As a nonprofit marketer, brand awareness is at the top of your priorities list. While nonprofits have limited funding to grow their prospect lists, digital marketing for nonprofits opens up a world of opportunities for causes trying to get the most out of their budgets. Plus, your potential reach has never been so large! You can reach supporters across the globe in a matter of mere seconds, whether you’re promoting matching gifts, marketing your products and services, or sharing volunteering opportunities.
From social media to email to search engine marketing, you have so many incredible, low-cost options at your disposal to make your cause known. If you really want to stand out online, you’ve come to the right place! We’re here to help you harness the power of digital marketing for nonprofits by covering these key topics:
Here at Double the Donation, we work with nonprofits to raise more money through matching gifts. A big part of that involves nonprofits proactively marketing corporate giving opportunities to supporters, and we’ve seen the power the online space holds. We’re hoping to share some of what we’ve learned so you can expand your reach.
With a little research, you’ll be a nonprofit digital marketing whiz in no time! However, if you need a bit of guidance for your nonprofit’s digital marketing strategy, we recommend turning to the experts at Nexus Marketing. They specialize in search engine optimization (SEO) marketing and offer services tailored to nonprofits that sell products and services.
What Is Digital Marketing for Nonprofits?
Digital marketing for nonprofits is a specific subset of marketing for organizations that relies on the internet and online-dependent technologies, such as desktop computers and mobile devices. Nonprofits use digital outlets to spread mission awareness, solicit donations, sell products and services, increase volunteer numbers, promote events, and publicize their services.
Common outreach strategies include social media, texting, search engine optimization, search advertising, or any other internet-based approach at an organization’s disposal.
Why Is Digital Marketing for Nonprofits Important?
A strong digital presence is a must for any organization that wants to thrive in the modern age. You might be wondering, “What exactly will establishing a digital presence do for my cause?” Great question!
Here’s a breakdown of some of the best parts of effective online marketing for nonprofit organizations like yours:
- Eliminate geographical barriers. Supporters are more accessible than ever. By sending an email, publishing on social media, or sending a mass text, you can connect with people within seconds.
- Make supporting your nonprofit convenient. Your supporters are already online. They’re scrolling through social media, shopping, and Googling stuff they care about. Going digital allows you to make learning about and donating to your cause easy.
- Generating leads for products and services. Many nonprofits sell products and services to benefit their communities. If this description fits your nonprofit, then digital marketing channels can help you discover and build relationships with high-quality sales leads to grow your customer base.
- Open up two-way communication. Just like going digital makes your supporters more accessible, it does the same for your marketing team! Instead of talking at your supporters, you can engage in meaningful conversations when they comment on your social media posts or email you.
- Raise more. By engaging in storytelling tactics and leveraging online fundraising tools, you can inspire people to donate to your cause. You can also promote engaging fundraising opportunities, like corporate giving!
- Reduce marketing costs. We already touched on this, but digital marketing for nonprofits has minimal upfront costs, making it a cost-effective option.
The list of pros goes on and on! The examples above only scratch the surface. To experience any benefits, you’ll need a strong nonprofit digital marketing strategy to serve as the foundation of your outreach.
Creating Your Nonprofit Digital Marketing Strategy
It’s no secret that digital marketing for nonprofits is insanely powerful. However, it’s not enough to post on social media sporadically or send generic emails to constituents. The online space is competitive, so you need a holistic strategy that defines your objectives and how you’ll reach them. Otherwise, your efforts might be disjointed and not contribute much to strengthening your digital presence.
While each nonprofit’s marketing strategy will vary, there are some common steps to craft a plan that works for your cause. Let’s walk through those now!
1. Define your nonprofit’s digital marketing goals.
Laying out clear goals will help you craft the right messages to the right audiences who will get you there. Every digital communication you send will get you one step closer to reaching whatever goals you set, so spend plenty of time hashing your objectives out with your marketing team.
Generally speaking, you might want to boost awareness for corporate giving, increase membership renewals, or increase sales for your nonprofit’s services. Think through how these goals correlate with your overall mission and how your digital marketing efforts can support that. Let’s take a look at a specific example of a bad goal vs. a SMART goal:
Goal 1) Grow our email subscriber list and use that channel to earn more sales.
Goal 2) Add 1,000 more subscribers to our email list and use that channel to raise an additional $50,000 in sales revenue by the end of the year.
Notice how the second goal is much clearer, defines how your nonprofit’s digital marketing can support your mission, and gives you solid metrics to work toward. That’s because it’s what we call a SMART goal.
The SMART Goal Framework
As a marketer, you might already be aware of this approach. The SMART goal framework allows you to set clear goals that anyone on your team can understand. The acronym stands for:
- Specific: Be as clear as possible when setting nonprofit digital marketing goals. That way, everyone will know what you’re attempting to achieve! Returning to our example above, we’re clearly aiming to raise more money specifically through matching gifts by leveraging email rather than all channels.
- Measurable: Your goal should have clear metrics attached to measure performance. In our example, the key performance indicators are 1,000 more subscribers and $5,000 in matching gift revenue sourced from that channel.
- Attainable: Your goal should be reasonable yet still aspirational. You want to challenge your team without deterring them. For example, let’s say that you grew your email list by 800 subscribers and sourced $4,250 in matching gifts through that channel last year. That makes your new goal attainable yet aspirational!
- Relevant: Your nonprofit’s digital marketing goal should play into your overall mission. In the example above, it’s clear that growing email subscriptions will provide valuable fundraising dollars.
- Time-Based: Your goal needs a clear deadline to establish a sense of urgency! In the example above, we made the goal time-based by setting the end of the year as the deadline.
By following this framework, you can set objectives that make sense for your organization, make the most of digital outlets, and push your mission forward in meaningful ways.
2. Choose the right nonprofit digital marketing platforms.
There’s no shortage of nonprofit digital marketing platforms that you can leverage. Whether you’re trying to reach tech-savvy teens or email-reliant boomers, there’s a platform for reaching every segment of your audience.
Let’s walk through some of the most common ones:
- Search ads. Paid advertising is a fantastic way to promote your cause. Plus, many paid digital marketing platforms offer free or discounted rates for nonprofits. For example, the Google Ad Grants program offers $10,000 in free monthly funding to eligible nonprofit organizations that apply. Then, these nonprofits can spend that funding to create ads promoting their website at the top of Google search results pages for mission-specific keywords. Using search ads like Google Ads, you can promote anything from donation forms to educational content, bringing more visibility to your cause on search engines.
- SEO. In contrast to paid search ads, nonprofits can also drive website traffic with organic search results through search engine optimization, also known as SEO. Ranking number one among organic search results is a free way to attract new visitors to your website, which can be especially beneficial for nonprofits that depend on revenue-generating sales. However, to rank highly, nonprofits need to create content likely to get picked up and seen as valuable by search engines, which is where SEO comes in. SEO is the process of creating and adapting your content to be search engine friendly to boost online traffic.
- Social media. Channels like Instagram and Facebook are great organic channels for nonprofit digital marketing. Regularly post updates, engage in visual storytelling, and expand your audience by encouraging social sharing. Platforms like Facebook even offer unique fundraising features for supporters to drive donations on your behalf.
- Email. As our nonprofit fundraising statistics page explains, email-based marketing and promotional campaigns generate around 28% of all online nonprofit revenue. That makes email an essential channel for your nonprofit’s digital marketing strategy! Create eye-catching subject lines, send a regular newsletter, and promote relevant opportunities to each supporter group using your email marketing platform’s segmentation tools.
- Texting. SMS marketing has an incredible open rate of over 98%, compared to just 20% for emails. By leveraging texting in your online outreach, you can send succinct updates directly to supporters’ phones and tap into fundraising tools like text-to-give. While a great way to connect with supporters, this nonprofit digital marketing channel isn’t for every organization! Organizations that find this strategy most useful are those with younger audiences.
These platforms will serve as the foundation of your organization’s outreach. When getting started, think through your audience for each platform carefully. Then, craft messages that support your objectives and play to each channel’s strengths.
For example, if you’re aiming to boost awareness for your animal shelter’s adoption services, you might use search ads to amplify your adoption page, social media to share a testimonial video about an animal that found its forever home, email to promote an upcoming adoption event, and text to share a quick announcement and a link to your adoption page.
Pro tip: Use a mixture of platforms to connect with supporters. Multichannel marketing allows you to expand the number of people you’re able to reach, bringing more exposure to your cause online.
3. Push your digital marketing campaign live.
At this point, you’ll need to write your digital marketing messages and publish them on relevant platforms.
There’s a lot of competition online, so your team needs to do everything it can to stand out online. Get creative in how you present your messages. Lean into storytelling tactics, use visual techniques like video and images, and offer different engagement opportunities to garner as much attention as possible.
Remember, digital marketing for nonprofits offers two-way communication opportunities, so pay attention to people’s interactions with your posts and messages. You might like their comments, respond to their emails, or show them you appreciate their interactions with your team in some other way.
Finally, you’ll want to create a schedule for each platform, so your team creates a pattern of consistency. That way, supporters will regularly see your nonprofit’s updates in their inboxes and newsfeeds, keeping your cause top of mind.
Need campaign ideas to drive greater results through online marketing for nonprofits? Check out these creative marketing ideas from Getting Attention!
4. Monitor your nonprofit’s digital marketing performance.
Once you send your first round of outreach, the work’s just beginning! One of the best parts of going digital is that you can gather insightful metrics to inform future campaigns. Data-driven digital marketing for nonprofits is a must if you want to proactively grow your digital presence and provide value to your supporters.
During and after your campaigns, evaluate how successful your nonprofit digital marketing efforts are. Modern platforms make it easy to pull performance metrics and create reports to see how your efforts measure up against your goals.
Let’s break down the most common key performance indicators (KPIs) you can measure on each platform:
- Email: Open rates, click-through rate (CTR), and unsubscribe rates are a few engagement metrics that your team should pay attention to.
- Search ads: Your CTR and conversions (e.g., donations, event registrations, etc.) are the best metrics for determining the effectiveness of your search ads.
- SEO. SEO shares many of the same metrics as search ads but also takes rankings into account. What keywords you rank for, fluctuations in your rankings, and whether ranking pages see increased traffic and lead generation should all be monitored.
- Social media: Likes, shares, comments, and impressions can help you estimate your reach and engagement.
- Text: Delivery rate, opt-out rate, and conversions can let you know if your text outreach is performing as expected.
