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Matching gifts offer incentives for both the nonprofit and the donors! Organizations enjoy basically doubling donation amounts, and donors get the satisfaction of knowing their contributions are going even further. If the matching gift comes from a business, the company gets to enjoy some tax breaks.

It’s a win-win-win situation!

Matching can be an excellent way for development professionals to boost their funding campaigns. It's surprising how many organizations leave money on the table by not helping their donors participate in corporate matching gift programs.

Let’s dive into the ways you can start taking advantage of corporate matching gifts right away.

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What You Should Know About Matching Gifts

A matching gift is a donation from a business or corporation that, as the name implies, matches their employee's contribution to an eligible nonprofit. Most matching gifts are a dollar-for-dollar match, up to a certain amount each year. It's like a two-for-one donation special!

General Electric (GE) started the first matching gift program in 1954 with its "Corporate Alumni Program" that matched their employee's donations to schools and universities. Today, over 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer a matching gift program. At least 10% of donors work for a company that provides a matching gift program. That’s a lot of donor cultivation opportunities for you!

Different types of matching gifts

People are probably most familiar with corporate matching gift programs. There are several other types of matching gift programs that benefit nonprofits. Most organizations should consider taking advantage of as many kinds of matching gifts as possible. It's free money!

Corporate matching gift programs: Many companies use matching gift programs to allocate its corporate philanthropy money. Most businesses match their employee's donations dollar for dollar, though some companies offer up to 3-to-1 matches. Matching gift programs usually have a maximum amount the company will match, but the amount is typically very generous.

ExxonMobile, for example, offers up to 3:1 matching gifts, matching up to $22,500! That's a lot of money!

For most corporate matching gift programs, the employee just needs to submit the information about their donations to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations and request to have their gift matched. If the nonprofit meets the company's requirements (which are usually pretty generous), the business will send a check for the matching amount.

Company or business matches: This type of matching gift program is similar to corporate matching gift programs, but donors don't have to work for the company. Instead, your organization asks a business to match donations up to a certain amount.

Organizations usually try to find company matches when they are raising money for something specific.

For example, if you are raising money to provide school supplies for at-risk students, a local business might agree to match all the donations to that specific campaign, up to $2,000. That means if your organization raises $2,000, you get another $2,000 from the business!

Challenge matches: With challenge matches, your organization asks major donors, companies, or foundations to provide a set amount of money. Your nonprofit agrees to raise a specific amount of money by a certain date. If you succeed, the foundation, major donor, or company matches the money you raised! If you fall short of your fundraising goal, there's usually some consolation "prize," but you don't receive the full match amount.

Challenge matches are most common for crowdfunding and capital campaigns. They're useful because they show donors that your program has the support of major donors.

How businesses benefit from matching gifts

Companies are becoming more interested in offering corporate giving and matching gift programs. Beyond the typical tax benefits, there are several ways companies benefit from participating in this kind of philanthropy.

It fosters a culture of giving: Many employees are beginning to show a preference for companies that are generous and philanthropic. Workers of all ages seem to be more committed to making a positive impact in their communities. When businesses offer giving programs, volunteer opportunities, and other philanthropic efforts, such fundraising effort builds a culture of giving and works to attract (or keep) top-notch employees.

It's great for the brand: A company's brand is way more than the name and logo. "Brand" includes how people think of the business, its actions, and the product or services. More and more consumers are influenced by the ways businesses brand themselves as "leaders" in philanthropy and social justice. Companies of all shapes and sizes are starting to participate in various forms of philanthropy (including matching gifts programs) for one simple reason, it's good for the brand.

6 Ways Your Nonprofit Can Increase Corporate Matching Gifts

Matching gift programs are unique because there are three participating "parties": the nonprofit, the donor, and the matching gift program (a business, foundation, or some other source). It requires a little extra management and coordination on the fundraiser's part, but it's almost always worth it!

Here are some best practices to help your organization take full advantage of matching gift programs.

