This ultimate guide walks through everything you need to know about nonprofit advertising.

Nonprofit Advertising: The Best Advice & Persuasive Examples

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The online space grows more competitive each day. Nonprofits are up against big-name companies, vying for consumers’ attention. If you’re grasping at straws and still aren’t capturing prospects’ attention, it might be time to try nonprofit advertising.

Advertising is often perceived as a misuse of donations, but it’s surprisingly effective. There’s a reason companies invest in paid advertising – it works! Where traditional marketing approaches fall short, paid advertising can elevate your cause and extend your reach to new audiences.

Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your existing efforts, this guide will provide everything you need to create a high-ROI nonprofit advertising strategy, including everything from common types of ads to real-world examples you can emulate. Here’s what we’ll cover:

Whether you’re investing in digital nonprofit advertising or creating newspaper ads, get ready to brainstorm how ads can support your cause and get your services in front of new audiences.

Explore this guide to learn about one of the most powerful nonprofit advertising platforms: Google Ad Grants.

Understanding Nonprofit Advertising

The world of nonprofit advertising is expansive, so let’s start with the fundamentals, kicking off with a basic definition.

What Are Nonprofit Ads?

Also referred to as charity advertising, nonprofit ads are paid ads that nonprofits use to promote their services and fundraisers. Advertising includes digital platforms such as paid search ads and social media ads, as well as traditional advertising methods such as community radio and print ads.

While paid ads can make a notable difference in your outreach, know they’re just one part of your marketing strategy. “Nonprofit marketing” refers to all the activities your nonprofit leverages to promote its brand and mission, while advertising is a specific subset of nonprofit marketing that refers strictly to paid channels.

In the for-profit world, companies create billboards, promotional materials for TV, and digital ads to promote goods and services. Advertising looks a little different for nonprofits, though. Instead of promoting a tangible product, nonprofit advertising is used to “sell” a cause. When done effectively, charity ads educate target audiences about the mission, goals, and services of the organization, as well as solicit donations or other forms of support.

What’s The Difference Between Inbound and Outbound Marketing?

Inbound and outbound marketing are two distinct approaches in the marketing world, each with unique strategies and benefits. For a balanced marketing plan, you’ll need to use both paid and free channels, so you can reach your audience without blowing your budget out of the water. Let’s compare these two strategies:

This table compares the inbound marketing (i.e., organic content) and outbound marketing (i.e., nonprofit advertising).

  • Inbound marketing is often referred to as “pull marketing” and is designed to attract potential supporters. Common inbound channels include search engine optimization, blogs, videos, podcasts, and organic social media content. While inbound marketing targets interested prospects, it requires time to develop and share quality content.
  • Outbound marketing is commonly called “push marketing” since it involves pushing messages out to a wide audience, regardless of whether the audience has expressed interest in your mission. Typically associated with paid strategies, common outbound channels include TV commercials, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, direct mail campaigns, newspaper ads, and social media ads

Both inbound and outbound marketing have their place in a comprehensive marketing strategy. To strike a balance, we suggest using inbound tactics like optimizing your nonprofit’s website for SEO. Then, you can advertise that content using paid ads.

Why Should Nonprofits Use Advertising?

Nonprofit advertising is undoubtedly worth the investment. From securing new donors to connecting with beneficiaries, you can achieve a lot with persuasive ads.

If you’re not convinced you should spend your hard-earned donations on promoting your work, here are a few common reasons why you should:

Use nonprofit advertising to build brand awareness and experience a high ROI.

  • Drive high-quality conversions. Getting Attention’s nonprofit advertising guide explains that with powerful ads, “you can convert an ordinary viewer into a valuable supporter. You might shoot for conversions like donations, volunteer sign-ups, contact form completions, event registrations, or shares to social media sites.” Plus, many platforms have audience targeting capabilities, allowing you to narrow your audience and deliver valuable content to likely supporters.
  • Build a stronger, more recognizable brand. Nonprofit advertising puts your digital content in front of more prospects than word-of-mouth alone. Existing supporters will also be met with your charitable ads, keeping your cause front of mind even when they haven’t interacted with you for a while.
  • See major returns on low-cost efforts. In some cases, you only pay when a user clicks your ad. Many platforms, like Google Ads, offer discounts and free platform use to verified nonprofits. Even when you pay out of pocket for ads, you don’t have to pay to generate revenue from nonprofit ads. This Google Ad Grant Impact Report explains that view-through revenue—revenue from donors who saw but didn’t click on an ad—accounts for 35% of all giving sourced from digital ads.

For positive results, put in time and effort into creating authentic ads. Otherwise, you’ll waste your budget that could be better used supporting other areas of your mission.

What Are the Challenges of Charity Advertising?

When used efficiently, nonprofit ads can help you make incredible strides for your mission. However, you’ll need to overcome some hurdles.

Here are some challenges you’ll want to get in front of when planning your promotional strategies:

  • Donors want their funds to go directly toward your mission. They might resist the idea of their contributions being spent on paid ads. That’s why some nonprofits are hesitant to pay for advertising — they’re worried about what existing prospective donors will think of them.
  • You’ll need to dedicate time to managing your ads. Some organizations don’t have the staff or time to create their ads. That goes for monitoring your campaigns and making adjustments to maximize results, too. You shouldn’t use a set-it-and-forget-it approach. Not to mention, some advertising platforms have a considerable learning curve. We recommend working with a nonprofit advertising expert to mitigate these challenges.
  • Conveying your message can be challenging. Ads are notorious for seeming inauthentic. When possible, use storytelling components like original images to make your ads appear genuine.

To preemptively overcome these challenges, choose affordable advertising channels and be authentic in your promotion. We also recommend working with a nonprofit advertising agency. These professionals devote their time to managing campaigns backed by their technical expertise, so you can focus on other activities.

How Can I Work Nonprofit Ads Into My Budget?

Considering that nonprofit advertising is a paid form of marketing, you’ll need to allocate sufficient funds toward it.

A common misconception is that paid advertising is unattainable for nonprofits with limited budgets. In reality, many paid advertising platforms offer free or discounted access to verified organizations. Here are some ways your nonprofit can tap into advertising for free, minimizing the negative reactions donors might have:

  • Through the Google Ad Grants program, you can receive $10,000 in free ad credits every month. You’ll spend your credits on promoting your website’s most important content, like your donation form or volunteer registration page.
  • A rule by the Federal Communications Commission can help you leverage free radio ads if you format them as public service announcements.
  • Through business sponsorships, companies may promote your nonprofit to customers free of charge as part of their corporate philanthropy practices.

Beyond these free opportunities, let’s look at how organizations break down their nonprofit advertising budgets across different platforms. According to M+R Benchmarks’ annual study, organizations allocate their advertising budgets in the following percentages:

  • 22%  on display ads
  • 35% on search ads
  • 36% on social media
  • 8% on video ads and other forms of advertising

This chart shows how organizations divide their nonprofit advertising budgets between channels.

Use these percentages to guide you when allocating money toward advertising in your annual budget. Considering that search ads yield the highest return on ad spend, we recommend investing most of your budget in that area. According to that same M+R Benchmarks Study, it generates an incredible $2.75 return for every dollar spent, while display ads generate $0.33.

7 Types of Nonprofit Ads

Promote your cause using these charity advertising channels.

 

Considering that paid advertising incurs costs, be strategic about which platforms you use. Decide which ones will align with your goals and will help you reach your target audience. To help you grasp your options, let’s walk through seven of the most common nonprofit advertising platforms, starting with our favorite.

Type 1: Google Search Ads

Create nonprofit ads for Google to connect with users searching for your cause.

Paid search ads are online advertisements that promote an organization’s web content. These ads are displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) and are triggered by keywords related to the advertiser’s organization.

Advertisers pay each time someone clicks their ad, so they’re not overpaying for advertising space. This makes it cost-effective for reaching and driving qualified leads.

Google Ad Grants

When eligible for Google Ad Grants, nonprofits can tap into this nonprofit advertising channel for free. So long as they comply with the program’s rules, they’ll receive $10,000 each month to spend on amplifying their web content on Google Search. If you’re a visual learner, watch this video from the Google Ad experts at Getting Attention:

If this sounds like an irresistible offer, here’s how to get started with this nonprofit advertising platform:

  1. Check your nonprofit’s eligibility. Google limits participation to those with valid charity status. Governmental, healthcare, and educational organizations are ineligible. You’ll also need a website that meets the program’s requirements. Explore our Google Grants eligibility guide to determine your eligibility status.
  2. Create a Google for Nonprofits account. Through Google for Nonprofits, you can access the Google Ad Grant application and a range of helpful tools like Google WorkSpace and the YouTube Nonprofit Program. You’ll provide information like your tax identification number and contact information.
  3. Wait for Verification. Percent works with Google to verify organizations’ legitimacy and help maintain the integrity of Google’s program. They may reach out for additional documentation, so keep an eye on your email.
  4. Apply for the Google Grant. Once approved, you’ll gain access to the Google Ad Grant application. Fill out the eligibility form and wait for approval. In no time, you’ll receive $10,000 to spend on Google Ads every month.

We recommend working with a Google Grants agency like Getting Attention to maximize this charity advertising opportunity. They’ll work to understand your mission, choose the right keywords, and craft compelling nonprofit ads that drive results.

Improve your charity advertising on Google with our recommended agency.

Type 2: Social Media Ads

Create charity ads for social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Did you know that 59% of Gen Zers are inspired to donate by a message they saw on social media? You’re missing out if you’re not promoting your cause through this channel!

Most nonprofits recognize this digital marketing channel is effective for leveraging social proof to build trust. Unless you have a large following consistently sharing your content, it can be challenging to gain traction, though. That’s why we recommend allocating money toward social media ads.

Social Media Advertising Platforms

To avoid stretching your nonprofit advertising budget too thin, consider the platforms from which you’ll purchase ad space. As you get started, keep these charity advertising platforms in mind:

  • Instagram ads appear throughout the app in users’ feeds, between Stories, and on their explore pages. While designed similarly to normal posts, each ad contains a “sponsored label.” Use this method to tap into additional features unavailable for traditional posts. Include links, CTA buttons, and product catalogs. Then, track ad performance with the insights Instagram provides.
  • Facebook ads allow you to tap into the world’s most popular social network. With the ability to target people based on their interests, demographics, and location, nonprofits can create highly targeted campaigns that will likely reach their desired audience. Use Facebook ads to boost engagement, build brand awareness, and even solicit donations with integrated fundraising features.
  • X (formerly Twitter) ads allow you to connect with younger audiences. Nonprofits can create targeted campaigns based on user interests and location. Use these to tailor messaging to different audiences, drive website traffic, increase brand visibility, and engage with followers.
  • TikTok ads, available through TikTok for Good, offer a dynamic way to reach a younger, highly engaged audience through video ads. Your nonprofit can tell its story, raise awareness, and drive action in a creative, visually engaging format.

These nonprofit advertising channels allow you to leverage user-friendly features and reach supporters where they already are: scrolling through social media. Plus, social media has an incredible reach. Sources estimate there will be 5.8 billion social media users worldwide by 2027.

When creating messages, remember social media tends to be trend-based, so monitor what’s trending to create timely ads for your cause.

Type 3: Sponsored Retargeting

Sponsored retargeting is a type of nonprofit advertising that requires companies to purchase ads from an organization.

Sponsored retargeting is a collaborative advertising approach where a business or organization sponsors your nonprofit by purchasing ads from you. These ads typically feature co-branded elements. The reasons a company might engage in sponsored retargeting include:

  • Improved Reputation: Companies can bolster their reputation by aligning their image with your nonprofit, positioning them as a socially responsible company.
  • Audience Overlap: The overlap in audience demographics between the company and your nonprofit makes this an attractive opportunity to promote the company’s services to relevant individuals.

Both your nonprofit and the sponsor can share these advertisements on your respective platforms, increasing visibility and audience engagement for both parties. Overall, this mutually beneficial arrangement not only serves immediate advertising goals but also strengthens the long-term relationship between your nonprofit and its corporate sponsors.

Type 4: Community Radio

Create radio ads for your nonprofit.

Community radio can be ideal for advertising your mission to a local audience. Radio ads can be tailored to specific demographics and areas. Plus, you can physically speak to your audience, showing passion for your cause.

Some nonprofits qualify for free public service announcements on community radio stations. Thanks to the Federal Communications Commission, radio stations must allot some radio time to charitable organizations.

If you’re filling free nonprofit advertising space, there’s one caveat: you’ll need to format your messages as announcements rather than ads.

In other words, you can’t explicitly request donations. However, you can use radio ads to drive website traffic and generate buzz. Then, if your social media posts or website are optimized, visitors may wind up clicking the ‘Donate’ or ‘Volunteer’ button.

Type 5: Print Advertising for Nonprofits

Post nonprofit ads in newspapers and other publications.

If you want to go a more traditional route with your nonprofit ads, try print advertising. Print ads, such as newspaper and magazine placements, target specific geographic areas, allowing nonprofits to reach their desired audience effectively.

Relatively inexpensive and adaptable, print ads can be placed in various publications, from local newspapers to national magazines. You can even create banners and flyers to promote your cause at local events.

This method works for a few reasons. For instance, print ads tend to be:

  • Memorable. You can provide readers with a tangible message to reference later, making it easy to save and circle back.
  • Tailored to the cause. Print ads can be designed to match a specific aesthetic. By incorporating your organization’s branding, these types of nonprofit ads can convey your message in a visually appealing, unique way.
  • Great for establishing credibility. Print ads can be placed in specific publications or at events your target audience will likely attend. By appearing in a respected publication or at a reputable event, your nonprofit can establish its legitimacy.

In your nonprofit advertising strategy, consider the role of print ads for reaching specific audiences. For example, nature organizations might use publications like National Geographic to connect their cause with respected, influential scientific content.

Type 6: Influencer Advertising

Strengthen your charity's advertising with help from influencers.

Influencers have an established web presence, usually due to social media or a blog. They’ve created a trustworthy brand and amassed a highly engaged audience.

Companies work with social media influencers to promote their products every day. Have you thought about how working with an influencer can amplify your nonprofit’s brand?

Influencers have a large, engaged audience that trusts their opinion and is likelier to engage with their content. Like you do when choosing corporate partners, choose someone who aligns with your brand.

For example, let’s say you work for a food security organization. You might partner with a food blogger or an influencer who publishes recipes. This will help:

  • Convert and activate new supporters. By asking their followers to donate, follow, or show support in some other way, influencers can drive like-minded people to support your cause.
  • Draw attention to your work. Influencers can promote engaging content that can spark conversations and encourage people to look into your work.

When leveraging these ads, develop materials for influencers to work with. Then, they can make it their own to give it a more authentic feel that aligns with their brand.

Type 7: Retargeted Advertising

Retargeted nonprofit ads are great for driving users to revisit your website.

We’ve all experienced this at some point. While online shopping, we add something to our cart like a comfy new shirt. We get distracted and leave the site, only to be met with ads on other websites for that same exact shirt. This is what we refer to as a “retargeted ad.”

While primarily used to promote products, retargeted ads allow nonprofits to engage people who have already shown interest in the mission.

Retargeted advertising places a cookie on a user’s device and then displays relevant ads based on their prior online activity. These ads can effectively reach people who have already visited your nonprofit’s website or interacted with you on social media. They’re tailored to the individual user, making them an effective way to drive conversions.

How to Use Retargeted Ads

If you’re unsure how retargeting ads fit into your nonprofit advertising strategy, let’s review a few examples.

Retargeted ads can remind people of a nonprofit’s mission, encourage donations, and promote events or services. Here are a few use cases for this strategy:

  • Abandoned donations: Retarget someone who left your donation page before submitting their donation. They were already considering donating, and it’s up to you to determine why they didn’t follow through. Think through common reasons why someone might abandon a gift. For example, maybe they wanted to research your services more before submitting a donation. If that seems like a viable reason someone would’ve walked away, create retargeted ads that explain your work.
  • Event reminders: Create a retargeting ad campaign to re-engage anyone who didn’t complete their event registration. Let’s say someone left to check their calendar but then forgot to return and finish registering. This type of ad can be a great reminder to revisit your event registration page!

This type of nonprofit ad is a fantastic way to engage users, even if they’ve never actually donated or taken any other action. At some point, users who receive these ads showed interest in your cause online, and a little reminder might be just what they need.

Steps to Creating Your Nonprofit Advertising Strategy

So you’ve decided nonprofit advertising is a smart move. Great! Now, let’s walk through easy steps to create an effective nonprofit advertising plan:

  1. Define your campaign objectives. What are you hoping to achieve by purchasing ad space? Do you want to boost volunteer numbers, secure more volunteer grants, increase digital donations, or educate the public about your cause? Knowing this will help you pick which content to promote to drive users to take the most meaningful actions.
  2. Set a budget. If you’re not careful, nonprofit advertising can quickly add up. Determine how much money you’ll budget for ads. Think back to the industry-standard distributions we discussed earlier when dividing your budget across different charity advertising platforms.
  3. Identify your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your charity’s ads? Are you attempting to re-engage lapsed donors, connect with first-time volunteers, or get in front of a different group? Get specific here, and consider the demographics of who you’re attempting to reach.
  4. Choose platforms for ad distribution. What platforms will put your nonprofit’s ads in front of the appropriate audiences? For example, maybe you’ll use social media ads to connect with Millennial or Gen Z donors across the country while using radio and print ads to reach a local audience.
  5. Create ad content. Now comes the fun part! Create ads that communicate your cause and persuade people to take a specific action to support your work. When possible, add compelling visuals like images and videos to spark an emotional response. Advertising platforms often limit the length of ads, so make the most of the characters you’re allotted. We’ll explore nonprofit advertising examples in the next section to spark inspiration.

Following these steps will help generate some influential ads for your cause. The work’s not over yet, though!

Assessing Your Nonprofit Advertising Strategy

For effective nonprofit advertising, actively monitor your campaigns using tracking systems, rather than just setting them and forgetting them.

To gauge ad performance, focus on metrics like clicks and reach. Most advertising platforms, including Google Ads, have built-in tools for tracking these key performance indicators (KPIs):

Use these key performance indicators to monitor your nonprofit ads' performance.

  • Impressions refer to how many times your ad was shown to users. It can help you gauge how large your reach is.
  • Click-through-rate (CTR) measures how many clicks your charity’s ad received divided by how many impressions it received. This metric indicates how relevant your ad is to users. For reference, if your Google Ad had 5 clicks and 100 impressions, your CTR would be 5%.
  • Conversion rate refers to the number of visitors who complete a desired goal, like registering for an event or donating. The higher your conversion rate, the better. Just ensure the action is meaningful to your work.
  • Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who click through to your site and leave before viewing any other pages. This can indicate page quality. A low bounce rate is always best!

Using these KPIs, you can proactively gauge your nonprofit ad performance at any point. Throughout your campaign, make adjustments based on results.

3 Nonprofit Advertising Examples

You can research charity ad ideas all you want, but nothing measures up to seeing examples from real organizations. Let’s walk through some nonprofit ad examples to see paid marketing in action.

American Heart Association

Type of Nonprofit Ad: Google Ad

This nonprofit advertising examples shows how the American Heart Association uses Google Ads.

Google Ad Grants have the power to transform any nonprofit’s marketing. Available to verified 501(c)(3) organizations, it can help amplify the most important pages on your website on Google Search.

For this nonprofit advertising example, the American Heart Association targeted terms like “donate to fight heart disease.” Their ad works for a few reasons:

  • Users searching donation-related terms are likely to convert.
  • The pages the American Heart Association featured correlate with this search intent.

