College development groups are all the time in search of methods to extend donor influence and construct stronger relationships with alumni and supporters. One of the efficient—however typically underused—instruments is matching gifts. When you’re in search of methods to revamp your college’s matching present technique, you’ve come to the proper place.
In a latest webinar, we sat down with Abe Morris of the Indiana College Basis (or IUF) to debate the varied methods wherein their workforce optimized its strategy to matching items—streamlining processes, bettering donor engagement, and maximizing income. As he spoke, we discovered that one of many first gadgets Abe was tasked with, upon starting his new position at IUF in 2022, was to try their matching present program and see what he may do to enhance it. They began with a single, quarterly piece of unsolicited mail selling matching items, so outreach was rare and single-channel, with lots of room to develop. And develop they did!
Serious about viewing the total presentation? Check out the replay here. In any other case, let’s stroll via an outline of the steps the workforce took to revamp their college’s matching present technique.
Conducting an ROI evaluation
Step one in refining the matching present technique was a radical return on funding (ROI) evaluation—a essential transfer to higher perceive the present state of matching present participation and determine areas for progress. This evaluation concerned digging into present donor information to guage key metrics akin to:
- The overall 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 price amongst recognized donors
Two essential insights emerged from this deep dive. First, employer information was typically incomplete or lacking, making it troublesome to determine match-eligible donors. Second, even amongst donors whose employers had been confirmed to supply matching present packages, many had been not submitting match requests. This revealed a major hole between potential and precise matching present income.
In brief, the evaluation confirmed that there was untapped potential sitting within the donor base—{dollars} left on the desk merely on account of lack of expertise, lacking information, or course of gaps. By figuring out these inefficiencies early on, the workforce may start concentrating on particular alternatives to enhance information high quality, educate donors, and drive extra match requests, in the end maximizing income from matching items.
Setting objectives
To faucet into their full matching present 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 present packages.
IUF acknowledged that many eligible donors merely weren’t profiting from their employer’s matching present choices, actually because they didn’t know the packages existed. One in every of their main objectives grew to become boosting consciousness via focused outreach, donor training, and well timed follow-ups.
By embedding matching present messaging all through the giving journey—from donation kinds to thank-you emails—they aimed to maintain the chance entrance and heart.
2. Enhance the standard and amount of employment information.
Incomplete or outdated employer information was one other main barrier to unlocking matching items. With out figuring out the place donors labored, it was practically inconceivable to determine eligible matches.
So IUF set a second purpose: to gather and preserve extra correct employment info via strategies like donation type fields, e-mail outreach, and information append companies. The extra full their information, the higher they might personalize matching present outreach and comply with up successfully.
3. Enhance whole matching present income.
Finally, all efforts had been tied to a bigger purpose: rising matching present income in a sustainable and scalable approach. By elevating consciousness and bettering information, IUF positioned itself to seize extra matches—and to trace the monetary influence over time. This purpose served as each a measure of success and a motivating benchmark for your complete development workforce.
Collectively, these three objectives created a stable basis for revamping IUF’s matching present technique—turning what was as soon as a passive income stream into an energetic driver of philanthropic progress.
Understanding the matching present course of
Earlier than the Indiana College Basis may absolutely execute their matching present technique, they wanted to deeply perceive how the process worked from begin to end. That meant mapping out the precise donor journey and figuring out the place alternatives had been being missed or delayed.
To do that, Abe collaborated carefully with the income operations workforce, digging into the mechanics of how matching items flowed into the group. This step was essential—not only for optimizing inner workflows, but in addition for figuring out ache factors that had been impacting each donors and the college’s capacity to safe matching funds.
Right here’s what they uncovered:
When a donor makes a present, a number of issues can occur. Generally, the donor is already conscious of their employer’s matching present program and initiates a request on their very own. In different instances, nevertheless, the donor learns concerning the alternative via 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 usually full a web-based type via their employer’s portal. This kind 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—akin to a corporate social responsibility (or CSR) platform—processes the matching fee. The funds are despatched to the college and recorded within the development system as a matched present.
