{"id":9726,"date":"2024-05-29T13:52:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T13:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=9726"},"modified":"2024-06-05T17:45:20","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T17:45:20","slug":"how-to-promote-matching-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/how-to-promote-matching-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Promote Matching Gifts to Your Audience: 4 Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You\u2019ve worked hard to build up relationships with corporate sponsors, a major donor, or compiled a matching grant application, and now you have successfully secured a matching grant for your campaign.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hooray! Now you can sit back and watch the funds pour in. But wait! There\u2019s a few more things you can do to ensure your matching grant gets the attention of your donors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a match in place, <\/span>84% of donors<\/span><\/a> say they\u2019re more likely to give, and a staggering 1 in 3 say they would give a larger gift if matching is applied to their donation. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this potential to raise more money from donors and from the match, how you communicate the match to your donors on your campaign site can really make an impact on your campaign.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 4 ways you can effectively communicate your matching grant to your audience and encourage the most <\/span>donations<\/span><\/a> from your supporters.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Use An Automated Matching Feature <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The best way to get your donors up to speed on your match is to feature it front and center on your campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too many times, I\u2019ll be reviewing campaigns and I\u2019ll see one line about a matching grant buried in their appeal text \u2014 text that could easily be skimmed over and organizations miss out on the great opportunity that a match provides them.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why using an automated matching feature is the most clear and effective way to promote your gift matching campaign.<\/span> CauseVox\u2019s automated matching<\/span><\/a> feature works by showcasing the match directly on the donation form, and displaying the match gift on the donor listing and progress bars. This helps donors see in real time the impact of their donation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donors can see that their gift was matched 1:1 as soon as they donate.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is also really beneficial about CauseVox\u2019s automated matching feature is that it is just that: automated. No more manually adjusting your progress, donors can see instantly how close you are to your goal, which encourages greater generosity.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donors are able to see the amount their gift is matched up to, and knowing their donation can have double the impact encourages more generous giving. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Communicate Impact To Promote Matching Grants<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your matching grant\u2019s end goal isn\u2019t just to double the funds raised, it\u2019s to make twice the impact \u2014 and your donors should know what twice the impact adds up to.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using your donation tiers, impact metric, and any other messaging you want to place on the page, try to communicate the impact that each dollar raised helps to accomplish.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will help keep your donors focused less on the money they give and more on the great impact that they\u2019ll create with their donation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For The Impact Metric<\/b>: The impact metric allows you to tie dollars to impact, and this is particularly helpful if you\u2019re raising funds for one item or program.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, on the campaign Together For Gambia, anytime someone donates $8, another care package is added to their impact metric counter.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"communicate-matching-grants-impact\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When a match is in place, half the dollar amount needed to make one unit of impact, and the impact metric will automatically show double the impact for each donation. So instead of $8, together for Gambia would write $4 in the amount box so it counts double the care packages.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Your Donation Tiers<\/b>: Similarly, for your <\/span>Donation Tiers<\/span><\/a>, reflect the impact created with different levels of giving, with the match included so that donors know what impact they\u2019re creating with each donation. It\u2019s always beneficial to include \u201cWith your donation matched, you\u2019ll provide X\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Summit Dog’s Donation Tiers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Anywhere Else<\/b>: Try creating infographics or inputting any other text on the page that helps break down the impact associated with each donation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"matching-gifts\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

3. Send Out An Email Pushing The Matching Gift<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all well and good to communicate your match on your site, but what drives your donors to the site in the first place is equally, if not more important.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether your campaign has a match for the entirety of its duration or has a smaller match for a few days, whenever the match goes live it\u2019s important to do an email blast to let your audience know the match is in place and to drive up the urgency to contribute.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the campaign, consider sharing specific milestones reached and personal stories that highlight the difference their gifts are making. Each email should build excitement and urgency, but also express gratitude for the ongoing support. <\/span>By keeping your audience informed and engaged, you can maintain momentum and inspire continued generosity until the match goal is achieved.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also highlight your match in your subject line and in the header of your email, like Schoolyard Farms did when they introduced a $500 matching gift for donations within a short timeframe:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By emphasizing to their donors that if they donate today, they\u2019ll receive twice the funds, they\u2019re really engaging their audience to join in and make double the impact, before the match ends. Schoolyard Farms saw a huge spike in donations that day, and it was no doubt due to their messaging around their match and their efforts to drive urgency around it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a match on your campaign and want to drive donations, here\u2019s a few email heading ideas you can consider:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n