Three ways to promote matching gifts to your donors

Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation

Any donation is valuable to a non profit but it’s even more valuable when it’s doubled. In order for that to happen, you’ve got to promote matching gifts if you want to get twice as much of it all the time says Adam Weinger, president of Double the Donation.

The problem with matching gifts is that while most non profits know about them, there is a sincere lack of awareness among donors, which leads to many eligible donors not requesting matching gifts from their employers.

Receiving more matching gifts can be as simple as just promoting them. When you’re letting more people know about matching gifts in more ways, you stand a much better chance of landing the doubled donations that do twice as much good for your organisation.

Here are three ways to promote matching gifts:

1. Include them in thank you letters

Your donors are the people who make your mission possible. Without their gifts, you would likely struggle to operate at full capacity. Don’t just be grateful for their help, show your gratefulness.

Thank you letters can be distributed by email or direct mail. Some people don’t check their email but open every letter they receive, while others enjoy email as an efficient form of communication. It’s best to conduct a little research in order to learn which medium your donors prefer.

Thank you letters are an easy way to increase awareness. The letter immediately establishes goodwill through a thankful message, and then transitions to an appeal for matching gifts.

Here’s some sample matching gift thank you letter text:

  • Does your employer offer matching gifts? Find out if your employer will double your donation by visiting: [insert link to your non profit’s dedicated matching gift page].
  • Are you eligible for a matching gift? Ask your employer today to find out if you can double your donation to us.

Every donation matters and deserves a thank you. Do your best to receive the most money possible by adding a simple line or two about matching gifts to your donor acknowledgement letters.

2. Place matching gift information across your website

A great website advertises all of the ways that donors, prospects, volunteers, and fundraisers can give to your organisation, including matching gifts. While matching gifts don’t need to be the first thing that donors see when they visit your site, you should incorporate matching gift information in key places.

Website locations to feature matching gifts include:

  • Navigation bar
  • Blog posts
  • Ways to give page
  • Dedicated matching gift page

A dedicated matching gift page, where donors go to learn how they can double their donations, is an absolute necessity for any non profit trying to increase fundraising through matching gifts.

Here’s a good example of a matching gift page from the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation.

Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation

What’s good about it:

• It tells donors why matching gifts matter.
• It supplies contact information.
• It provides a search box widget, so donors can easily find out if their employers offer corporate giving programs.

The matching gift widget is not essential, but it does provide matching gift forms and access to online donation portals in little to no time, thus making the matching gift process as simple for donors as possible.

3. Add it to the donation process

Including matching gift promotions in the donation process makes people aware of corporate giving as they’re donating. This makes it more likely that donors will submit matching gift requests immediately following their donations, as opposed to putting it off and possibly forgetting about it all together.

Matching gift promotions in the donation process help to:

• Inform donors how to go about submitting gift requests.
• Find out if their companies offer matching gifts.
• Access company matching gift portals directly after donations are made.

The Association of Former Students at Texas A&M includes a simple link to their dedicated matching gift page alongside their donation form:

Texas association

Some non profits include a matching gift search box on the donation form, while others will provide a promotion on an acknowledgement page that appears directly after the donation has been processed.

Timing is a big factor in marketing, and there may be no better time to promote matching gifts than right when people are in the process of giving to your nonprofit.

Matching gift awareness matters. There are a ton of ways to promote matching gifts, just as there are a near infinite amount of fundraising methods.

How do you promote your matching gifts? Let us know in the comments below.

Related reads:

How to use thank-you letters to promote matching gift opportunities 

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Adam Weinger is the president of Double the Donation, a company focused on helping non-profits increase the amount of money they raise from corporate matching gift and volunteer grant programs.