← All Articles · 2026-03-16

Matching Gifts 101: How to Double Your Donations for Free

Many companies offer to match charitable donations their employees make, often dollar-for-dollar, sometimes even at a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio for certain causes. It's one of the easiest ways to increase a fundraiser's total without asking anyone for an additional cent — and it's also one of the most consistently underused tools available to small fundraising groups.

Why So Few Donors Claim Their Match

The gap isn't usually a lack of generosity — it's awareness. Many employees simply don't know their employer offers a matching program, or they forget to complete the (usually simple) submission process after making their gift. For a fundraiser organizer, closing this awareness gap costs nothing and can meaningfully increase your total raised.

How to Prompt Donors to Check

Add a simple line to every donation receipt, thank-you email, and fundraiser page: "Does your employer match charitable gifts? Many companies do — check with your HR department to potentially double your impact." This single sentence, repeated consistently, captures matches you'd otherwise miss entirely.

Who's Most Likely to Have Access

Larger employers, especially in corporate, financial, and tech sectors, are more likely to offer formal matching programs than small businesses. If your donor base includes professionals at larger companies, it's worth specifically highlighting the matching gift reminder to that segment.

The Submission Process Is the Friction Point

Most matching programs require the employee to submit a request through an internal portal after making their gift — this is the step most donors forget. A gentle follow-up reminder a week or two after the original ask, specifically about matching gifts, can recover donations that would otherwise be left unclaimed.

Matching gift drives are included in our "Corporate & Sponsorship" category — see how a matching gift push compares to other corporate fundraising formats using our Fundraising Goal Calculator.