Notice how they offered a few ways for users to engage. Since they’re clearly prospective donors at this stage, users can visit different giving-focused pages, such as the organization’s “ways to give” page, a page showcasing donations in action, or pages about monthly giving. If you’re feeling creative, take a similar approach and promote matching gifts by featuring your ‘ways to give’ page or including matching gifts on your donation form.

To take this ad one step further, the American Heart Association could use extensions to append their phone number, giving users another way to engage. This strategy is more technical, and working with a Google Grants agency can help you take full advantage of this nonprofit advertising opportunity.

Read this guide to working with a Google Grants agency to learn how an expert can help your nonprofit advertising.

Doctors Without Borders

Type of Nonprofit Ad: Facebook Ad

This nonprofit advertising example shows how Doctors Without Borders used Facebook Ads.

Doctors Without Borders is an international medical humanitarian organization delivering emergency aid and healthcare to in-need populations. Seeking the most effective way to amplify their Giving Tuesday efforts, they turned to Facebook Ads and created a Facebook Fundraiser. The combination yielded twice as much revenue as its Giving Tuesday campaign the previous year.

The organization ran its ads for less than 2 weeks and generated impressive metrics:

  • Ad spend for Giving Tuesday ads: $26,000
  • Donation value from ads: $72,000
  • Return on ad spend: 2.8x
  • Donors: 60% new, 40% recurring

This campaign exemplifies the power of social sharing and timely nonprofit ads. It also boosted our all-time favorite fundraising strategy: matching gifts.

While this is a great example of nonprofit advertising for a large organization, smaller nonprofits can also tap into this strategy at lower rates. Even when spending a lot less, you can achieve impressive results. You just have to leverage targeting features and create persuasive messages.

Girls Inc.

Type of Nonprofit Ad: Influencer Ad

For this nonprofit advertising example, Girls Inc. partnered with Saks OFF 5th and an influencer.

For this nonprofit advertising example, Girls Inc. partnered with popular lifestyle blogger Vanessa Scott and Saks OFF 5th to create and market an exclusive t-shirt.

Capitalizing on National Women’s Day, the charity created a shirt with its brand colors. Reading “Every Day is Women’s Day,” the shirt’s core message aligns with its mission to empower girls to overcome environmental challenges.

To support the campaign, Vanessa shared an Instagram post sporting the t-shirt. She explained what the awareness day meant to her, why Girls Inc. is important, and how 100% of the shirt’s proceeds would support the cause.

Not only does this example show the power of influencer ads, but it also demonstrates how nonprofits can partner with socially responsible corporations to amplify their causes.

Wrapping Up

When you create genuine ads, you can inspire more people than ever to support your cause.

There are a lot of nonprofit advertising platforms out there, though. Carefully think through which platforms will connect you with the right audiences before purchasing ad space. Whether you leverage Google Ads or partner with influencers, you’ll surely gain traction for your cause.

As you get started, stay updated with marketing trends and best practices to craft the best ads possible. Here are some helpful resources to get started:

Work with our recommended Google Ads agency to improve your charity advertising.

One-Off Matching Gift Programs | What to Know For Your Org

One-Off Matching Gift Programs | What to Know For Your Org

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Tons of companies (from Fortune 500 enterprises to the local law firm down the street) offer generous employee gift-matching programs. When such a program is available, the business essentially agrees to match donations made by their staff to a wide range of charitable causes. These opportunities are great⁠—and relatively well-known in the nonprofit space. However, there’s another type of corporate matching program that’s less widely understood, and that is one-off matching gift programs.

One-off (or custom) matching gift programs generally involve specific partnerships between one corporation and one nonprofit organization. And the results can be grand!

If you’re interested in making the most of corporate matching opportunities for your mission, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know as you begin crafting a plan to source and leverage one-off matching initiatives. This includes:

Ready to dive in? One-off matching gifts have the potential to bring your organization’s corporate fundraising to the next level. You just need a plan that outlines how your team can do so. And for that, let’s start with the basics.

The basics of one-off matching gift programs

One-off matching gift programs are those that are unique to a single organization. In this case, it’s yours! In the matching gift sector, you may hear this type of partnership described in a few ways—including custom, one-off, exclusive, or even unique matching gift programs.

Regardless of the term used, the bottom line is the same: a company works with an organization to facilitate a matching gift program with narrower criteria than a standard match program would have.

Specifically, donations to your nonprofit are the only ones being matched.

This illustration depicts how such a partnership differs from a standard matching gift program (i.e., a company matching gifts to any nonprofit):

Custom matching gift programs vs. standard matching gift programs - comparison

You might wonder why a company would offer this particular type of donation-matching initiative.

Picture this: let’s say you run an organization dedicated to breast cancer research and treatment services. Now, imagine a corporate CEO has a soft spot for missions like yours. They come to your nonprofit team with a proposal: They’d like to match employee donations to your organization throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

While the company may not typically have the bandwidth to match all team member donations, a one-off matching gift program can serve as an excellent jumping-off point for corporate philanthropy. Alternatively, a business might offer a traditional matching gift initiative with a 1:1 ratio year-round⁠. During particular times (or to particular causes), however, the employer might elevate its program by offering a temporary 2, 3, or even 4:1 match through a one-off program.

Check out the clip below to get a two-minute overview of one-off matching gifts.

Interested in a more in-depth examination of the programs? Register to get the webinar replay here!

Double the Donation’s one-off match program functionality [with auto-submission]

If you’ve made an effort to elevate corporate fundraising at your organization, you’ve likely invested in a matching gift automation software like Double the Donation. This tool makes it quick and easy for you and your donors to locate information regarding thousands of matching gift companies.

If a company doesn’t offer a widely available matching gift program, though, they likely won’t show up in a search of the database tool. And that confusion can cause a disruption in the number of matching gift requests actually submitted—and secured—for your cause.

When you’ve organized a one-off matching gift program with a corporate partner, you want your donors to seamlessly locate the information they need to initiate the match process.

Luckily, Double the Donation has the solution: we’re offering built-in functionality for managing unique matching gift programs in 360MatchPro. That means you can add matching gift programs specific to your cause to your matching gift search tool⁠—without it populating in other organizations’ databases as well. This way, donors can access the policy and forms they need to complete their matching gift requests on your nonprofit’s behalf.

One-off or custom matching gift program search results

While this functionality has previously been available exclusively for 360MatchPro Enterprise clients, we’re excited to announce that all 360MatchPro Standard accounts now have access to our unique program management tools!

*As a note, this feature is designed specifically for fundraisers looking to manage custom matching gift initiatives—360MatchPro does not work directly with corporations. If you’re a company interested in creating a matching gift program, contact us, and we’ll share information about our corporate vendor partners.

Adding a One-Off Program in 360MatchPro

Already have a corporate partner offering a one-off matching gift program for your organization? To add your unique campaign to your nonprofit’s matching gift database, log into your 360MatchPro portal and fill out a brief form regarding the offered program. (This can be located under the settings tab → Manage Programs.)

Custom or one-off matching gift backend management

To save the program in your database, you’ll be asked for a few key details regarding the agreed-upon guidelines and parameters. This includes:

  • Company name
  • Point of contact information (e.g., the workplace giving coordinator or HR department), email address, and phone number
  • Types of eligible employees (full-time, part-time, retired team members, and/or spouses)
  • Minimum and maximum donations matched
  • Matching gift ratio
  • Submission form URL or PDF upload (and an overview of the request process)
  • Program start and end dates

One-off matching gift criteria form

And from there, the custom matching gift initiative will begin populating within eligible donors’ queries! All they need to do is begin typing their employer’s name in your organization’s search tool and select the company from the populating options. Once they’re redirected to your confirmation screen (or afterwards in an email), donors should find the easy-to-access program details and instructions as usual.

Enabling Auto-Submission for Your One-Off Program

In the same form, your team will also be asked whether you’d like to enable optional auto-submission functionality for the one-off matching gift program. This essentially enables Double the Donation to pre-fill a request form on the donor’s behalf, thus streamlining their experience and enhancing participation and engagement rates.

Enabling auto-submission for a one-off corporate matching gift program

In order to see the best results from auto-submission forms, be sure to also fill out your comprehensive Organization Profile within 360MatchPro. (This can be located under the settings tab → Organization Profile.)

This resource should include vital and up-to-date information about your nonprofit that will ultimately be used for your matching gift company to review and approve requests. When qualifying donors initiate the auto-submission process from your giving page, Double the Donation has the necessary details to complete the request behind the scenes, thus automating and streamlining donors’ efforts.

The details in your nonprofit’s profile should include:

  • Your organization’s name
  • Phone number
  • Tax ID number (EIN)
  • Website URL
  • Full mailing address
  • Form W-9
  • 501(c)(3) IRS affirmation letter

In the end, proactively sharing this information increases the likelihood that matches are completed without a hitch⁠. And, as a result, you can expect more matching gift funds flowing into your cause in a timely manner.

(Hint: Your Organization Profile helps streamline auto-submission for other companies’ general matching gift programs as well!)

Locating a one-off corporate matching gift partner

One-off or unique matching gift programs are, by definition, developed on an ad hoc basis. Luckily, that opens up a world of possibilities⁠—because just about any company could offer such an initiative.

As you begin seeking the right partner for your one-off matching gift program, we recommend taking a similar approach to the pursuit of a traditional corporate sponsorship. Following these steps can help organize your efforts and make the most of every avenue of support available to you!

Identifying companies your donors work for that don’t have existing matching gift programs.

Reach out to non-paricipating employers and share that you have a lot in common with them and their key stakeholders (your donors and their employees) already. Then, let your point of contact know you’d like to launch a one-off donation-matching initiative. Point out that it can be a great way to get into matching gifts for the first time, and be sure to share that your organization has helpful tools and resources for streamlining the facilitation of such a program.

Top tip: If your team uses 360MatchPro, the “Leading Companies” feature allows you to isolate the employers most often searched by donors in your database tool. It even flags top companies according to whether they have an existing match program or not!

Encouraging donors to advocate for a one-off matching program on your behalf.

Your donors can be some of your greatest assets. If they work for companies without existing programs, see if your supporters would be willing to pitch the idea to their employer on your behalf. When you provide a handy template supporters can use to propose a program (such as one included below), they’ll be increasingly likely to take such steps. And a company is going to be more open to considering the opportunity when the proposal is coming from a member of their own team.

Top tip: We recommend implementing 360MatchPro’s custom redirect functionality to inform ineligible donors about the ways they can get involved regardless. When a donor is marked as likely ineligible for a matching gift, send them to a page on your website that shares a myriad of opportunities for increased support: including championing a one-off matching gift program to their employer!

Suggesting unique opportunities for amplifying existing matching gift programs.

One-off matching gift programs are sometimes built off of companies’ existing match initiatives, too! That means you might not be starting from ground zero when it comes to communicating the matching gift opportunity and how a company can get involved.

Instead, there may be a business that contributes a number of matching gifts to your organization already. But in the company’s giving, you see an opportunity for growth, or additional, untapped potential. In this case, you might consider proposing the idea of an “above and beyond” matching gift opportunity to set your prospective one-off program apart.

Here are a few examples of ways a company can scale up its matching gift program for your organization:

  • Increased matching gift ratios (e.g., a company usually matches gifts at a 1:1 ratio but raises the rate to 2:1 for a cancer research organization during Breast Cancer Awareness Month)
  • Decreased donation minimums (for example, let’s say a company generally requires donations of least $50 to qualify for a matching gift. During Pride month, it removes the minimum gift size for an LGBTQ+ nonprofit as a way to incentivize employee giving to the cause)
  • Increased donation maximums (a company typically instills a $500 cap on matching gifts per employee, but raises the maximum threshold to $5,000 for a local food bank during Matching Gift Month)
  • Fundraising matches (a company generally matches gifts that employees donate personally, but opts to match all gifts collected for a peer-to-peer fundraiser on behalf of a particular mission organization)

Top tip: One-off matching gift programs can offer an excellent opportunity to highlight giving days, awareness and affinity months, and more. Consider which celebrations best align with your nonprofit and its mission, then begin seeking corporate matching gift partners to amplify such efforts.

Creating a “one-off matching gift” interest page on your website.

Your nonprofit’s website is one of its most valuable assets. And, just like you can leverage this resource to share general matching gift program information, you can also use it to drum up interest for one-off matching gifts. The key difference, however, is that you’ll be targeting prospective companies rather than individual donors!

As you build a one-off matching gifts page on your site, we recommend the following best practices for success:

  • Make it easy to locate. You won’t reap many benefits from a web page that’s nearly impossible to find!
  • Review your mission. Don’t assume any prospective partners are already familiar with your organization. Provide a brief summary of your vision and your team’s work toward it. Pictures help, too!
  • Define the “one-off match” opportunity. Make sure to clearly define a one-off matching gift program, and clarify how it differs from a standard matching gift.
  • Focus on the benefits. Companies want to know what advantages are being offered in any potential partnership. State the ways a one-off matching gift program will aid the employer in reaching its goals. The more specific you can be, the better!
  • Embed a contact form. It should be quick and easy for corporate donors to enter the information you’ll need to be in touch. When initiating contact is as simple as filling out an online form, more companies will be willing to do so!

Top tip: Be sure to follow up regarding companies’ one-off matching gift partnership interest in a timely manner. Though there’s no universally agreed-upon timetable, reaching out within one business day of the form being submitted tends to be an accepted practice. Plus, following up quickly allows your team to make the most of a corporate contact’s heightened engagement level before it dwindles.

One-Off Matching Gift Program Sample Interest Page

Making the pitch and communicating one-off matching gift partnership value.

At this point, you should have narrowed down potential partnerships and produced a short list of prospects that may be willing to offer a one-off match. Now, it’s time to make your pitch. And don’t forget to mention the vast benefits to participating companies as well! These include heightened employee engagement, improved corporate social responsibility (CSR), tax benefits, and more.

If you have metrics available from previous one-off matching gift partners, this information can help demonstrate tangible value through prior successful engagements. For example, you might inform your corporate contact that a previous one-off match program led to a 40% increase in corporate giving or a 65% employee satisfaction rating.

Top tip: Throughout your search, keep an eye out for companies with similar missions and visions as your own. This will help ensure your values align with one another and can maintain a mutually beneficial partnership in the long-term. Not to mention, their employees may be increasingly likely to support your cause.

Establishing one-off matching gift program guidelines in conjunction with your corporate partner.

Once you’ve identified a corporate partner, you’ll need to determine specific program guidelines to define the opportunity. Like traditional matching gifts, these criteria are ultimately determined by the company offering the program. However, your organization may play a role in advising the creation of a matching gift policy.

Such a policy typically includes:

  • Minimum and maximum donation amounts;
  • Matching gift ratios;
  • Types of qualifying employees (i.e., full-time, part-time, retired);
  • Submission deadlines;
  • Forms and request processes;
  • And any other relevant information!

In this regard, the only difference between a one-off and a standard match program is the types of nonprofits eligible for funding. And that question is easy⁠—the receiving organization is yours!

Still, it’s a good idea to discuss associated criteria with your matching gift partner before rolling out your program. This enables your team to better communicate eligibility standards and ensure match requests have the information required for approval. Plus, your organization can provide access to helpful resources that simplify the experience for you and your partners.

Top tip: If you’ve invested in Double the Donation’s matching gift platform, enabling the one-off matching gift management feature allows a company (and its employees) to benefit from a streamlined submission process.

Behind-the-scenes submission for one-off matching gift programs using the standard form

Made possible with the standard matching gift form, this request method is quick and easy for donors to complete, minimizing additional steps and reducing roadblocks in participation. The result? More matches!

Key benefits of one-off matching gift programs for nonprofits

Though narrower in scope, one-off matching gift programs offer many of the same benefits that traditional matching gift programs do. Plus, this unique offering can unleash a number of exclusive advantages just for your cause.

These include:

Building deeper connections with charitable-minded corporations.

Whereas a typical matching gift program may lead to a company contributing to hundreds or thousands of nonprofits, a one-off matching gift program is just between you and your corporate partner. Therefore, it provides enhanced opportunities for strengthening your relationship. You might even be able to turn it into a recurring program!

Widening your fundraising reach to encompass new supporters.

When promoted effectively, one-off matching gift programs have the potential to direct first-time donors to your organization. A company’s employees may otherwise never have been made aware of your cause. But when their employer highlights the giving opportunity, your nonprofit is at the forefront of their minds. You might even uncover some new, long-term supporters this way!

Elevating donor engagement with unique match opportunities.

Perhaps your one-off matching partner employs individuals who are already involved with your cause. You have the chance to further their engagement through the program, too! In fact, studies show that simply mentioning matching gifts in donation appeals results in more than a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in average gift amount.

Best practices | Top tips for successful one-off matching programs

Want to take your organization’s unique matching gift program to the next level? Consider these smart tips and tricks to better engage your donors and your corporate partners.

1. Encourage your corporate partner to promote the program to employees.

A matching gift program is only as good as the employees who know about it. Uninformed team members, after all, are not going to take the steps required to initiate a matching gift if they’ve never been informed of the opportunity. Thus, they’re not sending additional corporate revenue your way.

One of the best things a company can do to drive corporate giving participation⁠—and, as a result, get the most out of its program offerings⁠—is to make its employees aware of the opportunity in the first place. From the nonprofit’s end, it’s a good idea to encourage proactive employee outreach in order to aid your partner in doing so.

Sample one-off corporate matching gift program social media post

And when the employer incorporates the program in its public-facing marketing efforts, the philanthropic efforts also go a long way in building the company’s reputation as a charitable and socially responsible institution. Your team can even help drive promotions by sending co-branded graphics, social sharing templates, sample communications, and more!

2. Market the opportunity to your audience.

Just like you expect your matching gift partner to promote your one-off program to their employees, you’ll want to market the opportunity to your nonprofit’s audience as well. Marketing efforts from your organization might include:

  • A social media post highlighting the program and recognizing your matching gift company for their generosity;
  • A blog post on your organization’s website sharing program information and how to get involved, if applicable;
  • Personalized outreach (phone calls, emails, letters, etc.) to existing and prospective donors who work for the company hosting the one-off match program;
  • Your matching gift search tool—loaded with your one-off matching gift program—embedded in your donation forms and confirmation screen;
  • Post-donation email reminders that encourage the company’s employees to complete the matching gift request process if they haven’t already.

The more information that gets out regarding the one-off matching gift opportunity, the better!

Remember also that by sharing co-marketing materials with your own network of support, you can help provide additional benefits to the matching gift company. When the employer recognizes significant value from the partnership, they’ll be more likely to offer corporate and workplace giving initiatives alongside your organization in the future.

3. Enable auto-submission functionality to streamline participation.

You want your donors to be able to take part in your matching program as easily as possible. One of the best ways to simplify participation is to implement Double the Donation’s auto-submission functionality⁠—essentially removing obstacles within the submission process and driving more requests to completion.

Why does this matter? Unfortunately, custom matching gift programs can suffer from many of the same roadblocks that traditional programs face. And one of the most common hindrances is a lack of understanding surrounding the matching gift request process from the donor’s perspective.

With auto-submission enabled, however, eligible donors can complete their match submissions right from your donation forms with no redirects, separate logins, or paper forms required! All donors typically have to do is enter their corporate email address on your gift confirmation page. Then, voilà⁠—Double the Donation handles the rest of the submission process using our standard request form behind the scenes.

Here’s what the request process can look like with auto-submission:

Step 1) An employee of your corporate matching company makes a donation on your organization’s website and enters the company name.

