Matching gifts can produce a great source of additional revenue for nonprofits. In fact, an estimated $2 to $3 billion is donated through matching gift programs every year. That means that lackluster appeals could cause your organization to miss out on a lot of potential revenue.
After all, choosing the right message when promoting matching gifts can be the determining factor in whether or not a donor participates in their employer’s match program. Considering this, be sure to take the time needed to craft and integrate dedicated matching gift blurbs throughout your donor outreach.
To make sure you send the most effective message possible, first familiarize yourself with the following topics:
By learning and implementing the specific language of effective appeals, your nonprofit will be one step closer to maximizing its revenue potential. And your donors will be that much more likely to take the intended action in your appeals.
Ready to revamp your matching gift outreach? Let’s dive in with the basics.
What Are Matching Gift Blurbs?
The first step in boosting revenue through matching gifts is to produce effective copy promoting the programs. In other words, you need to create well-written resources for donors and prospects to learn about matching gifts.
One of the most impactful (and easiest) ways to do so? Implement matching gift blurbs throughout your messaging.
[Note: If you’re not sure what a blurb is—don’t worry. More than likely, you’ve come across the idea in action already, even if you’re not familiar with the terminology.]
A blurb is essentially a short piece of writing, typically a brief and attention-grabbing description or promotional statement. Regarding corporate matching, a matching gift burb is a quick explanation (think: 1-3 sentences) of the opportunity that aims to inspire participation among donors.
Examples may include:
- Advertisements about matching gifts appearing alongside your online resources;
- Printed inserts included in physical communications;
- Notes incorporated beneath team members’ email signatures;
- And more.
While wording and placement can vary, the ultimate goal is for your messaging to entice readers to get involved in their companies’ initiatives—even if they’d never been made aware of the initiative prior.
Best Practices for Impactful Matching Gift Blurbs
The text you use in your matching gift appeals—specifically, your matching gift blurbs—is an essential component of your fundraising. It should be straightforward and to the point, aiming to persuade your audience and drive action.
We’ve compiled a list of tried-and-true tips for drafting matching gift messaging. Read through these suggested practices and see which ideas you can implement in your own outreach!
Employ donor-focused language.
When discussing matching gifts, your chosen wording can mean the difference between a supporter clicking the link or moving on without any further thought.
For example, let’s say you’re planning to link your dedicated match page from your website’s main navigation. What should you name that tab on the menu? We suggest something along the lines of “Matching Gifts,” “Double your Donation,” or “Matching Gift Company Search.”
What we recommend against is wording such as “Corporate Matching” or “Corporate Giving” since these phrases often don’t resonate with individual donors. You don’t want users skipping over the page due to an assumption that the resource is targeting companies rather than individual supporters!
Keep this in mind as you frame matching gift language in all of your donor-facing blurbs—but especially regarding headings, titles, and other elements designed to grab your audiences’ attention.
Keep your copy short and sweet.
Your matching gift blurb doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, brevity is crucial—you want to get the message across before the reader loses interest.
The perfect length can vary based on placement, purpose, and audience. Still, most matching gift blurbs can and should be short, sweet, and to the point. We recommend no longer than a single paragraph unless you’re dedicating a larger piece of communication (e.g., an entire email blast) to the topic.
Make the most of action-driven verbiage.
When making a fundraising appeal, the wording in your message is important. More specifically, your choice of verbs can directly affect the success of a campaign.
For example, people—even dedicated supporters—often need a direct call to action in order to get involved. The key is to ask your donors to do something, to take a particular action.
In other words, matching gift appeals need action verbs. Otherwise, donors won’t be entirely sure what their next steps should be.
In an email or web page, phrases like “Get Started” or “Read More” tell your audience what you’re asking them to do. But more specific calls to action can drive even greater results. Instead of “Click Here,” try “Search Your Employer Here” if you utilize a matching gift search tool like Double the Donation. This way, donors know exactly what’s being asked of them in order to support your cause.
Why? Donors care about your mission—and they want to help. Too often, however, they’re held back by a lack of information and no clear directions for how they can be of service. Using clear and concise verbiage can help inform and clarify the steps your donors need to take next.
The result? More matches!
Prioritize impact in communications.
Donors like to see that their hard-earned dollars are making a difference for the causes they care about. Thus, it’s important to emphasize amplified mission impact as a key benefit of employee matching opportunities in the associated messaging.
As you craft your matching gift blurbs, be sure to emphasize the potential of a donor’s contribution to stretch beyond the amount of their initial gift.
When possible, try using tangible examples pertaining to your organization’s mission. If you run a food pantry, for instance, that might mean informing supporters that, with matching gifts, you can feed twice as many individuals and families with the same initial donation amount.
Locate and follow up on match opportunities with Double the Donation.
When revamping your corporate fundraising appeals strategy, a matching gift database can help pinpoint these opportunities with ease. This way, you can employ automated and targeted outreach—in addition to broader matching gift blurbs—throughout your messaging.
Specifically, Double the Donation’s platform is designed to assist nonprofits in increasing awareness among donors. From there, it also simplifies the process for individuals to submit subsequent match requests.
Once you integrate it across your online fundraising channels, here’s what the tool does:
- Exposes supporters to matching gift information at multiple points throughout the giving experience;
- Enables donors to search for more than 24,000 companies and subsidiaries, empowering them to quickly locate their employers and eligibility criteria;
- Allows your nonprofit to identify match opportunities through email domain screening, an intuitive search tool, and more;
- Provides direct links to updated forms and guidelines for each company, thus streamlining the submission tasks for supporters;
- Follows up with match-eligible donors via personalized emails to drive more matches to completion;
- Tracks donors throughout the process to easily assist with stuck matches and more accurately forecast incoming revenue.
Think your organization could benefit? Request a demo here!
Where to Include Matching Gift Blurbs
Now that you understand what matching gift blurbs are—and which strategies will empower you to write the best copy possible—you’ll need to consider optimal placement. In other words…where should you insert your newly crafted or finetuned matching gift promotional blurbs?
The short answer is this: wherever you see the opportunity to promote corporate giving opportunities, do it. The more, the merrier! The more familiar donors are with the concept of corporate gift-matching, the more likely they are to participate.
The longer answer involves just about any place where you interact with donors—before, during, and after giving. Check out this list of some of the most popular blurb locations for organizations like yours.
A Dedicated Matching Gifts Page
If you want to create high-traffic matching gift outreach, a good place to begin is where the most supporters are: online! Your website is likely the first impression most people have of your organization, so you want to make it count.
An easy way to increase the visibility of your matching gift promotion is to create a dedicated page for matching gifts. On the page, you’ll want to highlight the basics of employee match initiatives and provide instructions for typical programs within your matching gift blurbs.
(Tip: If you employ matching gift software like Double the Donation, don’t forget to embed the search tool on this page alongside your blurb. That way, users won’t have to go out of their way to research their companies’ programs on their own after discovering the opportunity!)
Your “Ways to Give” Page
Similarly, your organization may already have a “Ways to Give” page on its website that is designed to provide ample opportunities for supporters to get involved with your cause. This might include planned giving, donations of stock and other gifts-in-kind, monthly recurring giving programs, and more.
And one thing you don’t want to forget on this page is matching gifts.
Include a quick blurb about the impact of getting a donation matched and how a donor can uncover their own eligibility. You can even embed your matching gift company search tool here, as well!
Fundraising Appeals
Did you know that recent studies on matching gifts and donor behavior report that 84% of individuals are more likely to donate to a nonprofit if a matching gift is being offered? This finding results in a 71% increase in donation response rate when matching gifts are mentioned in fundraising appeals.
This ultimately means including a matching gift blurb in a donation ask can produce significantly more revenue for your giving campaign. Not only can you expect funding from corporate matches that ultimately come through, but you’ll also benefit from elevated giving rates in the meantime.
Email Communications
As an established nonprofit, your team is likely already using email to maintain contact with donors. But do you utilize email to effectively promote matching gifts? You should!
Incorporating matching gift blurbs within email marketing can bring awareness of the opportunity to a wide range of nonprofit supporters. And your entire message doesn’t have to be dedicated to matching gifts, either. Consider adding a quick blurb on the topic to broader email communications such as newsletters, campaign or project updates, end-of-year reports, and more.
The text you use in your outreach should be persuasive but to the point. Consider emphasizing key points with bolding to increase skimmability and convey the importance of matching gifts for your organization.
Email Signatures
One of the easiest places to incorporate a matching gift blurb is within your organization’s staff email signatures. All it takes is a few seconds for each team member to adjust their automatic sign-off (hint: simplify the process by providing individuals with the text they should add), and you’ll be all set to promote matching gifts in every email you send year-round.
Keep in mind that you’ll want this blurb to be as succinct as possible. A quick sentence with a link to your matching gift page will typically do!
Donation Page
Another key location for matching gift blurbs is your online donation form. At this point in the process, the user is already ready to donate. Why wouldn’t they want to double the impact of their gift without having to part with any additional dollars?
