Corporate matching gifts are a powerful tool for amplifying the impact of individual donations to nonprofits like yours. They also help your team avoid fundraising lulls, increase donor engagement, and set the tone for ongoing corporate partnerships.
However, the success of these generous matching gift programs often hinges on how effectively they are communicated to donors. Without a dedicated promotional strategy, 78% of individuals are unaware if their employers offer matching gifts.
Today, organizations are becoming increasingly proactive in their matching gift marketing efforts to curb this knowledge gap. In this guide, we’re going to walk through key messaging tactics to ensure you’re resonating with donors every step of the way:
- Highlight matching gifts’ doubled donation impact.
- Use action-oriented language to drive next steps.
- Personalize your appeal messaging for each recipient.
- Share success stories to leverage social proof.
Crafting messaging that resonates with your audience can significantly enhance participation and maximize fundraising success. As you prepare your matching gift materials (from initial gift appeals to post-donation email reminders), we urge you to incorporate these practices in your communications.
Let’s begin!
1. Highlight matching gifts’ doubled donation impact.
Donors generally give because they want to see their dollars making an impact on a cause they care about. Your team can tap into that desire while promoting matching gifts by focusing on the programs’ ability to double (and sometimes even triple) the value of a donor’s gift.
Keep in mind that the tangible impact of matching gifts will vary depending on your nonprofit’s mission. However, here are a few examples to give you an idea:
- “Save more lives with your matched donation! Your support can rescue double the number of abandoned animals, giving them the second chance they deserve at finding a fur-ever home.”
- “Empower more young people! With a match from your employer, your donation can support double the amount of youth development programs, giving twice as many children access to mentoring, education, and extracurricular activities.”
- “Make a greater difference in the lives of those experiencing homelessness in your community! By securing a matching gift from your company, your generosity can provide shelter, food, and support services to twice as many individuals and families in need.”
Matching gifts can seem like an abstract idea. Fortunately, your team can make the concept tangible and compelling by illustrating that a donor’s $50 gift has the potential to become $100—and that’s without individuals having to reach back into their wallets to do so!
2. Use action-oriented language to drive next steps.
It’s important to educate your donors about matching gift opportunities. However, you want your matching gift appeals to do more than just inform. You want to inspire real and immediate action, too!
Thus, it’s a good idea to employ action-oriented language (i.e., strong, explicit verb usage) and highlight specific next steps in matching gift messaging to drive more matches to completion. Here are a few examples:
- Submit your matching gift request NOW. Access your employer’s matching gift request form at the following link: [form or portal URL]
- Double your impact today! Click here to use our company search tool and see if your employer offers a match: [match page URL]
- Grow your giving with a matching donation. Reach out to your company and find out if you qualify for a matching gift program.
- Submit your donation and double your impact in three easy steps: 1) Donate now, 2) Check if your employer matches gifts, and 3) Complete the matching gift form.
Using action-oriented language helps eliminate ambiguity, avoid hesitation, and establish a sense of urgency. This approach increases the likelihood that donors will follow through with the match without putting it off or forgetting it altogether.
3. Personalize your appeal messaging for each recipient.
As with all fundraising appeals, strategically implementing personalization in your matching gift messaging can go a long way. Tailoring your messaging for each recipient ensures the content resonates well on an individual level. Plus, it demonstrates that your team recognizes the donor’s unique contributions and opportunities, fostering a deeper emotional connection.
Here are a few ways your organization may personalize a matching gift appeal:
- Address the recipient by name
- Acknowledge the individual’s most recent contribution (i.e., gift amount and date)
- Share company-specific information regarding matching gift eligibility and guidelines
The result? You can bring your matching gift messaging from this:
“Dear valued donor, we wanted to thank you for your ongoing support of the Cat Rescue Club. Did you know that many companies match employee donations to causes like ours? Ask your employer if you qualify!”
To this:
“Hi Jane, we wanted to thank you for your recent donation of $100 to the Cat Rescue Club on 6/10/24. Did you know your gift likely qualifies for a match from your employer? Carl’s Computer Company matches employee donations to causes like ours, and all you have to do is complete the brief online form here: carlscomputerco.com/matching-gift-request/”
4. Share success stories to leverage social proof.
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon that describes how people look to others’ actions to guide their own behavior. The idea plays a crucial role in motivating donors to give (hence peer-to-peer fundraising) and can also impact the results of an organization’s matching gift marketing efforts.
How? By demonstrating real-world examples of the positive impact of matching gifts, showcasing real case studies, and spotlighting successful matching gift donors, your team can inspire greater involvement among its supporter network.
For example, tell a story about how a donor’s matched gift funded a new building wing or supported a scholarship program. You can even have existing matching gift donors share a quote (or record a quick testimonial video) about the ease with which they were able to grow their impact for your cause!
Effectively communicating the matching gift opportunity to donors can significantly boost your organization’s fundraising success. By highlighting the impact of matching gift contributions, using actionable language in your appeals, personalizing communications, sharing matching gift wins, and more, you can create messages that resonate deeply and inspire donors to take the next steps to support your cause.
Talk about a win-win!
