Leveraging Matching Gifts Programs to Boost Donor Retention

Employer matching gifts offer key advantages to nonprofit organizations, including increased individual donations, opportunities for additional corporate funding, improved supporter engagement, and more.

If you’re wondering if corporate matching gifts can boost donor retention levels, the answer is yes. Matching gifts and donor retention share a positive correlation, with each variable increasing alongside the other.

In this article, we’ll help you understand how to make this magic relationship work for you. To start, let’s dive into the key building blocks of success:

• The Basics of Matching Gifts
• What to Know About Donor Retention
• The Correlation Between Matching Gifts and Retention Rates
• Matching Gifts and Donor Retention Statistics

Matching gift programs are a win-win-win for the nonprofits, companies, and donors involved. Nonprofits receive additional support, companies better engage with employees while improving their reputation among consumers, and donors can see their dollars stretched twice as far.

The Basics of Matching Gifts

Employer matching gift programs are a unique form of corporate philanthropy in which companies financially match the donations their employees make to eligible nonprofit causes.

This typically occurs at a 1:1 (or dollar-for-dollar) rate, meaning when an employee makes a $100 donation, the company would make a $100 matching donation. Ultimately, this would result in a $200 (or doubled) donation value for the nonprofit. Some businesses choose to match at even higher levels, such as 2:1 or 3:1. In these cases, individual donations are tripled or even quadrupled.

Though the specifics can vary from company to company (and nonprofit to nonprofit), here’s how the matching gift fundraising process typically works:

1. A donor makes an initial donation to a nonprofit organization.
2. The donor is encouraged to look into whether their employer offers a matching gift program in one of three ways:
   • By contacting the company
   • Looking into provided office policies
   • Searching an online employer database

3. If eligible, the donor submits a matching gift request to their employer to provide proof of the initial donation. Most often this is a short online process, though some companies use paper forms.
4. The employer reviews the request and ensures the donation meets their matching gift criteria (minimum and maximum amounts, types of eligible employees and nonprofit causes, submission deadlines, etc.)
5. If the match meets the employer’s guidelines, the request is approved, and funding is disbursed, providing the nonprofit with its bonus donation match.

Matching gift programs tend to be more prominent than nonprofits and donors might think. In fact, matching gifts are offered by tens of thousands of businesses that employ more than 26 million individuals, and approximately $2 billion to $3 billion is donated through these types of matching gift programs on an annual basis. 

What to Know About Donor Retention

Donor retention is the measure of the rate of donors who continuously give to a nonprofit organization beyond their initial contributions. There are multiple reasons nonprofits should always be aiming for high levels of retention, not the least of which is that it’s significantly more cost-effective over time to retain than to acquire donors.

An organization’s retention rate is typically determined year over year. The figure is calculated as the number of returning donors (those who give again following their first gift) divided by the total number of donors having given the previous year.

Organizations looking to increase their retention rates should prioritize effective communication with personalization, segmentation, and interactivity⁠—all while emphasizing the impact of fundraising on the cause.

The Correlation Between Matching Gifts and Retention Rates

Research from Double the Donation shows that corporate matching gift programs and donor retention levels share a positive correlation⁠—when one increases, the other follows suit. Here’s what experts say about why this works:

Matching Gifts Offer an Additional Donor Touchpoint

To drive repeat donations, you want to keep your nonprofit and its cause at the top of donors’ minds for as long as possible. The more individuals think about your organization, the more engaged they’re likely to be in the future. Highlighting matching gift opportunities lets you provide an additional touchpoint that reminds supporters about your organization. For context, many experts recommend a seven-touch approach to optimize donor relations⁠.

Matching Gifts Increase Individual Donation Impact

Donors love giving to organizations that they can see are using their dollars to make a real impact on causes they care about. Matching gifts allow individuals to stretch their support even further, which helps solidify positive associations with the organization. This makes them more willing to give again in the future.

Matching Gift Efforts Demonstrate Good Stewardship of Donor Dollars

Donors want to know that an organization puts as much of its fundraising revenue to work as possible to benefit the causes it supports. With matching gifts, donors can see their favorite nonprofits displaying strategic stewardship of their funds (by increasing corporate giving), which allows more revenue to go directly toward the mission.