In fact, donors might even be willing to give more after learning about the matching gift opportunity. The aforementioned studies indicate that 1 in 3 donors would contribute a larger gift if a match is applied to their donation—ultimately resulting in a 51% increase in the average donation amount.
We recommend using your giving form to collect employment data from your supporters (made easy with our embedded company search tool!). And when you add context to the request in the form of a matching gift blurb, donors will be increasingly likely to provide the information.
Keep in mind that this should likely be the briefest blurb of all to ensure that you don’t slow the donor down as they make their way through the giving experience.
Confirmation Screen
After a donor clicks “submit” on their completed giving form, they’re typically redirected to a confirmation page. This resource often thanks them for their contribution and provides them with details as to suggested next steps to further their impact. For example, a supporter may be encouraged to share their recent gift on social media, become a recurring donor, or even take on a peer-to-peer fundraising role.
And your confirmation screen is also the perfect location for a matching gift blurb!
Plus, when you utilize matching gift software, you can even provide employer-specific program insights and submission forms based on the company an individual selected within the giving form. This allows you to personalize your blurbs, providing relevant details in real time.
Donor Acknowledgements
Soon after a donor makes their initial contribution is the best time to remind them about matching gift opportunities. That said, mentioning matching gifts in your gift acknowledgments (regardless of channel) can go a long way.
Your donors are typically passionate about your mission. Most would jump at the chance to make their recent gifts stretch even farther without having to reach back into their wallets. All you have to do is make them aware of the chance to do so and guide them in the right direction.
You can even take your acknowledgments—and, thus, your matching gift blurbs—to the next level with unique and engaging eCards! When you ensure your messaging stands out in a supporter’s inbox, you can increase the likelihood that they’ll engage with your content and ultimately take the action you’re driving them toward.
Social Media
In today’s digital age, your organization’s social media profiles are likely some of your most valuable marketing assets. Of course you’ll want to share matching gift blurbs using this channel!
Doing so can encourage existing donors to complete unclaimed matching gift requests, inspire on-the-fence supporters to give in the first place, and more. By leveraging the power of social media, nonprofits like yours can reach a wider audience and engage with their communities in a meaningful way.
Keep in mind that when it comes to social media, your matching gift blurbs can take the form of shareable content (e.g., graphics or videos), post captions, or both!
Direct Mailings
If you utilize direct mail in your nonprofit’s fundraising strategy, consider including a matching gift blurb that accompanies your other materials.
This can include:
- Inserts
- Envelopes
- Postcards
- Letters
- And more
Regardless of the types of mailings you send, make sure it’s quick and easy for recipients to learn more about matching gifts. We recommend directing readers to your online matching gift page using an easy-to-type URL or a scannable QR code!
Bonus! Free Matching Gift Blurb Templates to Use
Ready to get started with impactful matching gift blurbs? These copy-and-pasteable templates can serve as an excellent jumping-off point.
Fill in the blanks with details about your organization and its mission, then plug in the finalized messaging throughout your donor outreach.
Thanks for the gift, [DONOR]! Did you know you may be able to double your donation with a match from your employer? See if you qualify for a matching gift by searching our employer database here.
[NONPROFIT] receives thousands of dollars each year through corporate matching gift programs. Does your company participate? Find out if you can do more for our mission with a match.
Matching gifts allow generous donations to go twice as far for our goal of [MISSION STATEMENT]. And it’s easy to request a match—locate your employer’s program guidelines and request forms here!
Double your impact! Many employers offer matching gift programs that can double or even triple your donation to [NONPROFIT]. Explore our matching gifts page or check with your HR department to see if your employer participates.
Many companies offer to match their employees’ charitable contributions, which means your gift to [NONPROFIT] could go twice as far. Contact your HR department—or click here to use our matching gift search tool—to learn more.
Don’t miss the chance to amplify your impact! Many employers offer matching gift programs, which means your donation to [NONPROFIT] could be matched dollar-for-dollar. Contact your employer or use our search tool to see if they participate.
Did you know that your employer could help you make an even bigger impact on [MISSION]? Check with your HR department to see if your company offers a matching gift program and take advantage of this opportunity to support [NONPROFIT] even more.
Your recent gift to [NONPROFIT] could be doubled… Many employers offer matching gift programs, so be sure to check if your company participates. Contact your HR department or explore our dedicated matching gifts page for more information.
Wrapping Up
To drive awareness of the matching gift opportunity, integrating well-crafted matching gift blurbs throughout your communications is essential.
Implement the above tips for wording and verbiage—or jump in with one of our sample messages. Then, insert your blurbs in the recommended locations for optimal exposure to donors.
Paired with a dedicated matching gift service, you’ll be all set to boost your organization’s matching gift revenue (and subsequent impact!) going forward.
Interested in learning more about matching gifts—and how to promote them with effective messaging? Check out these suggested resources for further reading:
UC Innovation Enhances Functionality for their Preferred Matching Gift Integration, Double the Donation by Double the Donation
/in Press Releases, News, Company Updates /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and UC Innovation are excited to debut new integration enhancements that will allow organizations to further streamline the matching gift fundraising process. This expanded functionality reflects the duo’s continued commitment to helping organizations grow their matching gift revenue.
UC Innovation’s preferred matching gift solution, Double the Donation, already integrates with the ascend CRM to automate matching gift outreach to donors post-contribution. The new integration offering allows users to integrate Double the Donation into ascend Portal donation forms – this will engage donors in the matching gift process even earlier in their donor journey. Using this functionality, organizations can uncover more match-eligible donors during the giving process and provide a direct link to matching gift next steps on the donation thank-you page.
This integration enhancement makes it easier to capture employment data from donors and automate segmented, tailored outreach. When a donor fills out their Portal donation form, Double the Donation determines the donor’s specific matching gift eligibility and presents a direct link to the donors’ matching gift request form on the confirmation page, which is when the request is most timely.
“Although many donors are eligible to have their gift matched by their employee, donors often lack awareness about their eligibility or what steps they need to take to submit a request, “ says Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “This enhanced integration with UC Innovation will allow universities and nonprofits to more easily and effectively close that donor awareness gap. Those time savings enabled by automation can then be reinvested back into other areas of donor outreach and donor engagement.”
Double the Donation integrates seamlessly with UC Innovation’s donation tools to automate the matching gift process for donors. Leveraging this integration will enable organizations to initiate the matching gift conversation with donors while they are still in the giving mindset. In turn, organizations will drive more matches to completion and tap into the full potential of matching gifts as a fundraising source.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
Double the Donation integrates seamlessly with Portal Donation Forms, making it easy to get up and running. Once you have your CRM integration settings configured, you can simply add the Double the Donation Lightning Web Components to your donation form editor. This then allows you to identify more match-eligible donors and streamline the matching gift process.
By activating the donation form portion of the integration, you can ensure that no extra funding falls through the cracks. With this solution, your donors will be screened for match eligibility during the donation process, and they will receive matching gift calls to action when those requests are most timely!
Looking to learn more? Check out our in-depth integration guide to get started!
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with Double the Donation!
Double the Donation and UC Innovation work to provide fundraisers with powerful, innovative solutions.
Using their matching gift integration, your team can:
Ready to check it out? Schedule a personalized demo to learn how this integration will drive matching gift revenue for your organization.
About UC Innovation: Founded in 2011, UC Innovation is a CRM software and consulting company that is committed to serving higher education and nonprofit clients. Their organization focuses on delivering advanced solutions on time and on budget, finding that optimal blend of innovative products and deep domain expertise. UC Innovation strives to provide clients with solutions that use efficient business processes and state-of-the-art technologies to reduce cost, ensure quality, and provide timely delivery of your CRM needs. To learn more, visit: https://www.ucinnovation.com/s/contact
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The Double the Donation platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. Double the Donation 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 about Double the Donation, visit https://doublethedonation.com and request a demo at https://doublethedonation.com/get-a-demo/.
Summa Selects 360MatchPro by Double the Donation for Matching Gifts Integration Partnership
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and Summa (formerly known as Adcieo) are proud to announce a new partnership between their software tools, providing nonprofit organizations with the opportunity to capture matching gift insights and pursue more matching gift revenues from every donor who gives on Summa pages.
The integration interacts with donors at the time of giving, helping them discover their match potential by searching for their company’s matching gift program. Then, 360MatchPro presents the donor with their company’s program details and next steps to fulfill their request.
“Double the Donation is focused on providing the best, most intuitive experience for donors and nonprofits alike,” says Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “Our advanced tools combined with the Summa donation experience makes for an integration that does just that.”
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
360MatchPro and Summa offer valuable matching gift features to help your organization double donations for your mission.
With the power of this solution, your organization can:
Ready to get started? Schedule a personalized demo today.
About Summa: Summa is an innovative and flexible suite of fundraising technology solutions designed to help nonprofit organizations of all sizes raise awareness, drive donor acquisition, boost donor retention, reduce workload, and make data-driven decisions.