If your outreach is underperforming, make adjustments as you go. Do you have low email open rates? Experiment with your subject lines to capture more attention. Do you have exceptionally high social media impressions but minimal shares, likes, and comments? Your content might be reaching plenty of people, but it’s not quite doing the trick and inspiring them.
Do you have low delivery rates for texts? That may mean your supporters have changed their phone numbers. Don’t worry; this happens! Use a phone number append to make sure you have accurate phone numbers for supporters if your delivery rate is alarmingly low.
No matter what metrics you monitor, you need to pay attention to your performance. Successful digital marketing for nonprofits rides on these numbers!
Tips To Take Online Marketing for Nonprofits Up a Notch
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to digital marketing for nonprofits. As you get into the swing of things, test out different strategies to discover what works for your organization!
Let’s explore several best practices you can use to tailor your plan and maximize your marketing ROI.
Promote Your Website with Google Ads.
We touched on Google Ads earlier, but there’s so much more to it than what we’ve covered! Search ads are one of the most effective digital marketing outlets for nonprofits.
In fact, Getting Attention’s Google Ad Grant Impact Report explains that search ads have the highest ROI of any nonprofit paid advertising channel, returning an incredible $4.78 for every dollar spent.
As we touched on, you’ll need to apply for the Google Grants program and meet the eligibility requirements to receive the $10,000 in ad credits. From here, you can create ads that promote your website’s content and use your free funding to bid on relevant keywords.
You can promote pretty much any valuable content, whether you want to bring attention to your donation form, services, volunteer opportunities, events, or something else. You can even use Google Ads to promote matching gifts! Here’s a quick example of how The Nature Conservancy, Rainforest Trust, and Greenpeace USA all targeted donors using Google Ads:
With a thoughtful bidding strategy, you can bring more visibility to your cause than ever before. Plus, the grant will automatically renew every month, so you’ll have a reliable source of funding as long as you comply with the compliance requirements.
It’ll take some time to learn the intricacies of the program, which is why we recommend working with a Google Grants manager. Our preferred agency is Getting Attention! They work with you to craft your nonprofit’s digital marketing strategy for Google Ads. They’ll help you apply for the program, create your ads, and monitor metrics to make sure you’re driving meaningful results.
Optimize your website for search engines.
Your website is the hub of all your nonprofit’s digital marketing efforts. It’s where first-time supporters go to learn more about your cause and long-term supporters go to find new engagement opportunities. It also enables you to raise online donations and sell your products and services.
As such, your website should be as easy to find as possible. With SEO, you can attract new customers for your services and products through search engine traffic. To improve your SEO rankings, nonprofits should get started with:
- Keyword research. What words and phrases are your target audience likely searching for? For example, a nonprofit selling products related to continuing education courses might check the search results for keywords like “adult education classes.” By creating content targeting relevant keywords, you can attract audiences interested in your nonprofit’s offerings.
- Content creation. After identifying target keywords, consider what type of content is needed by users searching for that keyword. Then, be the organization that creates that high-value, original content. Doing so will cause visitors who click on your website to engage with your content, share it with others, and potentially make a conversion.
- Partnership building. Search engines evaluate websites based on several factors, including what websites link to yours. By building relationships with other organizations in your space, you can get your content in front of their audience and also improve your search engine rankings by building your pages’ linking profiles.
SEO can be a particularly effective sales lead-generation tool for nonprofits that sell products and services. If this description fits your nonprofit, consider partnering with our favorite SEO agency, Nexus Marketing.
Nexus Marketing’s approach to SEO is designed to turn search engine platforms into revenue-generating channels. With keyword research and strategic partnerships, Nexus Marketing will create high-quality content that showcases your products and thought leadership to prospective buyers and boosts your search engine rankings.
Automate your nonprofit’s digital marketing when possible.
Marketing automation allows you to automate monotonous marketing work. With the right tools, your marketing team can automate routine tasks such as email marketing, social media posting, and ad campaigns. Not only will this boost efficiency, but it’ll help you provide a personalized experience for your supporters.
While automation certainly doesn’t replace manual outreach, the two can be used in conjunction to provide a timely, valuable experience to your supporters. This can lay the ground for healthy, long-term relationships.
Let’s take a look at a few areas where you can leverage automation:
- Email streams. Let’s say you set up an email stream for a volunteer opportunity. The second someone registers to volunteer, your software might trigger a confirmation email. Then, you might have a reminder email within this stream to follow up a few days before the actual volunteer event. After the opportunity, you can automatically follow up with a well-written volunteer thank-you letter that’s customized with their volunteer details.
- Google Ads. Google Ad Grants can be confusing, which is why Google’s advertising platform allows you to leverage search ad automation tools. Using features like responsive search ads (RSAs), your ads will adapt to show relevant messages to users. You’ll submit a variety of headlines and descriptions. Then, Google will swap them out to find the best fit for users and improve your results.
- Matching gifts. Through the use of our matching gift tools, you can drive more corporate giving revenue through automation. You can set up email streams that follow up with match-eligible donors, encouraging them to submit their employer requests. We also launched an autosubmission function, which allows donors to skip steps in the employer request submission process. By selecting a box on your donation confirmation page, they can opt-in to have our tools automatically check their eligibility and submit their requests to their employers on their behalf. No need for your team to step in when you have automation handling the hard work for you!
No matter how you leverage it, automation can be a powerful strategy when it comes to digital marketing for nonprofits. Think carefully about how it can play into your plans without risking the personalized touch of manual outreach, and explore the best tools to help you leverage marketing automation. Depending on your needs and existing technology, these might include matching gift tools, nonprofit Salesforce apps, or software designed to automate communications on a specific channel, like a text marketing app.
Tailor your outreach with segmentation.
Generic outreach won’t get you very far. Instead, personalize your outreach. This conveys that you care about your supporters, helping to capture their attention and build a stronger connection with each message you send.
Put yourself in a donor’s shoes. You receive an email that starts with “Dear generous donor.” Chances are, you won’t read the whole email. At the most, you might skim it. Your nonprofit’s online marketing tools should make it easy to customize your emails with recipients’ names.
Personalization should go further than adding their name to an email, though. That’s where segmentation comes into play!
You’ll want to create meaningful supporter segments, so you can send relevant appeals to those who are most likely to engage. To get started, you might create segments based on:
- Past engagement history. Try creating groups based on past engagement with your organization—whether they’ve donated, attended events, volunteered, or engaged in other ways. That way, you can send volunteer opportunities primarily to volunteers, fundraising campaign details to committed donors, and so on. Common segments include first-time donors, recurring donors, match-eligible donors, volunteers, advocates, and peer-to-peer fundraisers.
- Contact method. As you can tell by how many digital marketing outlets there are, there are countless ways to contact supporters. Consider noting their preferred communication methods in your CRM. That way, you can be sure to contact them using the channels to which they’re most responsive.
- Age. Categorizing supporters by age allows you to determine the types of messages and platforms your supporters will be most receptive to. Even if they haven’t indicated their communication preferences, you can predict the best channels to use for each supporter. For instance, those under 25 might be more active on social media or be likely to interact with text messages, while supporters over 45 might prefer email.
Thoughtful segmentation can go a long way toward improving your nonprofit’s digital marketing. While primarily used in email marketing for nonprofits, it’s also a great strategy for any other channel!
Improve your nonprofit’s website.
With all that rides on your website, it’s well worth putting some thought behind your site’s design to create a valuable experience for each visitor. As a starting point, follow these best practices:
- Use a mobile-responsive design. Half of all nonprofit web traffic comes from mobile users. By optimizing your site for mobile users, you’ll make it easy for all supporters to learn about your cause, no matter what device they’re using! Use a mobile-responsive CMS to resize your web content to fit any device automatically. From here, compress your images, minimize the number of pop-ups you include, and reduce the number of fields you include on any form.
- Reduce load time. The longer it takes your website to load, the more likely people are to leave. In fact, research from Google estimates that the probability of bounce increases by 32% as page load time goes from 1 to 3 seconds. Page speed also plays a pivotal role in your SEO performance since Google uses it as one of its ranking factors. To reduce your site’s load time, compress images, reduce redirects, enable browser caching, and minify any unnecessary coding.
- Feature corporate giving. Your website is the perfect place to increase awareness for corporate giving! Include our employer search tool on your donation form to encourage more users to research their eligibility for their employers’ programs. Then, get crafty by developing a dedicated matching gifts page that defines what they are, covers common guidelines, and walks through the process. If you already have a Ways to Give page, you can include information about matching gifts, volunteer grants, and other corporate giving opportunities there, too!
There’s plenty you can do to make your website as valuable as possible for your nonprofit marketing strategy. For other recommendations, we recommend checking out the site requirements for Google Ad Grants. While specific to the program, these rules provide guidance tailored for all nonprofits to help them create valuable web content that speaks to their mission and inspires supporters to donate, volunteer, and buy their products and services.
Wrapping Up
Digital marketing for nonprofits is an incredible opportunity to spread more awareness for your mission than ever before. From promoting corporate giving to increasing event attendance, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish for your mission.
Remember to spend time crafting a thoughtful nonprofit digital marketing strategy that plays to your organization’s strengths and connects you with your unique audience. Leverage all sorts of channels like social media, Google search ads, and email to make a lasting impression on supporters. In no time, you’ll strengthen your digital presence and drive greater outcomes for your work.
To continue enhancing your nonprofit’s outreach, explore these resources:
Matching Gift Best Practices | Actionable Insights & Examples
/in Learning Center, Learning Center, Marketing Strategies /by Adam WeingerNonprofits, schools, and other fundraising groups are always on the lookout for new and improved ways to fund their missions. Corporate matching gifts offer an excellent fundraising lift, but many organizations have an underdeveloped strategy for pursuing this funding source. That’s why we recommend taking a look at matching gift practices from nonprofits that are already seeing high levels of success.
Recent findings have analyzed the highest revenue-generating peer-to-peer-based fundraisers and compiled a number of top strategies followed by each. Based on the report, we’ve created our own list of matching gift best practices that we suggest nonprofits employ:
Over the course of this guide, we’ll provide actionable insights and real-world examples of fundraisers having successfully implemented these practices. In the end, we hope that these exemplary organizations and practices will inspire you to take your matching gift program to the next level.
1. Understand the importance of matching gifts in overall fundraising.
The first step in optimizing your matching gift fundraising plan has to do with understanding its value. After all, when you (and your team) know why you’re doing what you’re doing to pursue matching gift opportunities, you’ll tend to be more motivated to see results.
So here’s why. The benefits of matching gifts for nonprofits are generally threefold —
All in all, fundraising research demonstrates a positive correlation between matching gift practices and overall fundraising success.
Check out this graph from the Top Nonprofits report that illustrates the finding, with each point representing a top P2P event according to its total revenue and matching gift score:
This shows us that the more developed an organization’s matching strategy, the higher fundraising revenue they can expect. And at the same time, the higher the fundraising revenue an organization sees, the more developed its matching gift strategy likely is.
In other words, exploring matching gift practices like the ones outlined below typically produces multi-faceted fundraising success.
2. Appoint a dedicated Matching Gift Specialist.
In the ideal situation, everyone on your organization’s team will be well-versed in matching gift programs. However, by appointing an expert to lead your team, you’ll have the time and resources to implement matching gifts into your overall fundraising strategy.
Your nonprofit will be more prepared after hiring a matching gift specialist than it would be having your whole staff know just a few basic facts about matching gifts. The coordinator is the expert, but the rest of your employees should know enough to field the questions that they can and pass along the rest as needed.
The specialist is the designated point person for all matching gift queries and problems and the staff member in charge of ensuring the donations are received.
Your coordinator will be able to keep your various departments in the loop about what’s going on and need-to-know information. All staff members should be promoting matching gifts when relevant, but the matching gift coordinator is the coach leading your team to victory.
If the matching gift specialist position is new territory for your organization, why not consider hiring an executive search firm? Consultants can help you craft the perfect job description and lead you through the entire hiring process, ensuring that everything runs smoothly!
3. Establish a plan to drive matching gift participation in fundraising efforts.
Once you understand the value of matching gifts, it’s time to begin developing (and/or finetuning) your plan to maximize the funding source. Why?
Another key finding from the Top Nonprofits report saw that 100% of the P2P Top 30 fundraisers have some sort of dedicated matching gift strategy in place. While the extent of their efforts varies from one organization or event to the next, the fact that every nonprofit that made the list incorporated matching gifts in their fundraising plan in one way or another remains significant.
Follow these leading organizations’ examples and be sure that your team takes the time and effort to establish a well-thought-out plan regarding corporate matching. For the best results, we recommend training your team in the basics of matching gifts and incorporating the rest of these impactful matching gift practices pursued by the top fundraising organizations in your overall strategy.
4. Create a detailed and easily accessible matching gift page.
As a nonprofit fundraiser, you likely understand that your organization’s website is one of your most valuable assets for marketing, donor engagement, and more. It makes sense that you’d want to use that resource to promote matching gifts to your audience.
Hosting a dedicated matching gift web page is one of the best ways to do so—and 93.3% of the P2P Top 30 agree!
Let’s take a look at an inspirational example from one of the Top 30 fundraisers included in the study.
Here’s what this organization did well in its matching gift web page:
The organization even provided an additional tab on its workplace giving page that targets potential corporate sponsors, highlighting details such as the number of companies involved, matching donations made, and total revenue raised through such programs.
5. Incorporate matching gifts within the donation form.
We’ve long stated that including matching gifts directly within the donation experience itself is one of the best ways to get the ball rolling for donors. And if the fundraisers whose practices were analyzed during the research report are any indication, many top nonprofits agree.
For one, a donation page provides an excellent opportunity to collect much-needed employment information from donors. Once you have this data, your team can then trigger targeted communications to drive more matches to completion.
Plus, simply mentioning matching gift opportunities within your online form allows your donors to begin familiarizing themselves with the idea of the programs as early as possible.
Here’s one organization that made the most of its online giving page to promote matching gifts.
Here’s what this organization did well on its donation page, specifically in regard to matching gifts:
By implementing these matching gift practices and more, the nonprofit was able to see standout match success through key peer-to-peer programs and additional fundraising efforts. Not to mention similar donation form tactics were also employed by many other high-ranking organizations included in the matching gift report.
6. Provide company-specific program details on the confirmation screen.
The next recommended practice has to do with the step directly after an individual completes an online donation form. In nearly all cases, the user then automatically reroutes to a gift confirmation screen. This page acknowledges that the donation was submitted, thanks the supporter for their contribution, and provides additional opportunities for involvement.
And throughout the matching gift research report, we saw that the vast majority of top nonprofits (~83.3%) also use this valuable piece of real estate to further promote matching gift participation.
Let’s take a look at one example of this practice.
Here’s what this organization did well on its confirmation page, specifically regarding matching gifts:
Offering a simpler matching gift experience following an initial donation increases the likelihood of donor participation. That said, fundraisers like this team aim to streamline the process while making the most of still-high levels of supporter engagement. And when done so effectively, many donors choose to initiate their matches right from the confirmation screen.
7. Send personalized matching gift emails post-transaction.
For donors who ultimately don’t choose to get their gifts matched directly from the confirmation screen, we know that sending follow-up emails can be the next best step. That’s why 86.6% of the P2P Top 30 are pursuing matching gift opportunities with post-transaction messaging.
Let’s take a look at one leading organization’s post-donation communications—and how they highlight matching gifts.
First, here’s the donation receipt an individual receives in the minutes after submitting their gift:
And this is what the follow-up matching gift email looks like:
Here’s what this organization did well in its post-donation matching gift communications:
The matching gift email also encourages supporters to follow up with the organization for a quick matching gift status update after submitting their request. This enables the nonprofit’s development team to better track and forecast incoming match revenue.
8. Strive for ease and accessibility.
For a donor, securing a matching gift is an easy process that has the misfortune of sounding complicated. To remedy this, brand it better by simplifying the process.
Clear and concise language with straightforward directions will encourage your donors to seek out matching gifts. Donors who have already been generous enough to donate should not have to follow up with a lot of paperwork.
To better explain matching gifts, you can:
Ensure that your nonprofit is a one-stop shop for all things matching gifts! That way, donors won’t have to seek out this information themselves. Get ahead of the game and give your supporters all the information they need to fully understand their opportunities.
9. Keep a record of individuals’ matching gift statuses.
Maintaining ongoing records of donors’ matching gift statuses falls under the matching gift coordinator’s jurisdiction. Essentially, you’ll want to know what requests have been made, when they are processed, and when they have been fulfilled.
Keeping accurate records will guarantee that no revenue opportunities slip through the cracks. There can be a lot of moving parts in the process among the donor, donor’s employer, and the nonprofit, and there will be some level of back-and-forth. A clear trail of what has happened and what needs to happen will make interactions a lot easier and a lot more efficient.
Regardless of what you choose, the more standardized and systematic the process you use is, the better the results will be. And the right software can help, too—complete with trackable email buttons and all!
10. Thank donors for their matching gift participation.
Donors involved with matching gifts have gone the extra mile for your cause, so your appreciation should match that level of energy.
Just like matching gifts have doubled your donations, matching gift thank yous should be doubled as well. Thank them once for the initial donation and a second time when the matched gift goes through.
In fact, you may even want to put together a special event to honor matching gift donors. The goal is to show genuine gratitude towards what they’ve done to help, and something like a special event will also promote the program to those who are unaware of it.
If you don’t have the resources for an entire event, try publicly thanking those involved on social media. This is a great place to promote matching gifts and is also a top outlet for acknowledgment. For instance, a strategic Facebook post can kill two birds with one stone by thanking a matching gift donor while getting the idea of matching gifts into the heads of your Facebook community.
Nonetheless, you’ll need to find an appropriate way to demonstrate your gratitude and ensure that the donors feel appreciated. Whether it’s through a full-blown appreciation event or thank-you letters, let your donors know their contributions are vital to your mission.
11. Cultivate relationships with donors’ employing companies.
You should also consider thanking your donors’ companies as well. The donor has brought the company to you, so go ahead and cover all your bases. That’s why it’s so important to collect employment data!
After all, matching gifts can provide a much-desired introduction to major corporations with top-notch corporate giving.
When an employee asks their company to match their gift, by nature of the process, the company will be exposed to your nonprofit. If you want to foster a new relationship, your nonprofit is going to have to impress the company. In some cases, you’ll even develop long-term partnerships with them.
By having all of your matching gifts ducks in a row, your staff can focus on building those corporate relationships instead of troubleshooting submission issues.
Plus, whenever you need an extra helping hand at one of your events, these companies will likely be more than happy to help out through their corporate volunteer program since you’ll already be on their radar.
12. Leverage innovative matching gift software.
While it’s technically possible to develop a matching gift strategy without the aid of dedicated technology to power your efforts, doing so is likely to require substantial investments of time, effort, and resources. On the other hand, matching gift software can go a long way toward streamlining and automating the process.
As you consider the possibilities, it’s worth noting that, of the organizations’ practices analyzed in the Top Nonprofits report, those that use matching gift software saw average matching gift scores more than twice as high as those that did not appear to use matching gift software.
Still, choosing the right software provider is essential, as well. The study reports that 73.3% of the P2P Top 30 fundraisers—and 90% of the 10 highest-earning events—leveraged Double the Donation’s match software.
Not to mention, employing a best-in-class technology solution like Double the Donation can also help your team incorporate the above best practices into your matching gift strategy—from hosting a dedicated matching gift page (complete with an embedded company search tool) to highlighting matching gifts throughout the giving experience and beyond.
If you’re interested in exploring Double the Donation’s automation platform, you can request a demo here to get started.
Plus, keep in mind that your more general fundraising technology can play a significant role here, as well. For example, Top Nonprofits indicates that organizations using tools without sufficient matching gift integration and customization options saw significantly lower matching gift scores overall—compared to fundraisers whose giving tools integrated seamlessly with a matching gift solution.
That said, we recommend taking a look at Double the Donation’s wide array of technology partners if you’re in the market for a new fundraising platform that will work well with an elevated matching gift strategy.
Wrapping Up
Whether your team is just getting started with matching gifts or you’re looking to optimize an existing strategy, taking a look at tips and tricks followed by organizations with impactful matching gift efforts can go a long way.
Integrating the above matching gift practices in your nonprofit’s fundraising has the potential to bring your overall giving to previously unimaginable heights. And now’s the best time to get started!
Keep up the learning—explore additional resources from Double the Donation and other matching gift industry experts below:
Double the Donation Releases Enhanced Blackbaud CRM™ Matching Gift Integration Using New Blackbaud SKY API®
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation is excited to debut an enhanced Blackbaud CRM™ integration with Blackbaud’s new SKY API® technology. As a Premier ISV Partner in the Blackbaud ecosystem and a SKY API early adopter, Double the Donation is thrilled to release this updated iteration to the Blackbaud CRM integration.