The bottom line: the better donors feel about the impact their initial contributions make, the more likely they are to continue giving. Matching gifts enable nonprofit supporters to contribute more, resulting in higher rates of donor retention over time.

Want to dig deeper? Here are proven methods to ensure that matching gift efforts help improve donor retention rates.

Matching Gifts and Donor Retention Statistics

It’s important to understand what nonprofits like yours can expect in terms of both matching gift fundraising and donor retention rates.

Retention Can Be a Challenge

In an analysis of nonprofit giving, Blackbaud found that only 29% of offline donors are retained over the first year, compared to a meager 25% of first-time online givers who are retained during their first year. However, the retention level jumps to approximately 60% for donors retained annually on a multiyear level.

Because a large majority of donors do not end up giving a second time to the organizations they engage with a single time, fundraisers should be on the lookout for new ways to preserve donor relationships beyond the initial gift.

Matching Gifts Inspire More Giving

Double the Donation found that 84% of survey respondents reported that they’d be more likely to donate if their employer offered a matching gift. It’s interesting to note that simply highlighting matching gifts in fundraising appeals results in a 71% increase in response rate.

So, what does that have to do with retention? Promoting matching gift opportunities substantially increases the likelihood of a donation being made⁠. If you’re vying for repeat gifts, add corporate matching gift initiatives to your fundraising efforts. You’ll be more likely to secure that follow-up gift.

Donors Actually Open Matching Gift Emails

Matching gift fundraising research reports that post-donation matching gift follow-up emails see substantially higher open rates⁠. In fact, the reported 53% open rate for matching gift communications is 2-3 times higher than the average nonprofit email open rate. So, be sure to highlight matching gift information in your messaging strategy to increase engagement and, in the end, drive repeat donations.

Nonprofits looking to increase their retention rates are typically also aiming to establish personal relationships with donors. These relationships are founded upon communication, including digital outreach. They should not be only donation requests, or you will risk forming solely transactional relationships that don’t last.

You want to send messages that donors want to open⁠. Thus, it’s important to incorporate a combination of fundraising asks, support acknowledgments, and matching gift follow-ups.

Best Practices for Driving Retention with Matching Gifts

If you’re looking to increase donor retention by making the most of matching gifts, there are a few things you can do to set your team up for success.

1. Trigger matching gift follow-ups post-donation.

Many donors are unaware of their eligibility for matching gifts⁠—or they simply forget to complete the request process. Fortunately, automating follow-ups after a donation serves as a timely reminder and increases the chances of securing a match.

A well-timed follow-up keeps donors engaged beyond their initial gift, reinforcing their impact and deepening their connection to your cause.

We recommend sending personalized emails immediately after a donation, providing direct links to matching gift submission forms. By making the process a seamless one, nonprofits can drive more completed matches and retain donors who see their contributions being maximized.

2. Encourage donors to share matching gift status updates.

Foster a sense of ownership and accountability by encouraging donors to share the status of their matching gift. When they confirm that they’ve submitted their matching gift requests, donors are more likely to stay engaged with your mission, increasing the likelihood of future contributions. Plus, it provides your team with more visibility into the disbursement process.

Include a dedicated call-to-action in follow-up emails, asking donors to confirm their submission status and let you know when they’ve completed their match.

3. Thank donors when their matches are completed.

Acknowledging a donor’s effort once their matching gift is approved and processed is a crucial step in building loyalty. A simple, heartfelt thank-you reinforces the value of their contribution and encourages future generosity.

Here’s how to make the acknowledgment process most effective:

• Send a personalized thank-you email or handwritten note recognizing both the donor and their employer.
• Highlight the total impact of their gift, showing how the match benefited your cause.
• Feature supporters in donor recognition programs, newsletters, or social media (with permission).

When donors feel appreciated, they’re more inclined to continue supporting your nonprofit and promoting matching gifts within their networks.

Increase Your Impact with Matching Gifts

Matching gifts and donor retention go hand in hand. Effective matching gift fundraising leads to improved supporter relationships, additional opportunities for engagement, and an ability to offer increased impact on nonprofit causes⁠—each of which plays a significant role in repeat giving.

Overall, donors love participating in employer gift-matching programs and, as a result, tend to give more (in both number of gifts and donation size) to organizations that promote matching opportunities. For fundraisers aiming to increase their rates of donor retention, marketing matching gifts can go a long way.