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/
Matching Gift Blurbs | Sample Wording & Best Practices
/in Learning Center, Learning Center, Marketing Strategies /by Adam WeingerAs with any type of outreach, the wording in your matching gift appeals is vital. Thus, it should be carefully considered when revamping your nonprofit’s matching gift strategy. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about writing matching gift blurbs that drive results.
Matching gifts can produce a great source of additional revenue for nonprofits. In fact, an estimated $2 to $3 billion is donated through matching gift programs every year. That means that lackluster appeals could cause your organization to miss out on a lot of potential revenue.
After all, choosing the right message when promoting matching gifts can be the determining factor in whether or not a donor participates in their employer’s match program. Considering this, be sure to take the time needed to craft and integrate dedicated matching gift blurbs throughout your donor outreach.
To make sure you send the most effective message possible, first familiarize yourself with the following topics:
By learning and implementing the specific language of effective appeals, your nonprofit will be one step closer to maximizing its revenue potential. And your donors will be that much more likely to take the intended action in your appeals.
Ready to revamp your matching gift outreach? Let’s dive in with the basics.
What Are Matching Gift Blurbs?
The first step in boosting revenue through matching gifts is to produce effective copy promoting the programs. In other words, you need to create well-written resources for donors and prospects to learn about matching gifts.
One of the most impactful (and easiest) ways to do so? Implement matching gift blurbs throughout your messaging.
[Note: If you’re not sure what a blurb is—don’t worry. More than likely, you’ve come across the idea in action already, even if you’re not familiar with the terminology.]
A blurb is essentially a short piece of writing, typically a brief and attention-grabbing description or promotional statement. Regarding corporate matching, a matching gift burb is a quick explanation (think: 1-3 sentences) of the opportunity that aims to inspire participation among donors.
Examples may include:
While wording and placement can vary, the ultimate goal is for your messaging to entice readers to get involved in their companies’ initiatives—even if they’d never been made aware of the initiative prior.
Best Practices for Impactful Matching Gift Blurbs
The text you use in your matching gift appeals—specifically, your matching gift blurbs—is an essential component of your fundraising. It should be straightforward and to the point, aiming to persuade your audience and drive action.
We’ve compiled a list of tried-and-true tips for drafting matching gift messaging. Read through these suggested practices and see which ideas you can implement in your own outreach!
Employ donor-focused language.
When discussing matching gifts, your chosen wording can mean the difference between a supporter clicking the link or moving on without any further thought.
For example, let’s say you’re planning to link your dedicated match page from your website’s main navigation. What should you name that tab on the menu? We suggest something along the lines of “Matching Gifts,” “Double your Donation,” or “Matching Gift Company Search.”
What we recommend against is wording such as “Corporate Matching” or “Corporate Giving” since these phrases often don’t resonate with individual donors. You don’t want users skipping over the page due to an assumption that the resource is targeting companies rather than individual supporters!
Keep this in mind as you frame matching gift language in all of your donor-facing blurbs—but especially regarding headings, titles, and other elements designed to grab your audiences’ attention.
Keep your copy short and sweet.
Your matching gift blurb doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, brevity is crucial—you want to get the message across before the reader loses interest.
The perfect length can vary based on placement, purpose, and audience. Still, most matching gift blurbs can and should be short, sweet, and to the point. We recommend no longer than a single paragraph unless you’re dedicating a larger piece of communication (e.g., an entire email blast) to the topic.
Make the most of action-driven verbiage.
When making a fundraising appeal, the wording in your message is important. More specifically, your choice of verbs can directly affect the success of a campaign.
For example, people—even dedicated supporters—often need a direct call to action in order to get involved. The key is to ask your donors to do something, to take a particular action.
In other words, matching gift appeals need action verbs. Otherwise, donors won’t be entirely sure what their next steps should be.
In an email or web page, phrases like “Get Started” or “Read More” tell your audience what you’re asking them to do. But more specific calls to action can drive even greater results. Instead of “Click Here,” try “Search Your Employer Here” if you utilize a matching gift search tool like Double the Donation. This way, donors know exactly what’s being asked of them in order to support your cause.
Why? Donors care about your mission—and they want to help. Too often, however, they’re held back by a lack of information and no clear directions for how they can be of service. Using clear and concise verbiage can help inform and clarify the steps your donors need to take next.
The result? More matches!
Prioritize impact in communications.
Donors like to see that their hard-earned dollars are making a difference for the causes they care about. Thus, it’s important to emphasize amplified mission impact as a key benefit of employee matching opportunities in the associated messaging.
As you craft your matching gift blurbs, be sure to emphasize the potential of a donor’s contribution to stretch beyond the amount of their initial gift.
When possible, try using tangible examples pertaining to your organization’s mission. If you run a food pantry, for instance, that might mean informing supporters that, with matching gifts, you can feed twice as many individuals and families with the same initial donation amount.
Locate and follow up on match opportunities with Double the Donation.
When revamping your corporate fundraising appeals strategy, a matching gift database can help pinpoint these opportunities with ease. This way, you can employ automated and targeted outreach—in addition to broader matching gift blurbs—throughout your messaging.
Specifically, Double the Donation’s platform is designed to assist nonprofits in increasing awareness among donors. From there, it also simplifies the process for individuals to submit subsequent match requests.
Once you integrate it across your online fundraising channels, here’s what the tool does:
Think your organization could benefit? Request a demo here!
Where to Include Matching Gift Blurbs
Now that you understand what matching gift blurbs are—and which strategies will empower you to write the best copy possible—you’ll need to consider optimal placement. In other words…where should you insert your newly crafted or finetuned matching gift promotional blurbs?
The short answer is this: wherever you see the opportunity to promote corporate giving opportunities, do it. The more, the merrier! The more familiar donors are with the concept of corporate gift-matching, the more likely they are to participate.
The longer answer involves just about any place where you interact with donors—before, during, and after giving. Check out this list of some of the most popular blurb locations for organizations like yours.
A Dedicated Matching Gifts Page
If you want to create high-traffic matching gift outreach, a good place to begin is where the most supporters are: online! Your website is likely the first impression most people have of your organization, so you want to make it count.
An easy way to increase the visibility of your matching gift promotion is to create a dedicated page for matching gifts. On the page, you’ll want to highlight the basics of employee match initiatives and provide instructions for typical programs within your matching gift blurbs.
(Tip: If you employ matching gift software like Double the Donation, don’t forget to embed the search tool on this page alongside your blurb. That way, users won’t have to go out of their way to research their companies’ programs on their own after discovering the opportunity!)
Your “Ways to Give” Page
Similarly, your organization may already have a “Ways to Give” page on its website that is designed to provide ample opportunities for supporters to get involved with your cause. This might include planned giving, donations of stock and other gifts-in-kind, monthly recurring giving programs, and more.
And one thing you don’t want to forget on this page is matching gifts.
Include a quick blurb about the impact of getting a donation matched and how a donor can uncover their own eligibility. You can even embed your matching gift company search tool here, as well!
Fundraising Appeals
Did you know that recent studies on matching gifts and donor behavior report that 84% of individuals are more likely to donate to a nonprofit if a matching gift is being offered? This finding results in a 71% increase in donation response rate when matching gifts are mentioned in fundraising appeals.
This ultimately means including a matching gift blurb in a donation ask can produce significantly more revenue for your giving campaign. Not only can you expect funding from corporate matches that ultimately come through, but you’ll also benefit from elevated giving rates in the meantime.
Email Communications
As an established nonprofit, your team is likely already using email to maintain contact with donors. But do you utilize email to effectively promote matching gifts? You should!
Incorporating matching gift blurbs within email marketing can bring awareness of the opportunity to a wide range of nonprofit supporters. And your entire message doesn’t have to be dedicated to matching gifts, either. Consider adding a quick blurb on the topic to broader email communications such as newsletters, campaign or project updates, end-of-year reports, and more.
The text you use in your outreach should be persuasive but to the point. Consider emphasizing key points with bolding to increase skimmability and convey the importance of matching gifts for your organization.
Email Signatures
One of the easiest places to incorporate a matching gift blurb is within your organization’s staff email signatures. All it takes is a few seconds for each team member to adjust their automatic sign-off (hint: simplify the process by providing individuals with the text they should add), and you’ll be all set to promote matching gifts in every email you send year-round.
Keep in mind that you’ll want this blurb to be as succinct as possible. A quick sentence with a link to your matching gift page will typically do!
Donation Page
Another key location for matching gift blurbs is your online donation form. At this point in the process, the user is already ready to donate. Why wouldn’t they want to double the impact of their gift without having to part with any additional dollars?
In fact, donors might even be willing to give more after learning about the matching gift opportunity. The aforementioned studies indicate that 1 in 3 donors would contribute a larger gift if a match is applied to their donation—ultimately resulting in a 51% increase in the average donation amount.
We recommend using your giving form to collect employment data from your supporters (made easy with our embedded company search tool!). And when you add context to the request in the form of a matching gift blurb, donors will be increasingly likely to provide the information.
