Making the Most of Gift Matching

At Higher Rewards, we think that maximizing donations should always be on every donor or nonprofit organizer’s mind. Luckily, there are plenty of tools at your disposal, and many of them are underused. Today, we’ll go over donation matching, something most donors and nonprofits are aware of, even if they don’t use it as much as they should.

Corporate matching happens when a company agrees to donate the same amount an employee will to an educational, arts, community, environmental, or health organization. In short, the company matches employee donations, doubling their output.

Eligibility is determined based on the organization, amount, or deadline. The eligibility guidelines should be thoroughly researched in order to ensure that your donation will go through.

By doubling donation size, matching gifts has a major impact on the total donations collected by nonprofits and charities. In this post, we’ll cover this process from the donor and nonprofit perspectives.

As a donor, taking advantage of gift matching can seem a bit difficult. Not every employer is transparent about their matching program and individual nonprofits won’t always do much to inform donors about these programs. Fortunately, tools like Double the Donation can help you navigate finding a donation matching program. Meanwhile, company websites and online lists keep track of the status of donation programs.

But ultimately, this process has to be initiated by you. Even if it can be difficult to find a way to double your donation, it is still possible to start a program at your workplace or create other ways to generate consistent donations.

From a nonprofit perspective, the easiest way to get a doubled donation is to incorporate matching into your marketing. First, make sure you’re familiar with the process and how it impacts donors and their employers. Doing the research can help you make those steps easier for your frequent donors.

In order to promote matching programs as much as possible, keep an up-to-date page on your website with resources for prospective donors. You can also send dedicated emails and even add an option to your online donation section and digital receipts. Donors are more likely to match donations when the option is right in front of them.

Meanwhile, you should make sure that your team is aware of all the nuances of corporate matching, including software, companies with successful programs, and the different types of matching. You should be a resource during the process to maximize successful transactions.