As a fundraising chief, you could have put quite a lot of thought into easy methods to market matching items earlier than and in the course of the donation course of. That’s nice—doing so lays a stable basis and begins growing consciousness in regards to the alternative. To not point out, it permits your staff to gather much-needed knowledge factors concerning your donors’ using firms.
However for the donor, clicking submit or mailing a test typically looks like the ultimate step. And for that reason alone, many eligible matches go unclaimed—thus, leading to accessible funds being left on the desk.
The answer? Strategic follow-ups post-donation.
Getting in contact with donors after they full their items means that you can remind people of matching present packages at hand and encourage them to take the subsequent steps to submit their matching donation requests. Plus, it supplies a novel alternative to retain your group and its function on the forefront of supporters’ minds, reiterate your mission and imaginative and prescient and spotlight key alternatives for furthering engagement.
And on this information, we’ll share eight of the perfect methods to take action. These embrace the next:
- Educate your workers.
- Share tips on the affirmation web page.
- Hyperlink to request varieties and subsequent steps.
- Allow auto-submission performance.
- Ship a follow-up electronic mail.
- Decide up the cellphone.
- Make the most of snail mail.
- Incorporate SMS outreach.
Don’t let your group’s matching present alternatives fall by the cracks! Incorporating these follow-up strategies permits your staff to drive extra company matches to completion, finally making certain you get the most important bang on your fundraising buck.
1. Educate your workers.
One of many first issues you are able to do to simply increase your match submission charges amongst donors entails trying inward. In different phrases, make it possible for, in relation to matching items, your group is cultivating a educated workers.
On the very least, each worker ought to perceive:
When your staff is supplied with a stable basis of matching present data and feels assured explaining the method, advantages, and extra, you possibly can work collectively to create an outreach technique that’s particular to your donor base. And don’t overlook about volunteers, both!
We advocate internet hosting devoted inside coaching classes to cowl all the above data, offering in-depth assets for studying extra, and incorporating matching present data in team-wide onboarding going ahead.
2. Share tips on the affirmation web page.
Instantly following the donation course of, many donors’ engagement ranges stay excessive. That stated, a nonprofit’s affirmation web page or thank-you display generally is a invaluable useful resource for selling actionable subsequent steps. On this case, it’s among the best alternatives to start actively encouraging people to submit their matching items.
When communicated successfully, match data on the affirmation display could be positioned as a logical extension of the giving expertise. And while you’ve collected employment data throughout the donation type, you should utilize the chance to supply company-specific eligibility standards.
When accessible, this could embrace minimal and most match thresholds, company donation ratios, qualifying workers and nonprofits, submission deadlines, and extra.
When accessible, this could embrace:
- Minimal and most match thresholds (on common, between $34 and $3,728);
- Company donation ratios (most usually 1:1, although some firms go decrease, akin to .5:1, or larger, akin to 2, 3, and even 4:1);
- Qualifying workers (full-time, part-time, retired, spouses);
- Qualifying nonprofit mission varieties (schooling, group service, spiritual, and so forth.);
- Submission deadlines (# of months post-donation, finish of the calendar yr, finish of calendar yr plus a grace interval);
- And extra.
3. Hyperlink to request varieties and subsequent steps.
Every firm that provides an identical present program is ready to set up its personal submission course of. These usually vary from paper varieties to on-line request portals. Nevertheless, not all employers take a proactive method to speaking the method to their workers. And lots of donors could be overwhelmed by a scarcity of path—even when the expertise itself is fast and straightforward.
Thus, you don’t need your donors to need to do a ton of analysis on their very own to find out easy methods to submit their matching present. If that’s the case, they’re considerably extra more likely to abandon their potential match altogether.
With the intention to streamline the expertise on your donors, offering direct hyperlinks to the varieties they want can go a good distance. And if that data is unavailable, sharing contact data for an individual or staff on the firm to succeed in out to could be useful as nicely.
4. Allow auto-submission performance.
It is sensible that the better it’s for a donor to take the steps required to submit a match request, the extra seemingly they’re to comply with by. That’s why Double the Donation has labored to streamline and information donors by the method for years.
Now, the corporate has developed a fair less complicated manner for nonprofit donors to submit match requests: matching present auto-submission.
For firms that supply this performance, workers can request their matches immediately from the affirmation screens of their favourite nonprofits. All they often need to do is enter their company electronic mail tackle (or one other piece of figuring out data). From there, they merely click on to authorize Double the Donation to submit a match routinely on their behalf.
Auto-submission requires no redirects, and there’s no want to supply repetitive nonprofit and donation particulars inside a separate portal. Ultimately, it really works to take away roadblocks and drive extra matches to completion.
Even higher? Nonprofits trying to leverage this breakthrough providing can accomplish that with ease—it comes routinely with a 360MatchPro subscription!
5. Ship a follow-up electronic mail.
Seeking to re-engage your donors after they go away your donation web page? Ship a fast electronic mail that particularly asks them to comply with up and submit their matching present requests.