Keep in mind that this should likely be the briefest blurb of all to ensure that you don’t slow the donor down as they make their way through the giving experience.
Confirmation Screen
After a donor clicks “submit” on their completed giving form, they’re typically redirected to a confirmation page. This resource often thanks them for their contribution and provides them with details as to suggested next steps to further their impact. For example, a supporter may be encouraged to share their recent gift on social media, become a recurring donor, or even take on a peer-to-peer fundraising role.
And your confirmation screen is also the perfect location for a matching gift blurb!
Plus, when you utilize matching gift software, you can even provide employer-specific program insights and submission forms based on the company an individual selected within the giving form. This allows you to personalize your blurbs, providing relevant details in real time.
Donor Acknowledgements
Soon after a donor makes their initial contribution is the best time to remind them about matching gift opportunities. That said, mentioning matching gifts in your gift acknowledgments (regardless of channel) can go a long way.
Your donors are typically passionate about your mission. Most would jump at the chance to make their recent gifts stretch even farther without having to reach back into their wallets. All you have to do is make them aware of the chance to do so and guide them in the right direction.
You can even take your acknowledgments—and, thus, your matching gift blurbs—to the next level with unique and engaging eCards! When you ensure your messaging stands out in a supporter’s inbox, you can increase the likelihood that they’ll engage with your content and ultimately take the action you’re driving them toward.
Social Media
In today’s digital age, your organization’s social media profiles are likely some of your most valuable marketing assets. Of course you’ll want to share matching gift blurbs using this channel!
Doing so can encourage existing donors to complete unclaimed matching gift requests, inspire on-the-fence supporters to give in the first place, and more. By leveraging the power of social media, nonprofits like yours can reach a wider audience and engage with their communities in a meaningful way.
Keep in mind that when it comes to social media, your matching gift blurbs can take the form of shareable content (e.g., graphics or videos), post captions, or both!
Direct Mailings
If you utilize direct mail in your nonprofit’s fundraising strategy, consider including a matching gift blurb that accompanies your other materials.
This can include:
Regardless of the types of mailings you send, make sure it’s quick and easy for recipients to learn more about matching gifts. We recommend directing readers to your online matching gift page using an easy-to-type URL or a scannable QR code!
Bonus! Free Matching Gift Blurb Templates to Use
Ready to get started with impactful matching gift blurbs? These copy-and-pasteable templates can serve as an excellent jumping-off point.
Fill in the blanks with details about your organization and its mission, then plug in the finalized messaging throughout your donor outreach.
Wrapping Up
To drive awareness of the matching gift opportunity, integrating well-crafted matching gift blurbs throughout your communications is essential.
Implement the above tips for wording and verbiage—or jump in with one of our sample messages. Then, insert your blurbs in the recommended locations for optimal exposure to donors.
Paired with a dedicated matching gift service, you’ll be all set to boost your organization’s matching gift revenue (and subsequent impact!) going forward.
Interested in learning more about matching gifts—and how to promote them with effective messaging? Check out these suggested resources for further reading:
Boost My School Partners with Double the Donation to Release Advanced Matching Gift Functionality with 360MatchPro
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and Boost My School are pleased to announce their new collaboration in the form of an integration between Boost My School fundraising forms and 360MatchPro, the most advanced matching gift automation tool provided by Double the Donation.
Boost My School and Double the Donation collaborated to create the new integration, which interacts with donors about their matching gift potential on the donation form, confirmation page, and in their emails after completing a transaction.
“Schools are always looking for opportunities to deepen the impact of their network of eager supporters, alumni, and parents,” said Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “The integration between 360MatchPro by Double the Donation and Boost My School forms advances efforts toward that goal with every transaction.”
Read on for more details about how this partnership impacts schools and their donors.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
Boost My School and Double the Donation work closely with school clients to meet their fundraising needs. To get set up with the Boost My School and 360MatchPro integration, all mutual clients need to do is contact their Boost representative with their API key information and the Boost team will activate the integration on the school’s behalf. The Double the Donation Client Success team assists throughout the process to make onboarding a seamless experience.
Speaking of seamless–once the integration is activated on the client’s Boost My School form, donors can start searching their company name and discovering their match eligibility instantly from the giving page. The 360MatchPro auto-complete search tool on the Boost My School donation page prompts donors to enter their company name to see if they’re eligible for a match from their employer.
From here, 360MatchPro goes to work finding the company’s matching gift program from Double the Donation’s database–and with over 25,000 in the database records and over 65% of Fortune 500 companies boasting matching programs, there’s a high likelihood of a supporter finding their employer’s program through the process. 360MatchPro can then notify the donor of their match potential, share details of their employer’s program, and guide the donor through their matching gift request process.
360MatchPro also initiates smart, automated follow up emails with the donor to make sure schools capture as much information and match eligible donors as possible.
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
360MatchPro allows schools, universities, and nonprofits to take more control over their matching gift strategy without creating more work for an already incredibly busy staff. Now, Boost My School clients can take that powerful functionality to the next level with an integrated experience.
Some additional features schools can expect to leverage:
Ready to learn more? Get started by requesting a demo of the 360MatchPro solution here. Make sure to let us know you use Boost My School in your request!
About Boost My School: Boost My School is the most complete payment solution for advancement teams. The platform helps K-12 and higher ed customers raise $50M a year to grow their annual giving, capital campaigns, reunions, and fundraising events. To learn more, visit: https://www.boostmyschool.com/.
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/
EveryAction and Double the Donation Partner to Launch Advanced Matching Gift Integration
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerEveryAction and Double the Donation Partner to Launch Advanced Matching Gift Integration
Double the Donation is excited to announce a new integration with EveryAction, which is becoming Bonterra, a nonprofit CRM, donor management, and fundraising software, intended to help your organization do more good. This new partnership drives more revenue for nonprofit organizations through a seamless technical integration between EveryAction donation forms and 360MatchPro’s automated gift matching platform.
This new integration will capture donors’ matching gift eligibility as they give, then 360MatchPro’s automated workflows connect donors with actionable matching gift next steps post transaction. Using this technology, nonprofits can simplify the matching gift process for their donors and drive more matches to completion, effectively doubling (or even tripling) revenue.
“Double the Donation is excited to launch this partnership and add valuable matching gift marketing and automation technology to the Bonterra platform,” says Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “Our mutual users can get set up with 360MatchPro’s matching gift automation functionality and start raising more in minutes.”
With the majority of donors unaware of their matching gift eligibility status, billions of dollars in available fundraising revenue go unclaimed each year. Matching gift automation like 360MatchPro can close this revenue gap and open the door to increased fundraising opportunities.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
EveryAction and 360MatchPro have a seamless integration that allows for a quick and simple set up process. Organizations with a 360MatchPro account can log into their EveryAction dashboard and select the Double the Donation integration from the Administrative Menu to connect the two platforms. Then, add the matching gift solution to your preferred donation forms and see the matching gifts roll in.
Once the integration is configured, 360MatchPro gets to work identifying match-eligible donors both during and after the donation process to ensure no matching gift opportunities slip through the cracks. With customizable follow up emails and tailored touchpoints, 360MatchPro connects donors to their matching gift next steps and drives more matches to completion.
With the EveryAction and 360MatchPro integration, your organization can focus on the things that matter most while automation takes care of matching gift outreach, follow-ups, and next steps. This streamlined solution makes it easy to save time and raise more.
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
360MatchPro and EveryAction offer valuable matching gift features to help your organization double donations for your mission.
With the power of this solution, your organization can:
Ready to get started? Schedule a personalized demo today.
About EveryAction: EveryAction, along with CyberGrants, Network for Good, and Social Solutions, is becoming Bonterra. Bonterra enables and elevates the hardworking people at social good organizations by bringing together intuitive, powerful tools and technology.
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/
How Matching Gift Appeals Can Fuel Alumni Engagement
/in Learning Center, Learning Center, Marketing Strategies /by Adam WeingerBillions of dollars are contributed to nonprofits and schools each year through corporate matching gift programs. But these initiatives can do more than offer funding for your institution. If you’re wondering how matching gift appeals can fuel alumni engagement, you’ve come to the right place.
Alumni engagement is critical for colleges, universities, and other educational institutions, so much so that there are entire conferences dedicated to it. After all, most schools seek to build a strong community and foster lifelong relationships with their graduates. Not to mention, a school’s alumni can also be some of its most valuable assets in terms of fundraising and overall financial support.
However, it can sometimes be a challenge to keep alumni connected to your school in the long run.
In order to inspire alumni giving, strengthen relationships with your institution’s former student base, and deepen connections to your overall cause, we recommend incorporating matching gift appeals into your strategy.
In this guide, we’ll provide ample insights that can be used to integrate employee gift-matching and alumni relations for optimal results. And we’ll do so by exploring the following topics:
Eager to learn more? Let’s dive in!
