Did you know about $4-$7 billion in matching gift funds go unclaimed each year? It costs donors nothing beyond their original donation to submit a matching gift request to their employers, yet many don’t apply.

You may wonder how this much potential funding slips through the cracks. The answer is that donors simply don’t know about these opportunities. 

That’s why it’s up to nonprofits to promote matching gifts to their donors. Doing so will result in increased donation page conversions and more matching gift revenue.

With these five strategies, you can encourage donors to boost their impact through matching gifts. Let’s get started!

1. Use a variety of marketing channels.

To effectively market matching gifts, you’ll need to reach supporters where they are. That way, you’ll inform them about matching gift opportunities in their preferred method of engaging with your nonprofit.

Extend your matching gift campaign across a variety of marketing channels, including:

• Email. Send email reminders letting people know how to check their eligibility and submit their requests to their employers.
• Social media. Share infographics explaining the matching gift process, and spotlight donors who have impacted your cause with matching gifts.
• Website. Embed an employer search tool in your donation form, enabling donors to research their eligibility for their employers’ programs when their engagement is highest. Then, take your matching gift marketing a step further by creating a dedicated matching gift page that explains the process and highlights the potential impact on your cause.
• Direct mail. For those who prefer direct mail outreach, send matching gift cards and mention matching gifts in your solicitation and thank-you letters.

Beyond creating new marketing collateral, make sure to take advantage of marketing opportunities you already leverage, such as your newsletter. Consider creating a section explaining what matching gifts are and how easily donors can participate. Then, you can link to your donation page so donors can easily contribute and jumpstart the matching gift process.

2. Include businesses in your marketing efforts.

When marketing your matching gifts program, don’t forget about the other party involved in the process. While it’s important to ensure donors know about matching gift opportunities, it’s perhaps equally important to market matching gifts to their employers.

Contact your corporate partners or local businesses to inquire about their matching gift offerings. You may also reach out to some of your donors’ employers directly to seek out their matching gift opportunities.

If you find that some businesses don’t have matching gift programs in place, launch a campaign about the benefits of matching gifts for businesses. As Double the Donation’s employee engagement guide explains, matching gifts are a powerful way to engage employees because they demonstrate that companies support the causes their employees care about. As a result, employees may feel a deeper connection to their workplace and be more invested in their jobs.

Another advantage companies access from matching gift programs is a positive public image. Be sure to inform businesses that they can promote their charitable efforts to customers, investors, and other stakeholders to prove their propensity to give back.

3. Incorporate storytelling.

Make the impact of matching gifts come to life with storytelling. Telling the story of one of your beneficiaries can elicit emotion from your donors and encourage them to send a matching gift request.

Start by interviewing some of your beneficiaries to illustrate the effect donations have on their lives. For example, an animal shelter may interview a family who recently adopted a dog to explain how donations covered their new pet’s medical treatments, breaking down financial barriers to pet adoption and ultimately saving the lives of animals in need. 

Make your story actionable by including what different donation amounts allow your organization to accomplish. For instance, $100 may allow a soup kitchen to provide five families with a meal while $500 would feed 25 families. This specificity helps donors make a clearer connection between their contributions and your work, enabling them to fill out a matching gift request to make a larger impact.

4. Capitalize on popular giving occasions.

There are certain times of the year when giving is more popular, namely the holiday season. As Getting Attention’s Christmas fundraising guide explains, 30% of annual giving occurs in December, meaning your matching gift marketing can go a long way in increasing your donation revenue during this time.

Launch matching gift marketing campaigns that coincide with this time of year. Encourage donors to get into the giving spirit by putting a holiday spin on your communications. 

For example, you may send a holiday-themed newsletter during December that discusses the true meaning of the season: spreading joy and helping others. Then, you can explain how matching gifts touch beneficiaries’ lives during the holiday season and allow donors to feel proud about their choice to give back.

You can also take advantage of designated giving days and promote matching gifts then. One of the most popular giving occasions is GivingTuesday, the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. This global movement challenges people to donate to nonprofits within a 24-hour time period, which inspires people to show their generosity. 

Since people are already more likely to contribute to your nonprofit on this day, make sure to send them instructions on how to request a matching gift prior to GivingTuesday and on the day of. That way, they’ll know how to maximize their contributions when the time comes.

5. Implement matching gift software.

What if a tool could assist you with your matching gift marketing? Matching gift software can help donors identify and facilitate matching gift opportunities, inherently promoting matching gifts and seeing them through to completion.

As we mentioned, an employer search tool can be added to your donation or confirmation pages. When you embed matching gift software, you highlight matching gifts when it’s most critical to do so: at the time of a donor’s contribution. That way, donors can learn about matching gifts and ultimately send a request to their employer without ever leaving your donation page.

If donors choose not to kick off the matching gift process on your donation page, matching gift software enables you to set up automated email streams that help you follow up with these donors and encourage them to fill out a matching gift request. You can also identify which recurring donors most frequently request matching gifts and thank them for their contributions.

A helpful feature to look for when selecting matching gift software is auto-submission. When your platform enables matching gift auto-submission, donors can opt to have the system send a matching gift request to their employer on their behalf.

This feature simplifies the matching gift request process. As a result, more donors send matching gift requests, more employers match employee donations, and more donation revenue flows back to your organization.

Matching gifts are like hidden treasures to nonprofits; they’re extremely valuable but need someone to bring them to light. Encourage donors to unearth this extra funding by promoting matching gift opportunities. Emphasize how easy it is to participate in your matching gifts program and how donors can increase their impact on your beneficiaries without spending any extra money.