Understanding the Automated Email Streams

This article explains how each of the automated email streams work and how to configure each stream.

Email Streams Overview

Automated email process: How do donations flow into each email stream?

Email Configuration

Enable/Disable Emails
Sending Time of Emails
Subject Line
Customize email body text
Additional Email Sending Functionality

Individual Email Stream Walkthroughs

Match Eligible

Match Eligible Emails Overview

Form Available

No Form Available

Unknown Company

Unknown Company Emails Overview

Ineligible [legacy]

Thank You

Thank You Email Overview

End-of-Year

Unknown Company End-of-Year Email Overview

Match Eligible End-of-Year Email Overview

FAQs:

Training Video: Automated Outreach

Email Streams Overview

1. Match Eligible: The donor has identified that they are match eligible.
2. Unknown Company: The donor hasn't identified where they work and often uses a personal email address.
3. Ineligible [legacy]: The donor has selected a company likely not matching gift eligible based on our database. 

1. If you have Double the Donation integrated with your donation form, they have the opportunity to search for their company and see if a matching gift program is available. 

1. 84% of donors say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered.

2. 1 in 3 donors indicated they’d give a larger gift if matching is applied to their donation. 

Step 2: Donation flows into the matching module and is categorized as either Match Eligible, Unknown Company, or Ineligible.  

1. If the donor selected a company with a matching gifts program on the donation form, OR if the donor gave using a work email address that matches a matching company in our database, they are Match Eligible. 

2. If the donor did not select a company and gave using a personal email address, their donation will be in the Unknown Company status.

3. If a donor selects a company that does not have a matching gifts program, they are Ineligible. 

Step 3: The donor receives an initial automated, personalized email based on their status.  

1. Match Eligible donors are prompted to submit their employer match request with a link to the exact portal where they can log in to submit the request form. 

2. Unknown Company donors are prompted to search for their company on your dedicated matching gifts page.

1. Employing multiple approaches to identify match-eligible donors results in 77% more identified match-eligible donations.

Step 4: Donor receives an automated, personalized thank you email based on actions they take.

1. If your organization has configured the thank you stream, when a donor has submitted their matching gift request, the donor could receive up to 4 emails thanking them and suggesting additional actions. Learn more in the Thank You stream walkthrough below.

2. Sometimes, companies require additional materials or actions from your organization or your donors to complete the matching gift process. Once a donor has started the matching gift process, they might need another nudge to complete it. The Thank You stream is optimized to move donors through any required post-submission steps as well as to thank them for their support of your organization.

3. Thank you emails specific to matching gift request submission are proven to encourage donors to submit future gifts for matching as well.

1. Sending matching gift reminder emails within 24 hours of a donation results in a 53% open rate, which is 2-3 times higher than the average nonprofit email open rate.
1. This is a more effective and efficient way to reach out to raise your donors’ awareness of matching gift programs than following up manually. 
2. Leveraging the automation of the matching module can double or triple an organization’s matching gift revenue over time. View this article to learn more.

Email Configuration

For each email in any stream, you can do the following: 

1. Enable/Disable Emails
2. Change the sending time of the emails
3. Change the subject line 
4. Customize the body text of the emails

Enable/Disable Emails

You can enable and disable emails by clicking on the toggle button at the top of each email. 

 

Sending Time of Emails

You can change the sending time of any email. The sending time is always based on when the donation record enters the matching module. 

 

Subject Line

You can edit the subject line of the email by changing the wording. You can also add certain email variables to the subject line, such as {{donor_first_name}}.

 

Remember to click the Save button for any changes you make to apply.

 

Customize email body text

You can edit the text in the body of any email. Make sure to keep the dynamic variables in the brackets within the templates as you edit so that the emails have the proper data and links within the messages. Remember to click the Save button for any changes you make to apply.

Additional Email Sending Functionality

1. The email is scheduled at X time when the donation is made. This time cannot be changed after the fact. For example, if the setting says to send the first Eligible stream email 1 hour after the donation is entered, then changing that value to 2 hours will not change the time - it will still be sent 1 hour after the donation.

2. The text of the body is generated at the time of delivery, so changes can be made until the email is sent out.

3. The stream can be turned on or off before the time of delivery. At the time of delivery, if the stream is off, then the email will not be sent.

Individual Email Stream Walkthroughs

The following sections provide a detailed walkthrough of the available matching module automated email streams.

Match Eligible

There are up to 3 emails that can be sent to Match Eligible donors, which are the following:

1. Initial email

2. Follow up email

3. Final email

Match Eligible Emails Overview

Many donors are excited to learn that their employer has a matching gift program. You can let them know how easy it is to submit a matching gift request and how much more good a matching gift can do for your organization. View the example below:

Then, the matching module email will provide donors a link directly to their employer's online matching gift portal based on the matching gift information from our database. 

When the donor clicks on the "Click Here" button next to "Step 1: Click here to start the matching gift submission process!" they are taken to the employer's online portal where they can quickly submit their matching gift request. 

When the donor clicks on the second "Click here" button next to "Step 2: I've submitted my matching gift request," they are directed to a default thank you page. Below is a snippet of the page. 