Benefits of Matching Gift Appeals for Alumni Engagement
Matching gift appeals are an excellent way to connect (and reconnect) with alumni and drive engagement with your school. Tens of thousands of companies agree to match employee donations to their favorite charitable causes—often including educational institutions.
However, the opportunity is often underutilized, with only a fraction of qualifying donors going on to submit their matching gift requests. That’s where well-written appeals can come in, promoting matching gift information and ultimately leading to increased philanthropic support for institutions like yours.
Let’s take a look at a few of the most valuable benefits of matching gift appeals on your alumni engagement strategy.
Elevated gift conversion rates
One significant (yet often overlooked) advantage of matching gift appeals is their ability to drive elevated gift conversion rates. In fact, recent studies show that over 84% of individuals indicated that they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered. As a result, incorporating matching gifts in an organization’s fundraising appeals results in an average 71% increase in response rate.
Increased donation amounts
Moreover, matching gift appeals have been shown to also increase the average donation amounts an organization receives, as supporters are typically motivated to give more when they know their gifts will be doubled. 1 in 3 donors indicates they’d give a larger gift if matching is applied, and highlighting the opportunity in matching gift appeals before a donation is made leads to 51% growth in average gift size.
This can also be an effective way to push alumni donors into the next giving tier. For example, an alumnus who typically gives $100 may be inspired to give $200 in response to a matching gift appeal—thereby increasing their giving level and the impact of their contribution. And that’s before their employee even makes their match!
Heightened likelihood of match eligibility
Another reason why you want to incorporate matching gift appeals in your overall engagement strategy is that your alumni may be increasingly likely to qualify for such programs in the first place.
After all, young alumni, in particular, often work for companies that match employee gifts. Tens of thousands of businesses (including 65% of the Fortune 500) agree to match donations to nonprofits and educational institutions, with tech companies being one of the most involved sectors overall.
This presents a unique opportunity for institutions to engage with this demographic and inspire them to give by highlighting this additional incentive.
Maximized supporter impact + strengthened alumni relations
Matching gifts effectively double individual contributions, empowering alumni donors to make twice the impact on their alma mater. When this group sees their gifts being matched, they feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, knowing that their contribution is making an even greater, tangible difference. This can lead to increased loyalty to the institution and a greater willingness to give in the future.
Expanded corporate giving revenue
One of the most apparent benefits of matching gift appeals is the additional corporate revenue contributed as a result. Impactful and actionable match appeals drive more matching gift requests to completion, ultimately leading to a significant increase in match revenue overall.
Not to mention, a well-built-out matching gift strategy can also open doors for broader corporate partnership opportunities. Companies that match gifts have already proven to be charitable-minded in nature. And targeting your donors’ employers is a great way to communicate shared values and audiences in your next sponsorship pitch.
How to Drive Alumni Engagement with Matching Gift Appeals
Whether you’re looking to launch an alumni matching gift campaign for the first time or are seeking to improve your existing efforts, we’re here to help. These fundamental steps will provide valuable insights and strategies to help your team maximize alumni engagement, giving, and more.
Identify potential match-eligible alumni.
One of the first things you’ll need to drive alumni engagement with matching gift appeals involves identifying those of your alumni that qualify for the corporate giving programs. And to do so, you’ll need to know which companies your alumni are working for.
Your school may already track this information in your CRM. But if not (or for those who you don’t have post-education employment records for), there are a few ways you can uncover this detail. Not to mention, employment data can go out of date fairly quickly, so it’s important to continually refresh this information for your alumni and other supporters.
Keep in mind that the benefits of alumni employment data go far beyond that of matching gift appeals, too! Understanding where graduates end up after leaving your school can also aid in personalizing communications, estimating wealth levels, and more.
Educate your audience about matching gifts.
Another important step is to educate your audience about matching gifts. Without incorporating strategic methods for increasing awareness of the programs, there’s a significant knowledge gap regarding matching gifts. In fact, the aforementioned studies indicate that over 78% of individuals have never been informed about their companies’ matching gift programs.
The solution? Crafting a comprehensive plan for promoting the opportunity yourself.
Specifically, we recommend…
In all of your favorite channels, be sure to provide clear and concise information about how matching gifts work—and how they can increase the impact of donations to your school. Once aware of the programs, alumni will be increasingly inspired to participate in their employers’ giving initiatives on your institution’s behalf, ultimately driving completed matches through the roof.
Incorporate various matching gift appeals in your messaging.
There’s no one way to integrate matching gift appeals into your institution’s fundraising strategy. The possibilities are endless, and we recommend exploring matching gifts as a key tenet of all essential engagement activities.
For example, you may decide to implement matching gift promotions throughout the donor journey year-round. This can come in handy when looking to drive support for your general operating fund at any point, using matching gift appeals to encourage growth in individual giving and corporate funding alike.
However, many schools also choose to host a dedicated matching gifts campaign alongside their academic giving days to collect even more during that limited time span. (Note: several institutions have reported raising multiple times the cost of their matching gift software on their Giving Days alone—allowing them to see a return on their investment almost immediately.)
The good news is that it’s not an either/or question; in fact, the recommended answer is both. You can market matching gifts to your alumni and other donors 365 days a year—made easy with the right technology—and institute an elevated push for matching at the time of a specific campaign. When it comes to matching gift outreach, the more, the merrier!
Best Practices for Effective Alumni-Centric Matching Gift Appeals
Bring your matching gift appeals to the next level! We recommend the following tried-and-true practices for streamlining the process while also amplifying alumni matching gift results.
Start with a well-crafted appeal template.
Your matching gift appeals should be well-written, concise, and compelling to grab—and retain—the attention of your alumni audience. Make sure to clearly explain what matching gifts are, the impact of employee donation-matching opportunities, and how corporate funding will be used to benefit your school.
You can jump right into it with the free matching gift templates found here. Just be sure to finetune and personalize these sample appeals to best fit your institution’s needs, goals, and audiences.
Set clear and attainable goals.
Before launching your matching gift campaign, establish clear goals regarding matched gifts, total corporate funding, and more. We always recommend defining your objectives using the SMART framework—or setting goals that are…
For example, you might state that you aim to collect $5,000 worth of corporate matching gifts from alumni donors by the end of the fiscal year.
Be sure your development team is aware of and on board with your goals, and begin taking steps toward achieving them!
Make it easy for alumni to donate and request matches.
In order to drive the most gifts and matches to completion, it’s crucial that the associated processes are as quick and easy as possible.
Our recommendation? Make the most of intuitive donation tools—such as these top education-focused platforms—that seamlessly integrate with powerful matching gift software.
This way, you can…
By guiding alumni donors through the matching gift process, you’ll reduce critical roadblocks and ultimately receive more fulfilled matches.
On the other hand, an experience that is primarily donor-led (i.e., asking alumni to get in touch with their HR department to locate their matching gift instructions) is likely to result in a ton of matches going unclaimed and corporate funding being left on the table.
Follow up and show appreciation.
Your matching gift donors are likely some of your school’s most dedicated supporters. When alumni participate in these programs, it’s essential that you promptly acknowledge their above-and-beyond efforts for your institution.
Throughout the donor journey, there are a few fundamental phases in which gratitude should be incorporated. These include:
Effectively communicating your gratitude throughout the process is a surefire way to reiterate the importance of donation-matching. And ultimately, it increases the likelihood that match-eligible alumni ultimately give and get their gifts matched time and time again.
Though corporate matches do not come directly from an individual donor’s wallet, remember that the additional funding would not be possible without their involvement.
Idea: send an eCard to thank alumni for partaking in matching gift programs on your behalf!
Employ automation to increase efficiency.
Our final tip is one that can help boost the results of our other recommended practices as well—from increasing awareness of the programs to following up on eligible matches. And that is equipping your fundraising team with smart automation technology.
After all, launching a matching gifts campaign on your own can be overwhelming. But when you employ automation, you can do more for your school with less time and resources. Not to mention, leveraging a matching gift automation tool (like Double the Donation) grows matching gift revenue for nonprofits by an average of 61%!
And the time you save triggering automated matching gift appeals—with just a click of a button—can be reallocated to other critical projects that benefit your school.
Example Schools with Successful Alumni Matching Gift Appeals
Establishing an effective matching gift appeal strategy that resonates with your alumni doesn’t have to be difficult. Let’s take a look at a few schools that implemented matching gift appeals and produced significant results.
Get inspired by these institutions’ fundraising efforts—and take note of any tactics you’d like to employ in your own.
Marietta College
Marietta College is an excellent example of a higher education institution that employs matching gift appeals successfully throughout its efforts.
To begin, check out this college’s dedicated matching gifts page:
You’ll note that this page incorporates a brief summary of corporate matching gift programs, has embedded an easy-to-use company search tool for individuals to uncover eligibility information, and is easily accessible from the site’s Giving Opportunities menu.
Marietta College has also crafted an alumni-specific web page designed to target previous students looking to give back to the school. And the site mentions matching gift opportunities here, as well!
Throughout their range of matching gift appeals, which included online giving forms, post-transaction emails, and more, in addition to the website content seen above, Marietta College produced standout results to be inspired by.
University of Georgia
Next, we have the University of Georgia, which also offers a robust matching gift strategy that aims to engage alumni donors and other school supporters alike.
This school’s matching gift page employs Double the Donation’s matching gift tool, allowing interested donors to quickly research their companies’ program guidelines. The University of Georgia also uses this page to promote a unique incentive for donors to get their gifts matched—driving individual giving levels to qualify for the exclusive Presidents Club!
Additionally, the UGA team has consistently leveraged its social media platforms to raise awareness of matching gift opportunities. Check out these posts they’ve shared on Twitter, Facebook, and more.
And, all in all, the university has seen some pretty substantial results!
Syracuse University
Similarly, Syracuse University also incorporates matching gift appeals in its alumni and overall donor engagement strategies. From its dedicated match page pictured below to its personalized and automated matching gift email communications, the Syracuse team works hard to ensure all supporters are exposed to information about matching gift programs—and are encouraged to take the next steps.
In addition to its matching gifts page, Syracuse University has also created a free giving toolkit for alumni and other university donors interested in getting involved. This toolkit provides detailed information about online giving, contributing from donor-advised funds, beneficiary designations, and, of course, corporate matching gifts.
The bottom line is that Syracuse University has seen a lot of success with its matching gift appeals—inspiring alumni and donor engagement, driving awareness of matching opportunities, and more.
Wrapping Up
Matching gift appeals can be a powerful tool for educational institutions seeking to increase alumni engagement and philanthropic support. By leveraging your alumni’s generosity alongside that of companies matching contributions to your school, institutions like yours can encourage more significant levels of giving while also fostering a sense of community among graduates.
This type of strategic outreach can also serve as a smart way to reconnect with alumni who may have lost touch with their alma mater, providing them with a compelling reason to get involved once again. By making it easy for alumni to give back and amplify their support, academic fundraisers can help ensure continued success and maximized impact for years to come.
And there’s no better time to incorporate matching gift appeals in your alumni engagement strategy than the present. Best of luck!
Looking to continue your education on matching gift topics to best position your school for corporate fundraising success? Check out these recommended resources:
What’s the Impact of CSR? FAQ & Key Benefits for Businesses
/in Matching Gift Companies, Marketing Strategies, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerCorporate social responsibility (often referred to as CSR) is a practice followed by many companies where they work to improve society in some form as a part of corporate citizenship. CSR is often seen in terms of philanthropy, environmental leadership, ethical labor practices, and economic responsibility.
If you’re wondering what the impact of CSR is—particularly for the businesses that enact these practices in the first place—the advantages are expansive.
In this guide, we’ll dive into the benefits of corporate social responsibility and everything your company needs to know to maximize its effectiveness. We’ll explore the following topics:
Ready to get up to speed on socially responsible efforts and see what you can do to take your business to the next level? Let’s begin!
FAQs about the Impact of CSR
Does your company have an existing CSR plan in place that you’d like to improve, or are you looking to dive into strategic corporate social responsibility for the first time? Either way, you’ll likely have some questions regarding the practice and its effectiveness. Let’s walk through five common questions and their answers.
What are the types of corporate social responsibility?
Corporate social responsibility is an overarching term used to describe a wide range of corporate efforts that are designed to make the world a better place. Most CSR initiatives will encompass these key values:
Some CSR efforts may incorporate elements from multiple categories. For example, a company financially contributing to an environmentally-focused nonprofit (whether through grants, matching gifts, etc.) can fall under both environmental and economic responsibilities. Matching gift programs often fall under multiple categories, boosting the impact of CSR on your business in each of these key areas.
How does a company become more socially responsible?
There are tons of practices that businesses of all shapes, sizes, and sectors can adopt to increase their level of corporate social responsibility. Here are a few things a company might do:
The tactics you choose to employ at your business can also play a role in the benefits you see overall. For example, prioritizing staff wages and employee benefits can have a significant effect on the company’s internal culture and team member engagement. While this will likely also result in improved consumer relations (i.e., shoppers like to buy from businesses they know treat employees well), the impact seen might be lesser as compared to the effect on the employees.
And the same is true the other way around! Producing ethical goods with sustainable practices can bring positive results to both consumers and employees, though consumer relations may see a larger, more tangible impact in terms of sales.
What is ESG and how does it compare to CSR?
ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance, and it’s a measure of the extent to which a business makes a positive impact on society beyond its own shareholders.
While ESG goes hand in hand with CSR, they’re not entirely synonymous. CSR is a business model used to hold a company accountable for its actions to society, while ESG is a quantifiable measurement of a company’s social impact outcome.
How do employees participate in CSR?
Positive employee relations are a major benefit for companies that prioritize CSR. But did you know that the employees themselves can participate (and benefit) as well? Employee-driven programs can even drive positive results for your workplace!
For example, employees who participate in a company’s matching gifts or volunteer grant programs benefit from knowing their own nonprofit donations or volunteer hours are making even more significant impacts on charitable causes that they care about. Plus, they know their employers are making an effort to support their favorite charities as well. Consequently, employees can feel more satisfied in their jobs.
Try the following ideas to drive participation in CSR at your company:
Consider using CSR software to encourage employees to get involved in your philanthropic efforts and track their engagement. CSR software provides a centralized platform for employees to access information and opportunities related to your initiatives. Plus, it can facilitate collaboration among employees, fostering a sense of community and purpose around your CSR activities.
What CSR trends are businesses adopting?
As new social, environmental, and economic needs arise, the CSR movement will continue to evolve. Here are a few CSR trends you can expect to see in the near future!
Additionally, more and more companies are taking a stand on social issues and other current events. A 2020 study reported that nearly 60% of consumers expect the brands they support to have a position on topics such as racial discrimination, social justice, climate change, income inequality, and more. About 50% of survey respondents even reported conducting online research to see how a business reacts to social issues before making a buying decision!
4 Top Benefits of CSR for Businesses
Corporate social responsibility tactics provide participating companies with powerful business benefits. Consumers, employees, and other essential shareholders will be more inclined to support your efforts, and you’ll see impactful results such as these!
1. Increased employee engagement
People want to work for companies that they feel good about contributing to. When an individual knows that their efforts at a business help drive social good, they’ll be motivated to produce elevated results in their roles. And for that reason, there’s a significant positive correlation between employee engagement and corporate giving.
Pride in the company, along with belief in senior leadership, are some of the most essential drivers of employee engagement levels—and luckily, both components see benefits from social responsibility as well.
When employees are particularly engaged, the company will also see high levels of productivity, increased retention rates, and more.
2. New talent attracted to your team
Just like effective CSR efforts drive existing employees to want to do more in their roles at your company, the same efforts can also be used to attract new employees to the team.
As a result, many HR representatives are prioritizing corporate social responsibility in their recruiting efforts and within conversations with prospective candidates. Individuals looking to join a company that participates in CSR will be drawn to your business, and you’ll have a competitive advantage against other potential employers.
3. Improved company culture
Companies often see positive impacts of CSR on their internal company cultures, which, of course, helps drive increased levels of engagement and retention. For example, the following types of CSR initiatives can bring about a more positive business culture:
Utilizing philanthropic initiatives as a way to build a positive company culture is a common practice for many businesses. But remember, the most successful efforts involve hands-on involvement by leadership as well. When employees see their managers and company leaders participating, they’ll be more inclined to do so themselves!
4. Unique marketing opportunities
Cause marketing (or cause-related marketing) is a form of CSR in which a business supports a charitable cause while receiving strategic marketing benefits from the relationship. These types of CSR campaigns often involve a company offering to give a certain amount of money to a nonprofit in response to increased sales results (for example, 10% of a company’s profits may be donated to charity, or a business may donate $1,000 for every 100 products sold).
When done well, cause marketing enables consumers to feel good about their purchases from socially responsible companies. As a result, the consumers are willing to pay a higher price, switch brand loyalties, or increase quantities of their purchases due to it benefiting a good cause.
For your business, not only will you have the opportunity to participate in charitable efforts, but you can also gain more customers and more dollars toward your bottom line.
Key Statistics That Demonstrate the Impact of CSR
The facts about the impact of CSR speak for themselves. Take a look at these facts and figures that demonstrate the effects of CSR on employees and consumers alike:
How CSR Impacts Businesses’ Employees
(Sources: Double the Donation and re: Charity)
How CSR Impacts Businesses’ Consumers
(Sources: Harvard Business School)
5 Examples of Businesses Doing CSR Right
Looking to get started with CSR efforts but not sure how to begin? Get inspired by these popular companies that have exemplified what it looks like to be socially responsible and philanthropic.
Gilead Sciences
When it comes to philanthropic corporations, Gilead Sciences has led the pack for several years in a row. This biotechnology company contributes an average of $400 million each year to nonprofit causes, which comes out to nearly 3% of their pre-tax profits. Plus, they offer a matching gift program for current full-time employees, agreeing to match donations of up to $2,000 per year to most nonprofit organizations!