This innovative solution will further streamline the matching gift process and help organizations continue to take advantage of the billions of dollars in unclaimed matching gift revenue.
This enhanced matching gift technology makes it even simpler for Blackbaud CRM users to connect their Blackbaud and 360MatchPro instances and start raising more from corporate matching gifts.
“It’s been an exciting process as our development team started working with Blackbaud’s new SKY API technology, and we are thrilled to release this enhanced integration functionality,” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “This new technology allows organizations to focus on the most important parts of their mission while still increasing matching gift revenue with the power of 360MatchPro.”
360MatchPro and Blackbaud CRM’s integration equips fundraisers with the industry leading matching gift software, effortlessly connecting donors to next steps and raising more for the causes that matter most.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
With this seamless integration and streamlined activation process, you can connect your Blackbaud CRM and 360MatchPro instances in minutes.
Once you’ve connected Blackbaud CRM to your 360MatchPro account, you’re all set! 360MatchPro allows you to send automated email notifications to donors to determine their matching gift eligibility and then connect donors to their matching gift application form based on their employer information. This means donors can start the matching gifts process with just one click making it even easier to drive revenue with matching gifts.
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
360MatchPro ensures your matching gift opportunities don’t fall through the cracks.
Take advantage of this solution to:
Identify more matching gift revenue opportunities: 360MatchPro enables you to automatically collect matching gift eligibility from donors using email domains, within donation forms, on confirmation screens, or by email. The more matching gift opportunities 360MatchPro discovers and shares with donors, the more matching gift requests your donors will successfully submit.
Drive more matches to completion, from form submission to corporate payment: Direct donors immediately to their matching gift forms after the donation process is complete. Then, provide the right information to the right donors at the right time with custom emails based on match eligibility. Target follow-ups drive more completed submissions than ever before, bringing exponentially more matching gift checks from companies through your door.
Reallocate your time from routine follow-up to your top opportunities: Your time is valuable, so why spend it chasing small dollar-value matching gifts? Let 360MatchPro automate your matching gift outreach while flagging your highest-value opportunities, allowing your team to personalize follow-ups to the most valuable match-eligible donations. Rest easy knowing that 360MatchPro can handle the rest.
Ready to drive matching gifts for your next fundraising effort? Schedule a personalized demo to learn how matching gifts can fund your mission.
About Blackbaud: The Blackbaud Partner Network is a group of leading technology and services firms providing the social good community with the solutions, applications, and strategies they need to make a difference in their local communities and worldwide. To learn more about Blackbaud’s Technology Partner program, visit: http://www.blackbaud.com/partners
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts. To learn more visit https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/
Digital Marketing for Nonprofits: The Ultimate Guide
/in Learning Center, Marketing Strategies /by Adam WeingerAs a nonprofit marketer, brand awareness is at the top of your priorities list. While nonprofits have limited funding to grow their prospect lists, digital marketing for nonprofits opens up a world of opportunities for causes trying to get the most out of their budgets. Plus, your potential reach has never been so large! You can reach supporters across the globe in a matter of mere seconds, whether you’re promoting matching gifts, marketing your products and services, or sharing volunteering opportunities.
From social media to email to search engine marketing, you have so many incredible, low-cost options at your disposal to make your cause known. If you really want to stand out online, you’ve come to the right place! We’re here to help you harness the power of digital marketing for nonprofits by covering these key topics:
Here at Double the Donation, we work with nonprofits to raise more money through matching gifts. A big part of that involves nonprofits proactively marketing corporate giving opportunities to supporters, and we’ve seen the power the online space holds. We’re hoping to share some of what we’ve learned so you can expand your reach.
With a little research, you’ll be a nonprofit digital marketing whiz in no time! However, if you need a bit of guidance for your nonprofit’s digital marketing strategy, we recommend turning to the experts at Nexus Marketing. They specialize in search engine optimization (SEO) marketing and offer services tailored to nonprofits that sell products and services.
What Is Digital Marketing for Nonprofits?
Digital marketing for nonprofits is a specific subset of marketing for organizations that relies on the internet and online-dependent technologies, such as desktop computers and mobile devices. Nonprofits use digital outlets to spread mission awareness, solicit donations, sell products and services, increase volunteer numbers, promote events, and publicize their services.
Common outreach strategies include social media, texting, search engine optimization, search advertising, or any other internet-based approach at an organization’s disposal.
Why Is Digital Marketing for Nonprofits Important?
A strong digital presence is a must for any organization that wants to thrive in the modern age. You might be wondering, “What exactly will establishing a digital presence do for my cause?” Great question!
Here’s a breakdown of some of the best parts of effective online marketing for nonprofit organizations like yours:
The list of pros goes on and on! The examples above only scratch the surface. To experience any benefits, you’ll need a strong nonprofit digital marketing strategy to serve as the foundation of your outreach.
Creating Your Nonprofit Digital Marketing Strategy
It’s no secret that digital marketing for nonprofits is insanely powerful. However, it’s not enough to post on social media sporadically or send generic emails to constituents. The online space is competitive, so you need a holistic strategy that defines your objectives and how you’ll reach them. Otherwise, your efforts might be disjointed and not contribute much to strengthening your digital presence.
While each nonprofit’s marketing strategy will vary, there are some common steps to craft a plan that works for your cause. Let’s walk through those now!
1. Define your nonprofit’s digital marketing goals.
Laying out clear goals will help you craft the right messages to the right audiences who will get you there. Every digital communication you send will get you one step closer to reaching whatever goals you set, so spend plenty of time hashing your objectives out with your marketing team.
Generally speaking, you might want to boost awareness for corporate giving, increase membership renewals, or increase sales for your nonprofit’s services. Think through how these goals correlate with your overall mission and how your digital marketing efforts can support that. Let’s take a look at a specific example of a bad goal vs. a SMART goal:
Notice how the second goal is much clearer, defines how your nonprofit’s digital marketing can support your mission, and gives you solid metrics to work toward. That’s because it’s what we call a SMART goal.
The SMART Goal Framework
As a marketer, you might already be aware of this approach. The SMART goal framework allows you to set clear goals that anyone on your team can understand. The acronym stands for:
By following this framework, you can set objectives that make sense for your organization, make the most of digital outlets, and push your mission forward in meaningful ways.
2. Choose the right nonprofit digital marketing platforms.
There’s no shortage of nonprofit digital marketing platforms that you can leverage. Whether you’re trying to reach tech-savvy teens or email-reliant boomers, there’s a platform for reaching every segment of your audience.
Let’s walk through some of the most common ones:
These platforms will serve as the foundation of your organization’s outreach. When getting started, think through your audience for each platform carefully. Then, craft messages that support your objectives and play to each channel’s strengths.
For example, if you’re aiming to boost awareness for your animal shelter’s adoption services, you might use search ads to amplify your adoption page, social media to share a testimonial video about an animal that found its forever home, email to promote an upcoming adoption event, and text to share a quick announcement and a link to your adoption page.
3. Push your digital marketing campaign live.
At this point, you’ll need to write your digital marketing messages and publish them on relevant platforms.
There’s a lot of competition online, so your team needs to do everything it can to stand out online. Get creative in how you present your messages. Lean into storytelling tactics, use visual techniques like video and images, and offer different engagement opportunities to garner as much attention as possible.
Remember, digital marketing for nonprofits offers two-way communication opportunities, so pay attention to people’s interactions with your posts and messages. You might like their comments, respond to their emails, or show them you appreciate their interactions with your team in some other way.
Finally, you’ll want to create a schedule for each platform, so your team creates a pattern of consistency. That way, supporters will regularly see your nonprofit’s updates in their inboxes and newsfeeds, keeping your cause top of mind.
4. Monitor your nonprofit’s digital marketing performance.
Once you send your first round of outreach, the work’s just beginning! One of the best parts of going digital is that you can gather insightful metrics to inform future campaigns. Data-driven digital marketing for nonprofits is a must if you want to proactively grow your digital presence and provide value to your supporters.
During and after your campaigns, evaluate how successful your nonprofit digital marketing efforts are. Modern platforms make it easy to pull performance metrics and create reports to see how your efforts measure up against your goals.
Let’s break down the most common key performance indicators (KPIs) you can measure on each platform:
If your outreach is underperforming, make adjustments as you go. Do you have low email open rates? Experiment with your subject lines to capture more attention. Do you have exceptionally high social media impressions but minimal shares, likes, and comments? Your content might be reaching plenty of people, but it’s not quite doing the trick and inspiring them.
Do you have low delivery rates for texts? That may mean your supporters have changed their phone numbers. Don’t worry; this happens! Use a phone number append to make sure you have accurate phone numbers for supporters if your delivery rate is alarmingly low.
No matter what metrics you monitor, you need to pay attention to your performance. Successful digital marketing for nonprofits rides on these numbers!
Tips To Take Online Marketing for Nonprofits Up a Notch
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to digital marketing for nonprofits. As you get into the swing of things, test out different strategies to discover what works for your organization!
Let’s explore several best practices you can use to tailor your plan and maximize your marketing ROI.
Promote Your Website with Google Ads.
We touched on Google Ads earlier, but there’s so much more to it than what we’ve covered! Search ads are one of the most effective digital marketing outlets for nonprofits.
As we touched on, you’ll need to apply for the Google Grants program and meet the eligibility requirements to receive the $10,000 in ad credits. From here, you can create ads that promote your website’s content and use your free funding to bid on relevant keywords.
You can promote pretty much any valuable content, whether you want to bring attention to your donation form, services, volunteer opportunities, events, or something else. You can even use Google Ads to promote matching gifts! Here’s a quick example of how The Nature Conservancy, Rainforest Trust, and Greenpeace USA all targeted donors using Google Ads:
With a thoughtful bidding strategy, you can bring more visibility to your cause than ever before. Plus, the grant will automatically renew every month, so you’ll have a reliable source of funding as long as you comply with the compliance requirements.
It’ll take some time to learn the intricacies of the program, which is why we recommend working with a Google Grants manager. Our preferred agency is Getting Attention! They work with you to craft your nonprofit’s digital marketing strategy for Google Ads. They’ll help you apply for the program, create your ads, and monitor metrics to make sure you’re driving meaningful results.