One-off matching gift search tool example

Step 2) The donor enters their email on the confirmation screen, authorizing Double the Donation to auto-submit their match request.

One-off matching gift auto-submission example

By incorporating this innovative functionality for your unique matching gift program, everybody benefits. This includes:

  • Your organization, which receives increased matching gift revenue and elevated donor engagement.
  • Your donors, who save time with one-click matching gift requests, enabling them to make the most of their nonprofit contributions without dedicating more time and resources.
  • Your corporate match partner, who sees maximal program usage, more satisfied employees, and a positive brand image.

And don’t forget about your mission beneficiaries, who receive more extensive and better-funded programs and services from your organization, either!

4. Pitch an annually recurring one-off or custom match program.

Most one-off matching gift programs are going to be organized as short-term campaign initiatives (for example, a company supporting a breast cancer research nonprofit during the month of October or an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in June). However, that doesn’t mean that the partnership has to be a one-and-done experience!

Instead, pitching your one-off match as an annually recurring event is a great way to grow your relationship with a corporate donor and its employees for the long term. You can even position the initial campaign as a “trial run,” allowing both your organization and the company to fine-tune the program and ensure it aligns well with your shared goals and values over time.

Alternatively, your one-off matching gift efforts might inspire the corporate partner to dive in fully with matching gifts⁠—rolling out an evergreen program in conjunction with a dedicated CSR platform to simplify ongoing management. Either way, your organization is able to benefit from the company’s philanthropy on an ongoing basis!

Helpful templates to streamline corporate outreach

Effective communications—with individual and corporate donors alike—are integral to successful one-off matching gift partnerships. But knowing how to ask a company to match donations can seem nerve-wracking!

If you’re not sure how to get started, check out these sample messages for various scenarios, and adjust the provided templates to reflect your own outreach strategy.

Template #1: Pitching One-Off Matching Gifts to a Company Without an Existing Matching Gift Program

One-off matching gifts are an easy way for companies to explore donation-matching for the first time. Use this template to propose such a program to a company that does not currenly offer a matching gift program for its employees.

Subject: Will you support [nonprofit] with a one-off matching gift program?

Dear [HR or CSR department head],

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing on behalf of [nonprofit], an organization deeply committed to [mission or cause]. In the past year, we’ve been fortunate to receive support from donors who share our passion for creating positive change—and many of these generous individuals are employed by [company].

As a result, we wanted to reach out and see if [company] would be interested in implementing a one-off matching gift program as a way to encourage employee giving and grow your own social responsibility efforts. This special initiative allows your company to make a meaningful difference in the community by matching your employees’ donations to [nonprofit] during a designated campaign.

I would love the opportunity to discuss this further and explore how we can tailor a one-off matching gift program to align seamlessly with [company]’s values and objectives.

Looking forward to a potential partnership,

[Name]
[Job title/role]
[Contact information]
[Nonprofit]

Template #2: Pitching One-Off Matching Gifts to a Company With an Existing Matching Gift Program

You can also implement a one-off matching gift program to elevate an existing matching gift company’s support for your organization. Use this template to pitch an above-and-beyond program to a company that already matches gifts, but has room for improvement in its efforts.

Subject: Make [company]’s matching gifts to [nonprofit] go further with a one-off matching gift partnership!

Dear [HR or CSR department head],

I am reaching out on behalf of [nonprofit], expressing our most sincere appreciation for [company]’s ongoing support through its employee matching gift program. Your commitment to philanthropy has undoubtedly made a positive difference for [mission or program], and our generous donors love having the ability to double their impact on the cause.

As we continue to work towards our shared goals, I would like to present an exciting opportunity to enhance the impact of [company]’s giving. We would love to introduce a special one-off matching gift program in partnership with your company. Specifically, we are proposing a designated campaign that offers [increased donation maximums, matching gift ratios, types of eligible employees, etc.] as a way to grow your corporate giving and bring our fundraising to new heights.

I would be delighted to discuss this proposal further and explore how we can tailor the upgraded one-off matching gift program to align seamlessly with [company]’s objectives and abilities.

Thank you in advance,

[Name]
[Job title/role]
[Contact information]
[Nonprofit]

Template #3: Responding to a Company’s One-Off Matching Gift Program Interest

Once you launch a custom matching gift program interest page on your nonprofit’s website, you’ll likely receive submissions from interested corporate prospects. This template can help guide your responses as you enter important partnership conversations.

Subject: Thank you for your interest in supporting [nonprofit] with a one-off match program!

Dear [company] Team OR [point of contact specified in contact form],

I hope this message finds you well. On behalf of [nonprofit], I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your inquiry to support our cause through a one-off matching gift program. As you may know, our mission at [nonprofit] is to [mission or vision] by [project or program], [project or program], and [project or program].

As we embark on this journey together, it’s important to first clarify what the partnership would entail for each of our teams. Simply put, a one-off matching gift program is an employee giving initiative that benefits a specific nonprofit organization⁠—in this case, ours! Through this program, your company agrees to match donations made by your staff members to our organization, effectively doubling the impact of their contributions on our cause.

To help kickstart the process of setting up a matching gift program, here are some recommended next steps to get our partnership off the ground:

▶ Specify the types of employees that qualify to participate in the matching gift initiative.
▶ Define the minimum and maximum matchable gifts per employee.
▶ Establish your matching gift ratio.
▶ Determine the program’s start and end dates.
▶ Develop a clear submission process for employees to follow. (We recommend Double the Donation’s auto-submission process, which we can implement from our end)

We’re also pleased to provide you with templates and other helpful resources that may aid in the development and promotion of the program to your employees. Once again, thank you for considering this partnership, and please reach out if you have any additional questions or are ready to move forward with the next steps.

Warm regards,

[Name]
[Job title/role]
[Contact information]
[Nonprofit]

Template #4: Empowering a Donor to Facilitate an Introduction to their Employer

A warm introduction from a donor who works for a prospective corporate partner goes a long way. It can help get your team’s foot in the door for one-off matching gift conversations and demonstrate value in terms of shared audiences for the company in question.

Use this sample message to initiate outreach with a supporter and encourage them to connect your team with their HR or CSR department!

Subject: Double your donation impact by connecting us with [company]!

[Donor],

On behalf of the [nonprofit] team, we wanted to express our sincere gratitude for your continuous support and the invaluable contributions you’ve made towards [mission or cause]. Recently, an avenue that has shown great potential is one-off matching gift programs, designed to amplify the impact of charitable donations by employees of forward-thinking companies.

We believe that your employer, [company], could play a pivotal role in strengthening our impact through such a one-off matching gift partnership. In order to aid us in our outreach, we kindly request your assistance in making a warm introduction to the appropriate contacts at the business. Your endorsement and personal connection would undoubtedly add weight to our proposal and highlight the positive social impact that can be achieved through corporate philanthropy.

We understand that your time is valuable, and any support you can provide in facilitating this introduction would be immensely appreciated. If you have any questions or if there’s additional information you may need, please feel free to reach out.

Thank you again for your ongoing support,

[Name]
[Job title/role]
[Contact information]
[Nonprofit]

Template #5: Advocating for a One-Off Matching Gift Program [For Donors]

Your donors may be willing to champion your cause even further by pitching a matching gift program to their employer themselves. But your team can play a crucial role in encouraging such advocates in their endeavors! Share this helpful template to empower individual donors to advocate for matching gifts on your behalf.

Subject: Request for a corporate matching gift program

Hi [manager or HR representative name],

I am writing to request the addition of a “one-off” corporate matching gift program at [company] on behalf of [nonprofit].

If you weren’t aware, thousands of companies match employee donations as a way to support their staffs and the nonprofit causes they contribute to. However, I understand the limitations in budget and resources that could hinder a company from participating. That’s why, in this case, I am requesting that [company] implement a specific program in which it matches donations to [nonprofit] for a limited time.

Companies that match gifts tend to see substantial advantages in terms of employee engagement and retention, opportunities to attract competitive candidates, improved brand image, and even increasing sales. And on the employee’s end, team members love knowing that their employer is willing to contribute to their favorite causes.

If you’d like to take steps to establish a matching gift program for the company, Double the Donation has provided a detailed guide that walks corporate leaders through the process.

Thank you for your consideration,

[Your name]
[Job position]
[Contact information]

Looking for more templates and other resources?
360MatchPro users can locate additional materials under Settings → Manage Programs.

Not a 360MatchPro client yet?
Click here to get a demo and see how our complete matching gift automation platform can
transform your fundraising efforts.

Bonus | “The Power of a One-Off Match” Case Study: LLS & Danaher

If you’re wondering what kind of impact a one-off matching gift program can have for your organization, check out this example of a successful partnership that resulted in a unique initiative engaging employee donors at new heights.

As you read, consider which elements of this strategy you can implement in your own team’s efforts.

“Danaher Corporation’s long-standing partnership with LLS enables the team to support active research projects and help patients afford treatments.”

Example of a custom matching gift program offered by Danaher Corporation in support of LLS

—Danaher Corporation Annual Report

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (also known as LLS) is a key player in the fight against blood cancers, dedicating its mission to medical research, education, advocacy, and more. As one of the world’s largest peer-to-peer fundraising organizations, the LLS team has always been at the forefront of innovation to further its cause⁠—including with a particularly well-established approach to corporate matching gifts. Ergo, LLS was also one of the first nonprofits to build a strategy targeting custom matching gift programs.

Armed with 360MatchPro’s automation tools since 2017, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has continued to develop its one-off matching gifts plan, providing corporate partners with customized resources to aid in program facilitation.

Meanwhile, Danaher Corporation, which comprises some of the world’s most groundbreaking science and technology companies, expresses a forward-looking mission of “making things better for our customers, our company, and the world.” Its focus on diagnostics, life sciences, and biotechnology⁠—in addition to its desire to support organizations working to advance healthcare innovation⁠—make its decades-long partnership with LLS a natural fit.

According to a 2023 sustainability report, commitment to continuous improvement is at the heart of everything Danaher Corporation does. That’s why, in 2022 alone, the company invested more than $1.7 billion into research that funded breakthrough cancer diagnostics, innovative bioprocessing, gene sequencing, and more.

One-Off Matching Gift Program Example - StatsWhen the Danaher Corporation team sought new and innovative ways to give back to its community and increasingly engage its workforce in philanthropy, the company settled on a one-off matching gift initiative. After establishing the program, Danaher employees were invited to support LLS through an upcoming fundraising event, Light the Night. With an employee count of over 70,000, the company got on board to give back to their communities in a substantial way.

The result? In offering a one-off matching gift program in partnership with LLS, Danaher Corporation was able to increase its total giving by more than 150%, surpassing its initial fundraising goal and elevating its impact greatly.

And in the end, the company continued to grow its matching gift initiatives! Facilitated through the company-sponsored Danaher Foundation, the team continues to demonstrate a holistic and ongoing approach to corporate giving. In addition to taking its matching gift program global, Danaher also reports plans to venture into skills-based volunteerism, nonprofit board service support, and Volunteer Time Off (VTO).

CHECK OUT MORE MATCHING GIFT CASE STUDIES

Wrapping Up

Sourcing a one-off matching gift program may be one of the best ways to set your organization apart. In addition to the matching gifts ultimately paid out through the program, a one-off match will enable you to grow mutually advantageous corporate relationships that last long beyond the matching gift period itself.

And you don’t want to overlook the benefits to individual supporter engagement, either. An employer-sponsored one-off match program empowers existing donors to stretch their support even further for your cause. Not to mention, it funnels new, first-time donors to your cause in the first place!

Luckily, with the right tips, tricks, and tools, getting started has never been easier. Interested in learning more about matching gift programs and best practices for elevating corporate fundraising at your organization? Check out our recommended resources:

Get started with one-off matching gift programs and more with Double the Donation.

This article explores real world examples of companies' CSR programs.

Companies Committing Social Good: 7 Real-World CSR Examples

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Trends in corporate philanthropy show that corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs are on the rise among companies of all sizes. While large corporations have more resources to set aside for CSR, small and medium-sized businesses can make meaningful impacts in their communities without breaking the bank.

The first step for creating a winning CSR strategy is to know what’s possible for your business. That’s why business leaders who are serious about CSR should look outwards to see what other companies have accomplished through their social good programs.

To help your research, we’ll look at seven companies with thriving CSR programs and provide insight into how you can incorporate their strategies into your initiatives. While many of these are large companies, it’s possible to adapt their practices and scale them down to fit even small businesses’ resources and capabilities.

But first, let’s explore why companies offer CSR programs and the sheer variety of ways you can approach CSR at your business.

Explore the technology you need to start a CSR program. Discover matching gift auto-submission.

Why do companies participate in corporate social responsibility?

CSR benefits society. Nonprofits receive donations, the environment gets cleaned up, and employees have safe and healthy working conditions. These are all obvious reasons why CSR is a positive force, but what do the companies paying for these initiatives get in return?

It turns out businesses committed to CSR can more than make up their investment. They can expect benefits like:

Four ways CSR impacts businesses are listed, written out below.

  • New marketing opportunities. Some CSR programs involve partnering with third-party organizations, usually nonprofits. To say thanks, these charitable organizations will promote your business to their supporters, opening up new marketing channels and giving you a foot in the door with new customers.
  • Easier recruitment. Along with holding on to the employees you have, CSR also helps businesses find and recruit top talent. For instance, if your company is committed to the CSR practice of prioritizing worker safety, health, and well-being, word-of-mouth about your positive work environment will likely spread, resulting in more qualified applicants.
  • Boosted reputation. Just as employees want to work for employers committed to social good, customers want to shop at ethical businesses. For example, let’s say you have the choice of buying two products of fairly equal quality, and one brand has a spotted history with CSR while the other pledges to donate a portion of proceeds to good causes. In this situation, most buyers would select the business with a positive reputation.
  • Improved employee engagement. Employees tend to work harder, care more about the quality of their work, and stick with their employer when they feel like they are working for a good cause. By doing good in your community and implementing socially responsible internal practices, you’ll help employees feel more engaged, increasing productivity and loyalty.

The benefits your business gains depend on the type of CSR program you offer. For example, will you focus on internal practices to engage employees, explore external philanthropy to connect with your community, or try a mix of both approaches? 

Make giving back as easy as possible for your employees with matching gift auto-submission. Discover auto-submission.

What are the types of corporate social responsibility?

CSR is ultimately an umbrella term that consists of all the activities a company does to further social good. This includes both how the company conducts itself internally and the philanthropic donations the organization makes.

An umbrella labeled "Corporate Social Responsibility" has both internal actions, activities businesses conduct internally to be better corporate citizens, and corporate philanthropy, donations to external organizations, under it.

To give you a sense of the sheer variety of CSR programs, here’s a brief list of some of the most common types of CSR:

  • Employee giving. Workplace giving programs involve facilitating donations to nonprofits by encouraging your employees to donate. To encourage employee donations that align with the company’s mission, many businesses provide their teams with information about specific nonprofits they recommend. Corporations can also boost employee donations by offering to match their gifts, usually at a dollar-per-dollar rate. Although, some businesses match at a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio.
  • Sustainability. Sustainable companies are positive for the environment and signal to investors that their business can go the distance. CSR programs focused on sustainability usually involve reducing their carbon footprint, eliminating waste in the production process, taking accountability for any environmental clean-up needs, and using renewable energy sources.
  • Volunteerism. Rather than asking employees to donate their paychecks, businesses can enable them to donate their time. Volunteerism programs include team volunteer days wherein the business organizes a volunteer activity in partnership with a nonprofit, volunteer time off where employees can take paid time off to volunteer, and volunteer grants where businesses donate to nonprofits based on how many hours their employees volunteered.
  • Adherence to workers’ rights. Treat workers with respect by providing fair wages, creating an equitable and diverse workplace, promoting employee health and wellbeing, and using supply chains that follow ethical labor practices.
  • Sponsorships. As mentioned, philanthropic donations fall under the umbrella of CSR. This can involve making monetary donations, donating supplies or specialized services, or promoting nonprofit causes.
  • Grantmaking. Some businesses, usually large corporations, establish grantmaking foundations as part of their CSR efforts. These organizations have a specific focus area for which they provide grants, such as advocacy, environmentalism, or economic equality.

Whether you plan to launch several or just one CSR initiative, software can help you organize and monitor your program. While CSR software providers have various focus areas, most solutions allow businesses to track employee donations, manage grants, facilitate nonprofit relationships, and oversee matching gift requests.

TOMs logo header.

1. TOMs

Shoe retailer TOMs has made CSR a part of its brand to the point of becoming a Certified B Corporation, meaning the company meets high standards for social impact, environmental protection, and accountability. Not only has TOMs achieved this honor, but the organization has boosted its initial score of 96.3 in 2018 to 121.5 in 2021, all while the median score for businesses hovers at just 50.9.

TOMs takes a multi-pronged approach to CSR, dividing its efforts into three categories:

  • Purpose. TOMs aims to create a more equitable world by supporting grassroots nonprofits. As such, TOMs donates a third of its profits to nonprofit organizations specializing in boosting mental health, increasing access to opportunities, and ending gun violence.
  • Planet. TOMs seeks to improve its business’s environmental friendliness in multiple ways, specifically by using sustainable and recycled materials. Currently, 80% of TOMs’ packaging is made from recycled materials, and the company aims to use 100% sustainably grown cotton by 2025.
  • People. In addition to giving to nonprofits, TOMs aims to improve internally by positioning their organization as anti-racist, launching volunteer initiatives on Giving Tuesday, and working with suppliers that share its values.

TOMs is proud of the impact it has made so far and only aims to improve its CSR programs in the future.

CSR Takeaway

There’s no need to choose just one type of CSR program for your business. Taking a multifaceted approach to CSR like TOMs allows your business to engage employees, build a positive reputation with customers, and connect with like-minded organizations.

Conduct an internal assessment and determine what improvements you can make right away and what may take a few years for your company to accomplish. For instance, you may be able to set up a long-term partnership with a nonprofit organization within a few months but need several years to reduce your carbon footprint.

PayPal logo header.

2. PayPal

PayPal’s payment processing services need little introduction, but many may be less familiar with how they use this technology to help charities earn more donations through the PayPal Giving Fund.

Essentially, the PayPal Giving Fund supports charitable organizations through this four-step process:

  1. Charities create a registered account with PayPal. Registered charities will receive PayPal’s low processing fee rates and access to donation opportunities on PayPal and its partner organizations, including GoFundMe, eBay, and Humble Bumble.
  2. Supporters donate through PayPal, eBay, or another PayPal partner. Many PayPal partners will even cover processing fees for charities, making donations to nonprofits go even further.
  3. PayPal receives the donation and provides the donor with a receipt. PayPal will use this information to provide participating charities with monthly donation reports.
  4. The funds are added to the charity’s PayPal account. In addition to individual donors’ gifts, charities can receive grants and major gifts through PayPal.

Along with ensuring donations are securely processed, PayPal’s extensive partner network helps nonprofits receive funds from a variety of sources.

CSR Takeaway

This CSR program takes advantage of the technology PayPal already has to help nonprofit organizations. Assess your business’s products and services and whether they would benefit charitable organizations in your community. If so, you can provide your offerings at a reduced cost or even for free to nonprofits for a philanthropic CSR program.

FP Markets logo header.

3. FP Markets

FP Markets is a financial trading service that allows customers to trade Forex, CFDs, Indices, Shares, Commodities, Metals, and Bonds. FP Markets is also committed to CSR, stating that its mission is to: “Actively contribute to the well-being of communities and the environment. Through sustainable practices, philanthropic initiatives, and ethical decision-making, we aim to make a positive impact on society, fostering a better future for all. Our projects across multiple sectors reflect this goal, promoting change and fostering a healthier, more equitable world.”

