Matching Gifts Best Practices

Many corporations offer matching gift programs, where they match employees' giving to eligible nonprofits. With matching gifts, your organization can maximize your constituents' giving with free additional gifts. To help get the most of matching gifts, consider these best practices.

Nearly one in 10 donors work for companies that match charitable gifts, so your constituents' employers are important to track. Ask for employment information whenever possible, such as through interactions, donation forms, and event registration forms. For a more subtle approach, collect business cards or infer employers from business email addresses. Once you have this information, research your donors' employers to determine which offer matching gift programs and the details of each.

Tip: On a constituent's record, you can view their primary business relationship — typically their employer — under Constituent summary. For more information, see Summary.

Mention matching gifts during phone solicitations, and include reminders about them in appeals, acknowledgements, and receipts. If a donor indicates that their employer has a matching gift program, ask that they submit any matching gift requests to their employer. To ensure fulfillment, track the requests as matching gift pledges. If you need to follow up on a matching gift payment, contact the company directly rather than the donor of the original gift.

Just as matching gifts are a way to double giving, be prepared to double (or triple) your gratitude as well. Thank the donor of the original, matched gift twice: once for their personal gift, and again when you receive the matching gift payment from their employer. Be sure to also thank the company for their matching gift, and look for chances to further cultivate a relationship with them for future corporate giving.

As with all your fundraising efforts, you should track the effectiveness of your matching gifts and look for areas to improve. For example:

  • Compare how much you receive through matching gifts year-over-year.

  • Track the time and effort involved to acquire matching gifts.

  • Identify which corporations donate the most matching gifts.

Tip: On a constituent's record, you can view a summary of the matching gifts pledged and received based on their gifts under Giving. For more information, see Constituent Giving.