How to Unlock Corporate Matching Gifts

Last week, I mentioned the power of matching gifts in year-end campaign planning, and it sparked some great conversations about how nonprofits can use this strategy year-round.

This week, I’m focusing specifically on corporate matching programs. We’ll circle back to individual donors providing matches (and when to ask!) in a future newsletter.

I first discovered the potential of corporate matching programs while managing a large university giving circle. Out of curiosity, I started researching the employers of our members to see if they offered matching gift programs. Et voilà! They did! Several of our $2,000-per-year donors qualified, instantly doubling the value of their support and generating even more resources for students. The impact was incredible!

When it comes to corporate philanthropy, many companies will match their employees’ charitable contributions to nonprofits. According to Doublethedonation.com,

• 1 in 3 donors will give a larger base gift if they know matching is applied to their donation

• More than 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer matching gift programs, resulting in an estimated $2-3 billion donated

  through matching programs annually

• A shocking $4-7 billion in matching gift revenue goes unclaimed each year, and 78% of donors are unaware if their company matches

I know what you’re thinking. How many of our donors are actually employees at Fortune 500 companies?

It’s not just mega companies that offer corporate matching. Banks, credit unions, and investment firms are some of the most consistent matchers. Hospitals, IT firms, pharmaceutical companies, national retail chains, and even some universities will match their employee giving up to a certain amount.

If you want to see if any of your donors’ employers offer matching gift programs, you can quickly look them up at no cost on sites like Charity Navigator and BestBuddies.org.

So, what do we do with this information now that we know corporate matching is a thing?

Good question. There are a few ways you can move forward:

1. Include matching gift prompts on your donation forms.

   Checkboxes or fields asking: “Does your employer match donations? Check here to let us know!”

2. Provide quick instructions or a link to a corporate match search tool on your website so they can check before they give

3. Make it part of your routine after each first-time gift to research whether the donor’s employer offers a matching program (which often still carries after retirement, by the way!)

4. Include reminders in emails, newsletters, and stewardship communications

Unless you’re already fully leveraging corporate matching gifts, there’s almost certainly unclaimed money sitting in your donor database waiting to be unlocked this year. Time to go get it!

One Last Thought:

Matching gifts are just one of many opportunities hiding in your donor database. The key is having systems in place to identify them and make it easy for donors to give. At Jenni Craig & Co., we help nonprofits make the most of their donor data, so every opportunity is maximized. Request an introductory meeting to get the conversation started.