Currently, FP Markets has two unique CSR programs worth highlighting:

  • Men’s Health. FP Markets focused on promoting advocacy for overlooked health issues that affect men. Specifically, this included prostate and testicular cancer, as well as mental health support.
  • Cricket Brazil Youth Development Programme. In this example of philanthropic CSR, FP Markets partnered with a Brazilian youth cricket organization to support young athletes and create a positive difference in their communities.

As these two causes show, FP Markets is interested in making a difference globally and partnering with a variety of charitable causes, no matter where they’re located.

CSR Takeaway

Your business doesn’t need to build an entirely new program to serve your community. Rather, try partnering with nonprofits in your area and support them through sponsorships and marketing assistance. These organizations already have the research, resources, and infrastructure to fulfill their charitable missions that align with your CSR goals.

Toast logo header.

4. Toast

Toast.org is the foundation founded by Toast, a point-of-sale software vendor for restaurants. Just as its products revolve around the food industry, Toast’s CSR program also revolves around food. Through its foundation, Toast aims to address hunger and provide access to healthy food.

Toast also encourages its employees and customers to participate in this mission. To motivate employees, Toast offers a matching gift program, which saw a 48% participation rate in 2022. Additionally, through its software, Toast provides restaurants with features to track and reduce food waste.

CSR Takeaway

When selecting your CSR mission, consider what areas of focus make sense for your business. Determine what you have the resources to accomplish, what needs your business and community face, and how your mission impacts your brand.

Many companies do have CSR missions that are unrelated to their business, such as Coca-Cola providing scholarships for higher education. However, a mission that aligns with your products or services can make your brand memorable and allow you to better connect with new audiences that discover your business through your CSR program.

Amalgamated Bank logo header.

5. Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank brands itself as “America’s most socially responsible bank,” meaning CSR is a core part of its strategies. For instance, while companies are proud of their CSR programs, most businesses organize information about their initiatives in a sub-menu on their website. In contrast, Amalgamated Bank proudly displays an “Issues We Care About” button on their main menu, prompting visitors to explore the wide range of issues supported, including:

Amalgamate Bank's website prominently features all of the issues they care about, written below.

  • Climate Justice
  • Immigrant Rights
  • LGBTQ+ Rights
  • Anti-Violence & Gun Safety
  • Criminal Justice
  • Workers’ Rights
  • Reproductive Rights
  • Voting Rights
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice

For each of these issues, Amalgamated Bank takes a proactive stance. Its CSR efforts range from offering pro-bono services to support nonprofit organizations to not doing business with parties they feel are harmful, such as fossil fuel companies.

CSR Takeaway

Your business can conduct CSR in many ways. If there’s a focus area you care about but don’t have the resources to launch an entire program for, consider how else you can support it. For instance, if you’ve already used up your philanthropic budget donating to economic equality groups, you might organize a corporate volunteer day with an environmental organization to plant trees.

Additionally, CSR benefits companies by associating their business’s name with a good cause. There’s no need to be modest about your organization’s work to assist nonprofits, create a positive work environment for employees, and be a better corporate citizen. When you promote your CSR efforts, you’ll attract customers and employees who share your values, creating a positive and productive environment.

Unilever logo header.

6. Unilever

You may not have heard of Unilever, but chances are that you’ve used one of its products. Unilever is the parent company of many well-known ice cream and personal care brands, including Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, and Knorr. With all these successful businesses operating under its umbrella, Unilever is a massive corporation with the resources to make a massive CSR impact.

Through its Unilever Compass social good program, the company conducts CSR programs for the following focus areas:

  • Climate change
  • Environmental preservation and reforestation
  • Waste reduction
  • Increasing the global standard of living
  • Human rights
  • Corporate transparency and accountability

One unique CSR initiative Unilever offers is its Future of work program. With advances in automation and AI, the necessary skills employees need to stay competitive in the job market are rapidly changing. In a partnership with UNICEF, Unilever’s Future of work program aims to help 10 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 learn the skills they need to find employment, provide more flexible working options for Unilever’s current teams, and re- or upskill employees at its businesses to adapt to the digital age.

CSR Takeaway

You don’t need to be a massive corporation like Unilever to offer urgent CSR initiatives. Assess your employees’ and customers’ needs to offer programs currently in demand. After launching your CSR program, continue checking in with its beneficiaries to ensure your services are still needed and stay aware of other in-demand focus areas you may want to branch out into.

Bombas logo header.

7. Bombas

Specializing in socks, Bombas is a clothing company that gets its customers involved in its CSR initiative. Workplace giving programs are popular because they allow employees to feel like they are taking an active role in making a difference, and the same principle applies to shop for a cause programs like the one Bombas offers.

Essentially, whenever a customer buys a t-shirt, pair of socks, or underwear—the three most requested items at homeless shelters—Bombas will donate the same item to one of their nonprofit partners, who then distribute the clothing to those in need.

CSR Takeaway

Determine how much you want your customers and employees to get involved in your CSR program. Some initiatives, like establishing a charitable foundation, are usually influenced very little by customers or employees, allowing the companies that operate them to act more independently.

However, programs that engage stakeholders are far more public and help businesses make CSR a part of their brand identity. Plus, initiatives like shop for a cause programs can lead to positive business outcomes. After all, if a buyer knows each item they purchase results in a donation, they’re likely to buy more than they normally would.

Corporate Social Responsibility Examples: More Resources

There are as many ways to approach CSR as there are businesses operating. The examples in this guide are a strong place to start to inspire your own CSR efforts to positively impact your community, all while boosting relationships with customers and employees.

Of course, to create the transformative programs listed here, these companies started with a strong foundational knowledge of CSR best practices. Continue to expand your business’s expertise with resources like these:

Ready to boost employee donations with auto-submission? Discover if your CSR software has auto-submission functionality! Get in touch.

This article explores the benefits of skills-based volunteering and shares tips for nonprofits and companies.

Skills-Based Volunteering: What It Is & How It’s Rewarding

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Volunteering isn’t just about goodwill—it’s about leveraging our collective expertise to help others. Skills-based volunteering taps into the vast reservoir of knowledge within our communities, creating unique and rewarding opportunities for individuals to give back.

This form of volunteerism benefits not only nonprofits but also the volunteers and the companies they work for. Nonprofits get much-needed assistance, volunteers use their skills to help their communities, and companies enhance their images. In fact, CSR research has found that 93% of employees think companies should lead with purpose, and volunteerism is a great way to accomplish that! It’s a win-win-win, but only if each party approaches it strategically.

In this article, we’ll explore skills-based volunteering and how it creates a rewarding scenario for all. Here’s what we’ll cover:

No matter if you’re a nonprofit leader, company executive, or volunteer looking to make a difference, there’s something in this guide for everyone. Let’s dive in to discover the impact of skilled volunteering.

Click here to download our matching gifts guide and inspire your skilled volunteers to give back financially too.

What is skills-based volunteering?

Also referred to as SBV, skills-based volunteering is a form of volunteerism in which individuals use their specialized skills and professional knowledge to assist nonprofits, community organizations, or other philanthropic causes free of charge.

Often facilitated through employee giving programs, skills-based volunteers contribute their talents and capabilities to charitable organizations to help address complex challenges, enhance organizational capacity, or advance specific projects. For instance, a nonprofit may need help with its email communications. As part of SBV, a digital marketing firm could step in to create engaging newsletters and emails that inspire recipients.

Common types of skills-based volunteering

One of the best aspects of skilled volunteerism is its flexibility. Individuals can give back however suits their unique skill sets. Pro-bono support may include activities such as:

  • Marketing and communications like preparing external newsletters or designing program brochures
  • Financial management such as finding new fundraising sources or preparing grant proposals
  • Technology and IT support
  • Translating documents or other texts
  • Online fundraising support such as conducting a peer-to-peer fundraiser
  • Mentoring youth, adults looking for jobs, or others
  • Graphic design support, such as designing social media infographics or website assets

Knowing how individuals can lend their expertise empowers companies and nonprofits alike to offer worthwhile opportunities that further their philanthropic mission.

How skilled volunteering differs from traditional volunteering

While traditional and skilled volunteering are both rewarding, they have some key differences:

This chart compares skilled volunteering and traditional volunteering.

  • Nature of contributions: Skilled volunteering leverages individuals’ unique expertise to provide specialized services, like marketing, legal advice, accounting, and project management. Meanwhile, traditional volunteerism requires individuals to provide general assistance, such as serving meals or participating in environmental clean-ups.
  • Impact and value: While traditional volunteering provides vital support to nonprofits, its impact can be more limited than skilled volunteering. Skill-based volunteering delivers immediate, substantial impact through operational improvements, capacity building, and long-term solutions to complex issues.
  • Time commitment: Traditional volunteering opportunities tend to be flexible since volunteers can participate in one-time events. In contrast, skilled volunteering may involve long-term commitments for projects that require sustained effort and specialized skill sets.

Overall, both types of volunteerism create meaningful, lasting impacts. Whether a nonprofit seeks skilled or general volunteers depends on the organization’s goals and the preferences of the companies providing volunteers.

What are the benefits of skills-based volunteering?

Let’s take a closer look at how skilled volunteering impacts each party involved.

This graphic summarizes the benefits of skills-based volunteering, explained below.

The Nonprofit Perspective

Volunteers are the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations. In fact, one-third of the nonprofit workforce is volunteers.

Here’s a breakdown of the greatest benefits skills-based volunteering brings nonprofits:

  • Access to specialized expertise: Skilled volunteers bring professional expertise and knowledge that nonprofits may not have in-house. This expertise can cover areas such as finance, marketing, technology, project management, and more. By tapping into these skills, nonprofits can address critical challenges, enhance their programs, and advance their missions.
  • Cost and time savings: Skilled volunteers offer pro bono services to nonprofits, making this a cost-effective way to access high-quality expertise. This is particularly valuable for nonprofits with limited budgets and time constraints. Independent Sector estimates that the current value of each volunteer hour is $31.80. By lending these valuable services for free, skilled volunteers can expedite projects without sacrificing quality.
  • More fulfilling volunteer opportunities: Supporters want to make an impact. By sharing their specialized skills, they can feel like they’re making a difference, leading to greater volunteer retention rates.
  • Innovation and growth: Skilled volunteers introduce innovative ideas and fresh perspectives to nonprofits. This enables organizations to adapt to changing environments, explore new revenue streams, and identify growth opportunities.

This is just the tip of the iceberg! The benefits of skilled volunteering run deep. Overall, this form of volunteering enriches nonprofits and enables them to fulfill their missions more effectively.

The Company’s Perspective

The companies that encourage employees to volunteer do so for a reason! Workplace giving is a powerful way to give back and supply employees with rewarding experiences.

Here are some of the biggest benefits of skills-based volunteering for companies and their employees:

  • Employee skill development: Through volunteering, employees can put their current expertise into practice and even develop new skills. In fact, skill-based volunteer programs help individuals build new, job-related skills at 95% the rate of traditional volunteer projects. In addition to practicing hard skills, employees commonly develop soft skills through volunteerism including self-motivation, leadership, conflict resolution, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork.
  • Employee satisfaction and retention: Empowering employees to use their professional skills for a meaningful cause can improve job satisfaction, leading to happier and more motivated employees. Overall, companies that offer skilled volunteering are more desirable places to work since 71% of employees say it’s imperative their employer supports giving and volunteering.
  • Improved brand reputation: Today’s businesses recognize their duty to be socially responsible and give back to the communities that support them. Companies that engage in skilled volunteering demonstrate a commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), and customers, clients, and employees alike appreciate philanthropic efforts like these.
  • Networking and relationship building: About 35% of individuals volunteer to socialize. By encouraging skilled volunteering, companies enable employees to interact with one another and form new connections with others in the nonprofit sector.

From improving their business’s reputation to keeping employees happy, it’s not hard to see why skilled volunteering is a priority among today’s companies.

Best practices to make the most of skills-based volunteering

For skilled volunteering to be as impactful as possible, companies and benefitting organizations both need to be strategic. Let’s explore some actionable guidance for nonprofits and companies to maximize impact.

Tips for nonprofits

To experience all the great benefits we covered above, nonprofits should be smart about the skills-based volunteer opportunities they offer. Here are some tips for nonprofits to infuse skilled volunteerism into their operations:

Nonprofits should follow these best practices for skills-based volunteering.

  • Identify organizational needs. Knowing the areas where a nonprofit needs support will help create volunteer roles that support those needs. For instance, a nonprofit may need help completing their tax forms, in which case they may turn to a local accounting firm.
  • Be smart about recruitment. Recruit skilled volunteers through targeted channels, such as professional associations, corporate partnerships, or volunteer matching platforms. While these volunteers already have the necessary skills, provide comprehensive onboarding to ensure they are well-prepared.
  • Offer flexible volunteer opportunities. Be flexible with volunteer scheduling, recognizing that skilled volunteers likely have other commitments. Offer options for remote or flexible volunteering when possible. For example, a volunteer graphic designer can likely work entirely remotely and asynchronously.
  • Recognize and appreciate volunteers. Supporters offer their valuable time and skills free of charge. The very least nonprofits should do is say thanks. Shout out volunteers on social media, send custom thank-you letters, or create heartfelt thank-you videos.
  • Leverage volunteer grants to take impact further. Look into volunteers’ employers to determine if they’re eligible for volunteer grants. Through these programs, companies promise to donate to nonprofits where employees regularly volunteer. Our matching gift database even stores information on volunteer grants, so you can identify these opportunities more easily.

By following these tips, nonprofits can harness the expertise of skilled volunteers to address critical needs, strengthen organizational capacity, and advance worthwhile missions.

For Nonprofits: Explore how volunteer grants drive greater impact.

Tips for companies

Lining up skilled volunteering opportunities is a smart move for companies. Here are some tips businesses can use to effectively engage in skills-based volunteering and maximize the positive impact they have through this type of corporate giving:

Companies should follow the tips in this graphic to effectively implement skills-based volunteering.

  • Line up volunteer opportunities that align with the company’s needs and expertise. Much like nonprofits, companies should assess their needs before choosing volunteer activities for employees. Begin by identifying the specific needs and challenges your company can address. Consider areas where your employees’ expertise can make a significant impact.
  • Collaborate with nonprofits. Establish partnerships with nonprofit organizations that align with your company’s mission. Work closely with nonprofits to understand their needs and co-create impactful projects. Establishing ongoing partnerships can turn skills-based volunteering into a long-term commitment, continuously engaging your employees in meaningful volunteer opportunities.
  • Be flexible with scheduling. Support employees’ volunteer commitments by allowing them to allocate time during work hours or by offering flexible scheduling options. An increasing number of companies offer Volunteer Time Off (VTO) to allow employees to give back during work hours without sacrificing their paychecks.
  • Recognize and celebrate employees’ contributions. Volunteering should never be mandatory, so recognize those who participate out of the goodness of their hearts. Consider incentives such as gift cards or charitable giving stipends to acknowledge employees’ generous efforts and contributions.
  • Let employees choose their opportunities. Volunteer work is more impactful when individuals are excited to give back. Allow employees to choose projects or causes that resonate with them. Empower them to leverage their passions and skills for the greater good in the ways they prefer.

Remember, workplace giving is just as valuable for employees. Remind employees to be flexible, committed, and open to learning during their volunteer experiences, and line up opportunities they’ll appreciate.

For Companies: Discover corporate volunteer ideas employees will love.

Final Thoughts on Skills-Based Volunteering

With professionals seeking more meaningful ways to contribute, skills-based volunteering is reshaping the volunteering landscape. Whether you work for a nonprofit that needs specialized assistance or a company looking to give back, skilled volunteering can help make your job easier and grow your impact.

Remember to consider your organization’s needs and be strategic with volunteer opportunities. In turn, it can be a win-win-win for companies, their employees, and benefitting nonprofits.

The world of corporate giving is expansive, and we’re excited to share additional resources to help you leverage it. To continue learning, explore these educational resources:

Click here to download a guide for matching gifts, a great way to encourage skilled volunteers to also donate to nonprofits.

Explore current corporate philanthropy trends and discover how nonprofits and companies can drive value through corporate giving.

8 Trends in Corporate Philanthropy for 2024: How to Tap In

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Corporate philanthropy programs like matching gifts, volunteer grants, employee giving campaigns, and corporate sponsorships evolve constantly to meet the needs of companies, nonprofits, and supporters. But external factors are at play that impact trends in corporate philanthropy, too.

For instance, when the economy seems rocky, many worry that corporate matching gifts will be negatively impacted. But luckily, that’s not been the case this year. Instead, many corporations have historically expanded their giving programs in the face of economic downturns to help combat the negative effects on nonprofits.

In this guide, we’ll dive into this year’s CSR trends—particularly those pertaining to workplace giving. We’ll take a close look at what we’re currently seeing and what we expect to continue into the future. Specifically, we’ll cover:

If you’re looking for the Too Long; Didn’t Read version, it’s this⁠: corporate philanthropy programs like matching gifts are thriving, and we don’t expect them to go away anytime soon. For a more in-depth look, however, keep reading to find the latest industry developments and what they mean for your nonprofit.

Click to demo 360MatchPro and see how it can help your nonprofit tap into these trends in corporate philanthropy.

8 Trends in Corporate Philanthropy To Pay Attention To

With the explosive growth of giving initiatives comes a number of new patterns and trends in corporate philanthropy worth exploring. Here’s what’s currently shaping the corporate philanthropy landscape:

This infographic and the text below explore eight trends in corporate philanthropy for 2024.

1. More small and mid-sized companies are participating.

Historically, primarily enterprise-level corporations have offered programs like matching gifts. Companies needed a big budget to get started⁠, not to mention the time and energy required to run the program.

Today, our analysis shows that over 65% of Fortune 500 companies still provide matching gifts⁠, but the number of small and mid-sized businesses following suit is also growing rapidly. The introduction of a number of dedicated corporate giving platforms designed for smaller teams has made this change possible for organizations with limited budgets.

Now, just about any employer can hop in on this corporate giving trend, get started with matching gifts, and see a substantial return on their investment! All in all, that means organizations are seeing more match-eligible donors⁠, with 26+ million individuals working for companies that match employee gifts thanks to this CSR trend.

This statistic proves one of the top trends in corporate philanthropy, which is that companies are maintaining and heightening CSR programs.

2. Year-round giving programs are becoming mainstream.

In the last few years, an increasing number of companies have expanded their corporate philanthropy programs—going from one-off annual giving campaigns to year-round employee-matching programs.

This is due in part to an increased focus on corporate social responsibility from both employees and consumers. U.S.-based consumers have realized the need for philanthropy and want the companies the work for and buy from to take part. Additionally, businesses realize that the benefits of year-round corporate philanthropy on their bottom line are significant!

That said, we can expect to see continued growth in year-round and recurring corporate giving. In fact, according to studies, 94% of major U.S. corporations plan to heighten or maintain their current level of philanthropy in the next few years. With the workplace giving trends we’re seeing, we estimate that a notable portion of that increased giving will be contributed through employee-driven initiatives, like matching gifts. This means your donors will be in the driver’s seat—so keep up your outreach!

3. Nonprofits are proactively seeking matching gifts.

Even with an increasing number of companies offering matching gifts, eligible employees being unaware of the programs available to them remains a significant roadblock. Research even shows that less than 19% of companies include adequate information on matching gift programs in easily accessible employee-facing materials.

