On the planet of nonprofit fundraising, there’s a recurring problem that retains growth administrators up at night time: The Consciousness Hole. In keeping with latest trade information, over 26 million individuals work for firms with matching present packages, but a staggering 78% of qualifying donors are unaware that their employers supply this profit. This disconnect leads to billions of {dollars} in unclaimed income left on the desk each single 12 months.
At Double the Donation, we’ve seen firsthand that essentially the most profitable organizations don’t simply have a matching present instrument; they actively market it to their audiences. They deal with employee-led giving not as a hidden footnote, however as a central pillar of their supporter engagement technique.
To have fun the inventive brilliance of our community, we’re highlighting 4 standout shoppers (together with our 2026 Person Convention Winner) who’ve mastered the artwork of selling office giving nicely:
- Wounded Warrior Challenge — The Energy of Premium Digital Actual Property
- Lehigh College — Donor Highlight Storytelling
- Purdue for Life Basis — Participating By means of Video Content material
- BEDS Plus — Increasing Into Volunteer Grants
From residence web page spotlights to donor-centric storytelling and past, these organizations supply a masterclass in driving influence. Let’s dive in!
1) Wounded Warrior Challenge — The Energy of Premium Digital Actual Property
2026 Person Convention Winner!🏆
Technique: Dwelling Web page Slider
Visibility is step one towards conversion. Wounded Warrior Challenge (WWP) understands this higher than most. Their Donor Engagement Advertising and marketing Division acknowledged that, to maneuver the needle on matching items, they wanted to position the chance ready that was not possible to overlook.
Excessive-Profile Placement
For a lot of nonprofits, the house web page is essentially the most useful digital asset they personal. Each pixel is fought over by completely different departments: packages, occasions, advocacy, and growth. In early 2026, the Wounded Warrior Challenge (WWP) Donor Engagement Advertising and marketing Division achieved a serious inner victory: they secured a coveted slot on the web site’s homepage carousel.
From January 4th to January sixteenth (a crucial interval following the year-end giving rush), the matching present graphic was one of many first issues guests noticed when accessing the net hub.
Why It Works
- Urgency and Timing: Many donors make vital contributions within the closing days of December. By hitting them with an identical present reminder within the first two weeks of January, WWP catches them whereas the reminiscence of their present is contemporary, however the “giving season” noise has quieted down. On the identical time, many staff see their matching present clocks reset on January 1st. By selling early within the 12 months, WWP encourages donors to make the most of their annual limits early.
- Model Authority: Inserting matching items on the house web page alerts to the donor that this can be a strategic precedence for the group. It builds belief within the matching present alternative and encourages donors to take that further five-minute step to seek for their employers.
- Direct Path to Motion: The high-profile graphic hyperlinks on to the WWP matching present internet web page, which embeds the Double the Donation search instrument. By minimizing the variety of clicks between the house web page and the devoted search widget, WWP lowered “bounce charges” and considerably elevated participation charges.
The Lesson: If you need matching items to be a main income stream, you should give them main visibility. Treating matching items as a “hidden menu merchandise” ensures they continue to be underutilized.
By integrating matching present promotions with the identical stage of significance as a capital marketing campaign or a vacation attraction, the Wounded Warrior Challenge’s promotional technique earned the group high honors at our 2026 Person Convention.
2) Lehigh College — Donor Highlight Storytelling
Technique: Weblog Put up and Multi-Channel Content material Marketing campaign
See it in Motion Right here!
Whereas the Wounded Warrior Challenge targeted on broad visibility, Lehigh College targeted on deep engagement by means of storytelling. They understood that whereas information exhibits that matching items work, tales present why they matter.
Moreover, although many donors affiliate office giving solely with lively staff, the Lehigh crew got down to debunk that fable. Their strategy targeted on the “human” facet of the info by means of a compelling donor highlight.
The Story: “Twice the Impression: The Energy of Matching Presents”
For Giving Tuesday and the next “Matching Wednesday” alternative, Lehigh revealed a deep-dive matching gift-related weblog submit that includes Roger Bast, a college alumnus and Air Merchandise retiree. Roger has participated in matching present packages for the reason that Nineties, utilizing his now-former employer’s beneficiant 100% match to bolster a household scholarship fund.
The Multichannel Blitz
Lehigh didn’t simply submit the weblog and await readers to seek out it. Somewhat, the college’s growth crew synchronized the story throughout channels equivalent to:
- LinkedIn: To succeed in knowledgeable viewers of fellow alumni, the story was focused at people who possible additionally work for matching-gift-heavy firms.
- Improvement and Alumni Relations E-newsletter: To have interaction its most loyal supporters, Lehigh included a donor highlight to encourage others to get entangled! Using social proof to their most high-intent viewers went a good distance.
- Direct E-mail: By that includes the story in a “Information You Can Use” phase of their “Giving Again” part quite than a “Solicitation,” the crew elevated open charges and positioned the college as a useful useful resource.
The Lesson: Academic content material usually beats promotional content material. By exhibiting a donor precisely how a like-minded peer utilized a office giving program to considerably improve their influence, you present a useful roadmap for different supporters to comply with.
Key Takeaway: Making the A lot of the Retiree Market
With an viewers comprised of many older donors, Lehigh College’s fundraising crew needed to emphasise that retirement doesn’t should imply the tip of matching. The truth is, Many Fortune 500 and different beneficiant firms proceed to match the donations of their retired staff.
Utilizing Roger’s story and demonstrating Air Merchandise’ beneficiant instance, the Lehigh crew made this technical profit really feel each private and attainable.
