College development groups are at all times on the lookout for methods to extend donor affect and construct stronger relationships with alumni and supporters. Probably the most efficient—however usually underused—instruments is matching presents. When you’re on the lookout for methods to revamp your college’s matching reward technique, you’ve come to the appropriate place.
In a latest webinar, we sat down with Abe Morris of the Indiana College Basis (or IUF) to debate the assorted methods during which their crew optimized its method to matching presents—streamlining processes, bettering donor engagement, and maximizing income. As he spoke, we discovered that one of many first objects Abe was tasked with, upon starting his new position at IUF in 2022, was to try their matching reward program and see what he might do to enhance it. They began with a single, quarterly piece of junk mail selling matching presents, so outreach was rare and single-channel, with a variety of room to develop. And develop they did!
Fascinated by viewing the complete presentation? Take a look at the replay right here. In any other case, let’s stroll by means of an summary of the steps the crew took to revamp their college’s matching reward technique.
Conducting an ROI evaluation
Step one in refining the matching reward technique was an intensive return on funding (ROI) evaluation—a essential transfer to higher perceive the present state of matching reward participation and determine areas for development. This evaluation concerned digging into present donor knowledge to judge key metrics equivalent to:
- The entire quantity of particular person giving
- How a lot of that giving was being matched by employers
- The completeness and accuracy of employer info within the database
- The match eligibility fee amongst identified donors
Two vital insights emerged from this deep dive. First, employer knowledge was usually incomplete or lacking, making it troublesome to determine match-eligible donors. Second, even amongst donors whose employers have been confirmed to supply matching reward applications, many have been not submitting match requests. This revealed a major hole between potential and precise matching reward income.
Briefly, the evaluation confirmed that there was untapped potential sitting within the donor base—{dollars} left on the desk merely attributable to lack of expertise, lacking knowledge, or course of gaps. By figuring out these inefficiencies early on, the crew might start concentrating on particular alternatives to enhance knowledge high quality, educate donors, and drive extra match requests, in the end maximizing income from matching presents.
Setting objectives
To faucet into their full matching reward potential, the Indiana College Basis knew they wanted extra than simply good intentions. What they wanted was a transparent roadmap. That started with setting three centered, strategic objectives designed to information their efforts and measure success over time.
1. Enhance donor consciousness of matching reward applications.
IUF acknowledged that many eligible donors merely weren’t making the most of their employer’s matching reward choices, actually because they didn’t know the applications existed. One in all their main objectives grew to become boosting consciousness by means of focused outreach, donor training, and well timed follow-ups.
By embedding matching reward messaging all through the giving journey—from donation types to thank-you emails—they aimed to maintain the chance entrance and middle.
2. Enhance the standard and amount of employment knowledge.
Incomplete or outdated employer info was one other main barrier to unlocking matching presents. With out figuring out the place donors labored, it was practically unimaginable to determine eligible matches.
So IUF set a second purpose: to gather and keep extra correct employment info by means of strategies like donation kind fields, electronic mail outreach, and knowledge append providers. The extra full their information, the higher they might personalize matching reward outreach and comply with up successfully.
3. Enhance whole matching reward income.
In the end, all efforts have been tied to a bigger purpose: rising matching reward income in a sustainable and scalable manner. By elevating consciousness and bettering knowledge, IUF positioned itself to seize extra matches—and to trace the monetary affect over time. This purpose served as each a measure of success and a motivating benchmark for your complete development crew.
Collectively, these three objectives created a strong basis for revamping IUF’s matching reward technique—turning what was as soon as a passive income stream into an energetic driver of philanthropic development.
Understanding the matching reward course of
Earlier than the Indiana College Basis might totally execute their matching reward technique, they wanted to deeply perceive how the method labored from begin to end. That meant mapping out the precise donor journey and figuring out the place alternatives have been being missed or delayed.
To do that, Abe collaborated carefully with the income operations crew, digging into the mechanics of how matching presents flowed into the group. This step was essential—not only for optimizing inside workflows, but additionally for figuring out ache factors that have been impacting each donors and the college’s skill to safe matching funds.
Right here’s what they uncovered:
When a donor makes a present, a number of issues can occur. Typically, the donor is already conscious of their employer’s matching reward program and initiates a request on their very own. In different circumstances, nonetheless, the donor learns concerning the alternative by means of post-donation outreach—like emails, web site prompts, or follow-up reminders from the college.
As soon as the donor decides to pursue the match, they sometimes full a web based kind by means of their employer’s portal. This way is then reviewed by their employer, who contacts the establishment (on this case, IUF) to confirm that the unique donation was made and that it meets the corporate’s matching standards.
After this verification step, both the employer or a third-party vendor—equivalent to a company social duty (or CSR) platform—processes the matching fee. The funds are despatched to the college and recorded within the development system as a matched reward.
This course of might sound simple, however it includes a number of stakeholders, timing dependencies, and knowledge handoffs. What stood out most on this evaluation was the significance of coordination—from clear communication with donors to well timed responses to employers, each step performs a job in securing the match.