Optimize your website for search engines.
Your website is the hub of all your nonprofit’s digital marketing efforts. It’s where first-time supporters go to learn more about your cause and long-term supporters go to find new engagement opportunities. It also enables you to raise online donations and sell your products and services.
As such, your website should be as easy to find as possible. With SEO, you can attract new customers for your services and products through search engine traffic. To improve your SEO rankings, nonprofits should get started with:
SEO can be a particularly effective sales lead-generation tool for nonprofits that sell products and services. If this description fits your nonprofit, consider partnering with our favorite SEO agency, Nexus Marketing.
Nexus Marketing’s approach to SEO is designed to turn search engine platforms into revenue-generating channels. With keyword research and strategic partnerships, Nexus Marketing will create high-quality content that showcases your products and thought leadership to prospective buyers and boosts your search engine rankings.
Automate your nonprofit’s digital marketing when possible.
Marketing automation allows you to automate monotonous marketing work. With the right tools, your marketing team can automate routine tasks such as email marketing, social media posting, and ad campaigns. Not only will this boost efficiency, but it’ll help you provide a personalized experience for your supporters.
While automation certainly doesn’t replace manual outreach, the two can be used in conjunction to provide a timely, valuable experience to your supporters. This can lay the ground for healthy, long-term relationships.
Let’s take a look at a few areas where you can leverage automation:
No matter how you leverage it, automation can be a powerful strategy when it comes to digital marketing for nonprofits. Think carefully about how it can play into your plans without risking the personalized touch of manual outreach, and explore the best tools to help you leverage marketing automation. Depending on your needs and existing technology, these might include matching gift tools, nonprofit Salesforce apps, or software designed to automate communications on a specific channel, like a text marketing app.
Tailor your outreach with segmentation.
Generic outreach won’t get you very far. Instead, personalize your outreach. This conveys that you care about your supporters, helping to capture their attention and build a stronger connection with each message you send.
Put yourself in a donor’s shoes. You receive an email that starts with “Dear generous donor.” Chances are, you won’t read the whole email. At the most, you might skim it. Your nonprofit’s online marketing tools should make it easy to customize your emails with recipients’ names.
Personalization should go further than adding their name to an email, though. That’s where segmentation comes into play!
You’ll want to create meaningful supporter segments, so you can send relevant appeals to those who are most likely to engage. To get started, you might create segments based on:
Thoughtful segmentation can go a long way toward improving your nonprofit’s digital marketing. While primarily used in email marketing for nonprofits, it’s also a great strategy for any other channel!
Improve your nonprofit’s website.
With all that rides on your website, it’s well worth putting some thought behind your site’s design to create a valuable experience for each visitor. As a starting point, follow these best practices:
There’s plenty you can do to make your website as valuable as possible for your nonprofit marketing strategy. For other recommendations, we recommend checking out the site requirements for Google Ad Grants. While specific to the program, these rules provide guidance tailored for all nonprofits to help them create valuable web content that speaks to their mission and inspires supporters to donate, volunteer, and buy their products and services.
Wrapping Up
Digital marketing for nonprofits is an incredible opportunity to spread more awareness for your mission than ever before. From promoting corporate giving to increasing event attendance, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish for your mission.
Remember to spend time crafting a thoughtful nonprofit digital marketing strategy that plays to your organization’s strengths and connects you with your unique audience. Leverage all sorts of channels like social media, Google search ads, and email to make a lasting impression on supporters. In no time, you’ll strengthen your digital presence and drive greater outcomes for your work.
To continue enhancing your nonprofit’s outreach, explore these resources:
Double the Donation and Harness Giving Release 360MatchPro Matching Gifts Integration
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and Harness Giving have teamed up to provide nonprofits with advanced matching gift automation functionality with a 360MatchPro integration with Harness Giving forms.
The new integration allows donors to discover their match eligibility via a search from Double the Donation’s database of over 24,000 companies. Once a donor finds their company, they are presented with information on their employer’s matching gift program and are guided to complete the matching gift process.
“Our aim is to close the donor awareness gap and help nonprofits claim some of the $4-7 billion left on the table each year,” said Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “With this new integration, Harness and Double the Donation are aligned in our mission to help organizations raise more from matching gifts.”
Now, mutual clients of Harness and Double the Donation can boost their fundraising potential by activating the turnkey integration. Read on to learn more about how 360MatchPro operates on Harness Giving pages.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
With the new Harness Giving and 360MatchPro by Double the Donation integration, you can easily set up a connection without any custom coding required. Just enter your API keys from your 360MatchPro account to your Harness Giving platform, toggle Employer Matching on for your desired forms, and you’re ready to go!
Once you’ve completed the setup process, donors will be able to search their employer’s name on the donation page via the 360MatchPro auto-complete search tool. 360MatchPro can then send them their next steps via email to help move that gift to completion!
The new functionality integrates seamlessly with the Harness Giving donation experience, meaning your donors can discover their eligibility while your giving pages maintain their modern Harness Giving style.
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
The 360MatchPro and Harness Giving integration empower donors to deepen their impact on the organizations and campaigns they care about most, and empowers nonprofits to pursue their matching gift opportunities with more advanced and easy-to-use functionality. Check out these extra benefits:
Ready to get started with raising more from matching gifts? Request a demo today and let us know you use Harness Giving for your fundraising!
About Harness Giving: With a focus on recurring giving, our subscription platform helps nonprofits create seamless, gratifying experiences – from marketing and fundraising to stewardship. Donating should never feel out of reach, so our customizable tools encourage people to give in ways that suit them best, helping nonprofits tap into a wider network of donors.
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.
5 Fundraisers with Standout Matching Gift Success
/in Learning Center, Learning Center, Lists and Rankings /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation works with thousands of clients in the nonprofit and educational fundraising spaces. And just about all of our clients have seen significant matching gift success when employing our tools!
In this post, we wanted to spotlight a few standout examples of impactful matching gift strategies from top fundraisers. These include:
As we explore tried-and-true practices exemplified by these notable organizations, make a note of the strategies you can leverage in your own team’s matching gift fundraising efforts.
Matching Gift Success Story #1: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Founded in 1949, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is one of the largest medical research organizations in the world. With a specific dedication to blood cancer treatment, the nonprofit averages over $285 million in annual contributions and has funded more than $1.6 billion in groundbreaking advancements.
LLS also hosts a few of the largest peer-to-peer-focused nonprofit fundraising events. This includes its Light the Night Walk, which collects more than $70,000,000 from over 1 million participants each year.
And a significant portion of their workplace giving fundraising has been made available through corporate matching gift programs!
Matching Gift Facts and Figures
Let’s take a look at some of the main functionality leveraged by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in regard to their matching gift growth:
Want to see it in action? View Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s matching gifts page here:
Matching Gift Success Story #2: The Greater Boston Food Bank
The Greater Boston Food Bank was founded in 1981 and has since grown into the largest hunger relief organization in all of New England. Through free mobile markets, SNAP assistance, forward-thinking research, and more, GBFB empowers those struggling with food insecurity in Eastern Massachusetts.
With over 80,000 donors annually supporting their efforts, the Greater Boston Food Bank brings in more than $175 million in total revenue each year.
Matching Gift Facts and Figures
Here are the primary components of our matching gift solution employed by the Greater Boston Food Bank:
See what they’re doing to drive success! View The Greater Boston Food Bank’s matching gifts page here:
Matching Gift Success Story #3: Southern California Public Radio
Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) is a member-supported public media network operating multiple radio stations in the Southern California region. Its primary station (formerly known as KPCC and since re-branded as LAist 89.3) is a non-commercial educational radio provider.
Together, the network of stations reaches more than 800,000 listeners, with a goal to provide high-quality news and other informational content to its audiences. SCPR has a total annual revenue of over $40 million through individual and corporate contributions alike.
Matching Gift Facts and Figures
Here’s how SCPR is using Double the Donation to drive more matching gifts to completion:
See for yourself! View Southern California Public Radio’s matching gifts page here:
Matching Gift Success Story #4: Humane Society International
Since 1991, Humane Society International (also known as HSI) has served in the animal welfare space to promote positive relations between humans and animals across the globe. With an annual revenue nearly totaling $24 million, HSI leverages individual donors, corporate support, and more to make a difference in the lives of creatures everywhere.
Matching Gift Facts and Figures
Specifically, Humane Society International leveraged Double the Donation to enable:
Take a look for yourself—click here to see Humane Society International’s matching gifts page:
Matching Gift Success Story #5: Marietta College
Established in 1835 in Marietta, Ohio, Marietta College is a private liberal arts school. Offering more than 50 undergraduate and graduate majors, Marietta College provides focus areas across arts, sciences, humanities, and more.
All in all, the college receives over $70 million in annual revenue per year, with nearly $46 million coming from tuition and fees and more than $22 million from donor funding and grants—including corporate matching.
Matching Gift Facts and Figures
Here’s how Marietta College and Double the Donation teamed up to maximize matching gifts with these key features:
Get schooled! View Marietta College’s matching gifts page here:
Wrapping Up
Most nonprofits receive some amount of matching gift revenue even without a dedicated plan in place. However, a much smaller percentage of organizations have a well-thought-out strategy with the tools to implement it. Ultimately, the latter group comprises those that are making the most of the opportunity at hand.
When you take a long look at these groups (such as those highlighted above), you can uncover the practices that produce standout matching gift success. Then, begin emulating such tips and tricks in your own team’s efforts with strategic matching gift training and access to innovative technology. And Double the Donation is here to help!
Interested in learning more about matching gift fundraising and how your nonprofit can maximize revenue through the source? Check out our other educational resources below:
Donor Walls – Nonprofit Basics
/in Nonprofit Basics /by Adam WeingerDonor walls are a great way to show appreciation to donors and demonstrate the impact of their contributions, which can aid in donor retention and acquisition. They provide a tangible way to thank and recognize donors for their support, while also creating a sense of community and allowing donors to show off their commitment to the organization.
What is a Donor Wall?
A donor recognition wall is a permanent display honoring an organization’s generous supporters, which can take the form of an immersive, interactive experience. Nonprofits, universities, medical facilities, and faith-based organizations are among those that create these walls to recognize major donors, corporate sponsors, and major contributors. The cost of a donor recognition wall will depend on its size and materials used, but it’s considered a critical investment that can improve donor retention and add a beautiful focal point to a space.