The CTA Integration: Subsequent Steps
After studying the donor highlight, Lehigh College didn’t need its viewers’s information of matching items to finish there. To encourage continued studying and drive participation within the packages, the weblog concluded with a transparent Name to Motion (CTA) directing readers to the college’s main matching present web page.
There, the embedded search instrument allowed alumni and different donors to instantly test their eligibility.
3) Purdue for Life Basis — Participating By means of Video Content material
Technique: Multimedia & Social Video
See it in Motion Right here!
The Purdue for Life Basis is aware of that generally, a block of textual content isn’t sufficient to seize consideration in a crowded social media feed. Moreover, nonprofit monetary subjects (together with tax IDs, matching ratios, and company portals) can usually really feel dry. For these causes, the Purdue fundraising crew determined to inject character into the method, serving to clear up the notice hole and proving that matching present advertising and marketing may be participating and even enjoyable.
How did they do it? On this case, the crew went “behind the lens” to include video content material all through their efforts.
Placing the “Enjoyable” in Matching Reward Fundraising
The Purdue development crew created a vibrant, high-energy, short-form video designed to elucidate the idea behind matching items and lift consciousness about how easy it’s to get entangled. The crew famous that they “had enjoyable making it,” and that enthusiasm straight interprets on display screen.
By humanizing the college’s employees (placing a “face” to the Basis and constructing belief with donors) and making the method look simple, Purdue College lowered the barrier to entry for , match-eligible donors. In an period the place customers are 40% extra prone to have interaction with video than textual content, this was a high-ROI transfer.
The video additionally walked by means of the college’s matching present search instrument in real-time. Seeing how simple it’s to kind “Google” or “Boeing” into the search bar and navigate to the “Submit Match” button demystifies the expertise for in any other case cautious supporters.
Strategic Distribution
Purdue didn’t simply depart the video on YouTube. As a substitute, their fundraising crew:
- Embedded it straight on their Matching Presents internet web page above the corporate search instrument, making a seamless “Watch, then Act” workflow. The video primed the donor’s pleasure from the net matching present hub, and the search instrument supplied the speedy outlet for that pleasure.
- Shared it throughout social channels, recognizing that video content material usually receives larger engagement charges than static photographs or textual content. Serving as excellent content material for Instagram Reels and TikTok, the video was capable of attain a youthful era of donors who are sometimes the probably to work for tech-forward, matching-gift-friendly firms.
The Lesson: Don’t be afraid to be “enjoyable.” In case your crew has an excellent tradition, let that shine by means of in your advertising and marketing. It makes your group extra approachable and the engagement course of extra memorable.
4) BEDS Plus — Increasing Into Volunteer Grants
Technique: Selling “{Dollars} for Doers”
See it in Motion Right here!
Organizations usually deal with donors and volunteers as two separate silos. Nonetheless, office giving isn’t restricted to monetary donations, and BEDS Plus acknowledged that these two teams can overlap. To not point out that their service hours may very well be transformed into vital money income.
Many firms supply Volunteer Grants (generally referred to as “{Dollars} for Doers”), which give a financial donation to a nonprofit primarily based on the variety of hours an worker volunteers. With the intention to take advantage of the alternatives, BEDS Plus offers a superb instance of the best way to market this often-overlooked income stream.
Turning Hours into {Dollars}
On its foremost volunteer web page, BEDS Plus included a devoted part: “Flip Volunteer Hours Into {Dollars}!” It is a crucial advertising and marketing pivot, shifting the dialog from “We want your assist” to “Your time is price greater than you assume.”
Nonetheless, many company staff are unaware that their firms supply these packages. By incorporating the Double the Donation search instrument straight on the volunteer sign-up and reporting pages, BEDS Plus ensures that every supporter considers their eligibility.
This placement is strategic as a result of it reaches the viewers on the precise second they’re eager about their service, rising the probability that they select to get entangled with office volunteerism.
Twin-Goal Search Instruments
BEDS Plus leverages a multi-pronged technique, that includes Double the Donation’s search instrument in two distinct, high-traffic areas.
- The Volunteer Web page: Centered on these giving their time, a instrument on the volunteer web page is particularly optimized to focus on volunteer grant packages.
- The Matching Reward Web page: Centered on these giving their cash, a devoted URL (beds-plus.org/matching-gift/) serves because the touchdown web page for all financial-based matching present advertising and marketing.
By linking again to those assets of their e mail and social media content material, BEDS Plus ensures that whether or not somebody is a donor, a volunteer, or each, they’re consistently reminded that their employer is perhaps keen to help their ardour.
Distinctive Assist Language
BEDS Plus stands out by providing “Concierge-level” help. Their web site explicitly states: “We are able to present BEDS Plus’s tax ID, contact data, or receipts—simply attain out!”
This removes the ultimate hurdle: the worry of paperwork. By positioning themselves as an administrative accomplice for the donor, the BEDS Plus fundraising crew makes the method of requesting a match really feel like a collaborative effort quite than a chore for the supporter.
The Lesson: Your volunteers are a few of your most engaged supporters. By giving them a approach to “donate” with out opening their private checkbooks, you empower them to do extra to your trigger.
Last Ideas: Designing Your Crew’s Advertising and marketing Roadmap
What do these 4 organizations have in frequent? They didn’t deal with matching items or volunteer grants as a “one-and-done” checkbox. They built-in office giving into the very material of their digital presence.
By diversifying the place and the way you speak about company philanthropy, you make sure that irrespective of how a supporter interacts together with your model, they’re invited to maximise their influence.
Able to take your office giving advertising and marketing to the subsequent stage? Discover these further assets:
Plus, when you’re enthusiastic about studying much more about selling office giving (or submitting your personal advertising and marketing examples for our subsequent spherical of awards), register for the upcoming Office Fundraising + Volunteering Summit!