Make sure that to include an evidence of matching items and the advantages they will carry to your group. Plus, reveal the simplicity with which a donor can full their request by strolling them by the method.
Prime tip — Ship your follow-up electronic mail inside 24 hours of receiving a person donation as a way to retain giving momentum. Matching present emails despatched inside this time-frame see a 53% open charge, which is greater than 2-3 instances larger than the typical nonprofit open charge!
Right here’s a pattern:
“Expensive Jody, thanks on your beneficiant donation to the Cat Rescue Membership. Do you know that your employer, Dwelling Depot, will match your present of $100 to our group?
Matching items allow us to help twice as many furry pals. And it’s fast and straightforward so that you can full your match. Click on right here to log into your organization’s matching present request portal and submit your request.”
Even higher, use Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro platform to set off customized outreach to donors. When people contribute to your trigger, they’re routinely triaged by match eligibility. Thus, they’re despatched a focused electronic mail that includes employer-specific program data. This usually consists of the corporate’s minimal and most donation quantities, match ratios, and direct hyperlinks to on-line varieties.
To not point out, emails could be despatched out of your group’s area and branded to match your colours, fonts, and general types. And while you leverage automation, you possibly can guarantee every donor receives well timed and actionable follow-ups. No extra worries about potential matches slipping by the cracks, and it’s much less legwork on your staff to deal with!
6. Decide up the cellphone.
To make your efforts actually stand out, contemplate sorting by current donations and figuring out your high contributors. Then, name these donors to thank them for his or her items and encourage them to submit their matching present requests.
Many donors could be glad to help your group on this manner, and taking the time to make a cellphone name demonstrates the significance of donation matches to your staff.
Lack of donor consciousness is likely one of the greatest hurdles to growing matching present income. In case you’re in a position to briefly stroll a donor by the method and supply them with the knowledge they want, they’ll be extra more likely to full their finish of the matching present request.
Be at liberty to make use of this pattern cellphone script as a jumping-off level on your efforts: “Hello Jeff! It’s Anita from the Cat Rescue Membership. We simply needed to name and allow you to know that we’re so appreciative of your beneficiant help for our mission. Due to you, we’re in a position to feed and look after greater than 100 furry pals whereas they wait for his or her eternally properties.
Do you know that tens of hundreds of firms provide company matching present packages the place they comply with match worker donations to their favourite charitable causes? Our data point out that your current donation of $1,000 is probably going eligible for a match out of your employer, Apple! All it takes is to fill out a quick on-line type, which we are able to ship on to your electronic mail tackle on file for simple entry.
Would you be keen to double your affect on our trigger by submitting an identical donation request to your employer? Thanks once more!”
7. Make the most of snail mail.
Good old style postage continues to be an effective way to the touch base along with your donors! Bodily mailers can work as impactful calls to motion that encourage donors to submit their matching present requests.
This may embrace:
- Letters (handwritten or printed)
- Postcards
- Unsolicited mail inserts
- Thank-you notes
- Return envelopes
Many firms have very beneficiant matching present request submission deadlines. The truth is, this window is commonly open between three months and over a yr. This offers donors loads of time to get their donations doubled—even when leveraging so-called snail mail to advertise the chance.
And by sending tangible follow-ups to your supporters’ mailboxes (seemingly in tangent with different outreach as nicely), it will probably assist your staff break by the ever-increasing digital litter. With the intention to preserve your prices down, contemplate reserving unsolicited mail advertising on your highest-value matching present alternatives.
8. Incorporate SMS outreach.
Cellular outreach is changing into an more and more common methodology of communication for nonprofit fundraising. Contemplate incorporating this channel into your group’s technique as nicely. It’s an effective way to succeed in your donors precisely the place they’re—wherever they’re.
The truth is, current research point out that textual content message advertising boasts open charges of as much as 98%, in comparison with solely 20% open charges for emails. Folks are inclined to all the time have their cell telephones on them, making SMS an efficient outreach methodology, notably for the on-the-go donor.
For the perfect outcomes, matching present textual content messaging ought to be quick, candy, and to the purpose—as in comparison with a follow-up electronic mail which will incorporate longer blocks of textual content. Inform or remind donors about matching present alternatives and supply direct hyperlinks to further assets and subsequent steps.
Involved in streamlining and elevating your textual content messaging efforts? At present, automated matching present textual content streams can be found for 360MatchPro Enterprise shoppers to utilize!
Subsequent Steps
The best technique to encourage donors to submit their matching present requests is to say matching items as typically as potential. Embrace company matching data in your acknowledgment letters, emails, textual content messages, and extra. You’ll be able to even combine a extra generalized method by leveraging your web site, social media posts, and common newsletters, too.
The underside line is that the extra your donors hear about matching present alternatives (and the widespread advantages which can be concerned), the extra seemingly they’re to participate when the time comes. And the extra customized your outreach, the higher!
Able to study extra? Dive into our different academic assets on matching present suggestions and greatest practices:
