider setting up a laptop with your organization’s page about matching gifts that’s easily accessible at your event.
At payment stations where donors pay for auction items, make sure your staff asks each individual or his or her spouse if they work for a company with a matching gift program.
Do you give donors an acknowledgement card after they buy a ticket or make an additional donation? If so, this is a great time to encourage donors to see if their employer or their spouse’s employer offers a matching gift program.
In addition to helping your day-to-day fundraising strategy, a matching gift database (like Double the Donation) can help your organization pinpoint additional revenue opportunities at special events.
Your nonprofit should promote corporate giving at any special fundraising event. Before going into ways to do this, here’s how Double the Donation works:
A nonprofit embeds the tool on its website or online donation page.
A donor (or volunteer) starts typing his/her employer’s name.
The database autocompletes the search, suggesting companies for the user to click.
The user receives all available updated information on his/her employer’s giving program.
Best of all, the tool easily integrates with other fundraising software. Larger nonprofits might benefit more from 360MatchPro by Double the Donation, which streamlines the process even more through email automation and email domain screening.
There are multiple ways you can promote corporate philanthropy with Double the Donation’s services:
At your event, set up a laptop with your page that has the search tool embedded.
Analyze your guest list prior to the event and research attendees’ employers. That way, you’ll have more insight on who to approach at your event.
For your event, create and hand out educational pamphlets on matching gifts and local employers that offer them.
Get creative with your matching gift promotion! Think your nonprofit can benefit from Double the Donation?
Corporate philanthropy represents a major opportunity for nonprofits. By taking the time to incorporate it into your fundraising and outreach strategies, you set your nonprofit up for success. Few nonprofits take the time to do proper research on these programs. Because of that, they overlook major revenue opportunities.
Now that you know special event tickets and donations can be matched by most employers, get started boosting your revenue!
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Special-Fundraising-Events_Feature.jpg285725Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2014-04-25 13:06:232023-03-06 17:45:36Matching Gifts for Special Fundraising Events
Is your nonprofit organization missing out on potential funds from matching gift donations? Yes.
Does your development department have someone who is knowledgeable about matching gifts and the intricacies of the process? No.
Would you be interested in having someone on your staff who can bring added value to your annual fund? Yes.
If your answers match ours, then it might be time for your organization to bring on a dedicated matching gift coordinator. We’re going to explore hiring a matching gift coordinator through the following topics:
With the sample job description, we’ll look at a general overview, key responsibilities, and the characteristics of a qualified candidate. Follow along for a deep-dive into hiring a matching gift specialist.
What is a matching gift coordinator?
A matching gift coordinator is simply the staff member in charge of all of your organization’s matching gift needs, from discovering which donors are match eligible to educating those donors about submitting match requests.
This is the staff member that, for a smaller nonprofit, directs donors to your organization’s searchable matching gift database or even searches donors’ information themselves. Or, on the other hand, if you’re a larger nonprofit– this is the staff member that manages your matching gift automation tool. Finally, after determining eligibility, this staff member follows-up with donors, starting the process.
We’ve put together a sample job description for a matching gift coordinator that you can post on a multitude of great nonprofit job and career sites. Of course, you’ll need to add in the more specific elements that make your organization unique to help you stand out from the crowd. Use this template to get started, and customize it according to your organization’s specific successes!
Matching Gift Coordinator
Overview
The Matching Gift Coordinator is responsible for the oversight of the matching gift program, a component of fund development. This position entails communicating with individual donors to ensure knowledge about the possibility of matching gifts, as well as maintaining and updating appropriate information on the website and within relevant marketing materials.
The Matching Gift Coordinator reports to and works in collaboration with the Director of Development.
Key Responsibilities
Checking all individual donations against the donor’s employer to see if they are eligible for a corporate match.
Reaching out to individual donors to inform them of the possibility of a corporate matching gift.
Providing donors with appropriate information and guidelines to make the match process as effortless as possible.
Maintaining and updating the matching gift information on software such as Double the Donation as necessary.
Sending timely acknowledgments to individual donors and matching gift companies.
Maintaining the matching gift section on the fundraising pages of the website.
Marketing matching gift opportunities via various outlets including social media, email campaigns, and annual fund letters.
Characteristics of a Qualified Candidate
The Matching Gift Coordinator position requires an organized, proactive, and energetic individual who will work effectively with donors and corporations.
A successful candidate will have the following qualities:
At least 2 years of experience in fund development in nonprofit organizations.
An ability to think independently and communicate effectively.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
An ability to learn quickly, especially with regard to software management.
A matching gift coordinator can help your organization increase its incoming donations through matching gift programs. These programs present a huge opportunity, and you don’t want to miss out due to being understaffed!
If it’s time for your organization to bring on a matching gift coordinator, use the above job description to start your search.
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Matching-Gift-Coordinator_Feature.jpg270720Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2014-02-07 13:30:582023-04-08 12:31:34Finding A Matching Gift Coordinator: Sample Job Description
Looking for information on Benevity, or trying to figure out which companies use Benevity’s corporate giving software?
Good news! While Double the Donation is a separate company (we provide employee matching gift tools for nonprofits, whereas Benevity provides services to corporations), we can share much of the information you’re looking for.
It’s important for companies to put an emphasis on workplace giving programs—especially corporate matching gifts—and do what they can to encourage employees to participate. Benevity is one of the leading corporate giving vendors that can help companies do just that.
About Benevity’s Workplace Giving Software
Almost all major companies have philanthropic giving programs in place. Sometimes they’re managed internally, but many use a corporate giving vendor for their program’s administration.
One such corporate giving vendor, Benevity, was founded in Calgary in 2008 by Bryan de Lottinville. Since then, it has become one of the leading providers of CSR software in both the U.S. and Canada.
Benevity offers a full suite of technical solutions to help companies power their corporate giving programs. These include:
Company & user-generated volunteering opportunities
Dynamic news & blog content
Charitable rewards & matching incentives
Comprehensive reporting capabilities
International capabilities
It’s also worth noting that Benevity is a registered B Corp (meaning, they use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems). Benevity helps companies make a difference while achieving greater business impacts from their cause marketing, community investment, workplace giving, and volunteering programs.
Companies That Use Benevity
Benevity provides corporate giving software to many U.S. and Canadian-based corporations. A few clients include:
Here’s what the Benevity portal for Nike looks like:
Benevity offers employees an easy way to access their company’s workplace giving program and log their donations online. If you want to make it easy for employees to participate in your corporate philanthropy efforts, consider using a vendor like Benevity!
Benevity Causes for Nonprofits
Benevity Causes is a portal that Benevity runs for nonprofits. It offers organizations direct access to customize their interactions with companies around the world.
Some of the benefits Benevity Causes provides include:
Gaining exposure & connecting with businesses
Updating your cause profile
Accessing detailed donor reports
Receiving funds faster & more efficiently
Adding volunteer opportunities
Since Benevity provides the software that powers many large companies’ corporate philanthropy efforts, we recommend that all nonprofits register with Benevity Causes.
Double the Donation’s Relationship with Benevity
Benevity and Double the Donation are separate businesses, but both serve corporate philanthropy efforts.
While Benevity provides workplace giving tools to companies, Double the Donation helps nonprofits raise money from the employee matching gift programs offered by companies across the world.
Double the Donation’s database of matching gift companies includes matching gift programs either managed internally at companies or outsourced to one of the many corporate vendors, including:
Benevity
America’s Charities
AmeriGives
Bright Funds
Causecast
CyberGrants
FrontStream
Millie
Point
SmartSimple
YourCause
These workplace giving solutions help companies manage their matching gift and volunteer programs, while streamlining the entire process so their employees can easily participate.
How Do I Contact Benevity?
If you’re a corporation interested in learning more about Benevity’s workplace giving software solutions, you can contact the company in one of three ways:
By mail – Benevity, #700, 611 Meredith Road NE, Calgary, AB T2E 2W5
Reach out to learn more about Benevity’s services!
About Double the Donation’s Matching Gift Software
Double the Donation sells an easy-to-use tool to nonprofits to help them promote matching gifts to donors (if you’re a nonprofit rather than a company, check out our service to see if it can help your organization increase its matching gift revenue). Our database of matching gift companies includes those administered by Benevity, as well as those managed by other corporate giving vendors.
Double the Donation’s team researches and manages a database of matching gift company guidelines, forms, and contact information that nonprofits and their donors can access. If you’re a nonprofit looking to improve your matching gift fundraising, test out our service.
Additional Workplace Giving Tool Resources
There are many resources at your disposal when it comes to corporate giving. Check out these additional articles to find out more!
Are you a K-12 private school looking to raise more money from employee matching gift programs? If so, this article is for you!
A significant percentage of the companies that offer to match employee donations will double donations to K-12 private schools. But just because companies offer these programs, doesn’t mean your school’s parents and donors are following through with their match requests.
There are three keys to increasing the amount of money you’re raising from employee grant programs.
#1 – Know Which Companies Match Gifts to Private Schools
At the most basic level, we see some independent schools suggesting that parents “reach out to their HR departments.” But that’s just the beginning. If your private school wants to increase matching gift revenue, make sure you’re aware of the many companies that match employee donations.
In fact, hundreds of companies in nearly every major city match employee donations. While we can’t list out our entire database, here are a few examples to help your independent school’s staff get a better feel for the standard match programs offered by companies,
Disney
The Walt Disney Corporation will match donations made to a variety of nonprofits, including private schools (K-12 and higher education institutions). Disney offers to match up to $25,000 a year per employee for both full and part-time staff members.
And don’t forget about your volunteers! Through the Disney VoluntEARS program, the company offers up to a $2,000 grant for an employee who volunteers for between 10 and 150+ hours in a year.
PepsiCo offers a matching gift program where the company matches donations to nearly all nonprofit organizations including independent K-12 schools. Each year Pepsi matches eligible contributions of up to $10,000 per employee, sometimes at a rate as high as 2:1 (effectively tripling donations.)
And don’t forget about grandparents! Pepsi’s employee match program is open to current employees as well as retirees or their surviving spouses and domestic partners.
Unfortunately donors must be the ones to actually initiate the matching gift process. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play a role in prompting donors to think about and submit matching gifts.
We encourage you to take a few minutes to review your fundraising efforts (ex. check your website, email templates, paper letters, etc.) to see where you’re promoting matching gifts. You’ll surely find a number of places where you should be including matching gifts. For instance:
If you have a few minutes look through our matching gift marketing resources for ideas and examples of how other organizations are effectively promoting match programs to parents and donors.
#3 – Make It Easy:
Let’s face it, parents and donors are busy. While they clearly care about your school, between carpool, coaching their kids’ sports teams, PTA duties, and of course their own jobs, time is their most precious asset. So ensure you’re making it as easy as possible for your donors to submit matching gifts.
Providing parents with company specific matching gift information so they don’t need to go to their HR departments can go a long way. This could include information such as:
Forms
Guidelines
Employee eligibility
Instructions
And anything else your donors need
Consider reaching out to major employers in your area to obtain the appropriate forms or subscribing to a matching gift service (such as Double the Donation).
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/DTD_Private-Schools-and-Matching-Gifts_Email.jpg315800Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2013-10-10 02:46:202023-09-11 17:40:053 Keys for Private Schools to Maximize Matching Gift Programs
Corporate philanthropy is a tricky topic for most nonprofit professionals, because there are so many guidelines and restrictions that come with them. However, that does not mean your nonprofit should give up on developing a corporate giving strategy.
Oftentimes, both potential donors and nonprofits run into the issue of non-personal donations. From the donor perspective, some employers don’t offer matching gift donations. Because of this, they may consider giving their money to a friend whose employer does offer matching gifts to donate for them.
From the nonprofit perspective, some donors work at companies with fewer matching gift limits, so they wonder if they can funnel donations through these individuals to make sure all donations are matched.
