When it comes to securing recurring gifts, there are several common mistakes nonprofits stumble into. From requesting a recurring gift from a donor who already gives monthly to asking them for another recurring donation in a thank you letter, quite a bit can go wrong when asking donors to upgrade their giving!
One under-discussed but still damaging mistake is repeatedly asking donors to increase their gifts when it may not be in their budgets. Of course, there’s no way to keep track of individual supporter’s finances, but your nonprofit should pay attention when repeated requests go unanswered.
Fortunately, there is a solution other than just giving up on increasing your donors’ recurring gifts. Let your supporters know about all the other ways they can give to your nonprofit without spending more.
These three giving options not only increase your nonprofit’s revenue but also give supporters new avenues for interacting with your organization, likely boosting donor retention. Let’s take a look at our first idea.
1. Matching Gifts
Some donors may be able to give twice as much as normal without increasing their spending. This special group of supporters works for employers who offer matching gift programs. These employers will match their employees’ donations, usually at a dollar-per-dollar rate, to qualifying nonprofit organizations.
Essentially, the matching gift process works like this:
- Donors make usual gifts. Matching gifts start with supporters donating like they regularly would. Make sure your donation page is optimized to encourage gifts by being short, branded to your nonprofit, and accessible.
- Donors enter their employment information. Nonprofits that use matching gift software to secure these extra donations will have one major difference on their donation forms or donation confirmation pages: they request the donor’s employer information. Donors can use their work email address when giving to have matching gift information retrieved automatically, or they can use a matching gift database search tool to look up their employer. Some donation systems will be able to send a reminder after the gift asking the donor to consider a matching gift, so check your options.
- Donors are paired with matching gift information. Whichever approach a donor chooses in the prior step, they’ll be given their employer’s matching gift guidelines. With this information, they can check if they qualify for a match, the maximum and minimum amounts their employer will match, and what types of nonprofits are eligible for a matching gift.
- Donors fill out a match application with their employer. Once donors confirm their eligibility, they must fill out a matching gift application form for their employer. This form usually requests information like the donation amount, the date the gift was made, and the nonprofit’s tax ID.
- Your nonprofit receives the extra revenue. If everything on the donor’s form was filled out correctly, their employer will process it and match their gift. This means after donors confirm they’ve submitted a matching gift request, your nonprofit just needs to thank them and look forward to an extra online donation or a check in the mail.
The biggest catch with matching gifts is getting donors to check their eligibility, especially since many of your supporters may be new to the concept of matching gifts. This is where your nonprofit needs to educate donors about this free way to give more.
360MatchPro’s guide to marketing matching gifts provides an example newsletter you can send to supporters to let them know about this easy opportunity to double their giving:
2. Volunteer Grants
Sometimes during economic downturns, donors have to tighten their belts and may not be able to continue giving at all. But if they can donate their time, they might still be able to help your nonprofit financially without spending a dime.
The answer? Volunteer grants.
Volunteer grants are similar to matching gifts in that they are provided by your donors’ employers, essentially making these gifts free for your supporters. All they need to do to provide this funding is:
- Volunteer with your nonprofit. Rather than donating, supporters need to volunteer with your nonprofit for a certain number of hours. Some employers base their volunteer grants on a per-hour basis. For instance, one company might pledge to donate $15 to your nonprofit for each hour their employees volunteer with you, meaning an employee who volunteers five hours just made you $75.
Meanwhile, other employers require employees to volunteer a minimum amount of hours. Then, they’ll make a flat donation. For example, a company with this approach may require employees to volunteer 10 hours for a $100 grant.
- Check their volunteer grant eligibility. Make sure to record volunteer hours carefully so supporters have accurate numbers when checking their eligibility. Many matching gift database tools also have volunteer grant information, so supporters can easily look up their match eligibility when volunteering or donating.
- Fill out a volunteer grant application. Supporters who qualify for a volunteer grant need to fill out an application for their employer. This application usually asks for basic information, such as your nonprofit’s name, tax ID, contact information, and the number of hours volunteered.
Volunteer grants are just the tip of the corporate volunteer iceberg. Advise donors to check out if their employers offer volunteer time off or are open to arranging corporate volunteer days with nonprofits like yours.
3. Shop for a Cause Programs
Have you heard of affiliate programs? Essentially, these are a marketing strategy wherein businesses pay influencers to promote their products by sharing specific links to their online store. Then, when a purchase is made through that link, the promoter earns a percentage of the sale.
Nonprofits can take advantage of affiliate programs, too! For charitable organizations, this fundraising method is known as “shop for a cause programs.” Online shopping fundraising expert ShopRaise defines this as “the process of purchasing goods or services in a way that benefits a nonprofit organization or charitable mission. More specifically, shop for a cause fundraisers allow supporters to contribute to nonprofits by making purchases they normally would.”
The key to this is that the financial contributions your nonprofit earns from a shop for a cause fundraiser come from the retailers. Meanwhile, your supporters can buy the same products they normally would for the same prices and have access to the same sales and discounts as usual. For supporters who can only afford modest donations, these programs are an easy way to boost their value without any extra financial burden.
To get started with a shop for a cause program, you’ll need an online shopping partner. Many of these nonprofit-friendly programs are free to get started with. The program partner negotiates relationships with retailers for your nonprofit, so you’ll only need to focus on promoting the fundraiser and sharing the links, apps, or browser extensions supporters should be shopping through to participate.
All in all, if you’re looking for new ways for your supporters to give or to give more without breaking the bank, one of the first places to check is corporations. From matching employees’ donations to providing extra revenue for promoting their products, businesses are often happy to give nonprofits the fundraising boost they need at no cost to your organization or supporters!
Author
Adam Weinger is the President of Double the Donation, the leading provider of tools to nonprofits to help them raise more money from corporate matching gift and volunteer grant programs.
Double the Donation’s robust solution, 360MatchPro, provides nonprofits with automated tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.