The result? 78% of donors do not know whether their company matches gifts. Thus, available matches are going unclaimed⁠—so nonprofits are taking it upon themselves to promote matching gifts to their audiences proactively. That way, they can grow awareness and be on the positive side of this workplace giving trend. Education can take many forms but often consists of:

One trend in corporate philanthropy is proactive matching gift promotions from nonprofits.

With these efforts and other strategic matching gift outreach, nonprofits can increase the number of donors who are aware of their employers’ corporate philanthropy programs—therefore boosting the amount of matched donations they receive.

4. Companies are being more generous with matching gifts.

Today’s businesses recognize that matching gift programs incentivize employees to be charitable, and being as generous as possible can inspire greater participation in workplace philanthropy. That’s why generosity in matching gifts has gradually become a corporate philanthropy trend.

We’ve noticed that more companies are experimenting with these strategies:

  • Matching donations at higher ratios
  • Lowering minimum donation amounts
  • Increasing maximum donation amounts

By simply promising to match donations at higher rates, companies can grow employees’ impact and make it more worthwhile for employees to submit a match request. Currently, our CSR research shows that around 93% of companies have a minimum match requirement of less than or equal to $50. Having fairly cheap match requirements lowers barriers to participation since even modest donations will be eligible for matching.

The same goes for increasing maximum donation amounts. Our corporate giving statistics page explains that when companies match larger employee donations, more employees will engage. In fact, programs with $1,000 maximums see a 12% employee engagement rate, those with maximums between $1,001 and $10,000 have an 18% engagement rate, and any maximum beyond $10,000 sees an engagement rate of up to 40%.

5. Companies are prioritizing disaster relief and crisis response.

Many companies’ giving initiatives have prioritized disaster relief philanthropy. According to Candid’s analysis of public corporate announcements, companies donated $3.6 billion to disaster-related funding in 2020, and recent trends in corporate philanthropy indicate that it’s still a top priority.

With this year’s increase in climate-related emergencies like hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts, there’s clearly a need for this kind of philanthropy. Companies and their employees alike are making an effort to provide relief by participating in crowdfunding, volunteering, and matching gift initiatives.

6. More companies and nonprofits are forming partnerships.

Corporate philanthropy initiatives like matching gifts involve a few key stakeholders—namely, the companies offering the programs and the nonprofits receiving associated funds. To make the process as simple and direct as possible, the two parties are forming tighter partnerships.

One example of this corporate philanthropy trend is our innovative matching gift auto-submission functionality. Auto-submission within 360MatchPro enables employees at forward-thinking companies like Checkr, Innovative Discovery, and more to submit their matching gift requests right from their favorite organizations’ giving pages. Check out this overview of how this feature works for nonprofits:

 

It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s all handled behind the scenes⁠. Thus, it minimizes complications for nonprofits, companies, and donors alike, driving more matching gifts to completion and contributing to this workplace giving trend.

Click here to explore how matching gift auto-submission enables you to tap into these corporate philanthropy trends.

7. Employees want greater value, flexibility, and transparency in workplace giving.

Flexibility and support are emerging as essential for employee engagement in workplace giving. An employee giving study from Fidelity Charitable uncovered this trend in workplace giving. Employees who are active in workplace giving programs enjoy participating but cited the following as ways to improve these programs:

Trends in workplace giving point to employees' rising expectations for companies.

  • 40% want an increase in the value of the benefit (e.g., higher corporate match)
  • 39% prefer their employers to offer a wider variety of programs
  • 39% wish companies would allow greater flexibility in when employees can participate
  • 36% want greater flexibility in the causes they can support
  • 34% wish employers would provide more information about their programs and how to get involved
  • 30% want greater transparency about how donations are used

Employees want more than a paycheck from their employers. They want to feel like they’re making a difference. Meanwhile, employees are also balancing a lot, both in and out of the workplace. To inspire participation in workplace giving, companies need to be flexible with the opportunities they offer, ensure those workplace giving options are valuable, and regularly report on impact. That way, they can hop in on this trend in workplace giving expectations among employees.

8. Businesses are using volunteering to grow employee skills and satisfaction.

Corporate volunteering is a wonderful way to grow workplace satisfaction and lower turnover rates for companies. In fact, 87% of employees who engage in corporate volunteering reported an improved perception of their employer. And this isn’t all for nothing! According to that same resource, 92% of HR executives encourage volunteering since it can improve employees’ professional skills.

For this CSR trend, let’s take a look at a real-world example. Bombas is a comfort-focused premium basics brand and a wonderful example of a socially responsible company. Their company is so committed to using workplace philanthropy as a way to increase employee satisfaction that it was actually named one of the best places to work in the U.S.

100% of its employees reported feeling good about how the company contributes to the community. One of the top ways the company gives back is by organizing 10 to 15 volunteering opportunities for employees each month.

For companies, follow in Bombas’ footsteps if you want to get in on this trend in corporate philanthropy. Nonprofits can tap in by looking for companies like this and forming partnerships when their missions align with the business’s CSR initiatives.

Recent Industry Developments in Matching Gifts

Tons of companies contribute to these corporate philanthropy trends by matching employee gifts. Our matching gift database contains records of over 24,000 companies’ program guidelines.

We work to provide the most comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date source of information on the topic, and recently, we can attest that programs’ potential is continuously trending upward⁠. Specifically, new, reinstated, and expanding matching gift initiatives are driving growth. Let’s take a closer look at these developments.

New programs

These are the logos of two companies, discussed below, that started new matching gift programs this year to participate in corporate philanthropy trends.

New companies are rolling out matching gift programs every day! Check out these examples of businesses that have recently incorporated matching gifts into their ongoing corporate giving strategies:

  • Russell Reynolds Associates: In 2022, Russell Reynolds Associates established RRA Gives Back, a philanthropic program that encourages RRA colleagues to support charitable causes and get their contributions matched by the company.
  • Kraft Group: The Kraft Group and its subsidiaries have long participated in various philanthropic activities. One of their newest initiatives is matching employee donations, doubling employees’ impact when they donate.

Another trend in corporate philanthropy we’re seeing more and more of is employees advocating for matching gift programs to their employers. So if a number of your donors are not eligible for matching gifts, don’t fret! Instead, provide resources that can help them champion gift-matching on your behalf.

Knowing their employees want a matching gift program can be a significant motivator for rolling out such an initiative. In exchange, companies can look forward to increased employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Reinstated programs

These are the logos of the four companies discussed below, which reinstated matching gift programs and influenced current CSR trends.

Thanks to the significant value that companies see in their corporate social responsibility efforts, many businesses have recently reinstated their matching gift programs. Companies recognize philanthropy as an integral aspect of their businesses.

For example, here are a few companies that are matching gifts again after a brief intermission in their programming:

  • Booz Allen Hamilton: Previously suspended in 2021, Booz Allen Hamilton’s matching gift program is once again live as of 2023. Both full-time and part-time team members are encouraged to join the company in supporting their favorite charitable causes.
  • Kimray Inc.: Kimray Inc. resumed matching donations of up to $2,000 per team member per year to eligible nonprofit causes. Though they’ll match many organizations and educational institutions, Kimray places a special emphasis on missions related to youth programming, culture, and their local communities.
  • International Business Machines (IBM): IBM paused match operations while switching to a new system. However, the program is now live, and IBM employees are able to request matching gifts of up to $10,000 per year!
  • United Parcel Service (UPS): Though it stopped matching employee gifts for a period, UPS has been back and matching since late 2022. Facilitated through the UPS Foundation, UPS’s matching gift program is designed to empower team members to make a difference through workplace giving.

These companies may have reinstated their programs because they’re in a better place financially, but it’s also likely that they recognized that matching gifts are a long-term investment in their communities. Regardless of the reasoning, we’re glad these companies are back!

Expanding programs

These are the logos of the three companies discussed below that contributed to current corporate philanthropy trends by expanding matching gift programs.

Companies with existing matching gift programs are also expanding their efforts⁠ by increasing their matching gift ratio and/or upping their maximum match amount per year. Here are a few examples of companies recently making these changes:

  • American Eagle Outfitters: Quadrupling their maximum match amount (from $500 to $2,000 per team member per year), American Eagle continues to offer a best-in-class matching gift program! They also upgraded from a paper request form to an online submission portal⁠, making it simpler than ever for employees to get involved.
  • The Hartford: With an increasing match ratio from 0.5:1 to matching on a dollar-for-dollar basis, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. empowers employees to give by doubling individual donations.
  • Chicago Community Trust: Not only did the Chicago Community Trust increase its matching gift ratio from 2:1 to 3:1⁠ (effectively quadrupling individual donations⁠), but it also heightened the maximum gift amount to $7,500.

Not to mention, the number of matching gift programs that will match to any nonprofit continues to grow, while programs that only match to a particular mission type have severely declined. This CSR trend continues to reflect a broader shift toward more inclusive corporate philanthropy as companies empower their employees to support causes that matter to them.

How Nonprofits Can Tap Into These Corporate Philanthropy Trends

Now that you’re up to date on all the latest trends, let’s dive deeper into what they mean for your nonprofit. Ultimately, these workplace giving trends are positive and mean that your nonprofit can continue to see the benefits of corporate philanthropy. But there’s more you can do to tap in!

Our number one piece of advice for leveraging these trends in corporate philanthropy is to take a proactive approach in marketing matching gifts to your audience. 

Remember, your donors may not be aware of their companies’ matching initiatives. To maximize funding and engagement from these programs, it’s crucial to spread the word across your marketing channels. Let donors know how to check their eligibility, why they should submit match requests, and how much impact they can make with matching gifts. Check out this video for more tips on how to promote matching gifts to your donors:

On top of increasing your matching gift marketing, use these additional tips to tap into corporate philanthropy trends:

  • Invest in matching gift software. With software like 360MatchPro, you can greatly simplify the matching gift request process for donors. When you employ functionalities like matching gift auto-submission, your team can sit back and enjoy matching gift revenue trending upward.
  • Expand your promotion of disaster relief campaigns. If your nonprofit participates in crisis response or disaster relief efforts, promote these campaigns directly to corporate audiences. Reach out to businesses and let your donors know their employers can magnify their impact on aiding disasters.
  • Seek out corporate partnerships. Companies want to partner with organizations like yours! Take advantage of this corporate philanthropy trend by continuing to develop relationships with specific businesses, seeking out sponsorship opportunities, and tracking companies that frequently match your donors’ gifts.

Taking these steps will help your organization get the most out of corporate philanthropy and raise more funds for your mission.

What These CSR Trends Mean For Companies

Staying on top of trends in workplace giving isn’t only essential for nonprofits. Companies should also monitor the landscape and pay special attention to their employees’ engagement with their programs. That way, they can stay connected with increased expectations from their employees, prospective workers, investors, and customers.

Based on the corporate giving trends we’re currently seeing, this is what we suggest companies do to make a genuine impact:

  • Be generous with workplace giving programs. It’s not enough to simply engage in corporate giving. Instead, businesses should provide a wide variety employee giving opportunities, including everything from matching gifts to volunteer opportunities to charitable giving stipends.
  • Form partnerships with nonprofits. Consistently supporting one nonprofit can help grow impact while also indicating the company’s values. Companies should select reputable nonprofit partners that align with their missions.
  • Put special emphasis on matching gifts. Corporate matches are one of the most convenient yet powerful ways to give back. Companies should develop a generous program with low minimum donation requirements, high maximum donation requirements, and generous ratios. Then, they should make sure employees know about the opportunity.

Being serious about corporate giving is a great way for businesses to show they recognize their duty to give back to the communities that support them. While these tips reflect current CSR trends, we don’t expect these standards to change anytime soon.

Trending Onward & Upward

Corporate philanthropy continues to be a priority for businesses and employees everywhere. Thus, we encourage nonprofits to make the most of the opportunities at hand.

Interested in learning more about corporate philanthropy trends to be aware of? Check out these additional Double the Donation resources:

Interested in learning more about how to continue fundraising through difficult times? Check out our immersive webinar on the topic!

How to Fundraise During Economic Uncertainty

Click to demo 360MatchPro and learn how to harness these corporate philanthropy trends with matching gift software.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how your company can create a CSR strategy that engages employees and generates a lasting impact on society.

Creating a CSR Strategy: How to Forge a Lasting Impact

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There are many markers of a successful business—from pulling in huge profits to maintaining highly engaged employees. To truly stand out in today’s society, however, companies must have a strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. They must demonstrate to employees, customers, and other stakeholders that they are not merely service or product providers, but upstanding corporate citizens with a duty to make the world a better place.

Ready to become a leading company in CSR? We’ll cover everything you need to know about creating an impactful CSR strategy in the following sections:

Your company’s reputation depends on not only how much you make but also how much you give. Philanthropy has become an increasing priority, with corporations donating over $21 billion to nonprofits just in the last year—a 13.4% increase from the previous year. To ensure your long-term success and sustainability, it’s time to solidify what CSR means for your company.

Click through to discover how you can elevate your CSR strategy with cutting-edge matching gift tools like auto-submission.

What is a CSR Strategy?

For starters, corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to a company’s responsibility to operate in a way that enhances the welfare of society rather than harms it. To do so, many companies take conscious steps in areas such as accountability and environmentalism.

A company’s CSR strategy, in turn, outlines the various initiatives and programs it will undertake to improve its social impact. What do these initiatives and programs typically entail? Let’s take a look at four main categories of CSR:

This image summarizes four types of CSR, which are important to consider when developing a CSR strategy for your company.

Environmental Responsibility

Environmental responsibility refers to your company’s impact on the health of the environment, from its energy use to waste production. Several common activities that businesses can adopt to increase their environmental responsibility include:

  • Implementing more sustainable business practices to reduce pollution and waste.
  • Creating a company-wide recycling program.
  • Investing in alternative energy sources.
  • Reducing water use in the workplace.
  • Educating employees about sustainability best practices.

Patagonia is an outstanding company in the realm of environmental responsibility, with an entire page on its website dedicated to its programs and goals. By 2025, the company aims to use only preferred materials, such as organic cotton, that are better for the environment and produce 100% eco-friendly packaging. By 2040, Patagonia aspires to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire value chain.

Ethical Responsibility

Ethical responsibility refers to your company’s treatment of its employees, customers, and other stakeholders. To embrace ethical responsibility, businesses can commit to the following endeavors:

  • Increasing transparency surrounding business decisions and finances.
  • Prioritizing safe working conditions and fair labor practices.
  • Providing all employees with competitive compensation and benefits.
  • Sourcing all materials in the supply chain ethically.
  • Establishing anti-corruption policies.

Starbucks makes its dedication to ethical responsibility known on its website by including numerous documents on its policies and impact, from its Global Anti-Bribery Standard to data on its workforce diversity. Making all of this information available to stakeholders allows the company to enhance its reputation and build more trust within its communities.

Philanthropic Responsibility

Philanthropic responsibility refers to how your company contributes to making the world a better place. To boost their philanthropic responsibility, many businesses launch the following initiatives:

  • Creating a corporate giving program to donate funds to charitable causes.
  • Encouraging volunteerism among employees through company volunteering days and volunteer time off (VTO).
  • Partnering with nonprofit organizations to fund their events and programs.
  • Providing pro bono services to support nonprofit missions.
  • Helping nonprofits raise awareness by collaborating in cause marketing campaigns.

TOMS is a noteworthy company that excels in corporate philanthropy, investing one-third of its profits to promote grassroots good. The company partners with nonprofits to support mental health, increase access to opportunity, and end gun violence through cash grants, volunteering, and more. In the last year, TOMS has contributed $1.7 million to its focus areas and impacted 147,510 lives.

Economic Responsibility

Economic responsibility refers to how your company grounds its financial decisions in advancing social good. A few basic ways businesses can enhance their economic responsibility include:

  • Investing in sustainability research related to their products or services.
  • Maintaining compliance with tax and financial reporting requirements.
  • Promoting financial transparency with stakeholders.
  • Adopting processes that may be more expensive but are more sustainable.
  • Launching training initiatives to educate employees on areas such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmentalism.


For example, LEGO places significant emphasis on researching ways to increase its sustainability. Over the past few years, the company has collaborated with suppliers and research institutions to create LEGO bricks from more sustainable sources—testing over 300 recycled materials and even creating a prototype brick from PET plastic bottles.

Why is Developing a CSR Strategy Important?

Creating a CSR strategy for your company is not as simple as checking off a box on your to-do list. Considering all the planning and effort involved, is such an endeavor really worth it? The simple answer is yes. By designing a thoughtful CSR strategy, your company can:

This image displays the main benefits associated with developing a CSR strategy for your company, detailed below.

  • Enhance its reputation. A CSR strategy demonstrates your company’s commitment to creating lasting social change, rather than merely securing profits. This can go a long way toward generating a sense of respect and admiration in the eyes of your stakeholders.
  • Attract more customers. As your reputation for social good spreads, you’ll catch the attention of more socially conscious customers interested in supporting your company and its CSR initiatives. Additionally, you’ll be able to win the loyalty of existing customers who share similar values with your company.
  • Recruit more top talent. PwC reports that 86% of employees prefer to work for companies that care about the same issues they do. By placing more of a focus on CSR at your company, you’ll be able to better appeal to job seekers who are motivated to make the world a better place.
  • Improve employee engagement. Keeping employees engaged has become a major priority for many companies, considering Gallup’s finding that only 32% of full- and part-time employees are engaged, while 18% are actively disengaged. Having an effective CSR strategy allows your employees to take pride in their work and find a larger sense of purpose in their roles. In turn, this can lead them to stick around for the long term.
  • Lower its operational expenses. By prioritizing CSR at your company, you can make progress in areas such as energy efficiency, resource consumption, and waste management. With these improved processes, you’ll be able to reduce your operational expenses over time.

Beyond these immediate benefits, a CSR strategy ultimately empowers your company to boost its impact on the world. Your efforts will provide nonprofits with critical funding to fulfill their missions, employees with a healthy and fulfilling work environment, and communities with the support they need to thrive.

Click through to read about a top CSR strategy example and learn how your company can engage more employees in CSR.

How to Create Your CSR Plan

While there are many facets of a CSR strategy, building one doesn’t have to be a complicated task. Follow these eight steps to hit the ground running with your company’s strategy:

This image illustrates the eight steps to creating a CSR plan for your company, explained in more detail below.

1. Set relevant CSR goals.

When building a CSR strategy, it’s important to set clear, relevant goals to maximize your results and avoid overwhelming your team. Think about any existing CSR initiatives you may have within your company. Then, review them alongside your mission and values. Do your activities align with your values? How do they relate to your company’s overarching purpose?

After reflecting on these points, consider setting goals in areas such as:

Before you can launch your strategy, you’ll need to secure support from members of your board and leadership. Be sure to emphasize the benefits of creating a CSR strategy, including how it will contribute to your business goals as a whole. Reference examples of other successful companies to serve as models for your proposed undertaking.

2. Conduct research and collect feedback.

As you develop your strategy, research relevant topics and issues that your company can have a meaningful impact on. Several frameworks exist to inform your decision-making, such as the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include:

  • Zero hunger
  • Good health and well-being
  • Quality education
  • Gender equality
  • Affordable and clean energy
  • Decent work and economic growth

Furthermore, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has created a standard to guide companies in developing social responsibility programs. Combine these resources with stakeholder feedback to produce a CSR strategy tailored to your company’s goals and priorities.