Changing into accustomed to frequent challenges
With a transparent understanding of the matching reward course of in hand, the subsequent essential step for the Indiana College Basis was to confront the realities of implementation—particularly, the frequent challenges that may hinder matching reward success. Anticipating these hurdles allowed the crew to construct a extra resilient and responsive technique.
One of many largest challenges? The irregularity of matching reward disbursements. Whereas some firms course of matches on a rolling foundation, others might solely challenge funds quarterly—and even simply every year. This inconsistency makes it troublesome to forecast income and may delay when funds really hit the books.
One other challenge is restricted visibility into matching reward achievement. Many firms use third-party distributors or CSR platforms (like Benevity, CyberGrants, or YourCause) to course of match funds. Whereas these programs assist streamline company giving on the employer’s aspect, they will create knowledge gaps for nonprofits. Funds might arrive with minimal figuring out info, making it troublesome to hyperlink the match again to the unique donor or reward.
Lastly, IUF needed to navigate company-specific restrictions on matching reward eligibility. Not all donations are handled equally, with some employers solely matching presents made to particular sorts of applications, equivalent to analysis or pupil help. In the meantime, others explicitly exclude areas like athletics, with such nuances making it troublesome to trace and sometimes leaving donors confused or disenchanted when their presents don’t qualify.
Fortunately, by proactively figuring out these frequent challenges, IUF was capable of handle expectations, educate donors extra successfully, and fine-tune inside programs to catch and reply to points earlier than they grew to become roadblocks. In different phrases, understanding the obstacles up entrance laid the groundwork for a extra strategic and sustainable matching reward program shifting ahead.
Taking advantage of employer knowledge
As soon as the IUF had a clearer image of the challenges surrounding matching presents, the subsequent step was to optimize the info they already had—particularly, employer info. This required a detailed partnership with the development knowledge crew to determine find out how to higher acquire, handle, and activate that knowledge in ways in which would straight help matching reward efforts.
The primary main enchancment was integrating Double the Donation’s matching reward instrument into the college’s web site and donation types.
This answer permits donors to simply seek for their employer in the course of the giving course of and immediately uncover in the event that they’re eligible for an identical reward program. With the instrument embedded straight on the level of donation, IUF might proactively floor related matching reward info in actual time, as an alternative of counting on delayed outreach months later.
However the Basis didn’t cease there. To deal with gaps in employer knowledge for present constituents, they started working with a knowledge processing and enrichment firm. Via this partnership, they started to append employer info on an everyday, month-to-month foundation. This helped make sure that information have been frequently up to date with probably the most present employment particulars. Plus, it allowed IUF to determine match-eligible donors who may in any other case slip by means of the cracks.
Establishing an identical reward communication plan
With the appropriate instruments and knowledge in place, the Indiana College Basis turned its consideration to an equally essential element of a profitable matching reward technique: communication. The Basis knew that merely having the knowledge wasn’t sufficient. They wanted to make sure it reached the appropriate individuals on the proper time, in a manner that felt useful moderately than overwhelming.
To perform this, IUF started to weave matching reward language into practically each related donor touchpoint. They built-in it throughout their communications ecosystem—from reward receipts and electronic mail follow-ups to donation types and social media adverts.
Every message was crafted with objective and readability, pointing donors to the college’s devoted matching presents web page for extra info.
By establishing a complete, multi-channel communication plan, IUF elevated visibility for matching presents, strengthened donor training, and considerably improved the probability that eligible supporters would comply with by means of. It wasn’t nearly elevating consciousness—it was about making a constant, donor-friendly expertise that made taking motion really feel seamless.
Measuring and monitoring success
With new programs, instruments, and techniques in place, IUF knew that ongoing success would hinge on one key issue: measurement. In the event that they couldn’t monitor the affect of their efforts, they couldn’t enhance them or display their worth to stakeholders.
To shut that loop, the crew prioritized constructing a devoted matching reward efficiency dashboard. This inside instrument was designed to observe real-time knowledge and supply a transparent view of progress towards their strategic objectives.
The dashboard centered on just a few core metrics:
- Whole matching reward income — to measure the general monetary affect
- Variety of matching presents obtained — to gauge engagement and donor participation
- Proportion of eligible donors who submitted matches — to evaluate the effectiveness of outreach and training
By evaluating KPIs over time, IUF might clearly see which initiatives have been working and the place there was room to develop. Simply as importantly, they have been capable of tie these insights again to their authentic objectives. Rising donor consciousness, bettering knowledge high quality, and maximizing matching reward income.
Wrapping up & webinar replay
Matching presents characterize a serious alternative for universities—however solely if in case you have the appropriate technique in place. Success begins with donor training, environment friendly verification workflows, and powerful collaboration between development groups and company companions.
By making use of these classes, your college can remodel matching presents from a passive afterthought into a strong fundraising engine. Begin small, keep constant, and watch your affect multiply.
