Matching Gift Resources by Provider | A Competitive Review
One of the greatest challenges causing nonprofits and schools to fall short of their matching gift potential is a lack of knowledge surrounding the programs—on the side of the donor and the fundraising workforce. In fact, charitable giving research indicates that only 8% of match-eligible donors are aware of the opportunity and how to participate. Unfortunately, this may be the result of 80% of nonprofits reporting difficulty building strong workplace giving strategies with limited staff and matching gift resources.
Thus, a top recommendation for increasing participation in the programs includes an organization rallying its internal staff around the idea first. That’s where equipping your team with comprehensive and informative matching gift resources comes in to help!
But if your team isn’t already prepared with a wide array of educational materials at your disposal, there’s no need to fret. In fact, many resources are available at no or low cost online. And the companies that focus on assisting organizations in making the most of available donation-matching opportunities—i.e., matching gift software vendors—are often an excellent place to start.
If you’re new to the world of corporate matching gifts, there are currently three key players in the sector offering software solutions designed to simplify matching gift fundraising for nonprofits and their donors. These include the following:
- Double the Donation
- Affinaquest’s HEPdata
- Amply
In this guide, our team will review the matching gift resources offered by each provider—including a scorecard analyzing the extent of the available materials. This allows your organization to discover some of the most valuable assets as you work to educate your team on the opportunity.
Let’s dive in!
Double the Donation’s Matching Gift Resources
According to a previous study, Double the Donation is the largest provider of matching gift tools for nonprofits and educational institutions alike, working with an estimated 78% of the most prominent fundraising organizations in the U.S.
Founded in 2011, Double the Donation is the newest player in the game, but it’s quickly overtaken the competition in terms of client usage, technological innovation, and, according to our review, available matching gift resources.
Here’s an overview of the materials offered by this vendor:
By far, Double the Donation has the most available matching gift resources on its website—going above and beyond its competitors in every category.
Matching gifts blog — One of this company’s most expansive offerings is a regularly updated, matching gifts-focused blog. With an estimated four to ten new posts published each month, the Double the Donation blog is generally up to date with current trends and other happenings in the corporate giving sector. Blog content includes lists of top matching gift and volunteer grant companies, workplace giving program best practices, marketing tips and tricks, and more.
Downloadable resources — Double the Donation’s “fan-favorite” resource hub is a wealth of information for fundraisers looking to learn more about all things matching gifts. This includes but is certainly not limited to, free eBooks, checklists, templates, case studies, and other in-depth guides.
Knowledge Base — Double the Donation’s Knowledge Base (also known as its KB) is a centralized, FAQ-style resource hub that provides comprehensive information and support for its software users. The KB offers a wide range of step-by-step tutorials, troubleshooting recommendations, onboarding and integration guides, and more to help clients maximize the potential of their matching gift tools.
Webinars — Offering a large number of live and on-demand webinars at no cost, the Double the Donation team continually hosts immersive events on timely and relevant topics. Subject matter ranges from seasonal matching gift fundraising tips and donor engagement strategies to software demos and platform-specific best practices. Plus, the facilitators encourage viewer interaction, often incorporating Q&A sessions in their presentations.
The Matching Gift Academy — Double the Donation has recently launched the industry’s first and only online learning system dedicated to matching gift fundraising. This is one of their most impressive offerings, complete with over 11 modules and 45 lessons worth of video and other exclusive content that will get you up to speed on best practices and more.
Learn how to market matching gifts effectively, understand and overcome common challenges, and empower donors to submit requests. This resource can be used to get your entire team up to speed on matching gifts, as users can progress at their own pace and receive a certificate of completion at the end. Not to mention, the course is free for current clients—and available to the general public for a fee of only $199/year.
Affinaquest’s HEPdata’s Matching Gift Resources
HEPdata was originally founded in 1997, making it the first established matching gift database provider. However, the company was acquired by Affinaquest (a donation and fan engagement platform) in 2019. Affinaquest was, in turn, acquired by SSB (a data management and sports analytics company) in 2021 while retaining the Affinaquest brand name.
