Examples & Insights from the Matching Gift Idea Exchange
In June 2024, Double the Donation organized the industry’s first-ever Matching Gift Idea Exchange. This was an opportunity for nonprofits, schools, and other groups to share their best matching gift materials and be inspired by their peers’ ideas as well.
Why?
Matching gifts are a powerful tool for fundraising organizations, allowing them to maximize donations and engage supporters more deeply. However, few organizations are truly maximizing their matching gift potential, and a lack of promotion is a leading reason why.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into 10 inspiring examples and key insights from the completed Matching Gift Idea Exchange. From streamlined matching processes to creative promotional tactics, these examples demonstrate the power of matching gifts to significantly enhance fundraising with valuable inspiration and practical tips.
- Supplement your match page with video content.
- Make the page accessible from your site navigation.
- Host a matching gifts tool on event pages, too.
- Meet your donors where they are with SMS messaging.
- Leverage direct mail to promote matching opportunities.
- Pair corporate matching with matching gift challenges.
- Thoroughly thank donors for matching their gifts.
- Acknowledge companies that match to your cause.
- Promote matching through personal and mass emails.
- Turn corporate matching into a dedicated campaign effort.
Note: Explore how many clients use Double the Donation’s tools to streamline and enhance their matching gift promotions. Not a client yet? No worries! Click here to request a personalized demo.
1) Supplement your match page with video content.
An organization’s matching gifts page is one of its most invaluable assets, especially when it comes to marketing matching gifts effectively. Implementing the right content on the page is essential for driving more matches to completion!
What this Organization Did Well:
The OKCMOA, or the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, has embedded a one-minute informational video on its matching gifts page. This resource, which the organization submitted as part of our Matching Gift Idea Exchange, provides a quick overview of the matching gift opportunity, its benefits to nonprofits, and how donors can determine their eligibility and next steps using Double the Donation’s matching gift database, embedded above.
Best Practice For Your Team:
Take a multimedia approach on your organization’s dedicated matching gifts page. We recommend incorporating a combination of text, video, and graphic elements to grasp best and retain your audience’s attention while they learn about matching gifts on your site.
Double the Donation clients can access a free, pre-made matching gift video (plus a ton of other graphics and materials) or request a custom-branded version for a fee within the platform.
2) Make the page accessible from your site navigation.
It hardly matters how well-designed your matching gifts page is if no donors can locate it on your website. That’s why making your information easily accessible is a must! Prominently featuring matching gifts on your navigation menu ensures a seamless donor experience and underscores the importance of matching gifts in your fundraising efforts.
What this Organization Does Well:
Blue Faery (the Adrienne Wilson Liver Cancer Association) makes matching gift information easy to locate. All a user has to do is access the drop-down menu from the main “Donate” button and select “Matching Gifts.”
Best Practice For Your Team:
Add a link to your matching gifts page to your main site navigation! Feel free to nest it under relevant parent pages, such as your “Donate” button or “Ways to Give” compilation, for the best results.
3) Host a matching gifts tool on event pages, too.
Sometimes, an organization will host separate event pages or microsites to market upcoming opportunities (hint: this is a fairly common practice for run/walk/ride events and other peer-to-peer fundraisers). If that’s the case for your team, you’ll want to be sure you’re promoting matching gifts throughout your event pages as well—after all, those gifts are often eligible to be matched, too.
What this Organization Does Well:
The Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research is a largely peer-to-peer-based organization, with a significant portion of its revenue generated from large-scale fundraising events, such as the annual Tour de Pier. To ensure that eligible gifts are successfully matched, the nonprofit has implemented a dedicated Matching Gifts page on its event microsite—complete with a matching gift search tool and an overview of the programs.
And, in order to mitigate any confusion, the fundraising team even provides the correct name and tax ID number that an individual should use when submitting their matching gift requests.
Best Practice For Your Team:
At the very least, mention matching gifts with a dedicated callout on your event or campaign pages. Even better? Establish a separate matching gifts page on your event site to ensure your audience is exposed to the idea and provided with the necessary information to get started.
4) Meet your donors where they are with SMS messaging.
According to Nonprofit Source, mobile donations have increased by more than 205% in the past year, and 51% of nonprofit website traffic originates from mobile devices.
What does that mean for you? Your donors’ phones are where they are, and you can meet them there with text message engagement strategies.
What this Organization Does Well:
This text message campaign from Save the Children demonstrates the ease with which a matching gift can be requested right from a donor’s mobile device. An individual receives one or both of the texts below and can initiate their match without hesitation simply by clicking the provided link. Talk about frictionless giving experiences!
Best Practice For Your Team:
Take a multi-channel engagement approach by incorporating SMS into your outreach strategy, in addition to standard follow-up emails and other methods.
Note: Double the Donation offers automated SMS messaging for its Enterprise-level users. Interested? Learn more about upgrading your account in our comprehensive guide.
5) Leverage direct mail to promote matching opportunities.
In today’s digital world, it can be easy to forget about the power of direct mail marketing. However, incorporating snail mail into your matching gift promotional strategy can have a significant impact.
What this Organization Does Well:
Scripps College utilizes beautifully designed, eye-catching direct mail cards to draw its supporters’ attention to matching gifts. And, to empower donors to take the following steps without delay, the institution implements a scannable QR code that directs recipients to its online matching gifts page.
Best Practice For Your Team:
Diversify your messaging with direct mail! If you already have a direct mail fundraising package going out, try adding an insert dedicated to matching gifts. Otherwise, consider a matching gift-focused postcard to spread the word.
6) Pair corporate matching with matching gift challenges.
Did you know that corporate or employee matching gifts represent only a single form of matching donation opportunity an organization might have? Matching gift challenges, also known as major donor matches, can play a significant role in boosting a nonprofit’s fundraising efforts. And they’re typically not mutually exclusive, either, meaning donors can have the chance to multiply their gifts twice!
