Matching gifts are one of the most reliable tools in a fundraiser's campaign toolkit. Last year, nearly $5 million of matching gifts challenges were met on GiveMN.org during Give to the Max.
Below, we've offered some resources around raising a matching gift for your campaign, and technical information about how to leverage it on GiveMN.org.
Whether you've tried your hand at matching gifts before or are looking to raise one for the first time, we offer strategies as you consider who to ask to help fund one this year. View the Matching Gift worksheet in our Mastering Fundraising Campaigns workbook to begin. (This worksheet is located on document page 6, PDF page 7.)
Once you raise a matching gift, be sure to add it to your organization pages so that donors can see that their gifts will go even farther when they give.
You can do this by logging onto your Administrative Area on GiveMN, clicking your name in the upper right corner, and selecting the desired organization from the dropdown menu. The matching grant tool is located on your dashboard under the section "Fundraising Tools."
Here's an example: A local business has agreed to match donations to your organization up to $1,000. By using the Matching Grants feature on GiveMN.org, your progress toward this match will be displayed in real-time on your page, your organization will have a special Matching Grant badge on your profile page, and your cause will appear in search results of organizations with Matching Grants while the match is active and available. Donations made while matches are active may also display on your fundraising thermometer based on how you have set up the match and thermometer.
For more information on how to use the Matching Grants feature, read more from our technology partners at Mightycause.