Leveraging employment metrics to grow matching gifts

For colleges, universities, and other schools like yours, matching gifts can go a long way toward unlocking new fundraising potential. However, it can be difficult to identify the best opportunities within your donor base⁠—especially if you’re lacking the right information. That’s where employment data comes in!

When it comes to maximizing matching gifts, your donors’ employment information is arguably the most invaluable resource you can have. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about leveraging employment metrics to grow matching gifts and more. This includes:

• Why do donor employment metrics matter in fundraising?
• Identifying employers & collecting data from supporters
• Analyzing employment data to maximize matching gift potential
• Triggering tailored matching gift communications
• Building stronger corporate relationships

Whether you’re new to matching gifts or are simply looking to enhance your existing strategies, this guide is designed to help you grow your impact powered by employment data. Let’s begin!

Why do donor employment metrics matter in fundraising?

Donor employment data plays a pivotal role in modern fundraising strategies, especially for institutions of higher education. After all, these insights provide fundraisers with critical information that can unlock new opportunities for corporate engagement, enhance donor relationships, and maximize revenue potential.

Here are the primary reasons why employment metrics matter in fundraising:

1. Identifying matching gift eligibility

Employment data allows fundraisers to determine whether a donor’s employer offers a matching gift program. Many companies match their employees’ charitable contributions, often doubling or even tripling the original gift amount. By identifying donors who work for companies with matching gift programs, you can proactively educate them about the opportunity, guide them to their personalized next steps, and increase the impact of each donation.

2. Targeting corporate partnerships

Knowing where your donors work opens the door to building relationships with their employers. Companies are often willing to support organizations that their employees care about. This is not just through matching gifts but also volunteer grants, sponsorships, or other corporate giving initiatives.

Understanding your donor base’s employment trends can help you identify key industries or corporations to target for deeper partnerships.

3. Personalizing donor engagement

Employment metrics enable personalized outreach that resonates with donors. When you acknowledge their workplace or highlight corporate giving opportunities tied to their employer, it shows that you understand and value their professional identity. This level of personalization fosters stronger relationships and boosts donor retention, too.

4. Expanding peer-to-peer Influence

When donors are aware that their peers at work are also giving to the same cause, they may feel a stronger sense of community and be inspired to participate. Accessing employment metrics can help you identify donors within the same organization, encouraging group participation in campaigns and strengthening workplace connections to your institution.

5. Informing strategic decisions

Employment data can reveal trends and insights that inform your broader fundraising strategy. For example, you might notice that a significant portion of your donors work in a particular industry, indicating an opportunity to tailor campaigns, events, or programs to appeal to their interests. Such data-driven decision-making can lead to more targeted efforts and better results overall.

By leveraging employment metrics, higher education fundraisers can unlock untapped revenue streams, strengthen donor engagement, and build meaningful partnerships with corporate stakeholders. It’s a strategy that benefits your institution, your donors, and the companies they represent—a win-win-win for all involved.

Identifying employers & collecting data from supporters

The first step to leveraging employment metrics is identifying where your donors work. This critical information allows you to unlock matching gift opportunities and build stronger connections with corporate partners.

Here’s how to effectively gather employer data from your supporters:

• Incorporate employer fields in donation forms: Ensure that your online donation forms include a field for donors to provide their employer’s name. Positioning this field as optional but highly encouraged can increase completion rates without deterring donations.
• Implement employment surveys: Reach out to existing donors through personalized email campaigns or surveys asking for their employment details. Be transparent about how the information will be used—such as identifying matching gift eligibility or engaging their company in corporate philanthropy initiatives.
• Leverage social media insights: Many donors share their employer information publicly on platforms like LinkedIn. Utilize these tools to research your donor base and gather employment insights, especially for major donors or alumni.
• Utilize third-party data tools: Partner with a data appends provider that can automatically match donor names and emails to sources of employer information, saving you time and filling in gaps in your database.

In order to identify matching gifts, you need to know where your donors work. By proactively collecting employment data, you can lay the foundation for a more strategic approach to matching gifts and corporate engagement.

Analyzing employment data to maximize matching gift potential

Once you’ve collected employer information, the next step is analyzing the data to uncover matching gift opportunities in your network. If you know where a donor works, you have a few options to identify matching gifts. This includes:

• Manually researching matching gift opportunities. Conduct an online search of the company + matching gifts to uncover information about any available programs. 
• Streamlining identification with matching gift software. Invest in a dedicated matching gift platform equipped with a comprehensive company database. The right tool will supply employer-specific program information, including guidelines and direct links to submission forms.

You can also use your data to pinpoint high-value companies and determine which employers are associated with the largest number of donations. These companies represent significant opportunities for deeper engagement!

All in all, a well-structured analysis helps you prioritize efforts, identify trends, and optimize your matching gift strategy. By using employment data as a strategic asset, you can unlock the full potential of matching gifts and increase revenue for your institution.

Triggering tailored matching gift communications

Personalized, targeted communication is key to turning employment data into matching gift revenue. Tailored messaging ensures that donors are aware of their employer’s matching gift program and are encouraged to take the necessary steps to secure the match.

Here’s what we recommend doing:

• Use triggered messaging for donations: Set up automated emails that are triggered when a donor makes a gift. This allows you to follow up with all donors after they give, informing or reminding them about matching gift opportunities that may be available to them.
• Include employer-specific info: If you know a donor works for a company with a matching gift program, send them a message highlighting their employer’s program details. Include a link to the company’s matching gift portal or guidelines to make the process as simple as possible.
• Follow up strategically: Consider sending multiple reminders to donors who haven’t yet submitted their matching gift requests. Use urgency, such as program deadlines or fundraising goals, to encourage action.

Tailored matching gift communications ensure supporters understand the impact they can make, making it easier for them to take the next steps. And, because they’re so personalized, they make an excellent relationship-building touchpoint with your donors!

Building stronger corporate relationships

Employment metrics don’t just support your matching gift efforts—they also open the door to meaningful corporate partnerships beyond employee giving. As a result, strengthening relationships with the companies your donors work for can lead to expanded support for your institution.

Here’s how your team can do so:

• Highlight employee involvement: Companies are often eager to support causes their employees are passionate about. Share data on how many employees from a particular company have donated to or volunteered with your institution to demonstrate alignment with their corporate values.
• Propose corporate sponsorships: Use employer data to identify companies that might be interested in sponsoring events, programs, or other initiatives. Offer tailored sponsorship packages that align with their branding goals and philanthropic interests.
• Promote volunteer opportunities: Many companies encourage employee volunteerism. Partner with these businesses to create group volunteer opportunities or other incentives that engage employees in events.
• Showcase impact: Share reports with corporate partners highlighting how their support—through matching gifts, sponsorships, or volunteer involvement—has benefited your institution and its students. Demonstrating tangible results strengthens these partnerships and encourages ongoing support.

By leveraging employment data to build stronger corporate relationships, you can create long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships that go beyond matching gifts to support your institution’s broader goals.

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Education institutions have a unique opportunity to leverage employment metrics to unlock the power of matching gifts. By understanding where your donors work, identifying eligible employers, and tailoring your outreach strategies accordingly, you can significantly boost matching gift participation and revenue⁠—not to mention, grow corporate relationships and beyond.

As you begin to refine your approach, remember that the key to success lies in data-driven strategies and consistent communication. By putting employment metrics to work, you can create a sustainable framework for matching gifts that supports your institution’s mission for years to come.

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Adam Weinger

Adam Weinger is the President of Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift and workplace giving tools to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. Adam created Double the Donation in order to help organizations increase their annual revenue through these workplace giving programs.