Blog - HEPdata

What are Matching Gifts

June 16, 2024

Thousands of companies across the country have programs where they match their employees’ donations to eligible charitable organizations. Typically, an employer will match a donation dollar for dollar, but in some cases, organizations may even match a donation up to triple the original amount.

For higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations, matching gifts are a vital revenue stream and a critical component of their fundraising. Matching gifts are essentially free money for the organization and allow donors to give at least twice as much by simply completing the necessary paperwork in a matter of minutes.

As any fundraising organization knows, driving donations is hard work. Once you’ve spent the time and resources to secure a gift, matching gifts present an opportunity to double its value.

Billions in Unclaimed Donations

It is estimated that up to $10 billion in matching gift revenue goes unclaimed every year. Roughly 8-15% of an organization’s donors are matching gift eligible, and surprisingly, a whopping 80% of matching gift eligible donors do not know their company will match their gift.

Generous Corporate Giving Programs

With thousands of corporations offering matching gift programs, including 65% of Fortune 500 companies, there are millions of people who are eligible. Corporate giving programs and guidelines are always changing, which is why a dedicated team at HEPdata tracks the policies of over 23,000 companies.

An Underutilized Revenue Stream

With so many donors unaware of their employer’s matching gift policy, the responsibility of identifying these opportunities, notifying the donor, and ensuring paperwork is complete falls squarely on the shoulders of an organization. For anonymous donations, additional research and outreach are involved to convert an opportunity. The process is time-consuming, complicated to manage, and requires daily attention.

Donations with a Deadline

Many corporate matching gift policies come with a deadline. If an employee donation is not matched by a corporation within one year, it is no longer eligible for a matching gift.

Giving That Grows Donor Loyalty

84% of donors say they’re more likely to give if a match is offered. Once they’ve completed a matching gift, they know how easy it is to complete. As donor loyalty increases, matching gift revenue grows as well.

Solutions That Simplify and Scale Matching Gift Strategy

HEPdata’s Matching Gift Solutions offer a simple, easy-to-use platform that identifies matching gift eligible donors, tracks their donations, and automatically follows up until the necessary paperwork is complete. Implementing a proven matching gift management strategy with AffinityX2 frees up countless staff hours and creates a reliable, constant revenue stream. Most organizations see a 53% increase in matching gift revenue in the first year.

One of the tools in the AffinityX2 suite of matching gift solutions is Match Lookup. It includes eMatch Donor Link, which allows your donors to search their employer before, during, and after a gift to see if their company will match. This tool will help you configure the look and feel, place it on your web pages, and give you access to metrics to ensure you’re maximizing the tool.

To learn more about AffinityX2 and the Auto Match and Match Lookup tools, request a demo with the HEPdata team.

3 Types of Matching Gifts to Help You Double the Love and the Giving

May 15, 2024

Increase Your Fundraising Revenue with Matching Gifts

Did you know there’s an easy way to increase fundraising revenue while also boosting the likelihood your prospects will donate? Matching gifts achieve both.

Data shows prospective donors are 84% more likely to make a gift when they know it will be matched by their employer or another entity. Plus, one in three donors say they would give more if a match was available.

People enjoy making a big impact—and they like it even more when it requires little or no additional investment.

For nonprofits, matching gifts significantly increase revenue without increasing solicitations. Employers benefit as well: social initiatives strengthen affinity among the company, employees, and customers. In fact, 75% of workers value corporate cultures supporting philanthropy and volunteerism. Corporate social responsibility initiatives can positively impact corporate revenue too.

Three Types of Matching Gifts and How HEPdata Can Help

1. Corporate Employee Matches

When people refer to “matching gifts,” they typically mean corporate employee matches. In these programs, when an employee donates to a charity, their employer donates an equivalent amount.

About 65% of companies offer matching gift programs, and approximately 15% of donors are eligible. Each company’s matching policies vary. Matches typically range from 1:1 to 3:1. Some companies also match gifts from retirees or donor-advised funds.

