Common Matching Gift Pitfalls ?— and How to Avoid Them
UC Innovation
We build the most innovative, comprehensive Advancement and Constituent Engagement solutions on the Salesforce platform.
Employee matching gifts wield significant influence in the realms of higher education and nonprofit fundraising. The programs present an immense opportunity for increased contributions—both personal and corporate—and heightened engagement with donors.
Despite the potential, however, a substantial matching gift gap persists, resulting in $4 to $7 billion worth of match funds being left on the table each year. Why? While the reasoning for specific shortages can vary from one group to the next, there are a few critical barriers that any organization might face. These so-called matching gift pitfalls describe common occurrences that can hinder a nonprofit or school from reaching its fullest capacity for fundraising.
In this guide, we delve into each of the frequently encountered roadblocks and unveil strategic solutions for overcoming them. These include:
Don’t let these challenges stand in your way. Read on to discover practical methods your team can adopt to increase matching gifts—and multiply the impact you make on your community. 1. Insufficient matching gift promotions, leading to a lack of awareness among donors
Pitfall: Research indicates that over 26 million people work for companies with matching gift programs. However, the majority of the group (an estimated 78%) remains unaware of the opportunity. Because donors have to take action to submit a matching gift request to their employers, those who have not been informed about the programs won’t be able to complete the steps that ultimately result in additional funding.
This lack of awareness is largely due to the fact that there’s a significant gap when it comes to promoting matching gift programs effectively. While a school may assume donors' employers are informing their staff about available matching gift programs, such is often not the case. The result is ultimately match-eligible donors who have no idea how to get involved with corporate matching gifts—or even that they could.
Opportunity: Take matching gift marketing into your own hands! Don’t rely on the belief that a company will sufficiently promote the programs to its employees. Instead, make sure matching gifts are ingrained in just about every component of your organization’s existing marketing strategy to drive awareness and encourage participation.
This should include:
Remember: the more mediums through which you incorporate matching gift materials, the more familiar your donors will be with the opportunity. And the more likely your donors will be to get involved!
You can also automate your matching gift communications when your team has access to a matching gift solution like Double the Donation. This allows you to implement additional outreach streams, thus driving awareness among donors, without even lifting a finger. 2. Lack of data around donors’ eligibility causing matches to slip through the cracks
Pitfall: If your donors don’t know if they’re eligible for matching gift programs, it helps if your team does know—or has a simple process in place for checking. If your institution lacks the data to make such a determination, however, you might find yourself a bit stuck when it comes to knowing where your matching gift potential lies.
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Additionally, it’s important to note that even after informing your donors about matching gifts, they may still encounter uncertainty around their eligibility (e.g., donation amounts, qualifying employees, nonprofit mission types) without clear communication regarding program guidelines.
Opportunity: The #1 piece of information you’ll need to unlock matching gifts in your database is the companies your donors work for. If you already have this data, great (though you’ll want to continually refresh it in order to maintain accurate and up-to-date records). If not, your donation page is one of your greatest assets for collecting the information. All you have to do is add an optional field to your giving form requesting that donors provide the names of their employers.?
From there, you can screen donors to locate those who work for top matching gift companies. (Hint: take a look at the businesses listed here!)
Alternatively, consider investing in a matching gift database like Double the Donation. This type of software can be embedded directly into your giving page. With a user-friendly search tool widget, supporters are empowered to select their company as they give. Then, behind the scenes, the solution scans the information to uncover potential matches against tens of thousands of participating companies. It will even provide program criteria such as minimum and maximum donation amounts, qualifying employee and mission types, request deadlines, and more. 3. Complex matching gift submission processes contributing to abandoned match requests
Pitfall: Your donors support your mission and want to make their gifts stretch as far as possible for the cause. However, a cumbersome or unclear submission process can deter even your most loyal supporters from participating in their employers’ matching gift programs. Think: shopping cart abandonment for potential matches.
Opportunity: Simplify the request (i.e., “checkout”) process by guiding donors throughout the experience. With the right tools—such as Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro integration with UC Innovation’s ascend platform—you can automatically supply instructions and direct links to a company's online request forms. Or, with the innovative new auto-submission functionality, qualifying donors can submit their matching gifts directly from the organizations’ giving page!
On the other hand, a team without a dedicated matching gift solution could consider a process for manually researching and aiding donors in their submissions. However, keep in mind that this method would require significant investments of time and effort.
Regardless, providing the information donors need to complete the matching gift process alleviates the burden on supporters to conduct their own research. As a result, the likelihood that donors follow the outlined steps in order to secure a match on your behalf is dramatically increased. 4. Absence of a dedicated matching gift plan resulting in missed opportunities
Pitfall: Traditionally, corporate matching gifts have been viewed as a passive source of fundraising revenue for nonprofits and schools. When an organization receives funds, it may be pleasantly surprised. However, the team lacks a detailed, purposeful plan for leveraging matching gifts to their fullest potential. And as a result, available match funding goes unclaimed.
Opportunity: Like any other component of an institution’s overall fundraising strategy, you’ll want to develop a comprehensive matching gift plan that outlines your team’s efforts from start to finish. First things first—this plan should include bringing your whole staff up to speed on all things matching gifts (tip: Double the Donation’s online Matching Gift Academy offers free access to 360MatchPro users!)
From there, you’ll want to cover primary identification methods, efforts for streamlining the request process, software implementation, goals and objectives, tracking and reporting systems, and more. Then, you can continue to refine your strategy as needed in order to continue optimizing your organization’s matching gift fundraising over time.
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The benefits of matching gifts are substantial—from increased revenue and corporate partnerships to strengthened engagement and community impact.
By addressing these common challenges head first, organizations like yours can pave the way for more lucrative fundraising endeavors all around. In other words, it's time to take proactive steps, ensure your team is equipped with a dedicated matching gift solution, and harness the full power of these programs for your institution.?
Thanks to Double the Donation for a great blog!