Note that the default thank you page varies slightly depending on the information the matching module knows about the donation. For example, if a donor gives and searches for a matching gift company in our database with no matching gift form and indicates they submitted their match, the thank you page will ask the donor to share a copy of their form or guidelines with us so we can update our database.

If you would not like to use this default thank you page, you can redirect donors to a thank you page on your organization's site. 

1. Matching gift online form
2. Matching gift guidelines
3. Minimum and Maximum that is matched
4. Match Ratio
5. Type of employee that is eligible to submit a matching gift request
6. Type of nonprofit organization that is eligible to receive a matching gift 
7. Information about the submission process
8. Volunteer grant information, if applicable 

No Form Available

If there is no online form available for that company with a matching gift request or volunteer grant program, the donor will receive an overview of the matching gift/volunteer grant program that includes:

1. Matching gift PDF form (when available)

2. Matching gift guidelines

3. Minimum and Maximum that is matched

4. Match Ratio

5. Type of employee that is eligible to submit a matching gift request

6. Type of nonprofit organization that is eligible to receive a matching gift 

7. Information about the submission process

8. Volunteer grant information, if applicable 

Unknown Company

The unknown company email stream is for donors who have not identified where they work. Within this email, you will direct donors to your matching gift page so they can use Double the Donation's matching gift search tool to instantly find out if their employer has a matching gift program or volunteer grant program. 

The email then directs donors to check to see if their company will match their donation. By default, the matching module directs donors to the hosted matching gift page on Double the Donation's website. 

 

When the donor clicks on the first "Click Here" button next to "Step 1: Check if my company will match my donation!" it will direct the donor to a matching gift page. When your account is set up before a matching gifts page from your website is added, donors are taken to a hosted default page like the one below. 

When the donor clicks on the second "Click here" button next to "Step 2: I've submitted my matching gift request," they are directed to the default thank you page.  If you would not like to use this default thank you page, you can redirect donors to a thank you page on your organization's site.

Click here to learn more about email redirect page options in the matching module.

 

Finally, if a donor isn't eligible for a matching gift, they can report this to your organization by clicking the red link within the email that says "My donation is not eligible for a matching gift": 

 

 

If the donor clicks on the red link identifying that they are ineligible for a match, their donation status updates to Ineligible and they will be placed on the blocklist for 180 days and won't receive emails within that period.

 

View this article to learn more about what happens when a donor clicks the Ineligible link. 

Ineligible [legacy]

Thank You

There are up to 4 emails that can be sent to donors who we believe have submitted their matching gift request.

 

Notes on scheduling:

1. Emails will be scheduled 30 minutes after the donation enters the status indicated in the title of the email. This delay is intended to leave room to correct mistakes before emails are sent. Once the 30-minute delay has passed, the sending delay you configure on the email itself will go into effect. For example: If you set the sending delay to 1 hour, the email will be sent 1.5 hours after the donation enters the indicated status.

2. If the donor moves out of a status before the status email is sent, they do not receive the email. Instead, they are put in the queue for the next status email.

Thank You Emails Overview

Thank you emails are triggered by a status change. 

 

The following 2 emails are triggered by the Match Initiated - Donor Verified status. This is an automated status in the matching module. Learn more about donor statuses here.

 

Initial email:

 

Follow-up email:

 

If your organization uses the manual status in the matching module, donors could also receive the following thank you emails. Learn more about manually updating donor statuses here.

 

Pending Payment status:

 

Match Complete status: 

End-of-Year

There are two end-of-year emails can be sent to donors that fulfill the criteria below: 

1. For the Unknown Company End-of-Year stream, the donor eligibility is unknown and the donor must have made at least one donation of $100 or more.

2. For the Match Eligible End-of-Year stream, the donor is match eligible but they have not identified that they have submitted a matching gift request.

3. The donation was made between January 1st and November 30th of the current year. 

 

During the month of December, the end-of-year email stream is your organization's end-of-year reminder to donors about submitting their matching gift requests. 

Unknown Company End-of-Year Email Overview

The unknown company end-of-year email stream is for donors who have not identified where they work. Within this email, you will direct donors to your matching gift page so they can use Double the Donation's matching gift search tool to instantly find out if their employer has a matching gift program or volunteer grant program. This email can be sent to donors who meet the following criteria:

1. The donor eligibility is unknown.
2. They have made at least one donation of $100 or more.
3. The donation was made between January 1st and November 30th of the current year.

 

Match Eligible End-of-Year Email Overview

The match-eligible end-of-year email stream is for donors who have been identified as working for a matching gift company. Within this email, the matching module will provide donors a link directly to their employer's online matching gift portal based on the matching gift information from our database. This email can be sent to donors who meet the following criteria:

1. The donor is match-eligible. We know where they work, and we know their company offers a matching gift program.
2. The donor has not indicated that they have submitted their matching gift.
3. The donation was made between January 1st and November 30th of the current year.

 

 

View this article to learn more about the End-of-Year email stream. 

FAQs:

Q: Will the automated emails be sent to donors who entered my Double the Donation account before the automated email streams were enabled? 

A: No, the automated emails will only be sent to donors who enter your account after the automated email streams are enabled. If you would like to send emails to donors who entered your account before the automated emails were enabled, you can do so using manual email outreach. View this article to learn more. 

Training Video: Automated Outreach