College development groups are at all times in search of methods to extend donor influence and construct stronger relationships with alumni and supporters. One of the efficient—however usually underused—instruments is matching presents. For those who’re in search of methods to revamp your college’s matching present technique, you’ve come to the precise 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 staff optimized its strategy to matching presents—streamlining processes, bettering donor engagement, and maximizing income. As he spoke, we realized that one of many first objects Abe was tasked with, upon starting his new function at IUF in 2022, was to check out their matching present 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 loads of room to develop. And develop they did!
Serious about viewing the total presentation? Try the replay right here. In any other case, let’s stroll via an summary of the steps the staff took to revamp their college’s matching present technique.
Conducting an ROI evaluation
Step one in refining the matching present technique was an intensive return on funding (ROI) evaluation—a vital transfer to higher perceive the present state of matching present participation and determine areas for progress. This evaluation concerned digging into present donor knowledge to judge key metrics equivalent to:
- The full quantity of particular person giving
- How a lot of that giving was being matched by employers
- The completeness and accuracy of employer data within the database
- The match eligibility price amongst identified donors
Two essential 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 had been confirmed to supply matching present packages, many had been not submitting match requests. This revealed a big 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 as a consequence of ignorance, lacking knowledge, or course of gaps. By figuring out these inefficiencies early on, the staff 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 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 targeted, 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 benefiting from their employer’s matching present choices, actually because they didn’t know the packages existed. Considered one of their major objectives grew to become boosting consciousness via focused outreach, donor schooling, and well timed follow-ups.
By embedding matching present messaging all through the giving journey—from donation varieties 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 data was one other main barrier to unlocking matching presents. With out figuring out the place donors labored, it was almost unattainable to determine eligible matches.
So IUF set a second objective: to gather and keep extra correct employment data via strategies like donation kind fields, electronic mail outreach, and knowledge append providers. The extra full their data, the higher they may personalize matching present outreach and comply with up successfully.
3. Enhance whole matching present income.
Finally, all efforts had been tied to a bigger objective: rising matching present 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 influence over time. This objective served as each a measure of success and a motivating benchmark for the complete development staff.
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 might totally execute their matching present 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 had been being missed or delayed.
To do that, Abe collaborated intently with the income operations staff, digging into the mechanics of how matching presents flowed into the group. This step was vital—not only for optimizing inner workflows, but additionally for figuring out ache factors that had been impacting each donors and the college’s capability 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 present program and initiates a request on their very own. In different circumstances, nevertheless, the donor learns in regards to 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 kind via their employer’s portal. This manner 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 present.
This course of might sound simple, but it surely entails 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 task in securing the match.
Turning into accustomed to frequent challenges
With a transparent understanding of the matching present course of in hand, the subsequent vital step for the Indiana College Basis was to confront the realities of implementation—particularly, the frequent challenges that may hinder matching present success. Anticipating these hurdles allowed the staff 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 subject funds quarterly—and even simply yearly. This inconsistency makes it troublesome to forecast income and might delay when funds really hit the books.
One other subject 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 methods assist streamline company giving on the employer’s facet, they’ll create knowledge gaps for nonprofits. Funds might arrive with minimal figuring out data, 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 presents made to particular forms of packages, equivalent 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 disillusioned 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 inner methods 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 shifting ahead.
Benefiting from employer knowledge
As soon as the IUF had a clearer image of the challenges surrounding matching presents, the subsequent step was to optimize the information they already had—particularly, employer data. This required a detailed partnership with the development knowledge staff to determine learn how to higher acquire, handle, and activate that knowledge in ways in which would straight help matching present efforts.
The primary main enchancment was integrating Double the Donation’s matching present instrument into the college’s web site and donation varieties.
This resolution permits donors to simply seek for their employer through the giving course of and immediately uncover in the event that they’re eligible for an identical present program. With the instrument embedded straight on the level of donation, IUF might proactively floor related matching present data in actual time, as a substitute of counting on delayed outreach months later.
However the Basis didn’t cease there. To handle gaps in employer knowledge for present constituents, they started working with a knowledge processing and enrichment firm. By means of this partnership, they started to append employer data on a daily, month-to-month foundation. This helped make sure that data had been regularly up to date with essentially 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 precise instruments and knowledge in place, the Indiana College Basis turned its consideration to an equally vital element 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 precise individuals on the proper time, in a manner that felt useful somewhat than overwhelming.
To perform this, IUF started to weave matching present language into almost each related donor touchpoint. They built-in it throughout their communications ecosystem—from present receipts and electronic mail follow-ups to donation varieties and social media adverts.
Every message was crafted with goal and readability, pointing donors to the college’s devoted matching presents web page for extra data.
By establishing a complete, multi-channel communication plan, IUF elevated visibility for matching presents, strengthened donor schooling, and considerably improved the probability 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 methods, instruments, and methods 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 show their worth to stakeholders.
To shut that loop, the staff prioritized constructing a devoted matching present efficiency dashboard. This inner instrument was designed to watch real-time knowledge and provide a transparent view of progress towards their strategic objectives.
The dashboard targeted on a number of core metrics:
- Whole matching present income — to measure the general monetary influence
- Variety of matching presents acquired — to gauge engagement and donor participation
- Share of eligible donors who submitted matches — to evaluate the effectiveness of outreach and schooling
By evaluating KPIs over time, IUF might 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 authentic objectives. Rising donor consciousness, bettering knowledge high quality, and maximizing matching present income.
Wrapping up & webinar replay
Matching presents characterize a significant alternative for universities—however solely when you have the precise technique in place. Success begins with donor schooling, environment friendly verification workflows, and robust collaboration between development groups and company companions.
By making use of these classes, your college can rework matching presents from a passive afterthought into a robust fundraising engine. Begin small, keep constant, and watch your influence multiply.