They’ve also published a number of lofty goals to further elevate their CSR by 2030—including achieving net zero operational greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring 100% of their packaging is recyclable, eliminating all unnecessary plastics, and significantly increasing Black, Hispanic, and female representation in the company.
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson has prioritized reducing their company’s impact on the planet over the last three decades by highlighting the importance of sustainable business practices. One key pillar of this effort was accomplished by harnessing wind power to significantly reduce pollution from their operations and ultimately offering up a renewable (and economically friendly) alternative to traditional electricity.
In addition to the company’s environmental efforts, Johnson & Johnson also donates generously to many nonprofit organizations, including schools, health and human services, civic and community organizations, and more. Much of this funding is contributed through workplace giving programs as well, matching team member donations at a 2:1 rate up to $20,000 per employee per year!
Google
Google is another example of a highly regarded business with multiple effective CSR efforts in place. As a result, the company has earned the Reputation Institute’s highest CSR score, due in part to its philanthropic initiatives, renewable energy projects, and environmental impact reduction.
Not only do their data centers use 50% less energy than other comparable institutions, but they’ve also committed more than $1 billion to develop environmental efforts in the future. Plus, they have a generous donation-matching program, offering up to a $10,000 gift match for full- and part-time employees. They even offer additional nonprofit grants through the Google Ad Grants program, which gives eligible organizations $10,000 in free monthly ad credits per month to promote their work.
Lyft
One example of a business hosting a successful cause marketing campaign as a component of an overall CSR strategy is Lyft. Through their partnership with organizations like Bread of Life, United Way, and the National Council on Aging, Lyft offered free rides to essential workers and vulnerable populations through an initiative called LyftUp during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With this model in place, Lyft has elevated its brand reputation as one that cares about the underserved in its communities, thus driving popularity and sales.
Ben & Jerry’s
Since 1988, Ben & Jerry’s has been known for being a particularly outspoken advocate for all sorts of social causes. The company has partnered with nonprofit organizations such as 1% for Peace, Farm Aid, Children’s Defense Fund, Rock the Vote, Alaska Wilderness League, MyClimate, NativeEnergy, and many more to provide aid for social, environmental, economic, and scientific causes.
They’ve also launched more than one ice cream flavor dedicated to their favorite social causes, which include “Save Our Swirled,” “Empower Mint,” “Justice ReMix’d,” and “Peace Pop.”
Final Note on the Impact of CSR
Corporate social responsibility is often framed as a win-win-win situation because companies, nonprofits, and the greater community all benefit greatly from its existence. As you consider how CSR impacts businesses like yours, think about all the good you can do for your employees, your business, and your community!
Want to learn more about the impact of CSR and philanthropy on businesses like yours? Check out these other guides:
Suggesting Matching Gifts: A Responsive Fundraising Approach
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerDid you know that an estimated $4-7 billion in unmatched funds goes unclaimed annually? What would it mean for your nonprofit if you could generate an extra 15% or 20% of revenue annually purely through matching gifts?
Suggesting matching gifts to your supporters can be an important step in cultivating a deeper relationship. It allows you to engage with your supporters and empower them to uncover untapped potential generosity for your organization.
But it’s not a matter of snapping your fingers and voila, matching gifts appear! In order to generate that increase in generosity, your supporters need to first be made aware of matching gifts. In order to do that, you need to educate your supporters about their company’s possible matching gift programs and suggest that they get involved.
In this helpful guide, we’ll dive into how Virtuous’ responsive fundraising framework enables your organization to build meaningful and personal relationships with your donors. Plus, increase their generosity to help you achieve mission-critical goals.
What is Responsive Fundraising?
Responsive fundraising puts the donor at the center of your fundraising strategy and enables you to grow giving through optimized donor journeys that respond to the unique needs of each individual. Through the four phases — listen, connect, suggest, and learn —the responsive approach enables nonprofits to build trust and loyalty through personalized engagement and provide the most value to their supporters.
In a hyper-connected world, donors want to feel like members of a community. They want to understand their role in the impact your organization is making. Perhaps most important of all, they want to be thanked sincerely and personally for their contributions.
Responsive fundraisers look to create deep connections that serve donors in the right way. Let’s dig in more to each part of the Responsive Framework to understand it better.
In order to successfully build a relationship with your supporters you need to learn more about them. Listening is crucial for learning and understanding who your supporters are and why they want to engage with you. Listening to your supporters can happen directly through conversations or indirectly via social listening, website activity, and email tracking. The more you listen, the more you begin to understand your supporters!
Giving is deeply personal, and you should connect with your donors in a way that acknowledges and respects that. Regardless of the channel (website, email, mail, or phone) or medium (in-person or digitally) you want to connect with donors in a way that is one-to-one, contextual, and collaborative.
Responsive fundraising ensures you connect with the right supporter at the right time with the right message. With the responsive framework, nonprofits should personalize the experience every time they connect with every donor. When a supporter visits your website, attends an event, receives an email, or gets a phone call, they should feel like they are part of an ongoing conversation with your organization — enabling you to build lasting connections and increase trust.
Below we will dig into the “Suggest” step on a much deeper level. However, at a birds-eye view, once you’ve established trust with your donors by listening and connecting in personal ways, you have an opportunity to suggest next steps that are the best fit for each individual.
Responsive fundraising acknowledges that everyone has unique value and something to give, instead of generic, unresponsive asks that push everyone to do or give the same thing.
Experienced fundraisers know that, while there are best practices and great ideas out there about fundraising, nothing is “one size fits all.” The only way to know for sure what works with your unique supporters is to test and experiment. The results you get will help inform what you do next and how you do it.
By continually learning as you go, your organization will become more and more responsive. Responsive fundraising is a continually improving cycle. When you take a responsive approach, you’ll adapt and experiment. With clear visibility into your data and a complete, holistic view of your supporters, you’ll be able to see what’s working and what isn’t, then adjust accordingly.
The Importance of Suggesting
Suggesting a next step to your supporters is important because this is where you get to prove how well you know them. If you suggest something that is aligned with your supporter’s interests and abilities, you are more likely to get a “yes” from them. If you suggest a misaligned next step, on the other hand, you put that relationship at risk.
The good news is that the responsive framework sets you up for suggesting the right thing. If you have truly listened and connected with your supporters, you should have some clarity around the suggestion step. Just make sure you are suggesting action items that are based on who your supporters are and what makes sense for them, rather than solely what your organization wants to see happen.
Why “Suggest” and Not “Ask”
It is worth noting the language of “suggest” as an intentional decision here, as “ask” is more commonly used in the fundraising community. However, we believe that the real power lies in suggesting something to your supporters, not in asking something of them.
“Ask” is a more passive way to approach requesting a donation. Because of the history of the “fundraising ask,” this word implies a financial contribution. It also implies that giving is a financial hardship, and it can feel quite transactional in nature. While financial contributions are important, using the language of “ask” can be limiting.
To open up the possibilities, responsive fundraising focuses instead on “suggesting” next steps to your supporters. It’s a two-way street where you suggest an action, but your supporters are more than welcome to respond with their own thoughts and opinions. It’s conversational in nature. And perhaps most importantly, suggesting includes a variety of impactful behaviors beyond financial giving.
Think of it this way: An “ask” would be telling a supporter what financial contribution you want from them. A “suggestion” would be connecting with your supporter and having a conversation where you provide ideas and inspiration for how they can be more involved with your organization in a targeted and personalized way.
Why Suggesting Matching Gifts Makes Sense
When you suggest a next step to a supporter, the goal is to make the right suggestion at the right time. Often, this means not asking for more financial support, especially if they just made a donation.
You want to suggest something that further deepens the relationship but is contextual and personal. It’s also important that you suggest a next step that provides value to your organization as well. If financial generosity is a top goal for your organization, suggesting a matching gift is the perfect way to meet both your organizational needs and remain relevant and contextualized in your suggestion to your supporter.
A good suggestion should be strengthen your relationship with the supporter. Suggesting matching gifts in the right way naturally cultivates a deeper relationship with your supporters. In order to successfully initiate the matching gift process, you’ll need to educate and empower your donors. That process of education and empowerment will naturally bring your supporters closer to your organization. It’s not enough to just suggest the right thing; how you suggest matching gifts matters as well.
4 Ideas for Suggesting a Matching Gift
To effectively suggest a matching gift, your organization needs to start with education. Your team and your donors need to be aware that matching gifts exist and understand what they need to do to initiate the process.
Implementing a new method for suggesting matching gifts into your donation and cultivation strategy doesn’t have to be difficult. Below are four ways to suggest matching gifts to your donors.
Regardless of how you integrate matching gifts into your donation and cultivation processes, it’s important that you craft a strategy regarding the funding source! Ignoring matching gifts altogether is leaving money on the table. It also means you are missing out on an incredibly easy opportunity to take another step in building a long-lasting relationship with your donors.
