In today’s digital age, online advocacy plays a pivotal role in mobilizing support, driving donations, and raising awareness for charitable causes. One powerful tool that can significantly enhance online advocacy efforts and scale up fundraising is matching gifts.
As a form of corporate philanthropy, matching gift programs empower organizations to amplify their advocacy campaigns, engage more supporters, and increase their fundraising impact.
Interested in boosting online advocacy efforts for your cause? We’ll walk through five easy ways matching gifts can help here. These include:
- Increasing Fundraising Impact
- Collecting Employment Information
- Uncovering Other Corporate Giving Opportunities
- Boosting Cause Engagement
- Building Long-Term Donor Relationships
Ready to drive greater success in advocating for your cause—and encouraging your supporters to do the same—with matching gifts? Let’s get started with the first benefit.
1. Increasing Fundraising Impact
Online advocacy and nonprofit fundraising often go hand in hand, and matching gifts can be one of the best ways to increase fundraising impact without asking your donors to give more. After all, matching gifts effectively double (or sometimes even triple) the value of individual donations, significantly increasing the overall fundraising impact.
A recent study from Double the Donation even indicates that mentioning matching gifts in fundraising appeals increases the response rate by 71% and the average donation amount by 51%.
By promoting matching gift opportunities in your advocacy efforts and other donation appeals, nonprofits can encourage more donors to contribute, knowing that their impact will be maximized through their employer's matching program. This leads to higher total donations and a stronger financial foundation for advocacy campaigns.
2. Collecting Employment Information
The more you know about your supporters, the better you involve them in your advocacy efforts. Fortunately, when promoting matching gifts, nonprofits often solicit employment information from donors, supplementing their donor databases with invaluable employment insights.
This data is essential for identifying donors whose employers offer matching gift programs and can be used for targeted outreach and follow-up communication, ensuring no matching gift opportunities are missed. By collecting and analyzing this information, nonprofits can better understand their donor base, identify corporate partners, and create more personalized and effective advocacy campaigns.
3. Uncovering Other Corporate Giving Opportunities
Matching gifts are not the only form of corporate philanthropy your organization can benefit from. In fact, they can often serve as a gateway to uncovering additional corporate giving opportunities, such as volunteer grants, payroll giving, event sponsorships, and more.
As donors submit their matching gifts, nonprofits can even use their support as a talking point in a pitch to the employer regarding additional partnership opportunities. This expanded engagement can lead to more robust corporate partnerships and increased support, further enhancing the nonprofit’s online advocacy.
4. Boosting Cause Engagement
Driving awareness and visibility is a key component of online advocacy, and matching gifts can help boost engagement accordingly. By taking a proactive marketing approach and promoting matching gift opportunities on social media, in donor communications, and other supporter-facing avenues, you can create a buzz around your campaign, encourage sharing, and reach a wider audience.
In the end, supporters are more likely to give—and to share your campaign with their networks—when they know their contributions will be matched, therefore increasing the visibility and reach of your advocacy efforts.
5. Building Long-Term Donor Relationships
Promoting matching gifts as part of online advocacy not only increases immediate fundraising but also helps build long-term relationships with donors. Why? Donors who participate in matching gift programs are more likely to feel a deeper connection to the cause, as their contributions are maximized and acknowledged.
This sense of involvement and greater impact can lead to higher donor (and matching gift) retention rates, more frequent donations, and increased advocacy on behalf of the organization over time, ensuring sustained support for the cause.
Incorporating matching gifts into your online advocacy strategy is a powerful way to amplify your efforts, engage more supporters, and increase your fundraising impact.
As you plan your next online advocacy initiative, consider how matching gifts can play a pivotal role in helping you achieve your goals and drive meaningful change for your cause—while improving the donor journey. Good luck!
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