Given HEPdata’s turbulent history of acquisitions and shifting areas of focus, it’s not surprising that the company’s matching gift resources are dispersed—if not scarce. That is both across different domains (HEPdata vs. Affinaquest vs. SSB) and within various other subjects (including sports, entertainment, and collegiate athletics).
That said, here’s an overview of the materials offered by this vendor:
While the Affinaquest website did contain quite a bit of educational material, the focus is so widespread that only a small percentage of the content is directly relevant to matching gift best practices, trends, and opportunities.
Blog — Currently, any blog that previously lived on the HEPdata website is being redirected to the Affinaquest home page. And while Affinaquest provides its own blog, the vast majority of the posts are unrelated to corporate donation-matching. In fact, at the time of our review, only 1 out of the last 36 Affinaquest blog posts were on the topic of matching gifts. However, we did uncover a significant amount of athletics-focused and general higher education advancement content on the site.
Downloadable resources — Similarly, the Affinaquest website hosts a number of free downloadable resources (including sell sheets and whitepapers) and case studies. However, there exists no clearly matching gifts-focused content in these locations, either.
Knowledge Base — One of the last remnants of the “HEPdata.com” era that does not redirect to Affinaquest is its old Knowledge Base. This online hub does contain a multitude of matching gift resources, including product-focused tutorials and general knowledge guides—albeit slightly outdated ones, given that the posts were last updated over two years ago.
Webinars — Again, the majority of the on-demand webinars on Affinaquest’s website do not seem to be matching gift-related. Instead, the company appears to focus its virtual events on collegiate athletics, data management, and more. Additionally, we were unable to find any mention of upcoming events, so this provider’s webinar hosting may be only a thing of the past.
Amply’s Matching Gift Resources
The final matching gift software vendor we’re reviewing, Amply was established in 2010 and formerly known as DonateDouble. In the years since, however, they’ve rebranded themselves under the “Amply” title.
In comparison with the other two vendors, Amply appears to own the lowest share of the matching gift technology market. It also appears to have the smallest library of educational resources.
Here’s an overview of the materials offered by this vendor:
Despite the resources provided by Amply being primarily matching gifts-focused (in comparison to those of Affinaquest), the extent of materials offered is extremely limited.
Blog — Though there is an existing blog on the Amply website, at the time of our review, the resource had not been updated in over a year, with the most recent post being published in mid-2022. And even then, the blog roll only displays three posts—though it’s unknown whether others had existed in the past.
Downloadable resources — While Amply does not appear to have an online hub of downloadable resources, the company does offer a single download (titled “Download Our Free Guide to Gift Matching Donations”) as a pop-up when a user navigates to the website.
Wrapping Up & Additional Resources
Now that we’ve reviewed various matching gift educational materials offered by the leading software vendors, it’s time to select your favorite resources. Then, dive in to begin growing your knowledge—and encourage your fundraising staff to do the same!
But remember: the matching gift software providers above supply more than just knowledge. They can also equip your team with dedicated software to bring your matching gift efforts to new heights—and streamline key processes for you, too. For a competitive look at each solution, we suggest browsing this detailed software comparison from the fundraising experts at Re:charity!
Plus, check out these recommended resources as you consider additional ways to elevate your nonprofit’s matching gift efforts:
- The Ultimate List of Charitable Giving Statistics, Trends & Data. Looking for even more fundraising research to inform your organization’s engagement strategies? Explore our ultimate compilation of charitable giving statistics here.
- Workplace Giving Software: Top Tips and Recommendations. Learn the benefits of workplace giving software, what to look for in a solution, and best practices for making the most of your tools. Make matching gifts easy with the right tools!
- Matching Gift Automation: What 11 Nonprofits Have to Say. When it comes to matching gift automation software, don’t take our word for it! Hear from real organizations like yours to discover the impact these tools have on smart fundraising efforts.