To fully understand situations pertaining to non-personal donations, let’s look into a few key questions:
If you’re ready to learn more about match-eligibility for non-personal donations, let’s get started.
1. Are Non-Personal Donations Eligible for Matching Gift Programs?
Nonprofits often have a strong desire to maximize donations from matching gift programs, and rightfully so! However, we strongly recommend that donors only take advantage of their own employers’ match programs.
Typically, company guidelines specifically state something like the following: “Gifts must be personal contributions paid either in cash or securities.” Oftentimes, matching gift programs are designed for personal contributions from employees only.
Thus, from a corporate standpoint, passing donations through a supporter who works for a matching gift company is at least frowned upon. The actual reprimands for doing this aren’t always clear, but the next section goes into a few possible consequences.
Hopefully, the nonprofit community recognizes that corporate philanthropy programs are intended to democratize the corporate giving process. In other words, companies want their employees to direct how the giving budget gets spent. Businesses want to give to causes that employees care about, not employees’ friends. These programs are completely optional, so hopefully, everyone utilizes them in the spirit for which they were designed.
2. Why Shouldn’t Donors Give Non-Personal Donations?
In addition to going against the spirit of corporate philanthropy, there are a few other reasons to avoid matching gift requests for non-personal donations. For more context, let’s go into a few of those reasons.
Potential Fraud
Whenever a matching gift request is submitted, the employee has to sign the form, indicating that the donation adheres to the company’s guidelines. Additionally, whenever a nonprofit verifies a donation, the nonprofit confirming the donation is also signing that it agrees the donation meets the company’s guidelines.
In other words, if someone donates a friend’s money and claims that it’s theirs, that’s a non-personal donation. Therefore, it goes against most company guidelines. By signing the form, both the nonprofit and the donor are agreeing that it adheres to the guidelines, which is not the case.
While we certainly aren’t legal experts, there’s a strong chance that both the employee and the nonprofit would be committing fraud by submitting or verifying match requests for non-personal donations. Doing so could put the employee’s job at risk while also jeopardizing the nonprofit’s eligibility for future matches and grants.
Tax Implications
By submitting a matching gift request for a non-personal donation, there are certainly tax implications. For instance, who gets to claim the charitable tax deduction on the original donation? Should it be the individual who gave his money to a friend to donate, or the friend who donated the money and submitted the match request?
Even if you don’t get into legal trouble for submitting a matching gift request, you’ll certainly run into issues when tax season comes around.
Takeaway: While these obstacles are difficult to overcome, they can be avoided altogether. Simply don’t submit or verify matching gift requests for non-personal donations.
3. How Can a Matching Gift Database Identify Other Revenue Opportunities?
While it may not be wise to submit a matching gift request for non-personal donations, you can pinpoint other corporate philanthropy opportunities. This is done with a matching gift database like Double the Donation.
By adding Double the Donation’s services to your tech toolkit, your nonprofit won’t miss out on important revenue opportunities. For instance, the tool:
Enables donors to search over 20,000 companies.
Can be embedded across your online fundraising channels.
Provides users with all available info on companies (e.g. forms, guidelines, etc.).
Larger organizations may benefit more from 360MatchPro by Double the Donation. This tool automatically identifies match-eligible donors, follows up with them, drives matches to completion, and even puts an automated match plan in place!
Plus, with either tool, your donors, who thought they couldn’t receive matching gifts, might turn out to be eligible!
Think your nonprofit can benefit from Double the Donation?
We always encourage organizations to stick to the spirit of the match programs. In other words, these programs are designed for personal donations, so employees should use them for personal donations. This answer might not be what most individuals and nonprofits want to hear, but it’s best to steer clear of these situations.
Even if your nonprofit doesn’t have many matching gift opportunities, using a database can enhance your corporate fundraising strategy. Plus, there might be more match opportunities than you thought!
PepsiCo offers a matching gift program where the company matches donations to nearly all nonprofit organizations including independent K-12 schools. Each year Pepsi matches eligible contributions of up to $10,000 per employee, sometimes at a rate as high as 2:1 (effectively tripling donations.)
