It can be hard to visualize the value of matching gift strategies, so we have compiled some statistics to show the size, benefits, and methods to take advantage of these programs. This is designed to help your organization determine scalability and growth of your matching gift fundraising initiatives. 

Ready to check out some gift matching metrics? Let’s dive in with an example showing how gift matching works! A donor named Jenny who works for The Home Depot donates $50 to your organization. Then she submits a gift matching request and The Home Depot submits an additional $50 to your nonprofit. Sounds easy, right?

For more ways to boost revenue with donation matching gifts, listen to Double the Donation's CEO, Adam Weinger, as he breaks it down for Funraise CEO and Co-founder, Justin Wheeler on the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast:

"I think a great starting point is to decide who your organization is responsible for bringing matching gifts. ...If you're small, either with the volunteer or with an intern; if you're larger, defining what department owns that matching and gift revenue line item." –Adam Weinger, Double the Donatio

65% of Fortune 500 companies offer gift matching programs

Gift matching programs are the most common form of corporate philanthropy—over half of the most successful corporations utilize gift matching benefits. These programs are designed to match your donors’ existing contributions to your organization. 

It might seem overwhelming to target each match-eligible donor, but gift matching software can automate this process to make it much simpler. Then you can discover which donors are eligible for a matching gift request without extensive research.

360MatchPro works with your donation forms to find eligible donors. To do this, it first asks your donors to enter their employer with a simple streamlined search tool on the donation page. 

Then, the tool scans a database of gift matching programs to check if the company offers a matching gift program. This database is extensive, and it is constantly being updated by industry professionals to ensure accuracy. This means if you use 360MatchPro for your organization, you can ensure that gift matching opportunities don’t fall through the cracks, and you can stop missing out on this additional revenue stream. 

78% of match-eligible donors have no idea whether their employer offers a matching gift program.

Now, let’s get into the why. As in, why on earth are nonprofits not taking advantage of this simple and lucrative fundraising strategy??? Well, the answer is simpler than you might have expected. Gift matching programs require donors to submit a matching gift request. This might seem easy; however, donors have no idea that this is an option. 

As stated above, close to 80% of match-eligible donors have no idea that their company offers a matching gift program. If they are unaware that the program exists, how are they supposed to know that they can fill out a matching gift request? This lack of awareness shows that it is a knowledge gap and not a motivation gap that stands in the way of gift matching submissions.

As a nonprofit organization, you should tell your donors about these programs. If you do, you could generate a lot more contributions for your cause. Using communication avenues that you already utilize, you can send donors important messages about gift matching.

The 360MatchPro tool works to educate your donors through automated, personalized outreach. After the donation process is completed, 360MatchPro sends emails to donors to educate them on gift matching programs. If our example donor, Jenny, entered her employer information on the donation screen, then these messages to her will be personalized. If she did not provide this information, then she'll still receive messages with general matching gift content.

Each email contains valuable information about gift matching requests, guidelines, and program details. Through customization options, you can include all of this information while retaining your organization’s branding and voice. 

By sending gift matching information directly to your donor, you can close the knowledge gap to help them generate additional funding for your organization. 

$4 to 7 Billion in matching gifts are left unused each year

The knowledge gap mentioned above causes billions and billions of dollars to go unclaimed each year. These funds are wasted simply because donors do not submit their matching gift requests, which means that nonprofits are missing out on the very programs that are designed for them.

There are many ways to educate your donors and help them submit their gift matching request form. You can place links to common program forms on your website or complete donor research to send out personalized messages based on the donor’s employer. 

360MatchPro can provide a link directly in the emails that we discussed above. If our example donor, Jenny, made a donation, she might have entered her employer as The Home Depot on the donation form. Then, 360MatchPro would send her an email that contains the same program information listed above along with a link to The Home Depot’s gift matching request form. 

If Jenny did not enter this information on the donation page, then the email would provide a link for her to directly search her employer’s matching gift program. With either avenue, the donor can access their matching gift request page with just a couple of clicks.

By providing the donor with an easy way to submit matching gift requests, you can easily fuel gift matching funds for your organization. 

Donors increase donations by 51% when nonprofits mention matching gifts 

Yep, you read that right.

Donors will give a much larger donation if they know that their gift will be matched. When you think about it, your donors already feel a connection to your organization... why wouldn’t they want to increase their contribution at no additional cost to themselves? If anything, they're happy to know that their donation will be matched! 

This further proves the point that donors are unaware of matching gift programs. This is good news for your organization—it means that you can earn both gift matches and higher base donations just by telling your donors about employer gift matching. 

The easiest way to do this is by placing gift matching information on to your organization’s website. This allows potential donors to learn about gift matching guidelines from a trusted source. On this page, you can explain the logistics of gift matching programs and provide donors with a chance to search for their employer’s program forms, guidelines, or instructions. 

The 360MatchPro tool actually allows you to place the search bar discussed above directly onto your website. Then donors can search for their employer and discover their gift matching eligibility. 

The search tool is just as easy to navigate on the web page as it is on the donation form. Donors simply type in the name of their employer and the tool provides them with all of the information that they need. This web page can then encourage your supporters to make higher base donations and submit a matching gift request, resulting in more dollars for your organization. 

Leveraging a matching gift automation tool (like 360MatchPro) increases matching gift revenue for nonprofits by 61%

Once you implement a gift matching fundraising strategy, it could easily become one of your top revenue streams. While the benefits of these programs are extremely valuable, you've probably already realized that it takes a lot of work to accomplish all on your own. 

Without matching gift software, you would have to manually ask your donors where they work, research each individual matching gift program and then ask your donors to submit a gift matching request. Not to mention all of the analytics and metrics that you would need to track to ensure a successful program. 

With 360MatchPro, you can track all of these insights in one simple, easy-to-read space. That means you can spend less time flagging down matching gift requests and more time on the causes that matter to you. 

This dashboard includes donor information, statistics, gift match tracking, and more. Keeping track of these metrics can help you assess your matching gift plan and ensure that you fuel your fundraising efforts with employee gift matching. 

Using 360MatchPro can greatly increase your gift matching revenue in the simplest sense. If you're interested in learning more about how this tool can help your organization, schedule a personalized demo. This session will be designed with your mission in mind so that you can learn the best strategies for your organization.