This article walks through the step-by-step process for how matching gifts get submitted, verified, and ultimately disbursed to an organization.
Step 1: The donor makes a donation
Step 2: The donor submits a matching gift request
Step 3: Your nonprofit verifies that the donation was made
Step 4: The company issues the matching gift check
The matching gift submission process can be complicated for donors, nonprofits, and companies. Double the Donation's mission is to help organizations raise more matching gift revenue for their causes by making the entire matching gift submission process easier for all parties. Here are the main steps in the matching gift submission process, where different parties tend to get stuck, and how 360MatchPro by Double the Donation helps unstick them to raise more money for your organization:
Step 1: The donor makes a donation
In many cases, the matching gift journey ends here. Studies show that 78% of donors are unaware if their company offers a matching gift program and what the program entails, and that lack of awareness of matching gift eligibility leads to only 1.31% of individual contributions on average being matched ( these stats and more can be found here!). As such, the first hurdle to jump in the matching gift submission process is the awareness gap. If donors don't know they are eligible for a matching gift, they won't even know that they should begin the submission process.
How 360MatchPro improves this step in the matching gift submission process: At Double the Donation, we build and maintain a database of companies that match employee donations along with forms, guidelines, and instructions. Donors interact with a simple, streamlined search tool during their donation process to help them identify their matching gift eligibility. With matching gift eligibility seamlessly integrated into your donation process, you can close the matching gift awareness gap in your donor base. We make it easy to add this company program search tool to your organization's donation forms with our 80+ built-in, native integrations, which you can browse here.
Step 2: The donor submits a matching gift request
Once a donor knows they're eligible for a matching gift, they now have to take the next step of actually submitting that matching gift request to their employer. Often this is done electronically through an online portal that a company sets up where the donor fills out basic information such as their name, employee ID number, the organization they donated to, and the desired match amount. Other times it's a paper form that the donor fills out with similar information. There's a high degree of variability in company submission processes!
How 360MatchPro improves this step in the matching gift submission process: We know that keeping track of the ever-changing submission processes for thousands of matching gift companies is not possible for your organization. So we keep track of these program requirements instead, then make it easy for donors to find all the required links, guidelines, and forms they need as soon as their gift is complete. Donors can encounter this matching gift messaging both on the confirmation page after completing their donation on an integrated donation form or in automated matching gift emails sent through 360MatchPro.
Step 3: Your nonprofit verifies that the donation was made
- the initial donation was made by the donor who submitted the match request
- your organization meets the eligibility guidelines established by the company program
How 360MatchPro improves this step in the matching gift submission process: In many cases, verification information can be difficult to track down. Companies require specific information that may not be at your team's fingertips. With 360MatchPro, your organization can filter specifically for the donation you're looking for to get all the information needed for verification quickly.
Step 4: The company issues the matching gift check
Each company has its timeline, but once a donor has indicated that they made a donation and the nonprofit has verified the donation, it's only a matter of time before the company issues payment. The payment could come through ACH if your organization has set this up with the company or via check.
How 360MatchPro improves this step in the matching gift submission process: When your organization receives a matching payment from a company, your next step should be to reconcile that information within 360MatchPro. Why should you keep your statuses up to date? Because 360MatchPro includes an automated matching gift thank you email stream to steward donors who have gone the extra mile to get their gift matched! One of the best ways to encourage your donors to continue submitting their matching gift requests is to thank them when they do so. 360MatchPro manages this stewardship process automatically.
Keep in mind that with 360MatchPro auto-submission functionality, workplace-giving providers can update the matching gift status of your records automatically. Learn more about matching gift auto-submission here.