To collect this information, send out surveys to your employees, customers, and other community members to learn more about how they view your current CSR standing and what causes are important to them. After all, 84% of consumers and 85% of employees agree that the more a business engages them in charitable giving decisions, the more trust they have in that business.

3. Involve employees with a workplace giving program.

A successful CSR strategy depends on the combined efforts of everyone at your company. Present your employees with direct ways to contribute by creating a workplace giving program. Some basic opportunities you can provide are:

This image summarizes some basic workplace giving opportunities your company can provide as part of its CSR strategy.

  • Matching gifts. This initiative is popular among many businesses, with 65% of Fortune 500 companies offering matching gift programs. When an employee donates to an eligible nonprofit, they’ll submit a request to your company. Then, your company will make a donation of its own, matching the employee’s gift amount at a 1:1 ratio or more. This is a stellar way for employees to secure more revenue for causes they care about.
  • Volunteer grants. The process for volunteer grants is similar to that of matching gifts, except your company will make a donation after an employee volunteers a certain number of hours with a nonprofit. Once they pass the minimum hours threshold, they’ll submit a request, and you’ll contribute a certain amount of funds per hour volunteered.
  • Payroll deductions. Automatic payroll deductions make it easy for employees to give to nonprofits on a recurring basis. To participate, they’ll select an organization to support and how much they would like to contribute out of their paychecks.

Pave the way for additional team-building by planning volunteer days for your company to take part in. In doing so, you’ll be able to encourage more employees to join in your philanthropic initiatives and cultivate stronger relationships with their peers.

4. Partner with nonprofit organizations.

Enhance your CSR strategy by seeking out partnerships with nonprofits. With the right approach, these partnerships can turn into long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. Beyond organizing regular volunteer opportunities with them, you can sponsor their events in exchange for a mention in their marketing materials. Reach out to nonprofits with missions and values that align with yours to ensure that both parties get the most out of the partnership.

For instance, General Mills has been a partner of Feeding America for over 40 years. The company has supported the nonprofit through a variety of initiatives, such as charitable giving, product donations, volunteerism, and more. Since their partnership first began, General Mills has contributed a total of $37 million to advance Feeding America’s hunger relief goals.

Whirlpool, a kitchen and laundry appliance company, focuses its social responsibility on affordable housing. For 23 years, the company has collaborated with Habitat for Humanity by contributing funds, donating products, and creating support programs in 45 different countries.

Both partnerships illustrate the power of collaborating with nonprofits that share similar values and goals with your company.

5. Adopt CSR software.

Since there are many moving parts to an effective CSR strategy, you’ll need to invest in a toolkit to streamline your processes. A comprehensive CSR software solution should equip your company with features that streamline:

  • Donation management. Your company should be able to provide its employees with multiple ways to participate in your corporate giving initiatives, including making donations directly through your CSR platform. Additionally, the software should allow you to manage your matching gifts program and automatically approve requests based on your guidelines.
  • Volunteer management. Your CSR software should supply your company with tools for planning and promoting corporate volunteer opportunities. Furthermore, look for the ability to accept volunteer grant requests and process them based on the number of hours logged by each employee.
  • Tracking and reporting. A key aspect of CSR involves sharing your initiatives and impact with stakeholders. With CSR tools, you can easily generate reports and maintain transparency about your efforts. This information can also prove useful for refining your strategy going forward.

If you’re looking for a new CSR solution to invest in, be sure to conduct thorough research, request demos, and consider integrations that will enable your company to use its technology to the fullest. For instance, CSR providers that offer an auto-submission integration make it easier than ever before for employees to participate in your matching gifts program.

Check out this quick video to learn more about this cutting-edge feature:

As the video explains, auto-submission is an innovative tool that allows employees to automatically submit matching gift requests after they make a donation to a nonprofit. All they need to do is input their company email address, and the technology takes care of the rest—leading to more employee engagement in your workplace giving efforts and a larger impact on your community.

Click through to discover how you can elevate your CSR strategy with cutting-edge matching gift tools like auto-submission.

6. Communicate your CSR strategy with stakeholders.

Once you’ve laid a foundation for your CSR initiatives by setting goals, researching nonprofit partnerships, and equipping the tools you need to succeed, it’s time to formalize the details and share them with your stakeholders. Draft a CSR policy that explains your company’s approach to CSR, including:

  • Goals and relevant metrics
  • Focus areas
  • Opportunities for employee participation
  • Methods for reporting

Think back to your goals and stakeholder feedback to produce a policy that speaks to their most important interests, priorities, and concerns. Then, share this documentation on multiple platforms for easy access, including your website, employee portal, and social media pages.

7. Prioritize transparent reporting.

Demonstrate to employees, customers, and other community members that your CSR strategy is more than just performative by implementing thoughtful reporting procedures. By leveraging CSR reporting tools, your company can track and report on its:

  • Corporate philanthropy funds and impact.
  • Workplace giving participation.
  • Environmental sustainability.
  • Internal business practices.

Make your reports accessible to all stakeholders by producing different versions for different audiences. For instance, rather than forcing your customers to read dozens of pages regarding your CSR impact, design a summary sheet with infographics illustrating the key points of your report. In additional documents, include all the details for those who need or want to know more about your initiatives.

8. Recognize employees for their participation.

Keep your company’s employees invested in your CSR strategy by consistently recognizing them for their participation. Doing so reinforces the value of their contributions and ensures that they continue engaging with your initiatives year after year.

Several effective ways you can cultivate a culture of recognition at your workplace include:

  • Sending eCards commending employees for contributing to your CSR efforts.
  • Posting social media shoutouts featuring employee names and pictures.
  • Adding a section on your website showcasing top employee contributors.
  • Presenting awards to the most involved employees in your CSR activities.


Expressing appreciation to employees is an essential practice that benefits your company as a whole. Open up opportunities for peer-to-peer recognition and reach out on important holidays to establish a close-knit community of loyal employees.

4 Top CSR Strategy Examples

As your company embarks on its CSR journey, know that you don’t have to travel it alone. Many other businesses have taken their own endeavors to improve their impact on society and have succeeded with flying colors.

Let’s examine four exceptional examples of CSR strategies to inspire your efforts:

REI

As a consumer’s co-operative, REI’s CSR initiatives focus on improving the working conditions of its employees, the experiences of its members, the well-being of society, and the success of the company. REI’s most recent efforts include:

  • Sourcing recycled and renewable materials within the company’s product supply chain.
  • Using less energy in stores and distribution centers through smart building design and energy-efficient measures.
  • Encouraging product reuse by creating a Re/Supply program for members to participate in.
  • Requesting that vendor partners use alternatives to individual plastic bags for product shipping.

In the last year, REI Co-op has contributed $6.9 million to 503 nonprofit partners. Additionally, the company has engaged over 78,000 members of its community in its grassroots advocacy program, sending more than 250,000 messages to state and federal decision-makers. Stakeholders can find key data related to REI’s impact summarized in a straightforward scorecard online.

Microsoft

Microsoft is a top CSR company that focuses its strategy on four commitments:

  1. Expanding economic growth and opportunity.
  2. Earning trust through responsible artificial intelligence (AI) usage, privacy protections, and cybersecurity.
  3. Protecting people’s fundamental rights through responsible business practices and accessibility initiatives.
  4. Advancing sustainability through technological innovation.

The company allows employees to take part in its philanthropic efforts by offering matching gifts and volunteer grants in its workplace giving program. These opportunities have led to $255 million in contributions to over 32,000 nonprofits in just the past year.

HP

As another company dedicated to CSR, HP produces three separate reports based on its main pillars of focus:

  • Climate action
  • Human rights
  • Digital equity

These reports reveal the extent of the company’s tree-planting efforts, investment in minority- and women-owned businesses, and educational programs to promote digital literacy around the world.

Google

Google is a dominant technology company that has set ambitious goals for its CSR, including:

  • Diverting all office food waste from landfills by 2025.
  • Making product packaging 100% plastic-free by 2025.
  • Running data centers and offices on carbon-free energy 24/7 by 2030.

Furthermore, the company gives $200 million to charitable organizations every year and offers a pro bono program that empowers employees to support nonprofit technical projects full-time for up to six months.

Wrapping Up: Emerging as a Top CSR Strategy Leader

As you work on your company’s CSR strategy and continue researching other examples to learn from, remember that the path to excellent corporate citizenship takes time. Take your resources into account and start small with setting goals and launching workplace giving opportunities. Be open to collecting feedback from stakeholders, and identify ways to refine your strategy year after year.

For more information on where CSR fits into your company’s priorities and success, check out these additional resources:

Click through to explore how an auto-submission integration with your CSR software can help you maximize employee engagement in CSR.

This guide will cover nine year-round employee giving campaign ideas and real examples.

9 Exciting Employee Giving Campaign Ideas & Real Examples

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Thanks to the growing movement toward increased corporate citizenship, combined with innovative new technology, many companies are stepping up their employee-giving game like never before.

Businesses interested in creating or improving their workplace giving programs—as well as nonprofits eager to engage donors and corporate partners in new ways—will find inspiration in these versatile employee giving campaign ideas.

This guide will cover:

Before we dive into ideas your business can use for employee giving, let’s explore the basics.

Click to read more about how matching gift auto-submission improves engagement for employee giving campaigns.

The Importance of Employee Giving

The framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly popular across many sectors. It’s even inspiring employers to provide a variety of ways for their company to give back to the community in the form of philanthropic donations, volunteerism, and proactive policies that put people and the environment first.

Take a look at these statistics to understand the power of CSR:

This image lists three CSR statistics that show the importance of employee giving, also detailed in the text below.

  • 77% of consumers aim to support socially responsible companies.
  • 93% of employees believe companies must lead with purpose.
  • 92% of consumers would buy a product that supports a good cause.

A welcome shift from the “greed is good” mindset of past generations, corporate citizenship promotes commitment to sustainability both inside and outside corporate office walls.

Employee giving (also called workplace giving) is one of the most popular CSR strategies. It creates opportunities for everyone in a corporate environment to support charitable organizations and causes in a collective effort, making a much greater impact than what most individuals can do alone. From annual fundraisers and donation drives to giving days and volunteer programs, employee giving campaigns will (and should!) look different in every workplace, depending on your unique company culture and values.

However, there is one aspect of employee giving every workplace campaign should include: matching donations.

When individual employees give from their own pockets to eligible nonprofits, their companies should match those donations. Through matching gift programs, companies can double their employees’ impact on the causes they care about. This kind of support and commitment builds buy-in, signals to employees that their company is just as committed to this work as they are, and affirms that their participation is seen and celebrated.

The Benefits of Workplace Giving Campaigns

Employee giving initiatives backed by matching donations can do a whole lot of good—and not just for your nonprofit beneficiaries and the communities they serve.

A company’s public image, for example, can undoubtedly improve with well-documented charitable contributions. Plus, the tax incentives for large philanthropic gifts are nothing to shrug at. Still, it’s the impact that workplace giving campaigns have on employee morale that cannot be understated.

Generosity, science tells us, is tied to human happiness. Creating meaningful opportunities for employees to build relationships and contribute to good causes alongside their peers leads to a greater sense of belonging, stronger engagement in future activities and projects, and higher staff retention. It’s a win-win-win!

With the help of automated systems, giving can become an integral part of the culture of your workplace. Imagine an environment where giving is as much a part of your work week as logging into your email in the morning—not just once a year, but throughout! That’s achievable by implementing matching gift programs and hosting regular employee giving campaigns.

9 Employee Giving Campaign Ideas to Try Throughout the Year

We’ve gathered some of our favorite workplace giving campaign ideas you can implement year-round at your office. Plus, each idea features an example from a real nonprofit that nailed it.

Every workplace is different, so think creatively about how you can customize and adjust these ideas based on your company’s size, time constraints, interests, and areas of specialty. The possibilities are endless—just like your potential for making a positive impact in your community.

This image lists nine employee giving campaign ideas your business can implement, covered in more detail in the text below.

1. Prepare for winter with in-kind donations.

Winter is a particularly difficult time of year for many nonprofit beneficiaries, especially if they’re individuals experiencing homelessness or poverty. Encourage your employees to make in-kind donations, which are any non-monetary gift, to organizations that need them. This is an especially great idea for employees with tighter budgets who may not be able to justify a monetary donation.

To make the donation process easier for your employees, partner up with one or a few specific nonprofits. Ask them what donations would be most helpful to them, and then provide your employees with that list of items. Organizations might be searching for items that directly help their beneficiaries, such as canned food or winter clothing, or they might be searching for items to empower them to more effectively help their beneficiaries, such as computers, printers, or fundraising event decorations.

This image shows an example of Second Helpings Atlanta’s employee giving campaign initiatives.

Real-world example: Second Helpings Atlanta is a nonprofit food rescue organization whose mission is to reduce hunger and food waste in the Metro Atlanta area. It rescues healthy, nutritious, surplus food and distributes it to those in need.

They’ve created a network with over 75 food donor organizations across Atlanta, including businesses such as Chick-Fil-A, Mercedes Benz, Pizza Hut, and Publix. These businesses work with Second Helpings Atlanta as part of their CSR and employee giving initiatives to use food for good in the local community.

2. Lean into the competitive spirit for Giving Tuesday.

Year-end is a popular time of year for nonprofit fundraising, and it all begins with Giving Tuesday. This global day of generosity happens the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is meant to channel the shopping madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday toward a worthy cause instead.

A virtual peer-to-peer or team fundraising Giving Tuesday campaign is an easy and fun way to foster friendly competition as individuals or staff teams try to out-raise one another for their cause.

The secret to a successful peer-to-peer fundraiser? Keep spirits high and be a cheerleader for your fundraisers! Celebrate everyone’s hard work by shouting out teams at various times throughout the campaign and offering prizes for the teams with the most donations, the highest amount raised, or even the most team spirit.

This image shows an example of a Giving Tuesday employee giving campaign for the Downtown Women’s Center.

Real-world example: For the Together Housed campaign, participants created personal or team fundraising pages to raise money over three weeks for women in Los Angeles experiencing homelessness.

This virtual effort raised over $155K for the Downtown Women’s Center and culminated in a live-streamed celebration to thank individual fundraisers and corporate sponsors.

3. Turn your holiday party into an opportunity to give back.

The holidays bring out the giving spirit in even the Grinchiest among us—especially if the food and drinks are free. If you’ve already budgeted for a staff gathering or outing for the holidays, think about adding on a party-worthy fundraising element like a silent auction to benefit a local nonprofit. This is also an excellent time to celebrate your Giving Tuesday teams or winners with silly prizes or awards!

Depending on the size of your staff, a team can volunteer to source auction items or request that everyone (CEO included) contribute an item, experience, or basket to auction off during the party.

Sourcing items can be work-intensive, so make the rest of the process easy on your team by using an online silent auction platform that partygoers can use to bid right from their smartphones. Mobile bidding also makes it easy to create a hybrid or virtual auction experience if your remote employees want to start a bidding war for a good cause.

This image shows an example of a holiday fundraiser for the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation as an employee giving campaign.

Real-world example: The Ultimutt Auction fundraiser for the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation offered bidders a range of fun experiences and items from local businesses. To reach a wider audience and build momentum to raise more funds, the organizers had the online auction open for a week, enabling them to raise over $21K!

4. Kick off the new year with a monthly giving program.

With everyone energized by your Giving Tuesday and holiday party success (and hopefully some time off), build on this momentum to get employees excited about giving back regularly.

A great place to start is by hosting a casual “Lunch and Learn” once a month, where a guest speaker or representative from a local nonprofit gives an informal presentation about their impact and need.

The actual giving part can happen in a few different ways:

  • A monthly stipend from the company that employees can donate
  • Informal monthly contributions matched by the company
  • Automated payroll deductions (also matched by the company)

Build buy-in by providing incentives like a catered lunch for those who attend and asking staff to nominate organizations or community groups that are meaningful to them. National celebrations like Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May), etc., can be a great guidepost for causes to highlight if you’re not sure where to start.

Be sure that your company’s matching gift program is set up before you begin your new monthly giving program. That way, you’ll be able to engage your employees through philanthropy and increase the impact of gifts to your local nonprofits.

This image shows rue21’s employee giving campaign, which is an annual giving staff fundraiser.

Real-world example: Clothing retailer rue21’s annual giving campaign organizes staff fundraising teams by department (Marketing, Merchandising, Human Resources, and so on). Each year, they have raised more funds for their nonprofit partner organization, Foster Love Project, which serves youth in foster care.

Click to learn more about how matching gift auto-submission increases generosity for employee giving campaigns.

5. Spring into volunteering.

Financial contributions aren’t the only way to make a difference in your place of work. Harness the power of your team’s talents to give back through volunteer hours or pro bono projects in partnership with a local nonprofit, school, or other community organization.

Volunteering can be skill-based work (graphic design, tutoring, or even accounting!) or just helping with whatever is needed (envelope stuffing, serving meals, or checking people in). It’s all about meeting the needs of your particular community partner.

The key to success here is to incentivize volunteering, which can happen in many ways.

Some companies, including 40% of the Fortune 500 list, give volunteer grants to employees who put in a certain number of hours, and others offer perks like additional vacation time. You can even liven things up by making it a competition to see who can give the highest number of hours by a specific date.

This image shows an example of a volunteer-based employee giving campaign by Chicago-based software company Sprout Social.

Real-world example: Chicago-based software company Sprout Social organized Philanthropy Week, which combined volunteering and team-based fundraising for local nonprofits.

Teams of employees chose an organization in their community, created fundraising pages, and volunteered on-site to foster deeper connections with their partners.

6. Create your own workplace giving day in May.

Aside from being a great help to nonprofits, volunteering is also one of the most effective team-building activities. Hosting a workplace giving day can empower your company to build connection and belonging amongst your staff—and contribute to a good cause at the same time.

As the weather warms up, partner with a local nonprofit that needs a lot of hands for a park cleanup, meal prep, material assembly, mural painting, or other beautification projects. Make sure everyone on your staff is able and incentivized to attend, get t-shirts made for the occasion, and cap it all off with a celebration and big group photo.

If all goes well, try to make it an annual event that employees look forward to, your nonprofit partners can plan around, and the entire community can feel proud of.

This image shows an example of a workplace giving day as an employee giving campaign, hosted by Presence Marketing.

Real-world example: When pandemic restrictions made in-person activities impossible, Presence Marketing organized a virtual 5k and complementary fundraiser in partnership with a charitable foundation to help build a Kindergarten in the West African nation of Togo.

The event was so successful that they organized a second annual day of giving the following year to benefit another charity project!

7. Celebrate summer with sponsorship.

June is the start of summer and Pride Month, a great time to support organizations that serve the LGBTQ+ community. Give your coworkers a special night out together and raise some serious money by sponsoring a fun fundraising event, like a standup comedy, drag show, or a combination of the two!

Planning events is a lot of work, so if that’s not something you can take on, seek out a nonprofit partner already planning a benefit event that you can sponsor. Or enlist the help of a local venue that can help match you with a good cause. If a virtual or hybrid event can help you reach your community better, livestream it!

This image shows an example of a corporate sponsorship hosted by Platinum Top 50 as an employee giving campaign.

Real-world example: Platinum Top 50, an industry organization for real estate professionals in Texas, organized a comedy show fundraiser featuring standup and improv from some talented local realtors. In addition to ticket sales, extra donations from individuals and corporate sponsorships helped them to raise over 200% of their original goal for their hunger-fighting nonprofit partner.

8. Go virtual with a back-to-school drive.

Drives for essential items like jackets, toys, and perishable goods are popular for workplace giving campaigns for many reasons. For one, those who are making donations can immediately see the real-life impact of their gifts, which is sometimes harder to communicate with solely monetary asks.