Step 1: Increase your donor's awareness of matching gift programs

Unfortunately, a lot of donors don't realize their employers offer matching gift programs, or they aren't aware that your nonprofit is eligible for those programs. It's often up to fundraisers and development professionals to educate donors, provide the resources they need to submit the request for the match funds, and remind them to apply for the gift match before the program deadline.

Create a dedicated matching gift page on your website, and include information about matching gifts on your "ways to give" page. It's helpful to offer necessary information about how matching contributions work and the general requirements for submitting a request to their employer (many companies use similar processes). The goal is to make it as easy as possible for your donors to apply for the matching gift opportunities.

Step 2: Install matching gift software on your website

Matching gift software, like Double the Donation, lets nonprofits install a plugin on their website. Donors can search for their employer to get all the information they need about giving guidelines, deadlines, forms, and instructions on how to use the company's matching gift program.

Taking simple steps like this makes it as easy as possible for your donors to participate in matching gift programs.

Step 3: Collect employment information

Do you ask your donors to provide employment information? You should! Ask for employment information when people fill out forms on your website, event registration forms, donation forms, and anywhere you collect personal information for your CRM system.

Other ways to find out where people work are to check LinkedIn and collect business cards from your donors. Don't forget to put this information into your CRM system.

You can also infer where people work if they give you their work email address. If your donor's email address is bill@example.com, it's fair to assume that Bill works at Example corporation, which might have an excellent corporate matching program!

Keep detailed records about matching gifts you receive each year. Check these records frequently so you can remind donors about matching gift opportunities. People have a lot going on in their lives and might forget to fill out the paperwork every year.

Step 4: Send reminders and matching gift forms

It never hurts to send friendly reminders about matching gift programs. Make it a habit to go through your donor lists annually and identify anyone who participated in a corporate matching gift program in the past. If your records are as good as they should be, you'll even be able to identify what company they work for and find out the application deadline.

Send a short email reminding them that their employer will match their donation to your organization. If possible, include a link to the relevant forms. Your donors will appreciate the friendly reminder.

Many companies publish their matching gift program forms online. Consider mailing blank forms, or filling out as much information as possible for your donors. Some nonprofits make a courtesy phone call to donors, asking if it will be ok to do this first.

Step 5: Thank your donors for matching gift requests

A donor who submits a matching gift request went the extra mile to support your organization. That deserves some applause and appreciation! Thank your donors once for their initial donations and again when you receive the matching gift.

Some nonprofits look for extra ways to show appreciation for matching gift donors. Not only does this show your gratitude, but it also raises awareness about matching gift programs to other donors and supporters.

It doesn't have to be a big production or a significant event. Consider using social media to spotlight and thank your matching gift donors. Everyone wins with this: your donor feels appreciated, the business gets good press, and your other supporters learn about the idea of matching gifts.

Step 6: Build relationships with your donor's employers

Wherever possible, you should also reach out to your donor's employers to thank them for their generosity. Matching gifts can serve as an introduction to a business or corporation with significant giving power!

Don't miss the opportunity to build your own relationship with the company. Who knows, maybe they'll be a great corporate sponsor for an upcoming program or event!

Like we said earlier, it usually requires a little extra effort for nonprofits to take advantage of corporate matching gift programs, but it's almost always worth it.

Now that you're ready to increase the corporate matching gifts your nonprofit receives, here are three more resources to help improve your fundraising strategy.

• Building Fundraising Campaign Themes That Increase Donations: Compelling campaign themes help you tell a story and draw in potential donors. This resource will help you develop a communication strategy and consistent branding that will make your next fundraising campaign a smashing success.
• Everything Your Nonprofit Should Know About Donation Receipts: Every nonprofit must personalize and send donation receipts to their donors. It's more than just paperwork. If done correctly, it can be a great way to build trust with each donor. You can also add information about matching gift programs to your donation receipts. Here's all the essential information you need about donor receipts and some best practices to help you develop an effective system for managing donation receipts.
• Don't Choose a Nonprofit CRM Without These 6 Features: A CRM system is perhaps one of the best tools for nonprofits to stay organized and keep track of corporate matching gift possibilities. This resource will help you choose the right CRM system for your organization.