How to run a matching gift challenge at your fundraising event

Why a match works

A match changes the math for every guest. Their gift does twice as much, and the sponsor's name tells the room that someone they know already believes in the cause.

There is good evidence behind this. In a large field experiment by economists Dean Karlan and John List, published in the American Economic Review in 2007, more than 50,000 past donors to a US nonprofit got a fundraising letter. Some letters mentioned a match and some didn't. The letters with a match raised about 19 percent more money per letter, and people who got them were about 22 percent more likely to give. You can read the working paper at NBER.

The same study found something useful for planning: letters offering a 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 match did no better than a simple dollar-for-dollar match. More on that below.

Find the right sponsor

The best matching sponsors are people or businesses who already care about your work and would like to see it grow. Good places to look:

• Board members and their families. A board member who already planned a large gift may be glad to give it as a match, so it brings in more from others.
• A family foundation connected to your school or community.
• Local businesses that already sponsor your event, such as a bank, a car dealer or a law firm.
• A group of donors who pool their gifts. Five families giving $2,000 each can back a $10,000 match together.

When you ask, explain that a match does more than a gift of the same size, because it brings in new gifts that might not have happened. Many sponsors like that their money works twice.

Choose the ratio and the cap

The ratio is how much the sponsor gives for each dollar from guests. A 1 to 1 match is dollar for dollar. A 2 to 1 match means the sponsor gives $2 for every $1. The cap is the most the sponsor will give in total.

Given the research above, dollar for dollar is usually enough. If a sponsor offers $10,000, a 1 to 1 match up to $10,000 asks guests to give $10,000 to use it all. A 2 to 1 match up to the same $10,000 needs only $5,000 from guests, so the sponsor's money runs out sooner and brings in less from the room. Some sponsors still prefer a higher ratio because it sounds bigger, like a 2 to 1 match that turns every $100 into $300. That's fine, as long as you plan for the match to run out sooner.

Set the cap at an amount you are confident the room can reach. Announcing "we did it, the match is met!" is far better than ending the night with part of the match unused. If you aren't sure, start with a smaller cap. A sponsor who sees the match met in twenty minutes may offer to extend it on the spot.

Decide which gifts count

Agree with the sponsor on exactly what the match covers, so there is no awkward conversation later. The usual questions are:

1. Which gifts? Only the Fund-a-Need or paddle raise, or every donation made during the event, including online gifts.
2. When? Only tonight, during a set campaign window, or until the match is used up.
3. Which donors? Every guest, or only new donors or first-time monthly givers, if that is the goal.
4. What if the match isn't met? Some sponsors give the full amount anyway. Others give only what was matched. Ask in advance.

Write these terms down in a short letter or email that the sponsor agrees to, along with when and how they will pay.

Announce the match

A match only works if people know about it. Announce it early and repeat it often:

• Before the event. Mention the match in your invitations, emails and social posts, with the sponsor's permission.
• Right before the ask. Have the auctioneer or emcee announce the match before the first giving level of the Fund-a-Need. Name the sponsor and the cap, and thank them from the stage.
• In plain numbers. "Your $100 becomes $200 tonight" is easier to feel than "a 1 to 1 match."
• As it fills up. Show progress on the big screen. When the match is close to being met, say so. "We're $1,500 away from using every dollar of the Rivera match" is a strong last call.

If your sponsor is willing, invite them to say a few words. A sponsor explaining why they chose to match is one of the most persuasive moments of an evening.

Track progress as gifts come in

You need a running count of the gifts that count toward the match, so the room can see it move and you know when it is met. Keep that count separate from your overall event total, because the sponsor matches only the gifts you agreed on, not ticket sales or auction items.

If guests give in more than one way, such as paddles in the room, phones and a donation page, make sure every gift the match covers reaches the same count. A paddle raised at the back of the room should count toward a Fund-a-Need match just like a gift made on a phone.

Collect the match and thank the sponsor

The match is a pledge until the sponsor pays it. After the event, send the sponsor a short summary: how many gifts were matched, the total, and the amount they agreed to give. Then collect it the way you agreed, by check, bank transfer or card.

Thank the sponsor publicly, if they want that, and privately. Tell them what their match made possible and how many people gave because of it. A sponsor who feels their match made a difference is likely to do it again next year.

Recognition and receipts

In the US, a matching gift from an individual or a family is a charitable gift like any other. For any single gift of $250 or more, the donor needs a written acknowledgment from your organization to claim a deduction.

When a business backs the match and gets recognition in return, the IRS looks at what that recognition is. Thanking a sponsor by name or with their logo is generally treated as an acknowledgment. Promoting the business with qualitative claims, prices or an endorsement can count as advertising, and your organization may then owe unrelated business income tax on that payment. The IRS explains the difference on its page about advertising or qualified sponsorship payments. Check with your accountant for the rules that apply to your organization and your sponsor.

Common mistakes to avoid

• A cap you can't reach. An unmet match is a missed headline and money left on the table.
• Announcing it too late. If guests hear about the match after they have given, it can't change what they give.
• Fuzzy terms. Agree in writing on which gifts count and what happens if the match isn't met.
• Losing count. Every gift the match covers, whether from a paddle, a phone or the donation page, should reach the same running total.
• Forgetting to collect. Send the sponsor their summary within a few days, while the evening is fresh.

Where CausIO helps

CausIO lets you add a matching gift to an auction: the sponsor's name, a match of dollar for dollar, 2 to 1 or 3 to 1, and the most the sponsor will give. You choose whether it covers Fund-a-Need gifts, Donate page gifts or both, and CausIO counts every gift of the kinds you picked, including paddles your staff record in the room for a Fund-a-Need match. Guests see the sponsor's offer on the Fund-a-Need card or the Donate page, depending on what the match covers, and the confirm step tells them what their gift becomes. When the Fund-a-Need total is shown to guests, you can also show a bar of how much has been matched, and for a Fund-a-Need match the big-screen display adds the matched amount under the total once gifts come in. CausIO doesn't limit the count to a time window or to certain donors, so keep your own tally for a match like that, and collect the sponsor's gift directly.

Planning the appeal itself? See our guide on how to run a Fund-a-Need (paddle raise), or see how CausIO works for galas and events and for schools and PTOs.