How Employee Matches Work

An employee donates to a charity, submits a form to their employer, and after verification, the company sends the matched donation to the charity.

Examples of Employee Matching Gift Programs

Soros Fund Management: 3:1 match up to $100,000.
IBM: 1:1 match up to $10,000.
General Electric: 1:1 match up to $10,000, plus volunteer programs.
Johnson & Johnson: 2:1 match for employees (up to $10,000), 1:1 for retirees.

Benefits of Employee Matching Gift Programs

Donors double their impact without additional costs.
Organizations significantly increase donation amounts.
Companies support various charitable causes important to their employees.

Barriers to Matching Gifts and How HEPdata Can Help

Despite their ease, up to $10 billion in matching gift revenue goes unclaimed each year, primarily due to lack of awareness or follow-up. HEPdata provides a comprehensive matching gift database and tools to ensure accurate and updated matching gift information, automates donor follow-ups, and streamlines the matching process.

2. Volunteer Matching Gifts & Grants

Volunteer matching and grants reward employees’ donated time with corporate financial contributions. Policies and rewards vary widely by company.

How Volunteer Matches Work

Employees track volunteer hours, submit them to their employer, and the company sends a matched donation based on hours volunteered.

Examples of Volunteer Grant Programs

ConocoPhillips: $500 grant per 20 volunteer hours (up to two grants per year).
Bank of America: $500 grant per 50 volunteer hours (up to two per year).
Principal Financial Group: “Dollars for Doers” matches volunteer hours with mini-grants.

Benefits of Volunteer Matching Gift Programs

Employees contribute financially and through time, amplifying their impact.
Nonprofits receive increased funds and valuable volunteer hours.
Companies strengthen relationships with communities and enhance corporate culture.

3. Challenge Grant Matching Gifts

Unlike employee matches, challenge grants proactively encourage donations. These grants come from individuals, foundations, or corporations and motivate others to contribute by matching new donations during specific fundraising campaigns.

How Challenge Grants Work

Donors pledge a match, and the nonprofit promotes it publicly to inspire additional giving. Donations made during the challenge period are matched according to pre-established criteria.

Benefits of Challenge Grants

Motivate new and existing donors to give more.
Increase visibility and urgency around campaigns.
Maximize total fundraising impact beyond original grants.
Enhance donor engagement and community involvement.

Make Matching Gifts Part of Your Fundraising Strategy with HEPdata

Matching gifts are essential for maximizing fundraising potential. HEPdata’s comprehensive matching gift solutions remove the guesswork, enabling organizations to effectively identify eligible donors, streamline the matching process, automate follow-ups, and ultimately secure more matching funds. With over $10 billion left unclaimed annually, implementing a robust matching gift strategy with HEPdata can substantially boost your organization’s fundraising outcomes.

How To Educate Your Donors about Matching Gifts

April 2, 2024

Did you know $6-10 billion in matching gift funds go unclaimed every year? In fact, 65% of Fortune 500 companies in the United States match employee’s charitable gifts. Sometimes they double it, triple it, or more! If you consider that 15% of donors on average are matching gift eligible—how much revenue could your organization be missing out on?

Why does this money go unclaimed? Often it’s because donors don’t know about matching gifts or that their company will match. This article lays out how to educate them so that their gift can be turbocharged.

First, we’ll explore some key messages and content that should be in your communications to donors. Then we’ll look at how and when to convey this information.

