Are You Using a Matching Gift Program?

Matching gift programs offer a way for companies to support the charitable giving of their employees by matching the donations they make to nonprofits. If you aren’t utilizing a matching gift program, you could be passing up easy money!

How Does it Work?

There are multiple services that provide donors with a way to look up their employer in a database to see if they offer matching donations. Donors enter their company’s name, locate it on a list, and enter their donation information on an online or printable form that they send to their employer. When the employer verifies the donation, they can then submit a matching gift to the organization.

Some of these services are even embeddable on donation forms and/or easily shared via email receipts. For example, Double the Donation has a widget that can be embedded on websites, donation forms, and other relevant web pages.

You can even embed the Double the Donation widget on your Qgiv donation form’s confirmation page, or on the receipt page for a peer-to-peer form! You’ll need to be logged in to your Qgiv account to read the article.

Is it Worth it?

Of course! Receiving two donations instead of one, with no extra work, is a nonprofit’s dream come true! Companies may set a minimum and maximum on their match amounts, but it’s still a no-strings-attached donation.

Many nonprofits receive offers from companies pledging a large donation at the end of the year as a match to general donations during the year. If you’ve received such a pledge, you can encourage donors to potentially TRIPLE their impact by getting their employer to match their donations during the year’s campaigns. The African Wildlife fund used social media to spread the word about their end-of-year matching deadline!

Check out Double the Donation more information on setting up a service that makes matching gifts easier for your donors:

Even if you don’t use a service, it’s worthwhile to include a note on your donation form or in your receipt asking donors to check to see if their employer will match their donation.