Different Types of Donor Walls
Traditional Donor Walls
Traditional donor walls are the classic option, often made of engraved metal plaques, acrylic with vinyl or etched lettering, glass, or other material-based components. They’re typically arranged in a board or giving tree. The appeal of a traditional donor wall is in the art-like overall aesthetic and the luxury of tactile donor names. These are a good option for organizations with low volumes of donors to recognize. Updating the list of donors can be moderate in cost, and the initial investment is less than a digital donor wall.
Digital Donor Walls
Digital donor walls are a more modern approach, made of a screen or a series of screens. They can display a dynamic amount of names with many giving levels and types of giving. Videos, photos, and other multimedia elements can be added to the screen(s) in real-time. They’re great for organizations with a high volume of donors to recognize or that want to showcase their history, mission statements, ‘Why I Give stories’, donor highlights, impact stories, and more. There’s no cost to add or update the list of donors, but the initial investment is more than a traditional donor wall.
Hybrid Donor Walls
Hybrid donor walls are the best of both worlds. They combine the art-like cabinetry found in traditional donor walls and blend it with the ease of use and magnificence of digital donor walls. This provides a more interactive and engaging experience for donors and visitors, while still providing a tangible way to recognize and honor donors. The initial investment for a hybrid digital donor wall is the most expensive option, but there is generally no cost to update the list of donors.
Virtual Donor Walls
Virtual donor walls are accessible through nonprofit websites, leveraging much of the same software technology as a digital donor wall. These can be used to keep recognition up to date and leveraged for online marketing strategies. They are particularly useful for organizations with no physical or public presence that other donor walls would require. Updating the donor lists has no cost, and the initial cost to develop a virtual donor wall is a fraction of the cost of other digital or hybrid solutions. Virtual donor walls are a great way to recognize and honor donors online, making them a cost-effective solution for organizations that don’t have the budget for traditional or digital donor walls.
Benefits of A Donor Wall
Culture of Philanthropy-Building
Donor walls are a powerful tool for building a culture of philanthropy within an organization. They provide a tangible way to steward and thank donors for their support, while also creating a sense of community and shared purpose. By displaying donor names and contributions in a public space, donor walls demonstrate the impact of individual giving and encourage others to get involved.
Donor Acquisition and Retention
In addition to recognizing donors, donor walls also serve as an important tool for donor acquisition and retention. They provide a way for potential donors to see the impact of giving and understand the value of their contributions. They also help to build a sense of community and shared purpose among donors, which can encourage them to continue giving and even increase their level of support.
Donor Engagement
Donor walls are not just a display of appreciation, but they’re also a way to engage donors and encourage them to continue their support. They provide a tangible representation of the impact of giving, and help donors to see the value of their contributions. By recognizing donors in a public space, donor walls create a sense of community among donors and build a sense of shared purpose. This can encourage donors to stay connected with the organization and continue their support.
Overall, donor walls play a crucial role in building a culture of philanthropy within an organization. They provide a powerful tool for recognizing and thanking donors, encouraging giving, and promoting transparency and accountability. They are a valuable investment for any organization committed to building a strong culture of philanthropy and fostering a sense of community among donors.
Other Resources to Explore
Nonprofit Basics – Learn more about other nonprofit management essentials by checking out these expert resources.
8 Donor Engagement Strategies to Drive Nonprofit Support – Donor engagement is crucial for building a strong nonprofit organization. Take advantage of the strategies discussed in this article to boost your efforts.
Retaining Matching Gift Donors: 4+ Effective Strategies – Retaining donors in addition to acquiring new donors, offers a multitude of benefits. Explore ways to keep matching gift donors engaged with your organization.
Alternative Fundraising Avenues: Recouping After Lost Funding Sources
/in Learning Center, Fundraising Ideas, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerThere are many different funding types at the disposal of nonprofit causes. These sources empower organizations like yours to bankroll mission programming and behind-the-scenes operations alike. Still, most fundraisers end up relying on a few primary channels to power the brunt of their operations.
So what happens when one of those key sources becomes unavailable? Oftentimes, that means it’s time to begin searching for alternative fundraising avenues.
And we’re here to help! In this guide, we’ll cover:
Ready to dive in? Let’s start at the beginning.
Why your nonprofit might lose a funding source
The loss of a nonprofit funding source can be jarring, and you might not always see it coming. However, understanding common causes behind lost fundraising avenues can make a big difference in preparing to overcome whatever obstacles are thrown your way.
Some scenarios in which your organization finds itself without a key funding source might include losses of major donors (whether due to passing, changing financial circumstances, or other reasoning), specific grants not coming through, and more.
One of the most prominent—and widespread—examples of this occurred at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. Still, the lingering effects remained for years after the fact. And that’s when organizations across the globe that had been previously dependent on revenue generated through in-person fundraising events were now without access to the source.
Luckily, all was not lost! Instead, organizations went to work rapidly transitioning events to the virtual realm in order to maintain donor engagement and giving.
Another, more recent instance? The cessation of Amazon’s philanthropic initiative, AmazonSmile, in February 2023. This program had been a fairly effortless source of income for over one million local and national causes, producing more than $365 million for participating organizations. Once the closing of the program was announced, tons of nonprofits began scrambling to locate new ways to make up the income they’d been depending on.
And that brings us to our next section!
Next steps after losing a funding source
If your nonprofit has just lost a key source of funding, you may be tempted to enter panic mode. But first, we recommend taking a few easy steps to get your organization back on track for financial success.
Determine how much was lost from the source.
First and foremost, start by gauging exactly how much was lost from the source.
If you were expecting a particular grant payout or a donor had been contributing a static amount year after year, you could fairly simply determine the amount you were accounting for. On the other hand, more variable sources—e.g., fundraising events or programs like AmazonSmile—can be estimated by calculating the average dollar amounts received over a period of time, such as the last months or years.
For example, many organizations are (understandably) fretting about the AmazonSmile program shutting down. However, reports indicate that the average annual payout for the program was a mere $230.
Looking at it this way can help contextualize the loss and make an actionable plan to compensate for the lack of funding.
Pursue new fundraising avenues.
Now, begin brainstorming ways to make up for the lost funding. When one door closes, another one may be opening. That means it might be time to pursue a brand new funding avenue.
A few examples may include:
Keep in mind that this idea can look vastly different from one organization to the next. After all, there’s a world of opportunities readily available.
Ramp up existing (yet often underutilized) funding types.
What about those revenue streams that produce some funding for your cause, but you don’t have a particularly built-out strategy for making the most of the resource? It’s a great chance to optimize your efforts regarding those funding types, as well!
For many organizations, this is where corporate giving programs fall. Perhaps you’ve received a number of matching donations, maybe even a few volunteer grants. However, you might generally rely on individual supporters to pursue those avenues on their own. In that case, now might be the best opportunity to ramp up your efforts to help ensure no matches are ultimately going unclaimed.
Diversifying funds with 10+ alternative revenue streams
When you rely too heavily on any one type of funding, you run the risk of financial instability should something happen to that source. Thus, one of the best ways to prepare your organization prior to losing potential revenue streams is to ensure a well-rounded and sustainable funding model.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular—and impactful—kinds of nonprofit funding to consider. Keep in mind that a versatile fundraising strategy likely incorporates many, if not all, of these earning types.
1. Corporate Giving
According to corporate giving research, corporations contribute, on average, over $21 billion each year. Much of this funding is donated through generous programs, such as:
However, billions of dollars in workplace giving revenue is left on the table each year, largely due to a lack of knowledge surrounding the programs.
Want to increase participation in corporate philanthropy and drive additional corporate funding to your cause? Identify the right opportunities (such as by using a database like Double the Donation) and raise awareness among supporters. You can even encourage them to get their employers involved! Don’t worry: we’ll share more on matching gifts later.)
2. Individual Gifts
Many nonprofits make up the majority of their annual fundraising revenue through individual donor giving. This typically includes a number of specific giving types, such as:
In order to maximize individual giving, be sure to send personalized and targeted fundraising appeals. You’ll also want to emphasize the tangible impact of generous donations on your nonprofit’s mission.
Plus, the above-cited research shows that simply highlighting matching gifts in donation asks results in a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in average gift amount.
3. Grants
Nonprofit (or fundraising) grants are a specific type of monetary contribution made to a charitable cause. They are typically larger than the average donation amount and are often restricted to funding a particular project or program.
Grants can be made by a range of different institutions but generally fall into one of the following categories:
Most grants require some sort of application process and may include a dedicated proposal to be submitted. In order to secure more grant funding for your organization, it’s a good idea to spend some time researching opportunities and creating optimized proposal materials.
4. Event Revenue
Nonprofit fundraising events can certainly be fan-favorite experiences—and can range from informal run/walk/ride competitions to elegant gala affairs. And each event typically encompasses multiple opportunities for generating revenue.
For example, your event may collect funding from:
When you choose to host a fundraising event for your organization, be sure to invest time and resources into marketing the opportunity effectively beforehand. After all, your audience would love to participate to support your cause, but they need to know the event is happening in order to attend.
5. Online Giving
In line with the digital revolution, online giving has increased steadily, seeing consistent year-over-year growth throughout the past decade and beyond.
Remember: donors want an easy digital giving experience, so the tools you use to power online donations are a critical component of your strategy.
(Hint: Double the Donation partners with some of the greatest online donation platforms in the industry. Check out our integrations to learn more!)
6. Direct Mail Donations
Though many assume that direct mail is an outdated fundraising strategy, the truth is that it remains an excellent way to engage with your donors in an offline manner.
In fact, recent fundraising statistics report that direct mail is the second-highest reported giving preference among Baby Boomer donors worldwide. At the same time, it’s one of the top four most inspirational channels to drive action among supporters in Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boomer generations alike.
One way to modernize the giving avenue, however, is to provide an online option for giving—even when an individual is being prompted through a direct mail ask. For example, you might include a scannable QR code or an easy-to-type digital giving page URL.
7. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Also known as social or P2P fundraising, peer-to-peer fundraising is an impactful way for nonprofits to raise substantial levels of funding while also expanding their campaign reach to new heights.
In these initiatives, organizations equip dedicated supporters with the tools they need to raise money on behalf of their favorite causes. Volunteer fundraisers then solicit donations from their own networks of friends, family members, and more.
In the end, P2P campaigns often culminate in an engaging event experience, such as a walk-a-thon!