With a virtual drive, donors can still understand exactly where their money is going and, at the same time, give the nonprofit beneficiary more oversight and flexibility to order the items they need and get them directly to the people who need them.

This campaign idea is also great for remote office teams, as virtual drives open up donations to a broader pool of people and save the time and energy it can take a team of employees to collect, organize, and transport items.

This image shows an example of a virtual back-to-school drive hosted by Teachers’ Treasures as an employee giving campaign.

Real-world example: With several businesses participating, Teachers’ Treasures organized the Gr8 Paper Push Virtual School Supply Drive and enabled donors to select specific classroom items or just make a flat donation to the campaign.

This campaign also had an added team fundraising element. Local businesses competed with one another to raise the most, which created a lively, fun atmosphere.

9. Make a No Shave November everyone can join in on.

Movember and No Shave November, popular social challenges to see who can grow the most facial hair, were created to raise awareness and funds for men’s health and cancer prevention. Anyone can play on this idea for a good cause of their choosing—just make sure to take lots of photos!

This image shows an example of a No Shave November employee giving campaign, hosted by Windham County Safe Place.

Real-world example: For their annual Let It Grow! campaign, Vermont-based victims’ services agency Windham County Safe Place engaged teams from the police departments, hospitals, and legal groups that they work with for a light-hearted competition. Each team was encouraged to grow facial hair or rock colorful hair extensions and bright nails for the month. Inclusivity for the win!

Every participant received a special pin for joining the campaign. They created their own individual or team fundraising page, donated $25 or more, and encouraged their friends and family to help them reach their goal. The top three earners even won a special prize at the end of the competition! The novelty of this campaign drew attention to their cause from local media and helped them to raise thousands of dollars.

Additional Resources

From selling tickets and making donations to administering payroll deductions and matching contributions, automating as much of your workplace giving campaigns as possible will save you a lot of time and energy. CSR platforms can free you up to focus on what really matters—engaging your workplace community and creating meaningful ways to give back together.

Looking for more inspiration? Dive deeper into these additional resources:

Click to learn more about matching gift auto-submission and how it helps your employee giving campaigns.

Innovative Discovery top matching gift company example with auto-submission

Company Spotlight: Maximizing Matching Gift Innovation with Innovative Discovery

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The list of matching gift companies is endless⁠—and not exclusive to one region, business size, or corporate sector. Instead, employers all over the world opt to match their employees’ charitable donations. Doing so results in elevated corporate philanthropy, team-wide engagement, and even positive brand image.

So what makes one company’s program stand out over another? There are a lot of factors that go into a top matching gift company, including donation (low) minimums and (high) maximums, open eligibility, seamless donor experiences, and more.

One that stands out in all areas is legal services company Innovative Discovery. And we’ll tell you why!

Read on to learn more about:

Ready to get started? Dive in and see what makes Innovative Discovery’s matching gift program top-tier.

What to Know About Innovative Discovery

Founded in 2005 in Arlington, Virginia, Innovative Discovery is a strategic consulting firm and legal services provider to a wide range of corporations and groups. The company partners with government agencies, construction and manufacturing businesses, energy and utility companies, financial services, healthcare and life sciences providers, and more.

Innovative Discovery employees—a combination of technologists, lawyers, and cybersecurity experts—work as strategic consultants to provide authoritative guidance throughout the litigation processes and information lifecycles. Specifically, the consulting group aims to offer unique insights into cybersecurity, data breaches, digital forensics, and high-stakes litigations to set their clients up for maximal success.

Innovative Discovery matching gift company screenshot

This corporation also places a significant emphasis on giving back to the communities in which they operate, including offering community service, nonprofit sponsorships, and more. Plus, they support nonprofit organizations of all shapes and sizes through their generous matching program.

Current Matching Gift Program Guidelines

Innovative Discovery employees have the opportunity to double their charitable giving impact by participating in the company’s matching initiative. Personal gifts made by Innovative Discovery team members of between $25 and $2,500 are eligible to be matched at a 1:1 rate.

Even better, nearly all nonprofits qualify for the program. This includes K-12 and higher education institutions, arts and cultural institutions, environmental nonprofits, and other registered 501(c)(3) organizations.

And the company makes it as easy as possible for employees to take part, driving participation and overall program usage with auto-submission, a new solution from Double the Donation.

Here’s a quick overview of the Innovative Discovery corporate matching gift program eligibility requirements:

  • Innovative Discovery matching gift program guidelinesMatching gift ratio – 1:1 (or dollar for dollar)
  • Qualifying employees – Current full-time and part-time Innovative Discovery team members qualify to request corporate matching donations.
  • Eligible nonprofit recipients – Most nonprofit mission types qualify for Innovative Discovery matching, which includes:
    • Educational institutions (K-12 included)
    • Health and human services
    • Arts and cultural organizations
    • Civic and community groups
    • Environmental nonprofits
    • And most other 501 (c)(3) organizations
  • Submission process – Employees may complete their match request directly following their initial donation on the organization’s giving form using auto-submission or navigate to Selflessly’s online matching gift portal to fill out a brief application.

Learn more about Innovative Discovery’s matching gift program guidelines here.

Standing Out With Matching Gift Auto-Submission Through Selflessly and Double the Donation

The #1 thing that makes Innovative Discovery’s matching gift program so innovative is its participation in newly developed matching gift auto-submission. By partnering with Double the Donation and corporate giving platform Selflessly, ID is streamlining the process for employees getting involved.

Enabling the solution, which recently came out of beta, significantly reduces the time and effort involved in completing a matching gift request⁠. And it can all be done directly from a nonprofit’s website⁠—driving more ID employees to participate. With increased program participation, more funding goes to the nonprofit causes their employees care about. Not to mention, the company itself receives elevated benefits from its corporate giving offerings. It’s a win-win-win⁠—and it’s easier than ever before!

Benefits of auto-submission with Selflessly

Here’s how the matching process works for Innovative Discovery team members using auto-submission:

  1. An ID employee makes a donation directly on their favorite nonprofit’s website and enters their company name⁠—Innovative Discovery⁠—in a donation form field.
  2. On the confirmation screen, the employee enters their corporate email address. They then check a box and authorize Double the Donation to submit the match request on their behalf.
  3. From there, the matching gift request is processed behind the scenes⁠—thanks to the integration between Double the Donation and ID’s corporate giving software Selflessly⁠—and the match funding is paid out to the organization.

Overview of matching gift auto-submission with Innovative Discovery

Learn more about matching gift auto-submission with Double the Donation here.

Innovative Discovery’s CSR Software Partner, Selflessly

Innovative Discovery facilitates its matching gifts and other corporate giving initiatives by leveraging a CSR management software company, Selflessly. Selflessly is framed as an “all-in-one giving platform for CSR,” offering both corporate giving and volunteerism features.

Selflessly logo

Through this software solution, companies like Innovative Discovery are able to:

  • Elevate corporate giving and employee matching with ease;
  • Simplify corporate volunteering and organize team and individual volunteer opportunities;
  • Increase employee engagement by participating in social good;
  • Make the most of purposeful reporting and impact assessments.

Recently, Selflessly was also one of the first providers to participate in the beta program for auto-submission functionality with Double the Donation, making corporate matching gifts easier than ever before.

Other Innovative Giving Initiatives

Innovative Discovery’s website shares that “the primary focus of ID’s corporate philanthropic efforts are nonprofit organizations valued by our employees.” This idea is reflected in the company’s matching gift program as well as additional team-wide efforts for various charitable causes.

This includes:

  • ID Civic Day ⁠— Innovative Discovery’s Civic Day offers an annual opportunity for team members to engage in their communities. Beyond typical PTO, the company offers an additional paid day off work for employees to volunteer with community service projects.
  • Employee volunteer grants ⁠— ID states that the company supports team member philanthropy through matching donations and investments of their time with corporate volunteer grants. When employees volunteer with various causes, the company pays out grants to the organizations to which they dedicate their time and efforts.
  • Steps for Autism team challenge ⁠— Every April, Innovative Discovery employees take part in a workplace giving campaign on behalf of the Autism Society. During World Autism Month, team members compete by department to see who can get the most steps. At the end of the month, ID makes a donation to the Autism Society on behalf of the winning group.
  • Sponsorship for Climbing Blind: Tibet Expedition ⁠— In 2004, Innovative Discovery aided groundbreaking Climbing Blind’s Tibet Expedition. The company sponsored the event by building essential technical infrastructure. With their newly developed interactive website and intuitive web content management system, Climbing Blind had access to the tools they needed to connect climbers with their growing online community.

Innovative Discovery leadership has made it a point time and time again to invest in giving back to their communities. We’re excited to see what they roll out next!

Wrapping Up

Companies like Innovative Discovery are paving the way for more businesses⁠—and the nonprofits, donors, and communities they support⁠—to benefit from groundbreaking matching gift programs with ease. As more and more corporations roll out innovative auto-submission functionality by leveraging partnerships between corporate giving and matching gift-specific technology, the results will continue growing to new heights.

Ready to learn more about standout matching gift companies and practices? Explore other Double the Donation resources here:

Learn more about Double the Donation auto-submission

This guide will cover the basics of challenge gifts to help you leverage this form of giving for your fundraising efforts.

What are Challenge Gifts? A Guide to High-Speed Fundraising

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A thoughtful and robust fundraising strategy is key to any nonprofit’s success. As a nonprofit professional, you’re probably always on the lookout for new ideas and strategies to spice up your organization’s fundraising efforts. That’s where challenge gifts come in—when done correctly, this fundraising idea can supercharge your mission with increased gifts.

In this guide, we’ll go over the basics of challenge gifts and empower you to leverage them by covering the following topics:

To maximize the fundraising impact of your challenge gifts, consider investing in fundraising software that will streamline your fundraising processes and efforts. Matching gift software, in particular, will greatly increase the effectiveness of donations made during your challenge gift campaign.

Click to get a demo of Double the Donation’s matching gift software, improving the impact of your challenge gifts.

What is a challenge gift?

This image lists several types of challenge gifts your nonprofit can leverage, also covered in the text below.

A challenge gift is a donation that is contingent on another goal, usually another donation. Usually, the donor will commit to donating a certain amount to a nonprofit if the organization or its other donors fulfill a certain goal or take an action within a certain amount of time. Only then is the donation made.

Common challenge gift goals include:

  • Total money raised. This goal is fairly self-explanatory—essentially, the donor’s gift hinges on the nonprofit reaching a fundraising goal. For example, a major donor might commit to donating $20,000 if the nonprofit raises $40,000 worth of other donations during their next fundraising campaign.
  • Total number of donors. Instead of committing a donation based on the amount raised, some donors choose instead to base it on the total number of donors that give during a set amount of time. The goal for this type of challenge gift is to help the nonprofit recruit more donors. Some challenge donors may specify that they only count first-time donors, while others will count donations made by any donors.
  • Matching gifts. For a matching donation challenge, a major donor or sponsor will commit to matching gifts made by other donors. For instance, a major donor may match gifts at a 1:1 ratio up to $30,000. That means that if you raise $30,000 from other donors, then you’ll receive $60,000 in total. However, if you raise less than the match amount, such as $10,000, then you’ll only receive the match up to that amount, or $20,000 total.

Challenge gifts are a great way for a major donor to inspire and encourage other donors to give, resulting in greater fundraising success for the nonprofit. When handled properly, these challenges can be used to secure future support and improve the sustainability of your organization.

What are the benefits of challenge gifts?

This image illustrates the benefits of challenge gifts, also detailed in the text below.

At this point, you may be thinking: Aren’t challenge gifts just donations with strings attached? Why would I want those instead of straightforward donations?

Although you might feel that way, challenge gifts bring your nonprofit a variety of game-changing benefits. Some of these include:

  • Increase fundraising impact. The most obvious benefit of challenge gifts is that they incentivize supporters to give. Your supporters are invested in your nonprofit’s success, which makes it more likely that they’ll donate so that you can secure challenge gift funds.
  • Attract new donors. If the challenge gift is contingent on acquiring a certain number of donors, it will be especially useful in attracting new donors. Plus, challenge gifts inspire a sense of urgency, providing a compelling reason for potential supporters to engage through donations.
  • Engage board members. Board members who are passionately invested in your nonprofit’s cause may inspire and engage their fellow board members by making a challenge gift for them. For example, a board member might say that they will give an extra $30,000 if the board as a whole gives $200,000 by a certain date.
  • Strengthen existing relationships. The urgency from the time-sensitive nature of challenge gifts will also help you secure donations from previous donors. Alongside a great stewardship plan, challenge gifts can greatly contribute to engaging previous donors and increase retention rates.
  • Form corporate partnerships. Although challenge gift donors don’t have to be businesses, if they are, it presents an opportunity for you to form partnerships with companies that are invested in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Having such a partnership may lead to future support through initiatives such as volunteer grants.
  • Secure long-term support. Aside from short-term support for immediate fundraising campaigns, certain challenge gifts can also help your nonprofit secure long-term funding. For example, a challenge donor may create a bequest challenge for $50,000. Every time someone submits a signed statement that they have put your nonprofit in their estate plan, the donor will release $2,000 from the challenge gift total.

When it comes to boosting your fundraising and securing support, challenge gifts are a valuable opportunity for nonprofits to reliably meet their goals. While the donor dictates the terms of the challenge, the concept itself has a lot of flexibility, as it accommodates multiple types of challenges.

What are the drawbacks of challenge gifts?

We’ve already touched on the main drawback of challenge gifts—the inability to fulfill the challenge, and therefore the loss of the challenge gift funds. The most common restrictions on a challenge gift include:

  • Goal amount. Whether it’s the number of donors or the donation amount, each challenge gift comes with a goal amount that the nonprofit must reach. Without reaching this objective, part or all of the challenge gift might be forfeited.
  • Time. That challenge gifts are time-sensitive creates a great sense of urgency that propels supporters to give. However, that same benefit is also a restriction—your nonprofit only has a set amount of time to reach your goals. This duration can vary greatly, based on the challenge the donor has set.
  • Donation requirements. These refer to any extra requirements that the challenge donor places on gifts that count toward the challenge gift goal. We’ve discussed that the challenge donor might choose to restrict the type of donor that can participate in the challenge, but they can also restrict the type of donation that qualifies. For example, they might specify that the challenge only applies to direct donations and specify that purchases made at a fundraising auction don’t qualify.

Although challenge gifts have their drawbacks, with proper planning and consideration, you can mitigate their disadvantages. While they might put your nonprofit’s fundraising and donor acquisition strategies to the test, the result will be well worth it—a large amount of funds that you can leverage to support your beneficiaries.

Acquiring Support for Challenge Gifts: 5 Tips

To help you make the most of any challenge gifts your nonprofit receives, we’ll go over five tips for acquiring support to fulfill your challenges. Let’s dive in!

This image shows five tips for getting support for your challenge gifts, also detailed in the text below.

1. Create a challenge gift proposal.

While some donors may make a challenge gift unprompted, it’s more likely that your nonprofit will need to specifically seek out challenge donors, much like you seek out sponsorships. To do so, you’ll want to draft a challenge gift proposal to pitch to potential donors.

As you create your proposal, be sure to:

  • Introduce your nonprofit. Provide a general overview of your nonprofit’s mission, beneficiaries, and the purpose of the challenge gift that you’re requesting.
  • Give any relevant context. If there’s any relevant information that would help contextualize your proposal, add it. For example, if your nonprofit works with individuals experiencing homelessness and the weather is much colder than usual in winter, you may say that you’re fundraising for warm winter clothing.
  • Outline your goals. Whether your goal is to obtain funds, new donors, or bequests, outline it in your proposal. Be specific—for instance, you may say that you want to raise $100,000, attract 500 new donors, or obtain 300 bequests.
  • Determine the challenge details. Lay out the general details of your challenge so your potential challenge donor knows exactly what is expected of them. Let’s say you want to raise $100,000. In your proposal, detail that you want to do this through a matching donation challenge, where your challenge donor matches $50,000 worth of donations at a 1:1 ratio to help you meet your overall goal of $100,000.
  • Detail the benefits. Aside from describing what you need from your challenge donor, let them know what they’ll be getting from your partnership as well. For instance, if you partner with a company, include their logo and branding on your promotional materials. That way, they can access potential customers amongst your nonprofit’s supporters.

Keep in mind that your challenge gift proposal should look different depending on which potential donor you’re trying to connect with. Just as you would segment your regular donors based on their interests and preferences, make sure to tailor your proposal based on the donor’s gift capacity and previous engagement with your nonprofit.

2. Strategically connect with challenge gift donors.

This image lists several types of challenge gift partners to connect with, also covered in the text below.

There are different types of potential donors that you can connect with to pitch challenge gifts to. When first starting, we recommend reaching out to similar types of potential donors to get a better feel of interacting with them and minimize the number of proposals you need to customize.

In general, most challenge gift donors fall into one of the following groups:

  • Local businesses. When connecting with local businesses, focus on the benefits that you bring to the local community and how that will bring greater success for the business. For instance, your nonprofit’s environmental focus might enhance a business’ neighborhood and bring in more customers.
  • Large corporations. Large corporations will likely have more money to donate as a challenge gift to your cause but require more effort when forming a partnership. Keep your pitch focused on the benefits that they receive from the partnership. This could look like a shoutout from your nonprofit or a mutually beneficial CSR partnership.
  • Major donors. Especially if they’ve previously made donations to your nonprofit, major donors are invested in your mission and strongly want you to succeed. For these pitches, you can discuss more in-depth the benefits that your nonprofit will receive while emphasizing how their previous support impacted your success.
  • Foundations and grantmakers. For this group of potential challenge donors, you’ll likely go through a rigorous application process to be considered. However, foundations and grantmakers exist to provide support to nonprofits, so you can focus your application on what your nonprofit gains.
  • Celebrities and influencers. Celebrities and influencers receive a large boost in reputation for being associated with charitable causes such as your own. Plus, their influence will greatly increase the visibility of your challenge. Be sure to take both of these factors into consideration as you craft your appeal to this group of potential donors.

To help you narrow down the potential donors you should connect with, focus on those who have already indicated a philanthropic interest in some way. For example, businesses with existing corporate citizenship or CSR initiatives that align with your cause will be more open to aiding your nonprofit.

3. Thoroughly promote your challenge gifts.

Ensure that your challenge gifts drive the impact you desire by thoughtfully promoting them to all of your nonprofit’s supporters. Use the following marketing channels to do so:

  • Your website
  • Direct mail
  • Email
  • Text or SMS
  • Social media

Send communications before and during the challenge to drum up excitement and secure support. Provide all relevant details to supporters so they know how they can help. For example, if your goal is to acquire 100 first-time donors, ask your supporters to reach out to their friends and family to appeal for first-time donations. Provide templates for social media posts and emails that they can use to make their appeals easier.

Additionally, be sure to focus your messaging on urgency and speed. Emphasize the approaching deadline and don’t be afraid to send multiple messages during the challenge as reminders. To make this process more efficient, consider using a marketing tool to streamline your promotional efforts.

4. Maximize your gift impact.

When properly planned and marketed, one of the great benefits of challenge gifts is a boost in the number of donations made during the challenge. Maximize the impact of gifts by diving into matching gifts.

If you’re new to matching gifts, they are a form of corporate philanthropy where employers match their employees’ donations to nonprofits. Although most match at a 1:1 ratio, particularly generous companies may match at a higher ratio, such as 2:1 or even 3:1.