Option 1: Suggesting Matching Gifts in the Donation Process
You can make suggesting matching gifts as easy as possible by adding it right on your giving forms. This can be accomplished by integrating your online donation tools with a matching gift solution like Double the Donation. This allows you to suggest a next step for your donors right as they wrap up their initial engagement with your organization!
You can design a giving experience that prompts donors to continue supporting and engaging with your nonprofit. Building suggestions into your process makes it easier for your team to manage while still providing clear next steps for your supporters.
When creating your online form, it is also important to consider what additional information you may need for matching gift campaigns in the future. Basic profile information such as e-mail is pretty straightforward, but you may also want to consider including a “Employer” field. When donors tell you who they work for, you have all the information you need for future communications and campaigns around matching gifts.
Option 2: Build the Suggestion Into Your Thank You Cadence
Similar to suggesting matching gifts directly on the giving form, building the suggestion into your thank you cadence helps make this an automated process. In order to implement this, first take stock of your existing thank you cadences. Every organization approaches this slightly differently, so here are some suggestions that you can build into your process wherever it makes sense.
When calling donors to thank them, make sure you’re prepared to suggest a matching gift. When your nonprofit database contains helpful employer information, your staff can even prepare before the call by researching whether that employer matches employee donations. That level of personalization and thoughtfulness is truly impactful! With the Virtuous – Double the Donation integration, this step can easily be conducted within the CRM, saving your team valuable administrative time.
Add in a simple call to action in your thank you emails that prompts donors to look into whether their company has a matching gift. This can be standard language you include that links out to helpful resources (such as your dedicated matching gift page and embedded company database search tool) or suggests that they call your organization’s HR department directly for more information.
Nowadays, an increasing number of organizations are reaching out to donors via SMS. Texts are unique because of their short and sweet nature. Though you’ll want most of the text to focus on thanking the donor for their contribution, consider incorporating a quick blurb with a link to to learn more about matching gifts.
Option 3: Email Your Donors Suggesting a Matching Gift
Another way to suggest matching gifts to your supporters is via a marketing campaign designed and delivered from your nonprofit CRM. This option allows you to conduct personalized outreach to your supporters that is based on donor signals.
For this campaign, the donor signal you want to look for is employer information (which you’ll want to have a dedicated field in your CRM to track). Remember, you’ll want to include this field on your online giving forms so that you can more easily gather the information. That way, if you know a supporter works for a company with a matching gift program, you’ll know to include that individual in your next matching gift email campaign.
To implement this campaign, consider sending an email to everyone who donated recently (e.g., last 30 to 60 days) and did not initiate a matching gift already. Alternatively, you might set this up as a re-engagement campaign, where you reach out to lapsed donors, encouraging them to donate again and look into matching gifts.
When suggesting matching gifts in any context, but particularly via an email campaign, offer to help your supporter in this process. Encourage donors to connect with a member of your staff to further the conversation. Include links that can help your supporters navigate matching gifts. Responsive fundraising is all about building meaningful connections with your supporters. Providing context and resources is a great way to make this suggestion meaningful and actionable.
Option 4: Suggesting Matching Gifts in Ongoing Cultivation Efforts
Anyone who is cultivating relationships with supporters should be prepared to have a conversation about matching gifts. The greatest obstacle to suggesting matching gifts is the education gap. Fundraisers and (some) donors understand that matching gifts exist, but they are not equipped enough to feel empowered to act on matching gifts.
Educating your supporters starts with educating your own internal team. Take advantage of the resources available. Partner with organizations like Double the Donation who provide both an integration with your online giving form and educational support for your team. Anyone who is talking to donors or prospects on a regular basis should be able to have an educated conversation if the opportunity for suggesting matching gifts arises in their cultivation efforts.
Pursuing matching gifts is a great suggestion when cultivating a relationship with someone who wants to give but is showing hesitancy about their financial ability to contribute more. If they are passionate about your mission but indicate they are not in a place to make a large donation, suggesting that they look into matching gifts is a great way to keep the conversation alive. They may not be able to donate a significant amount themselves, but if they can give a little and their company matches, they immediately double—and sometimes even triple—their impact. While we all know that any donation is better than none, the appeal of a matching gift may be enough to inspire a donor to action!
Other Suggestions to Make
Matching gifts are not the only engagement opportunities you can suggest to supporters. Depending on where they are in their donor journey, additional suggestions might include:
Make a list of all the ways a supporter can get involved with your organization, and use that as the basis for suggesting next steps to your supporters in the future.
Conclusion
Responsive fundraising is all about meeting your supporters where they are and building the relationship from there. Matching gifts are a great way to continue a conversation with your donors—or even to inspire someone to donate in the first place.
Regardless of the suggestion you make, always personalize your donor outreach. When you listen and connect with your supporters, you will be fully equipped to make the next best suggestion that works for everyone – resulting in more generosity and better relationships!
Givinga and Double the Donation Partner to Enable Matching Gift Auto-Submission
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation is proud to partner with Givinga to help employees of companies with matching gift programs more effectively submit their matching gift requests.
With matching gift auto-submission, donors who give to nonprofits using Double the Donation can not only discover their match eligibility in real time as they give, but can also immediately submit their matching gift request – no redirect required.
“We’re excited to begin offering our nonprofit clients what they’ve been requesting since the birth of matching gifts: a way for donors to submit their matching gift requests with no hassle,” said Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “Double the Donation and Givinga are aligned in our mission to close the matching gift loop to benefit nonprofits, donors, and companies alike.”
Givinga and Double the Donation look forward to expanding the possibilities for donors to give flexibly with the support of their employers, and for nonprofits to reap the benefits of matching gift programs as auto-submission continues its journey to full release.
The Matching Process Made Easy for Donors, Companies, and Nonprofits
The new integration between Givinga and Double the Donation means after giving on an integrated donation page where Double the Donation is enabled, donors can immediately submit their matching gift request directly from the nonprofit’s donation confirmation page.
Employees of Givinga clients can then enter their company email address, then choose how much of their available matching funds they can request to be sent to the nonprofit. Once the donor hits “Submit” – that’s it! The matching gift request has been submitted, without any need for a redirect or re-entry of donation information.
Making Corporate Philanthropy Better, One Match at a Time
Givinga and Double the Donation’s partnership brings donors, companies, and nonprofits closer together in making a positive difference, one match at a time. If you want to learn more about our matching gift auto-submisison beta initiative, read more here–and if you’re just getting started with matching gifts as a nonprofit or higher education institution, request a demo from Double the Donation today!
About Givinga: Givinga is on a mission to redefine philanthropy. They’ve developed tools and technology to remove the traditional barriers to philanthropy, empowering companies to develop modern giving solutions that align with and enhance their corporate strategy. Givinga’s technology, Philantech®, supports workplace giving programs, brands seeking to enhance their charitable impact, startups reimagining B2C charitable giving, foundations looking to increase donor engagement, and more.
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The Double the Donation platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. Double the Donation 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.
Double the Donation and CharityStack Integrate 360MatchPro Into Donation Experience
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and CharityStack are proud to announce a new partnership together, providing advanced matching gift functionality to nonprofits looking to raise more without having to ask for more out of their donors’ wallets.
The partnership comes in the form of an integration between 360MatchPro, Double the Donation’s most advanced matching gift software, and CharityStack’s intuitive donation pages.
Donors on CharityStack pages can now interact with 360MatchPro’s auto-complete search tool to find their company’s matching gift programs and discover their own match potential. This closes the awareness gap for the 78% of donors who are unaware of their eligibility for a matching gift from their employers.
“It’s a simple fact that matching gift automation make a huge difference for fundraisers as they strive to meet their goals,” said Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “And a direct integration between 360MatchPro and CharityStack means donors interact with matching gifts at a key point in their giving process. It’s a simple addition that boost revenue for organizations without any extra effort from their busy teams.”
Read more about the integration below!
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
Getting started with the CharityStack and 360MatchPro integration is quick and easy to configure. From the CharityStack backend, nonprofit clients can add their 360MatchPro credentials to activate their integration. From here, it’s just a matter of toggling on matching for the desired forms. From there, donors can start discovering their match eligibility in no time!
Easily activate with CharityStack pages with your 360MatchPro API keys!
On CharityStack donation pages, donors can search their company name and 360MatchPro will present smart results from its database of over 25,000 corporations. 360MatchPro can then follow up with donors via email after their donation is complete to continue the matching gift submission process.
Donors can search their company name during the giving process on CharityStack donation pages.
Donors can then double, triple, and sometimes quadruple their gift impact with a matching gift from their employer sent directly to the nonprofit.
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
Joint efforts between CharityStack and Double the Donation mean nonprofits can easily raise more from matching gifts–check out some more details below!
Ready to start your matching gifts journey? Request a demo today and make sure to let us know you use CharityStack!
About CharityStack: CharityStack is a single platform to create your nonprofit, fundraise your first dollar, set up banking, & start making an impact. For more, visit CharityStack.org.
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.