8. Membership Fees
Some nonprofits take a membership-based approach to supplement their other existing funding sources. This is a particularly popular model among school PTAs, community programming organizations, and more. And it can be a great way to incentivize giving and foster a sense of camaraderie among members!
Organizations that choose to enact membership fees (sometimes referred to as dues) typically provide exclusive perks for those who join and aim to set their prices at an affordable monthly or yearly rate.
9. Recurring Gifts
Recurring donations offer a wide range of benefits for the nonprofits receiving them. Not only do individual supporters typically end up giving more through these programs, but it also aids organizations in estimating incoming revenue.
And leveling up your recurring gifts can be as easy as incorporating a button on your online donation pages! You may be pleasantly surprised as to how many donors opt to become regular supporters of your cause when presented with the easy opportunity to do so. In fact, average online monthly giving grew by over 40% as recurring donation options became an increasingly popular choice among online supporters.
10. In-Kind Donations
While not a direct source of funding, in-kind donations (i.e., any non-cash gifts of goods, services, or time) are an essential component of nonprofit fundraising. After all, these types of contributions empower organizations to stretch their budgets further than otherwise possible. And that allows them to allocate revenue to other areas of their operations.
To drive more in-kind donations, make sure to market the opportunity to your donors! Many individuals love supporting nonprofits by providing gifts-in-kind and seeing the impact that their tangible purchases can have on their favorite causes. Plus, Amazon still offers an easy way for charities to create and share online wishlists from which their supporters can purchase and send items directly to the organization.
Our favorite fundraising avenue: employee matching gifts!
While all of the above funding sources can provide significant benefits for the nonprofits who choose to establish the initiatives, our #1 favorite method is employee matching gifts. After all, this top alternative fundraising avenue has huge potential—though it’s still going largely underutilized.
In fact, Double the Donation research indicates that an estimated $2 – $3 billion is donated through matching gift programs each year. However, an additional $4 – $7 billion goes unclaimed on an annual basis.
Not to mention, corporate matching gifts are an opportunity that nearly all nonprofit organizations qualify to participate in. Over 26 million individuals work for companies with matching gift programs, including over 65% of the Fortune 500. More than likely, a key segment of your existing and prospective donors falls into that matching-gift-eligible group.
When you highlight the widespread availability of these programs, your organization can benefit not only from increased corporate funding but from elevated donor giving, as well. The above-mentioned studies also show that individual supporters are more likely to give (71% growth in gift conversion rates) and to give more (51% higher average transaction amount) when matching gifts are promoted. Thus, in the end, your organization receives additional revenue streams and new opportunities for communication and engagement. Talk about a win-win!
Plus, if you’re looking for a particularly impactful source of fundraising revenue that doesn’t require a ton of staff time and resources, dedicated matching gift technology is the way to go. Leveraging a matching gift automation tool (like Double the Donation’s solution) increases matching gift funds for nonprofits by over 61%, with innovative new auto-submission functionality projected to yield more than an 80% increase in match revenue.
And in the face of adversity, you generally won’t have to worry about a negative impact on matching gifts. In reality, many companies were reported to have developed new and improved employee matching initiatives in the wake of COVID-19 and other economic downturns. Besides, should one company roll back its programming, you’ll likely have a number of additional matching opportunities to pursue—making it a particularly sustainable fundraising practice over time.
Final Thoughts
Preparing your team with a range of diversified revenue can go a long way toward continuous operational success. Even in the midst of lost funding avenues, you’ll have a number of alternative fundraising streams supporting your organization.
And when you have a plan in place for optimizing passive income opportunities (such as employer matching gifts and more), you can continue driving forward mission impact despite losing access to other sources.
Ready to dive deeper into some of our favorite alternative fundraising avenues for nonprofits and schools? Check out these additional resources below:
How to Promote Matching Gifts with the Google Ad Grant
/in Marketing Strategies, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerIf your nonprofit is serious about driving more matching gift revenue, it’s time to step up and get creative with your outreach. As one of the most innovative outreach channels, Google Ads might just be the missing piece to your matching gift marketing strategy.
For those who are paid marketing rookies, Google Ads is an online advertising platform where advertisers can display short ads that promote their web content to users on Google Search. Nonprofits that use the platform typically promote content related to fundraising, volunteering, and services.
Pay-per-click marketing can add up, though. Luckily, Google realizes this! That’s why they offer eligible nonprofits free access to Google Ads, making it the perfect opportunity to strengthen your organization’s digital presence. Crafting a high-performing ad campaign for matching gifts takes a bit more than writing a few sentences, directing people to your website, and calling it a day, though.
To help supercharge your marketing, we’ll share everything we know about promoting matching gifts with Google Ads. Here’s what we’ll cover:
A lot of work goes into managing a Google Ad Grants account and creating winning ads for your fundraising initiatives. That’s why we recommend working with a professional Google Grants manager! From pinpointing the right keywords to creating inspiring ads for matching gifts, our friends at Getting Attention know what it takes to stand out using Google Ads.
While waiting to discuss your Google Ad needs with their team, explore our suggestions below. That way, you can come prepared with some ideas for your Google Ad Grants marketing strategy!
An Overview of Promoting Matching Gifts with Google Ads
Before diving headfirst into specific marketing strategies, take some time to learn the basics of the Google Ad Grant program. You’ll find that a carefully-crafted Ad Grants strategy can amplify several parts of your mission, including everything from corporate giving to volunteer registrations.
What Are Google Ad Grants?
Created in 2003, Google Ad Grants has transformed into a popular corporate giving program that provides eligible nonprofits with $10,000 in free advertising credits every month. Organizations can spend these credits to bid on different mission-related keywords and promote their web content.
Nonprofits most often promote donation pages, service pages, and educational content, depending on the keywords they’re bidding on. Then, ads are placed strategically on the search engine results pages for those keywords, such as at the very top above the organic results.
Getting Attention’s Google Ad Grants guide explains that you should “think of it as your secret weapon for spreading awareness for your cause, expanding your donor and volunteer network, sharing essential updates with your supporters, and ranking higher on Google.”
The bottom line: The Ad Grants program makes it easy to fold Google Ads into your matching gift marketing strategy without blowing your marketing budget.
The Importance of Marketing Matching Gifts
Corporate giving makes up a sizeable portion of any nonprofit’s revenue. In fact, fundraising research estimates that corporations donate roughly $3 billion through matching gifts alone each year. Even with these incredible contributions, around 78% of match-eligible donors are unaware that their companies offer matching gift programs. That’s why effective marketing is vital!
If your donors aren’t aware of their match eligibility, they won’t follow through with submitting their requests. While matching gift automation will deliver automated email reminders to donors, using other avenues to promote matching gifts will help you reach prospects who haven’t donated yet.
From emails to Google Ads, there’s a lot you can do to spread awareness to donors and prospects who need an extra push to donate.
Why Nonprofits Promote Matching Gifts With Google Ad Grants
One of the reasons that the Google Ad Grant is a game-changer is that you can create highly-customized ads that showcase your cause.
Using a feature called sitelink extensions, you can build out your ads with additional landing pages, providing users with a variety of ways to engage with your cause. In other words, you can share several touchpoints all within the same ad.
Not to mention, you have complete control over the keywords you target. That means you can make sure you’re only targeting search queries that connect you with qualified leads. Plus, you can use Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) to test out different versions of your ads to drive more clicks.
Above all, Google Search empowers you to connect with donors from all over the world. Available to organizations in 51 countries, the Google Ad Grant breaks down geographical barriers, so you can connect with motivated supporters wherever they are.
Nonprofits Source’s online giving research provides a few convincing statistics that speak to the power of Google Ads:
In other words, the Google Ad Grants program gives you the power to supercharge your digital marketing and increase matching gift awareness more than ever before. By carefully selecting keywords and creating persuasive ads, you can connect with donors who are ready to donate and submit their matching gift requests to employers.
Types of Matching Gift Website Content to Promote with Google Ads
So you’re convinced that Google Ads is a viable way to grow matching gift awareness. Great! We wholeheartedly agree. Now, it’s time to take the next step: determining what content to promote with Google Ads. Or, if you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to create matching gift content on your website to attach to your ads.
One of the rules of the Google Ad Grant program is that your nonprofit must have high-quality website content. After all, that content is what you’ll be promoting with your ads. Let’s explore a few pages related to matching gifts you’ll want to create on your site.
Your Donation Form
A donation form is one of the most popular pages that nonprofits promote using the Google Ad Grant. Luckily, the donation process is the perfect time to encourage users to check their matching gift eligibility! Anyone visiting this page is clearly already thinking about donating, and they might even increase their donation if they know their employer will match it.
Using one of Double the Donation’s donation form integrations, simply embed your employer search tool into this page. This will empower donors to take action immediately after clicking one of your Google Ads.
While creating brand-new matching gift content takes some time, updating your existing donation page with an employer search tool is a quick way to incorporate Google Ads into your matching gift promotion.
A Matching Gifts Page
While the concept of matching gifts is simple, companies’ programs can be tricky to navigate. They each have their own requirements and processes donors must follow to qualify. That’s why you’ll want to create a landing page that guides users through the process and allows them to determine their eligibility.
Your page should feature:
A dedicated matching gifts page will play a vital role in your Google Ads strategy. Your goal with this page should be to teach donors about matching gifts and spur them into action to submit the necessary forms. Then, when they click through to your site from your ad, they’ll know exactly what next step to take.
A Ways to Give Page
A Ways to Give page covers every way a prospect can support your work, from monthly giving to volunteering to matching gifts. Best of all, you probably already have this type of page published on your site.
Easily update your Ways to Give page with matching gift content. At a minimum, we recommend that you:
As an added bonus, this page is great to include in other ads! You can expand your other ad campaigns using the sitelink extension feature. Then, link to your Ways to Give page, directing all types of prospects to it to learn more about supporting your work.
Blog Articles
Occasionally, you’ll encounter donors who are confused about matching gifts, the process, and how to determine their eligibility. Clear up any confusion by publishing blog articles about matching gifts. This is also a great opportunity to share stories about how corporate giving has impacted your cause.
As you brainstorm your approach, here are a few other ways to create motivational blog articles about matching gifts:
Like we mentioned, you can promote all sorts of content with the Google Ad Grant, including educational content about matching gifts! Dedicate some of your marketing team’s time to creating these articles. Then, when you create a particularly captivating article, you can promote it using Google Ads.
Choosing Keywords for Your Matching Gift Google Ads
One of the main components of your Google Ads is your keywords. Your keywords can make or break your Google Ads. Picking the right search terms will help you connect with motivated prospects who are likely to donate and submit matching gift requests to their employers.