This is how it works:

  • An employee donates to a nonprofit.
  • The employee submits a donation match request to their employer.
  • The employer reviews the request.
  • The employer approves the match and donates the matching funds to the nonprofit.

As around $4-7 billion of matching gift funds is estimated to go unclaimed every year, it’s clear that one of the biggest obstacles to obtaining matching gift funds is awareness.

During a donation challenge period, you’ll be sending out many communications to supporters to urge them to donate. Maximize the impact of those donations by also reminding supporters to look into their employers’ matching gift programs. With a small amount of effort from them, they’ll be able to greatly increase the funds that you raise. Plus, it won’t require them to gift more of their money!

Click to book a demo of Double the Donation’s matching gift software, improving the impact of your challenge donations.

5. Celebrate achievements and goals.

When the period set by your challenge gift has ended, be sure to celebrate all achievements and goals met with your supporters. Recognize all the donors that have given during this time and thank them for participating in the challenge. Even if you didn’t meet your goals, saying a simple thank you goes a long way toward facilitating long-lasting and fruitful relationships.

If you did meet your goals, then consider hosting a celebration! This can take the form of a donor appreciation event, where you invite all those who gave to come and have fun. Or, if your donors are spread all over the country or the globe, send gifts to them instead. These don’t have to break your budget, as they can be small trinkets or merchandise branded to your nonprofit.

The most important thing here is to let your donors know that your success would not be possible without them. Show your genuine gratitude so that donors are incentivized to continue supporting your mission.

Additional Resources

Challenge gifts are an incredible opportunity for your nonprofit to buckle down and meet its goals. They also incentivize increased giving from your supporters through gamification, making them a worthwhile gift to receive.

If you’re interested in learning more about nonprofit fundraising opportunities, check out the following resources:

Click to get a demo of Double the Donation’s software to increase challenge gift donation impact.

This article will explore why recognizing donors is vital and share recognition examples your nonprofit can emulate.

Donor Recognition: When & How to Acknowledge Supporters

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What would you do if your organization hit a record number of new donors within a year?

Celebrate! But what about after the initial excitement wears off? Discovering that donors share the same passion for your cause is exhilarating. However, many organizations fail to communicate their appreciation adequately, which can have negative retention effects.

In fact, lack of recognition is one of the top five reasons why donors choose to stop giving. That said, donor recognition is a key part of donor stewardship, which can usher first-time donors into long-term supporters.

In this guide, we’ll explore the ins and outs of donor recognition and discover how your organization can create an effective acknowledgment strategy. Let’s dive in!

Click here to download the ultimate matching gifts guide and learn about acquiring and recognizing donors who work for philanthropic-minded companies.

What is donor recognition?

Donor recognition describes the practice of thanking your organization’s donors for their gifts to your nonprofit. It’s a way for nonprofits to express gratitude and reinforce supporters’ commitment to the cause.

Many nonprofits separate recognition into tiers based on the type of gift and amount given by a donor. We’ll explore this concept more later, but for now, know that nonprofits refer to this tier system to ensure their recognition level matches a donor’s generosity.

There are several methods for recognizing donors. Everything from a simple phone call to a fancy outdoor display falls under this category. At the most basic level, you should send a prompt donor thank-you letter or email acknowledging them for responding to your fundraising appeal and supporting your mission. As with any nonprofit fundraising letter, this thank-you should:

  • Be personalized with the donor’s preferred name
  • Include relevant, engaging images
  • Convey the impact of the donor’s support

Despite the various methods, the purpose of every donor recognition strategy is always the same: to acknowledge a donor’s generosity.

Why does donor recognition matter?

Donor recognition is a vital component of nonprofit fundraising and relationship-building. It’s what inspires donors to stick around and continue supporting your cause, so you can pursue your mission and build a community behind your cause. Let’s explore how meaningful donor recognition impacts both nonprofits and their donors.

This image describes the 10 benefits of donor recognition for both donors and nonprofits.

Benefits for Nonprofits

Acknowledgment plays a fundamental role in acquiring, retaining, and inspiring greater support. For nonprofits, meaningful donor recognition helps:

  1. Increase donor retention. Recognizing donors makes them feel like they are making a difference. It also indicates that your organization prioritizes showing appreciation regardless of the gift amount.
  2. Encourage recurring giving. Donors who feel recognized are more likely to give more and give more often. When you take time to recognize a donor’s gift, you indicate that they’ve made a smart choice to donate to your cause.
  3. Acquire more donors. Recognizing donors publicly can act as a form of social proof. When people see their friends donate to a cause, it motivates them to explore the organization and maybe get involved themselves.
  4. Promote a positive brand image. Organizations that prioritize donor recognition further their positive perception in people’s minds. People notice when nonprofits go the extra mile for their supporters.
  5. Encourage an atmosphere of gratitude. Staff, volunteers, and other supporters want to work for an organization that expresses gratitude regularly. The positive emphasis on appreciation creates a vibrant work culture.

Nonprofits rely on their donors to power their missions, making proactive recognition a vital part of their fundraising efforts. From retaining donors to expanding your community of supporters, showing gratitude goes a long way.

Benefits for Donors

On the other side of things, proper acknowledgment can impact donors in several ways, too. Here’s a quick rundown of how you can influence supporters by recognizing them:

  1. Make donors feel valued. Donors like knowing that their gift is appreciated. Frequently showing recognition makes them feel valued as important contributors to your organization.
  2. Affirm their decision to give. Donors could have given to any cause, or not given at all. When you recognize their contributions, you reassure them that they made the right choice.
  3. Deepen their connection with your organization. When organizations recognize donors individually, it makes them feel like a part of the team. This deepens their connection and can even encourage them to get involved in other ways like volunteering.
  4. Remind them of their impact. With plenty of distractions, donors can easily forget to support your organization regularly. But, when you recognize them, you remind them of their special part in driving impact. After all, 41% of donors will give again when they receive personalized outreach on the impact of their support.
  5. Offer community connections to like-minded people. Recognition policies, especially event-oriented ones, allow donors to connect with like-minded individuals and expand their personal and professional networks.

As you can see, consistent donor recognition accomplishes both nonprofit-related and donor-related objectives. That’s why creating a robust recognition program now can cause positive ripple effects for your organization for years to come.

When should you recognize donors?

The short answer: as soon as the gift is received. Expressing acknowledgment and gratitude promptly is what makes donor recognition matter. After all, saying thank you a few weeks or even a few days later does not carry the same meaning. Instead, aim to recognize a donor within 48 hours of receiving their gift.

Of course, more involved recognition strategies like a naming opportunity will take longer to complete. However, all donors should receive a prompt and personalized acknowledgment. More specifically, plan to thank donors at every touch point. For example, capital campaigns should use donor recognition strategies that actively support the larger campaign purpose and complement each stage of the project.

Increase donor support and retention with our guide to matching gifts in the donor journey

Who should your nonprofit recognize?

Your goal should be to make all supporters feel recognized and valued for their contributions, regardless of the size of their gift.

But, it’s important to choose recognition strategies that adequately address the level of a donor’s generosity. Responding with an unexpected abundance or limited amount of recognition can throw your donor relationships off-kilter, leading to feelings of dissatisfaction.

To avoid this, you’ll need to create donor recognition levels based on donation type, donation amount, engagement level, and donor type. Let’s explore each in more detail below!

This image describes how donor recognition levels are categorized by donation type, donation amount, engagement level, and donor type.

Donation Type

There are several different donation types, from matching gifts to in-kind donations. Generally, donors give through one of the following donation methods:

  • Cash: Direct monetary deposit to your nonprofit organization.
  • In-Kind: Food supplies, medical supplies, or other tangible goods.
  • Time: Donors can choose to devote part of their time to volunteering with your organization and may even apply for volunteer grants to help you raise more funds.
  • Matching Gifts: Many corporations offer matching gifts as a part of their philanthropic initiatives, meaning they match their employee’s donations at a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio.

Depending on the type of donation, you can organize your recognition program to acknowledge donors’ specific gifts. For instance, if a donor opts to give through a matching gift program, your recognition should acknowledge their thoughtfulness in doubling their donation.

Donation Amount

Many nonprofits segment their donor tiers by donation amount. How you determine the tiers will depend on your organization’s average donation size. A smaller nonprofit’s average donation size might be $200 while a more established nonprofit’s average donation size might be closer to $2,000.

For example, a community-based nonprofit’s donation recognition levels might look something like this:

This image describes how a nonprofit might categorize donor recognition tiers based on donation amount.

  • Friends: $100 – $499
    • Tax receipt and handwritten thank-you note from the Executive Director
    • Recognition in annual report
  • Believers: $500 – $4,999
    • All the benefits of the Friends level
    • Exclusive updates on nonprofit activities, impacts, and forthcoming initiatives
    • VIP experiences and behind-the-scenes access or unique networking opportunities
  • Advocates: $5,000 – $19,999
    • All the benefits of the Believers level
    • Website or newsletter recognition feature
    • Named sponsorship recognition
  • Visionaries: $20,000 – $49,999
    • All the benefits of the Advocate level
    • Press release and major publication recognition
    • Special event recognition
    • Naming opportunities
    • Ongoing personalized stewardship

You can also organize these levels based on impact. For instance, a food pantry might categorize amounts by their ability to feed five families, 50 families, or 250 families. Adjust the amounts and the recognition titles to best suit your organization’s average donation size and mission impact.

Engagement Level

You can also categorize donors by their engagement level with your organization. This identifier will significantly impact how you decide to recognize them. Here are the various engagement levels to consider:

  • First-time donors: It’s important to promptly recognize first-time donors to affirm their decision to give to your cause and welcome them to your organization. Welcome packets full of fact sheets about your organization, branded merchandise, a thank-you note, and upcoming volunteer opportunities are a great way to recognize new donors.
  • Repeat donors: Currently active donors who know your organization well are also worth recognizing. Show them your appreciation with personalized phone calls, exclusive nonprofit updates, and event invitations tailored to their interests.
  • Major donors: Donors who give significant amounts of money to your cause deserve thoughtful recognition. Keep them in the loop with specialized impact reports and dedicated donor thank-you events as a part of your stewardship efforts.
  • Legacy donors: People who decide to dedicate their life’s earnings through planned gifts or estate plans qualify as legacy donors. Include these generous individuals in legacy society publications and send them exclusive updates on their future gifts’ impact.

You can categorize this donor data within a dedicated CRM so that your team can reference and update it throughout your relationship. That way, you’ll never miss a beat when recognizing new or long-time donors.

Donor Type

When you think of donor recognition, you might primarily think of individual contributors. However, there are a few different types of donors, and you should adjust your recognition strategies for each type. Donor types differ across three major categories:

  1. Individual donors are private individuals who contribute their personal funds. They are the most common type of donors and range from small contributors to high-net-worth individuals making major gifts.
  2. Corporate donors are companies that provide financial support or other resources. Corporate giving takes various forms, such as monetary donations, in-kind contributions, employee volunteer programs, or cause-related marketing partnerships.
  3. Foundations are organizations formed to provide funding and support to charitable causes. They can be private (i.e., established by individuals or families) or public (i.e., government-funded or endowed by corporations).

As mentioned, you’ll need to adapt your recognition efforts for each donor type. For example, personalized acknowledgments and donor spotlights are suitable for individual donors, while corporations might benefit from specialized CSR employee engagement programs. Foundation recognition, on the other hand, would take the form of grant acknowledgments.

Top Donor Recognition Ideas

Depending on the above considerations for each donor, there are several ways you can recognize them. As always, you’ll need to match the strategy to your relationship with the donor for maximum impact. Here are some top recognition ideas based on engagement levels and donation amounts:

This image organizes donor recognition ideas by donation amount, donor type, and engagement level to adequately match each idea to each donor.

Digital eCards

To make your recognition both prompt and personalized, use digital eCards. This approach allows you to send a branded thank you to donors. These digital tools make it easy to honor donors and spread the word about your cause. It’s as simple as logging in, customizing your design, drafting a thank-you, and sending it to your donor’s social media account or inbox.

Not to mention, eCards are a great source of revenue when you sell them to supporters, too. Check out this video for an in-depth review of how this technology works:


From thanking donors to raising funds, digital greeting cards can add a special touch to your fundraising techniques. Greeting cards are perfect for any occasion, including saying thank you to your valued supporters!

Phone Calls

Simple and straightforward, a phone call from your nonprofit’s Executive Director is a meaningful way to recognize a donor. This strategy will make donors feel seen by your nonprofit’s efforts. Be sure to have the donor’s donation type and amount handy so you can express gratitude for their specific gift.

Branded Gifts

Send your donor nonprofit branded merchandise as a thank-you! Blankets, t-shirts, hats, and hoodies all make for fabulous donor recognition gifts that will make your donor feel welcomed into your organization. If your nonprofit has an online gift shop, consider sending a donor a discount to choose a branded gift that best suits them.

Thank-You Notes from Beneficiaries

Your donors likely expect a thank-you message from your nonprofit’s team, but you can pleasantly surprise them with a handwritten appreciation letter from your beneficiaries. All you need to do is:

  • Sign up beneficiaries to write letters. Ensure they know that this is a small time commitment to encourage more people to join.
  • Provide writing resources for beneficiaries. Offer items such as a thank-you card template, paper, and pens to make the writing process as easy as possible.
  • Coordinate letter drop-off. Instead of sending letters themselves, ask your beneficiaries to drop their thank-you letters off at your office. This way, beneficiaries don’t need to pay for stamps, and your donors’ sensitive information is kept safe.
  • Send the thank-you notes to donors. Make sure to send your letters in a timely manner. If you’re worried about stamp prices, look into qualifying for USPS’ nonprofit discount to cut costs.

Take the following example from Youth For Understanding. The nonprofit offers study abroad opportunities, helping young adults learn about the world via semester and year-long exchange programs. They had previous program participants craft thank-you notes to send to their host families or anyone else who made their experience memorable.

This is a donor thank you note created by the nonprofit Youth For Understanding.

This idea is a fun twist on traditional approaches to nonprofit thank-you cards, allowing your beneficiaries to build personal connections with donors and secure their future support.

Explore donor recognition eCards.

Social Media Spotlights

Looking for a way to make an individual donor feel special? Social media spotlights are an effective option for highlighting your donor’s generosity. First, make sure your donor follows you online and regularly engages on the platform you choose. Then, with their permission, feature an image of them with a caption describing the impact of their generosity and why your team is grateful for their support. Or, host a livestream during a big campaign to thank donors.

Appreciation Videos

Appreciation videos are great for social media posts and blog posts on your website. These do not need to be long. However, be sure to include your executive staff thanking individuals for their support. You can also include, with their permission, a thank-you from the beneficiaries who your donors have helped. Doing this will help your donors understand the importance of their gifts.

Donor Lunch

Invite your donors to a dedicated lunch to celebrate their generosity. Send an invitation in advance and keep the invite list small to focus on a couple of key individuals. This option is great for donors who would appreciate more than a thank-you note but are uncomfortable attending a large dedicated event.

Donor of the Month Program

While your donors don’t give for the attention, you can still provide public shoutouts to your mid-tier contributors. Unlike social media spotlights, Donor of the Month is a time-bound award that’s given to the donor who’s made a big impact during that calendar month.

For instance, some good candidates for this award include a volunteer who decides to donate for the first time or an existing donor who smashes their peer-to-peer fundraising goal. You can highlight their dedication to your mission by:

  • Featuring them in your newsletter
  • Allowing them to write a guest post for your blog
  • Interviewing them and sharing the video on your website and social media accounts

Ensure your donor consents to being publicly recognized and notify them in advance so you can get your appreciation materials out on time.

Outdoor Displays

Take your recognition outside with a vibrant outdoor display to honor your donors. A nonprofit-specific monument or statue outside your facility can be a valuable addition to your headquarters. Consider partnering with design and construction partners to ensure that your display can withstand weathering and is designed to inspire. Include donor names in a plaque beneath the display.

Donor Plaques or Walls

Probably the most well-known recognition practices, donor plaques and donor walls are popular strategies. Donor plaques honoring the sole donors of a nonprofit project are often posted outside of buildings that the donors funded, for example. Donor walls can display several names and are best unveiled following a capital campaign.

Appreciation Events

Host a virtual happy hour or in-person dinner as a way to say thank you to donors. This can provide a valuable opportunity for donors to network with other supporters and discuss your cause. You could even run an online cooking class or informal craft tutorial. Or, you can make your event larger scale and host a fancy gala; just be sure to keep the focus on donor appreciation.

Donor Hall of Fame

Donor social media shoutouts and Donor of the Month are great ways to publicly appreciate your donors, but you can take this idea to the next level for major donors by starting a Donor Hall of Fame. This honor should be reserved for your most engaged and influential donors and awarded sparingly (e.g. once or twice a year). You can inaugurate donors by:

  • Hosting a dinner in their honor
  • Adding their picture to a wall in your organization’s office
  • Naming events and items after your donors

Unlike Donor of the Month and one-off shoutouts, this idea immortalizes your most impactful contributors. By going the extra mile with this idea, you can demonstrate how donations fuel your mission and that donors forever mark your nonprofit.

Board or Committee Invitations

Invite mid-sized and major donors to serve on advisory boards or committees. This form of recognition engages them more deeply in the organization’s work by showing you value their input and expertise.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering might not seem like an appreciation idea at first glance. However, many donors will appreciate engaging with your cause in new ways. By encouraging donors to volunteer, you’ll deepen their involvement in your mission. This will help them form a more personal connection to the work your organization does and see the impact of donations.

Private Tour

With this donor recognition idea, you’ll show donors where the magic happens! Even though they contribute to your mission substantially, many of your mid-sized and major donors may not have seen your office space and work sites before. Give donors an inside look into your organization by showing them around.

A great chance to use this type of recognition is when someone contributes to fund a specific project or initiative. For example, let’s say a major donor gave to your capital campaign to relocate to a bigger office. You might host an in-person tour or record a virtual one to show them around the new space.

Tips to Level Up Your Donor Recognition

Now that you have some creative donor recognition ideas, it’s time to brainstorm how you’ll cater each one to your unique donor community. Here are some ways to take these donor recognition ideas up a notch:

  • Communicate impact. According to Blackbaud, two of the top reasons donors churn are because they never received information on how their gift was used, and they don’t think the organization needs them. Avoid this by tying donations to tangible results. For example, show donors you need their support by telling beneficiaries’ stories and giving them an inside look into their impact.
  • Get permission for public recognition. While some donors might love a public shoutout, others might prefer private recognition, like a phone call or letter. Before acknowledging anyone publicly, ask them if it’s okay first!
  • Get creative. While a traditional thank-you letter can show appreciation, catch your donors’ attention by testing new recognition techniques. You have tons of powerful technology at your fingertips. Pair that with your team’s creativity, and you’ll come up with out-of-the-box ideas. Even formatting your letters as eCards can make recognition more impactful.

Creating a thoughtful donor recognition strategy can go a long way in showing that you genuinely care about their support. Pay attention to what resonates with donors, and you’ll learn how to show appreciation in more meaningful ways.

Final Thoughts and Additional Resources

Your donors are the reason you can continue pursuing your mission. By properly recognizing them, you’ll increase donor acquisition and retention. Remember, acknowledge your donors often and authentically to convey your nonprofit’s appreciation for them. Be sure to always ask for their permission for public recognition and mention how their specific gift impacted your mission. In turn, thoughtful recognition will pave the way for stronger donor relations.

Did you enjoy this guide to donor recognition? Check out these resources to learn more:

Click here to download the ultimate matching gifts guide and learn how to recognize donors who are eligible.