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Five Strategies for Matching Gift Success. Amanda Cose & Julie Nurse Director and Assistant Director of Gift Services Marquette University. Agenda . Overview of Marquette University and University Advancement What is a matching gift Matching gifts at Marquette
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Five Strategies for Matching Gift Success Amanda Cose & Julie Nurse Director and Assistant Director of Gift Services Marquette University
Agenda • Overview of Marquette University and University Advancement • What is a matching gift • Matching gifts at Marquette • Five strategies for growing a matching gift program • Maintaining our records • Limitations and challenges • Conclusion
What is a matching gift? • You’ve heard before, and we’ll say it again… Free Money! In addition to the revenue, matches motivate our donors to give and take full advantage of maximizing their contribution • Matching gifts are a part of charitable giving programs set up by corporations in which the company matches donations made by their employees to eligible nonprofit organizations. • A sample of qualified organizations that (typically) qualify: • Educational institutions • Healthcare based organizations • Arts and cultural organizations • Environmental organizations • Community based social services • A sample of qualified organizations that (typically) are restricted: political organizations, sports teams, certain religious organizations such as churches. • Programs are built on trust with a shared benefit for all parties involved.
What is a matching gift? Where it all began: the General Electric Foundation, 1954
Matching gifts at Marquette • Over $2.5 million since FY09 • Averaging over $500,000 per year • Goal of increasing percentage of matching gift revenue to total fundraising revenue
Five strategies for growing a program▪ 1 - Establish a Culture of Matching Gifts ▪ • Fundraising/development staff is key to success – keep them informed! • Link matching gifts to individual solicitor credit for increased fundraiser incentive to pursue matches • Provide fundraisers with frequent lists: • Managed prospects who work for companies that match gifts • Managed prospects who have recently made gifts and work for companies that match gifts • Inform donors of match potential (more about this later) • Make it easy to obtain information (utilize online giving website) • Establish an internal contact person for matching gifts (Julie serves as contact for MU)
Five strategies for growing a program▪ 2 - Market the Program ▪ • Include language in acknowledgment letters and confirmation emails for online giving: • P.S. Did you know that you can double the impact of your gift to Marquette? To find out if your employer has a matching gift program, visit www.matchinggifts.com/marquette. • Create matching gift inserts to accompany solicitations and pledge reminders • Make note of matching gifts on direct mail pieces • Provide matching gift information on your giving website
Five strategies for growing a program▪ 2 - Market the Program ▪
Five strategies for growing a program▪ 2 - Market the Program ▪
Five strategies for growing a program▪ 3 - Solicit Matching Gifts ▪ • The best way to get a match is to ask! • Utilize Phonathon callers • “I see you work at ________. Let me see if _________ will match your gift.” • “Great, it appears that your employer will match your gift. Just to let you know, you’ll need to go to your human resources department and they will give you a form that you should send in with your contribution.” • We mail a quarterly letter to anyone who has made a gift in the last quarter and may be eligible for a match (excluding those who have already requested a match) • Next year, we plan to mail a postcard instead of a letter
Five strategies for growing a program▪ 3 - Solicit Matching Gifts ▪
Five strategies for growing a program▪ 4 - Stewardship ▪ • Acknowledgments • Thank you to donor when gift is matched • Thank you/tax receipt to company • Recognition • Matching gifts count toward inclusion in annual giving society, the President’s Society
Five strategies for growing our program▪ 5 - Make Use of Good Data ▪ • Know the matching gift companies that are in your database • Store information about matching gift companies in their donor record • Keep current employment data on your constituents • Share data with relevant contacts across the division
Maintaining our records Weekly / Ongoing • Verify all pending forms (paper & online) • CASE’s four-point test. Is this an eligible: gift, donor, organization and purpose? • Enter pledges in the Raiser’s Edge for all verified match requests • Gift entry of matching gift funds that have been received • Update our data with employment information, as received Quarterly • Run matching gift potential letter of donors from previous quarter • Thank you letters to donors whose gifts were matched • Receipts sent to companies that have matched gifts in the previous quarter Annually • Follow-up with all outstanding match requests / pledge balances • Review outstanding pledges in the Raiser’s Edge, write-off balances
Limitations and challenges • Creating an effective way to follow up with unfulfilled verifications and declined contributions • Logistics of maintaining online logins • Matching contributions that were originally made through a donor-advised fund • In most cases, individual donors may not receive quid pro quo as a result of a matching gift from their employer • Confirming volunteer hours • Verifying recurring gifts such as payment plans and installments
Resources • HEP Data: www.hepdata.com • HEP/CASE Matching Gift Community (formerly Matchlist_L Listserv)The HEP/CASE Matching Gift Community is dedicated to connecting fundraising professionals who work with matching gifts. It provides a candid and open communication channel to allow fundraisers to share their experience and to benefit from the experience of others. You do not need to be a member of CASE to join the HEP/CASE Matching Gift Community.To join the HEP/CASE Matching Gift Community, you will first need a CASE account. Once your account has been created or confirmed, visit community.case.org, log in, and select My Profile > Subscriptions > Matching Gifts. There, you can customize your message preferences. For more information, visit the CASE subscriptions page. • Supporting Advancement: www.supportingadvancement.com • CASE: www.case.org • Fund Services: www.fundsvcs.org
Conclusion Amanda Cose Director, Gift Services amanda.cose@marquette.edu 414-288-4467 Julie Nurse Assistant Director, Gift Services julie.nurse@marquette.edu 414-288-4515