What to Communicate About Matching Gifts

Here’s the thing about matching gifts: most existing donors already love your organization or institution and believe in it. So the success rate in getting them to follow-up on matching can be high. But first you need to start the conversation about matching gifts. Here’s what to include:

Supply a definition. You could even start with something like this to get their attention: “Hey, did you know two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies match employee gifts? This means your employer could double or triple your gift to (name of org).”
Mention how easy the matching process can be for the donor. HEPdata’s matching gifts tools, Auto Match and Match Lookup, can help facilitate matching gifts for the charity and the donor.
Include a call to action by allowing your donors to search their employer right from your website. HEPdata’s eMatch Donor Link embeds directly into your site, in as many locations as you’d like, making it easy for donors to search their employer and find the necessary instructions to submit their match. Link to it from your emails, texts, or social media posts. Seamlessly place the database search window right on your giving pages.
Talk about how matched gifts help the donor, their employer, and the cause. For the donor, it means their gift is making a greater impact on a cause they believe in. For the employer, studies show there are a number of benefits in terms of workplace culture, employee satisfaction, and even a boost to productivity. The positive public image from corporate giving can increase sales.

How To Communicate To Your Donors About Matching Gifts

Here are some ideas on how to communicate about matching gifts to your donors and which channels to use.

Email

Send an email to all employed donors with a link to your webpage featuring a search window where they can look up their employer to see if they match. As mentioned, this search function can be powered by HEPdata’s eMatch Donor Link.
Email donors with a link to their company matching page. HEPdata’s X2 matching gifts tools can help with this.
Automate—AffinityX2 offers automated, templated emails.

Social Media

Post a message with a link to your matching gift page featuring the matching gift employer search detailed earlier.
Recognize matching companies and offer donation match how-to info for that company.
Thank those who have matched their gifts and thank their employer. Include a nice graphic whenever possible.

Web

Have a prominent matching gift page linked throughout your website. Include a pitch, adding your points to those mentioned earlier. Also include your matching search window and links to further information. If you have a lot of donors that work for certain companies, include links to the matching pages for those companies.
Link to your matching gift page (or provide a shortened URL) in your other communications.
Make sure matching gifts are included in fundraising landing pages or “Ways To Give” pages.
Link to your matching gift page from volunteer and alumni pages.

Blog

Periodically post matching gift acknowledgments, information, donor profiles or testimonials, with a link to your matching page.

Direct mail

Direct mail is a good option for donors who have identified this as a preference or who skew older or retired (some companies match retired employee gifts). HEPdata’s Affinity X2 suite can help automate this process too.

Other communications

Include advertisements in your alumni, donor or volunteer communications, magazine, webpages donors visit, direct mail, your regular newsletter, or event programs.

Interpersonal Communications

Be sure to include a plug for matching gifts in your public remarks or conversations with donors.

Make sure all your communications have a call-to-action or a next step for donors to take to match their gift. Donor profiles and quotes or testimonials along with strong graphics or visuals whenever possible will help get results. Infographics are a great way to convey how to match gifts and how easy the process is. Brief how-to videos can also be helpful.

When to Communicate

Timing is everything when it comes to matching gifts. Here are some good times to bring it up:

After an Initial Gift

The donor makes a donation. You follow up shortly thereafter. But don’t just send a thank you note, be strategic. Include matching gift information in your acknowledgments.
Include matching gift links right when a donor makes a gift online. It could be on the donation form, a popup window, or the confirmation page.
The same goes for mailings—include matching info in your solicitations.

During Special Dates for Giving

Giving Tuesday is in November.
National Giving Month is December.

During In-Person Meetings

When you see donors in person, put in a plug for the match.

Make it Easy and Automated

HEPdata’s Matching Gift Solutions make it easy for you to make matching gifts easy for donors. Auto Match automatically identifies matching gift-eligible donors in your database, tracks their donations, and follows up via customized, branded emails until the paperwork is complete. All of this can be managed in minutes. With Match Lookup, the eMatch Donor Link provides a matching employer search that can be seamlessly integrated within your giving pages.

Conclusion

Matching gifts are such an easy way to boost your fundraising. These communication tips and the right technology can make it even more effortless. To learn how you can communicate, automate and watch your gift totals soar with HEPdata, schedule a demo of our Matching Gifts Solutions.