What this Organization Does Well:
UWC-USA noted in the Matching Gift Idea Exchange that it combines the power of corporate matching gifts with other forms of donation matching, including major donor matching gift challenges. In a campaign, interest is typically generated by offering a major donor match. Then, once supporters have navigated to the campaign page, UWC also promotes corporate matching gift opportunities.
The results? The organization reported that campaign revenue is typically about 30% higher for those with a matching gift offer than for those without one. Additionally, a significantly higher percentage of donors check to see if their companies offer a donation match.
Best Practice For Your Team:
Try running a double-matching campaign! If you can find a major donor willing to put up a significant match amount, leverage that opportunity in addition to corporate matching gifts to get donors’ gifts multiplied again and again.
7) Thoroughly thank donors for matching their gifts.
There are many moving parts when it comes to getting a gift matched. Thanking your donors for their involvement allows you to communicate your gratitude and close the loop at each step of the process.
What this Organization Does Well:
UNCF makes a concerted effort to thank its matching gift donors at multiple touchpoints throughout the supporter journey. This includes upon the submission of their matching gift request and after the company has paid out the matching donation.
To best capture the recipient’s attention and convey their message, the organization does so with a well-designed postcard (or two!).
Best Practice For Your Team:
Showing appreciation is essential for any donor relationship, and communicating gratitude to your matching gift donors is crucial for retaining their support in the long run. As you do so, remember that they went above and beyond in requesting a matching gift. You, too, should go above and beyond in your thanksgiving.
8) Acknowledge companies that match to your cause.
When it comes to thanking donors for matching gifts, it’s generally recommended that you center your efforts around the individual who requested the match. However, acknowledging the company (i.e., the entity that pays out the match) can also go a long way in building long-term relationships.
What this Organization Does Well:
Michigan Technological University utilizes its matching gifts page for an additional purpose: to highlight leading matching gift companies that have made matches to the school in the past year. This way, the companies listed can feel the appreciation of their support, and donors accessing the page can gain at-a-glance insights into top matching gift companies in their network.
Best Practice For Your Team:
Shine a spotlight on examples of companies that have supported your cause with matching gifts in the past. Not only is this an excellent way to thank these matching gift contributors (with additional publicity), but it can also inspire more donors (from the spotlighted companies and otherwise) to want to get involved.
9) Promote matching through personal and mass emails.
More than likely, email makes up a significant portion of your supporter engagement strategy. There are emails you send to all donors (mass marketing) and those you send individually. For the best matching gift results, consider a mix of both types of outreach to grab your audience’s attention and drive more submissions to completion.
What this Organization Does Well:
Save the Boundary Waters employs a multifaceted approach to promoting matching gift opportunities through targeted email marketing. When a donor gives, they receive a personalized copy of the automated email (powered by Double the Donation) on the left. This encourages them to pursue a match for their recent gift while they are still at the height of their engagement with the organization.
Additionally, the team regularly promotes matching gifts through a segment of its digital newsletter, which is sent to all donors on the right. This enables the organization to raise awareness of its programs across its entire audience simultaneously.
 |
 |
Best Practice For Your Team:
Double the Donation research indicates that organizations that send a single matching gift email see an estimated 31% of eligible donations submitted for matching. Meanwhile, a second reminder email increases submissions by 45%, and a third email brings the total percentage of submitted eligible gifts to 49%.
So, what does that mean for you? To engage the most significant number of donors and achieve the best results, incorporate more than one matching gift email into your follow-up cadence. For even better results, vary the formatting and structure between newsletters, email blasts, personal reminders, and more.
10) Turn corporate matching into a dedicated campaign effort.
Rallying support around matching gifts can significantly amplify the support received from donors. Generating enthusiasm through campaigns, events, and other dedicated communications can go a long way in increasing awareness and participation in the programs.
What this Organization Does Well:
In this final submission from the Matching Gift Idea Exchange, Community Ministry has launched a dedicated campaign effort called the “Hunger Heroes.” This initiative included a campaign logo, a one-pager overviewing the opportunity and outlining how donors can get involved, an email blast, and several related social media posts.
Donors who get their gifts matched by their employers then earn the “Hunger Heroes” designation as a way to celebrate their above-and-beyond support and leverage social proof to drive additional engagement in the campaign.
Best Practice For Your Team:
Make matching gifts fun and exciting by adding a layer of novelty. Try providing donors with a digital “Matching Gift Donor” certificate or hosting an event alongside a big matching gift push.
Final Thoughts & Next Steps
As the above examples from the Matching Gift Idea Exchange demonstrate, there are numerous ways for nonprofits and schools to innovate and enhance their matching gift efforts. By implementing the strategies highlighted above, organizations can unlock additional funding, strengthen relationships with donors, and drive greater community impact.
All in all, we hope these insights have inspired you to bring your matching gift efforts to new heights. Stay tuned to participate in the Matching Gift Idea Exchange next year!
In the meantime, check out these additional resources to grow your knowledge of all things matching gifts:
- Free Downloadable Guide: Top Strategies for Marketing Matching Gifts. This comprehensive resource provides actionable tips and proven tactics to help you effectively promote matching gift programs to your donors. Get the guide to learn more and spread the word about these programs.
- Grow Your Fundraising Revenue: Access Real Double the Donation Case Studies. Discover how other nonprofits have successfully increased their fundraising revenue with Double the Donation. See the tangible results achieved and learn how you can replicate their success to boost your donations.
- 8 Ways to Encourage Donors to Submit Employee Matching Gift Requests. This resource offers practical strategies to motivate your supporters to take advantage of their employers’ matching gift opportunities. Implement these strategies to unlock the full potential of matching gifts.