Through Google for Nonprofits, you’ll gain access to helpful keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner. Use these tools to pinpoint the terms your donors are searching on Google. Or, if you’re feeling wary about picking your keywords, a Google Grants manager can step in to do the research for you.
To build effective keyword lists and optimize your Google Ad Grant account, follow these quick tips:
Let’s give a quick example so that you can see how this might look in practice. Let’s say you work for a heart disease prevention organization. Your donors might be looking to learn more about supporting heart disease research.
In this case, you might target search queries like “ways to give to heart disease research” and “donate to fight heart disease.” Then, you can direct traffic to your donation form and expand your ad with additional links to your Ways to Give page and dedicated matching gift page.
More specific matching gift keywords, like “matching donations to heart disease research” won’t receive much traffic. Targeting terms like this means you’ll severely limit your audience and likely won’t increase matching gift awareness very much.
So considering that your goal is to promote matching gifts with the Google Ad Grant, we suggest leaning into the first strategy of choosing more generic keywords. Then, you can use more specific keywords to spread awareness among knowledgeable donors.
Examples Showing How to Promote Matching Gifts with Google Ads
You can read all day about how to promote matching gifts with the Google Ad Grant. However, it’s much more useful to see some examples from real organizations! Here are a few of the ways we’ve seen nonprofits increase matching gift awareness through well-written Google Ads.
ASPCA
For this Google Ad, ASPCA targets focused keywords like “matching gifts for ASPCA.” The intent for this keyword shows that the user is knowledgeable about matching gifts and is likely wondering if they can have their donation to the organization matched.
That’s why the Google Ad directs the user to their dedicated matching gifts page. Then, it showcases the nonprofit’s Ways to Give page by using a sitelink extension, giving the user an additional way to engage with the organization.
Muslim American Society
In this Google Ad example, the Muslim American Society promotes matching gifts to users who are ready to donate. Someone who searches “give to Muslim American Society” is clearly on the verge of donating, making it the perfect time to promote matching gifts!
The landing page for this Google Ad is the organization’s donation form which prominently features matching gifts. There’s information about common guidelines and the process for submitting a match request alongside the form. Then, donors can research their eligibility using an embedded employer search tool.
Getting Started Promoting Matching Gifts with Google Ads
Now that you know the basics of promoting matching gifts with Google Ads, it’s time to dive in and create your campaigns!
If you need some additional help, you don’t have to go into it alone! We suggest turning to the Google Grant managers at Getting Attention. These experts know everything there is to know about the Google Ad Grant. They devote their time to learning the intricacies of the program, empowering their nonprofit partners to connect with new prospects on Google Search.
Whether you want to promote matching gifts with Google Ads or drive awareness in other areas, they know what it takes to stand out. They provide services for every aspect of Google Ad Grant management, including:
So, if promoting matching gifts with Google Ads sounds out of your wheelhouse, trust these experts to handle it for you! They’ll help you create compelling ads that drive real results for your cause. Plus, you can chat with their team about how the Google Ad Grant falls into your marketing strategy as a whole.
Final Thoughts
When you get creative, the Google Ad Grant can transform your digital marketing and increase visibility for corporate giving opportunities. Whether you’re advertising your donation form or a dedicated matching gifts page, there’s a lot you can do to make donors aware of their matching gift potential through the program.
For the quickest results, we highly recommend working with a Google Grants manager. These experts know the ins and outs of the program, so you can focus on other aspects of your mission while they design compelling ads.
As you get up and running, check out these resources to learn more about Google Ad Grants and how to promote matching gifts:
Google Grant Optimization: Nonprofit Grant Management Tips
/in Learning Center, Marketing Strategies, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerOrganizations with effective nonprofit marketing strategies utilize many tools to reach their audiences. From email blasts to social media posts, these organizations leverage numerous platforms to communicate valuable information. Among all these platforms, one source of truth remains constant—your nonprofit’s website. Whether you’re promoting matching gifts or an upcoming fundraising event, most communications point back to your nonprofit’s website for more information.
If your nonprofit takes advantage of the $10,000 Ad Grant from Google, you’re taking the right steps to promote your site and your organization’s most valuable information. However, the Google Ad Grant program isn’t a single-step process.
Nonprofits are not only required to maintain their eligibility for the Google Ad Grant but also must optimize their ads and accounts to drive real results from the program. In this guide, we’ll show you how to optimize your Google Grant by covering the following topics:
Truly making the most of this grant means managing it on a regular basis. When you do, you’ll expand your outreach as you increase website traffic and consistently appeal to new internet searchers. Understand what it means to optimize your Google Grant so you can develop a strategy that will effectively reach a large audience of potential supporters.
What is Google Grant optimization?
Google Grant optimization means managing your nonprofit’s Google Ad Grant account and the advertisements you’ve created to ensure everything stays compliant with Google’s management policies and relevant to users’ search intents. Although you can optimize almost any aspect of your Google Ad Grant participation, some common areas for improvement include:
These aspects of your Google Ad Grant participation are just a few elements that need regular maintenance. Remember, there are countless opportunities for optimization, and it’s a crucial part of leveraging Google Ads for your nonprofit’s outreach efforts. Both the account itself and the ads you create must be refreshed to meet your audience’s needs.
It’s natural for this to seem overwhelming—after all, the Google Ad Grant is free marketing funding. Shouldn’t it make nonprofit marketing easier? If you didn’t want a Google Ad Grant agency’s help during the application process, this is where their services can be especially helpful. They’ll manage your account so that all optimization tasks are completely handled while your nonprofit’s leaders focus on fulfilling your mission.
How to manage your nonprofit’s Google Ad Grant compliance
To break down optimization even further, it can be approached in two stages: account compliance and ad updates. Start with your account—make sure you’re in compliance with all the Google Ad Grant requirements. After all, optimized ads will be no good if your account is suspended!
The list of requirements is long, but there are a few crucial ones that your nonprofit should keep in mind:
Since your ads will lead users to your nonprofit’s website, Google also has specific website guidelines, including:
Bookmark Google’s guidelines and check regularly for updates. You’ll be notified when anything big changes, but it’s always a good idea to stay on top of the rules and make sure your account is compliant. Especially as you optimize your website and advertisements, keep the account criteria in mind so you don’t accidentally violate the guidelines amidst new changes.
How to gauge your nonprofit’s campaign performance
You may have heard the saying about not trying to fix something that isn’t broken. The implied first step in that statement is actually knowing something is broken. In the same way, your nonprofit will have to gauge its campaign performance before knowing what should be optimized. Evaluate your campaign performance by tracking:
Most metrics can be tracked by Google Analytics when you link your accounts. However, you’ll need to compare this to your organization-specific metrics to see the tangible impact of your Google Ads performance. For example, to see the impact of a Google Ad on your matching gift program, you’ll have to combine your own data of the number of gifts matched with the ad’s CTR.
For this reason, it’s crucial that you keep your own data organized, as well. Consider using a database to host all this information in the same place, or hiring a Google Ad Grant agency to track and report your data for you.
How to optimize your nonprofit’s Google Grant account ads
As you evaluate your campaign metrics, change your perspective of underperformance. Optimization doesn’t strictly target failing elements of your Google Ad Grant efforts but makes every aspect of your advertising more successful.
As you narrow your optimization from account structure to individual ads, consider which ones produce the greatest results. Then, adjust the rest of your ads to mimic this strategy. For example, if you find that your highest-performing ad highlights a unique attribute of your organization’s work, you might incorporate that fact into the copy of your other ads. In general, to improve your ads, you can:
Although some tactics for Google Ad Grant management require technical account optimization and research, your actual ads are the component that has the potential to convert a user into a supporter. Adjust your ads based on what you know about your supporters and revisit them regularly to make changes as needed.
Conclusion and additional resources
Once you’ve identified the changes you need to make to your Google Grant account, you can proceed with optimizations to ensure you’re making the most of this free marketing funding. Remember, optimization is not a one-time update. It’s important that you frequently check your Google Grant account and advertisements and make adjustments whenever it’s necessary.
This can be a big undertaking, both initially and as optimizations become a regular part of your account maintenance. Research Google Ad Grant agencies to determine if hiring one will benefit your nonprofit. Our recommendation, Getting Attention, is a full-service agency that can manage every aspect of your grant.
If you’re interested in other types of free marketing funding or methods of donor engagement, check out these additional resources:
Nonprofit Basics: Amazon Smile
/in Nonprofit Basics /by Adam WeingerBoth online shopping and online fundraising have grown in popularity in recent years. More than 268 million people in the United States shopped online in 2022 alone, and 54% of donors worldwide prefer to donate online.
With online shopping and online giving soaring in popularity, it makes sense that nonprofit organizations would attempt to find a solution to bring online shopping into the online fundraising world in an effort to earn more donations. That’s why many nonprofits have combined those two trends to bring in revenue through programs like Amazon Smile.
What is Amazon Smile?
Until its discontinuation in early 2023, Amazon Smile was a program that allowed shoppers to give back to their favorite charities while making everyday online purchases through Amazon. Shoppers could give to nonprofits through purchases that they were going to make anyway, regardless of whether they were able to make an additional donation. It was also an easy way for nonprofits to earn donations from their loyal supporters, many of whom are happy to make additional donations through fundraising programs like this if given the opportunity.
Once an organization registered with Amazon Smile, supporters would start shopping for their cause, and a portion of their total sales went back to the nonprofit of their choice.
Benefits of online shopping fundraiser programs like Amazon Smile
Although Amazon Smile has come to an end, it isn’t the only program of its kind that nonprofits can participate in. Here are some reasons your nonprofit may consider signing up for an online shopping fundraiser program:
Whether your nonprofit is new to the online shopping fundraiser space or participated in Amazon Smile and is wondering what next steps to take, be aware that there are other similar fundraising programs available with connections to different networks of retailers. Your nonprofit should do research and carefully consider which shopping donation option is right for your organization.
Other Resources to Explore
Nonprofit Basics – Learn more nonprofit management essentials by exploring other expert resources.
Passive Fundraising: How to Earn Extra Revenue [+5 Ideas] – Explore strategies to make passive fundraisers, including online shopping fundraiser programs, more successful.
Shop for a Cause: How to Give Back While Shopping Online – Discover more ways for your nonprofit’s supporters to further your mission through their everyday online purchases.