Matching Offers Made Easy

Stay ECFA compliant with these fundraising examples and messaging guidelines

By Courtney Hamilton, Associate Creative Director

Who doesn’t love a “two-for-one” offer? I get nostalgic thinking of the days of back-to-school shopping… picking out new shoes for the school year at Payless. Their BOGO offer of two shoes for the price of one couldn’t be beat.   

In fundraising, organizations have long used a similar “twofer” deal: matching gifts and matching challenges. 

These two incentives might sound similar, but they are not interchangeable. In fact, I often receive letters to my mailbox promising to “double my gift” through a Matching Challenge (which isn’t 100% accurate, more on that below). 

To use these matching offers to your benefit – and be in compliance with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) guidelines – it’s essential to understand their nuances. So let’s take a closer look at some key differences in fundraising language and strategy between matching gifts and matching challenge gifts.

Why matching offers are effective in fundraising

Both matching gift and matching challenge gift offers leverage proven fundraising tactics rooted in donor psychology: 

• Urgency – Typically these offers are available for a limited time (much like a BOGO sale with a coupon that expires!) 

• Increased impact – Donors love knowing that their gift of $25 will become $50, or that their gift will have the power to reach twice as far. 

Matching offers are often tied to specific giving seasons or opportunities, like Giving Tuesday or year-end fundraising, further increasing motivations to give.

Use the right messaging: matching gift vs. matching challenge

If matching offers are so powerful in generating increased revenue, why do some organizations hesitate to use them? My hypothesis is that there is generally a sense of fear and confusion about saying the wrong thing when it comes to matching offers. 

Especially for faith-based nonprofit organizations, like Rescue Missions, soliciting with incorrect or untruthful messaging about matching offers can put charity integrity ratings at risk. This is a common concern for members of the ECFA, who display the council’s “symbol of trust” in their communications. 

The ECFA offers some helpful guidelines for determining the best messaging to use. Let’s break it down. 

Matching challenges: definition and example messaging

A Matching Challenge represents a noncontingent gift. In other words, a donor or group of donors provides funds and “challenges” other donors to give to match it. The organization receives the full amount of the challenge gift, regardless of how much donors give to match it. 

Example: “A local grocery store has provided $10,000 and is challenging other generous supporters to match it for a total of $20,000!” 

• The organization WILL receive $10,000 from the grocery store (it’s already been given). They might receive an additional $10,000 (or more!) from donors who give to “match” the challenge amount. 

Example: “Thanks to a generous $15,000 Matching Challenge, your gift by December 31 will DOUBLE in impact.” 

• Because gifts are not “matched” dollar for dollar, the organization does NOT say the dollar amount of a donor’s gift will double. Instead, they say the impact – or how far the gift will reach – goes twice as far. 

Matching gifts: definition and example messaging 

A Matching Gift represents funds a donor has offered contingent on how much other donors give to match it. These offers are sometimes called a “dollar for dollar match,” because the organization will only receive as much from the matching gift donor as is given by other donors. 

Example: “A generous donor has pledged to match any gift between now and December 31, up to $5,000! That means your gift of $25 becomes $50 to help our neighbors in need!” 

• The conditional generosity of a matching gift offer can be more motivating for donors than a traditional matching challenge. The funds are “at risk” – meaning the organization might not receive the full matching gift amount unless other donors give to fully meet the $5,000 pledge. 

In matching offers, integrity always wins

When matching offers are used accurately, and follow the messaging guidelines above, they are a powerful way to increase revenue, strengthen engagement and rally donors to support your cause. And clear and honest messaging can build trust among your donor audience. 

Whether you can secure a true matching gift (“your gift of $1 = $2”) or a challenge gift (“your gift = 2x impact”), the matching strategy consistently outperforms a non-match alternative. So don’t hesitate to start reaching out now to your major donors and corporate sponsors to try and secure a match for your upcoming campaigns, even into the next year! 

If you’re interested in developing a matching offer for your upcoming campaigns, BDI can help. My inbox is always open for any fundraising messaging questions you have!