The giving season is one of the most crucial times for nonprofits to raise funds, and matching gifts offer a powerful way to multiply the impact of every year-end donation. By integrating matching gift opportunities into your end-of-year fundraising strategy, you can motivate donors to give more and increase overall contributions.
In this post, we’ll walk you through the steps to effectively incorporate matching gifts into your campaign and show you how to maximize this corporate giving opportunity to meet your fundraising goals.
- Educate your internal team on all things matching gifts.
- Set match-specific year-end goals and objectives.
- Create a Giving Season matching gift promotional strategy.
- Collect employment information on your donation forms.
- Screen for and identify match-eligible individuals.
- Follow up with qualifying donors after they give.
- Establish a sense of urgency in your messaging.
Let’s get started with our first key step.
1. Educate your internal team on all things matching gifts.
To maximize matching gift potential during the year-end giving season, it’s important to first ensure that your internal team is well-versed in the ins and outs of matching gift programs. For this reason, it’s a good idea to train your staff on how these programs work, common requirements, and how to communicate the benefits to donors.
When your team understands the process, they can better identify match opportunities, assist donors in navigating their employers’ matching gift procedures, and confidently answer any questions. With everyone aligned, you'll have a more efficient process for maximizing matching gifts and a greater chance of securing additional funds.
For this, we recommend team training resources such as Double the Donation’s Matching Gift Academy.
2. Set match-specific year-end goals and objectives.
Setting clear, match-specific goals is essential for driving matching gifts during the year-end giving season. Determine how many matching gifts you aim to secure, the total revenue goal tied to matching donations, and specific timelines for follow-up actions.
Having well-defined objectives allows you to track progress, adjust your strategy as needed, and motivate your team and your donors. A targeted approach also helps ensure that matching gifts are prioritized alongside traditional year-end fundraising, enabling your organization to optimize opportunities for increased giving.
3. Create a matching gift promotional strategy.
A focused promotional strategy is critical for maximizing matching gifts during the year-end giving season. Use various communication channels, such as email campaigns, social media, and direct mail, to inform donors about the impact of matching gifts. Highlight the opportunity to double their contributions through employer programs and emphasize how matching gifts can amplify year-end donations.
Tailoring your marketing plan messaging to include donor success stories and employer-specific reminders can also increase awareness and engagement, resulting in higher participation in matching gift programs.
4. Collect employment information on your donation forms.
To identify potential matching gift opportunities, it’s important to collect employment information from donors during the giving process. As you prepare your year-end giving forms, make sure to add a donation form field that asks donors for their employer’s name. Then, let them know that this information helps you check their eligibility for matching gift programs.
This step streamlines the process for donors, making it easier to determine if their gift qualifies for a match. Having access to this data also empowers your organization to proactively follow up with donors whose employers offer matching gifts, further increasing your chances of securing additional funds.
5. Screen for and identify match-eligible individuals.
Once you know where your donors work, you can use their employment information to triage each contribution based on matching gift eligibility. To accelerate growth, implementing matching gift software or partnering with a service provider can help you screen your donor database for match-eligible individuals.
With this technology investment, you can automatically identify donors whose employers have matching gift programs, allowing you to target communications more effectively.
6. Follow up with qualifying donors after they give.
After a donor makes a gift, promptly follow up to remind them about submitting a matching gift request to their employer. Automated email campaigns can include:
- Personalized reminders, tailored with donor data
- Details on how to access their employer's matching gift portal
- Any specific deadlines for submitting matching gift requests
Following up within a timely manner increases the likelihood that donors will take the necessary steps to secure a match. Meanwhile, providing clear instructions and ongoing encouragement can lead to significantly higher matching gift revenue during the year-end season.
7. Establish a sense of urgency in your messaging.
Urgency drives action, especially during the year-end giving season. Incorporate time-sensitive messaging around matching gifts in your communications to motivate donors to act quickly. Use countdowns, deadlines, and the approaching year-end as action-driving focal points.
Phrases like “double your impact before the year ends” or “limited time to have your donation matched” can prompt immediate engagement. Creating a sense of urgency not only encourages donors to give now but also inspires them to complete their requests without delay, maximizing the potential for funding before their employer’s matching gift window closes.
With a well-executed strategy, matching gifts can play a key role in helping you meet and exceed your year-end fundraising goals, ensuring your organization is set up for success in the time ahead.
In other words, incorporating matching gifts into your year-end fundraising is a simple yet highly effective way to boost donations and deepen donor engagement. By raising awareness about matching opportunities, streamlining the gift submission process, and following up with donors, your nonprofit can unlock additional funding and amplify your impact.
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