The Institute of Fundraising shares some useful thoughts on how to incorporate match-funding in to your Giving Tuesday fundraising activity.
We know that match funding can encourage supporters to increase the size of their donation, give more regularly and encourage first time donors to give to your cause.
But it remains poorly understood and infrequently used in the UK.
With charities using #GivingTuesday as an opportunity to promote their cause and boost their donations every year, we look at how you can use match funding to maximise your fundraising efforts and connect supporters to your cause.
What is match funding?
Match funding is a straightforward concept. It involves a funder (whether an employer, governmental department, grant-making trust, or individual donor) agreeing to match, or partially match, a number of donations to a charity or cause.
The most commonly known type of match funding is 1:1 funding, which simply means that for every £1 that a donor gives to charity, the funder gives a further £1 to a cause.
So what’s all the fuss?
Platforms such as The Big Give and JustGiving have run match-funding charitable appeals which have proven successful in generating additional funding for charities. Take a look at campaigns like Grow your Tenner and The Big Give’s Christmas Challenge which brought welcome publicity to a number of good causes in the UK.
How can I get started?
- Firstly, get your ask right. Knowing what is feasible for your organisation is critical. 1:1 funding may be appropriate for certain campaigns, but this is not a hard and fast rule. Other funding ratios may be more applicable depending on your objectives.
- If you are entering an agreement with a corporate, then you need to ensure that your charity is ready and able to achieve its aims. Setting unrealistic goals could undermine your charity’s reputation and may put off businesses supporting your cause in the future. Whatever partner you are working with, you should get a partnership agreement drawn up which sets out how the campaign will work, how the money will be distributed and reconciled, any issues around data protection for processing the personal data of individuals, and outlines responsibilities for both parties.
About the IoF
The Institute of Fundraising (IoF) is the professional membership body for UK fundraising. We support fundraisers through leadership and representation; best practice and compliance; education and networking; and we champion and promote fundraising as a career choice. We have around 6,000 individual members and over 600 organisational members who raise more than £10 billion in income for good causes every year. www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk
