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Our Recommendations in the Matching Gifts Automated Outreach

This article walks through Double the Donation's recommended approach for the matching gifts automated outreach and highlights a case study on email conversion rates.

 

Double the Donation’s automated outreach helps donors:

  • Identify their employer

  • Learn if they qualify for matching gifts

  • Receive the correct submission form and employer guidelines

  • Be reminded to submit their matching gift request

You can customize messaging, timing, email appearance, and the number of emails sent for each stream.

Enabling Email Streams

There are two automated email streams in Double the Donation Matching:

Match Eligible

This stream contacts donors who have been identified as working for an employer with a matching gift program.

 

Double the Donation Recommendation

  • ✓ Enable the Match Eligible stream

  • ✓ Send at least 2 of the 3 emails in this stream

 

Why?

  • These donors are the highest-likelihood segment, so this is the #1 revenue-driving email stream.

Identification in Progress

 

This stream contacts donors whose employer is not yet identified.

 

Double the Donation Recommendation

 

  • ✓ Enable the Identification in Progress stream

  • ✓ Send at least 1 of the 2 emails

 

 

Why?

  • This group includes a large population of potentially match-eligible donors who simply haven’t identified their employer yet.

 

For more information on understanding automated email streams, view this article. 

Sending Time of Emails

Match Eligible

Double the Donation recommends sending the three Match Eligible emails at:

  1. Initial email: 0 hours

Screenshot 8-8-2022 at 05.37 PM

  1. Follow-up email: 72 hours
  1. Final email: 720 hours

 

 
We recommend enabling AT LEAST 2 out of 3 emails in the Match Eligible stream.
 
In a study of Doube the Donation clients, it was found that activating the second email in the Match Eligible stream resulted in a 48% increase in matches initiated by donors (compared to sending 0 emails).

Identification in Progress

Only two emails exist in this stream. Our recommended sending time is the following:
  • Initial email: 0 hours

Screenshot 8-8-2022 at 05.37 PM

  • Follow-up email: 192 hours
Screenshot 8-8-2022 at 05.38 PM

 

 

We recommend enabling AT LEAST 1 out of 2 emails in the Identification in Progress stream.

 

In a study of Double the Donation clients, it was found that activating the second email in the Identification in Progress stream resulted in at least a 40% increase in matches initiated by donors (compared to sending 0 emails).

Customizing Emails

You can edit the following: 

  1. The sending time

  2. The subject of the email

  3. The body of the emails

  4. Include email template variables within the body of the emails

 

We recommend including the following items in all of the emails: 

  1. Your organization's logo

  2. Header image

  3. The following variables in the match-eligible email stream: 

    1. {{form_available_link}}

    2. {{indicate_match_submitted_link}}

    3. {{matched_company_info}}

    4. {{matched_company_name}}

    5. {{indicate_ineligible_link}}

  4. The following variables in the identification in progress email stream: 

    1. {{plugin_link}}

    2. {{indicate_match_submitted_link}}

    3. {{indicate_ineligible_link}}

For more information on what the email template variables mean, view this article. 

 

We've configured the email streams to be turned on right away. Often organizations may edit the introduction of the email and the signature but keep all the variables within the original email template as they are very important. 

Case Study: Email Conversion Rates

Many organizations are sensitive to sending too many emails to their donors. We understand! The best practices outlined in this article have been proven to increase matching gift revenue -- just take a look at the email conversion rates discovered through a recent study of Double the Donation accounts. This data was generated from a sample of 628 active accounts. These accounts had plenty of recent donations, various degrees of email appearance and sending customization, and other indicators of generally healthy accounts. We hope the statistics presented below help your organization make an informed, revenue-generating decision.
 

Match Eligible automated outreach stream

In the table below, you can see the impact of sending 1 email, 2 emails, and 3 emails in the Match Eligible email stream (excluding donations that never received any emails at all). In each row, see how accounts with different numbers of emails sent performed, and compare the rows to each other using the last column in the table.
 
# of Match Eligible emails enabled Total % of eligible donations submitted for matching Impact of the final email vs accounts with 1 fewer email sent
1 email 31% of eligible gifts submitted for matching N/A
2 emails 45% of eligible gifts submitted for matching

45% more matching gift requests submitted than accounts with 1 email

18% of remaining match-eligible donors submitted their matches after receiving the 2nd email
3 emails 49% of eligible gifts submitted for matching

58% more matching gift requests submitted than accounts with 2 emails

5% of remaining match-eligible donors submitted their matches after receiving the 3rd email
 

Key Takeaway

  • Every additional email increases submitted matches.
  • The second and last emails produce the largest incremental lift.
 

Identification in Progress automated outreach stream

In the table below, you can see the impact of sending 1 email and 2 emails in the Identification in Progress email stream. In each row, see how accounts with different numbers of emails sent performed, and compare the rows to each other using the last column in the table.
 
# of Identification in Progress emails enabled % more requests submitted than accounts with 0 emails
1 email 40% more matching gift requests submitted than accounts with 0 emails
2 emails 67% more matching gift requests submitted than accounts with 0 emails

 

Takeaway: Each additional email enabled by the organization increased matching gift revenue!

FAQ

Q: Should I enable my emails before or after my donation platform, CRM, or data import file has been integrated with Double the Donation Matching?

A: You should enable your emails before you integrate your donation platform, CRM, or data import file with the matching module. The reason is that this will prevent any donation records from missing an automated email. 

 

Q: I've integrated my platform with Double the Donation Matching, but my emails weren't turned on. Can I enable my emails now and have the automated emails be sent to donation records retroactively? 

A: No. Automated emails are not sent retroactively. Send manual outreach to donors who missed automated messages. For more information on sending manual emails, view this article. 

Training Videos: Automated Outreach