This course of might sound simple, but it surely entails a number of stakeholders, timing dependencies, and information 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 task in securing the match.
Turning into acquainted with widespread challenges
With a transparent understanding of the matching present course of in hand, the following essential step for the Indiana College Basis was to confront the realities of implementation—particularly, the widespread challenges that may hinder matching present success. Anticipating these hurdles allowed the workforce to construct a extra resilient and responsive technique.
One of many largest challenges? The irregularity of matching present disbursements. Whereas some firms course of matches on a rolling foundation, others might solely concern funds quarterly—and even simply yearly. This inconsistency makes it troublesome to forecast income and might delay when funds truly hit the books.
One other concern is restricted visibility into matching present achievement. Many firms use third-party distributors or CSR platforms (like Benevity, CyberGrants, or YourCause) to course of match funds. Whereas these techniques assist streamline company giving on the employer’s facet, they will create information gaps for nonprofits. Funds might arrive with minimal figuring out info, making it troublesome to hyperlink the match again to the unique donor or present.
Lastly, IUF needed to navigate company-specific restrictions on matching present eligibility. Not all donations are handled equally, with some employers solely matching items made to particular kinds of packages, akin to analysis or pupil help. In the meantime, others explicitly exclude areas like athletics, with such nuances making it troublesome to trace and infrequently leaving donors confused or upset when their items don’t qualify.
Fortunately, by proactively figuring out these widespread challenges, IUF was capable of handle expectations, educate donors extra successfully, and fine-tune inner techniques 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 present program transferring ahead.
Benefiting from employer information
As soon as the IUF had a clearer image of the challenges surrounding matching items, the following step was to optimize the information they already had—particularly, employer info. This required a detailed partnership with the development information workforce to determine tips on how to higher accumulate, handle, and activate that information in ways in which would immediately help matching present efforts.
The primary main enchancment was integrating Double the Donation’s matching gift tool into the college’s web site and donation kinds.
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 present program. With the device embedded immediately on the level of donation, IUF may proactively floor related matching present info in actual time, as an alternative of counting on delayed outreach months later.
However the Basis didn’t cease there. To handle gaps in employer information for present constituents, they started working with a information processing and enrichment firm. By this partnership, they started to append employer info on a daily, month-to-month foundation. This helped be certain that information had been regularly 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 via the cracks.
Establishing an identical present communication plan
With the proper instruments and information in place, the Indiana College Basis turned its consideration to an equally essential part of a profitable matching present technique: communication. The Basis knew that merely having the data wasn’t sufficient. They wanted to make sure it reached the proper individuals on the proper time, in a approach that felt useful relatively than overwhelming.
To perform this, IUF started to weave matching present language into practically each related donor touchpoint. They built-in it throughout their communications ecosystem—from present receipts and e-mail follow-ups to donation kinds and social media adverts.
Every message was crafted with function and readability, pointing donors to the college’s devoted matching gifts page for extra info.
By establishing a complete, multi-channel communication plan, IUF elevated visibility for matching items, strengthened donor training, and considerably improved the chance that eligible supporters would comply with via. 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 techniques, instruments, and techniques in place, IUF knew that ongoing success would hinge on one key issue: measurement. In the event that they couldn’t observe the influence of their efforts, they couldn’t enhance them or exhibit their worth to stakeholders.
To shut that loop, the workforce prioritized constructing a devoted matching present efficiency dashboard. This inner device was designed to observe real-time information and supply a transparent view of progress towards their strategic objectives.
The dashboard centered on a few core metrics:
- Complete matching present income — to measure the general monetary influence
- Variety of matching items 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 may clearly see which initiatives had been working and the place there was room to develop. Simply as importantly, they had been capable of tie these insights again to their unique objectives. Rising donor consciousness, bettering information high quality, and maximizing matching present income.
Wrapping up & webinar replay
Matching items signify a serious alternative for universities—however solely when you have the proper 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 items from a passive afterthought into a robust fundraising engine. Begin small, keep constant, and watch your influence multiply.
