Corporate Matching Gifts: Increase Donations Without More Work

If you’re trying to increase donations, your instinct is probably to do more—more campaigns, more emails, more outreach. That approach makes sense, but it also adds complexity and pressure on both your team and your supporters. What’s often overlooked is that one of the highest-impact ways to grow fundraising revenue doesn’t require doing more at all. It simply requires making better use of what’s already there.

Corporate matching gifts fall squarely into that category.

For many donors, their employer is willing to match the charitable contribution they’re already planning to make. The opportunity isn’t convincing donors to give more, it’s helping them unlock additional impact from a decision they’ve already made. When that process is easy and visible at the right moment, it becomes a powerful, low-effort way to increase total revenue.

What are corporate matching gifts

Corporate matching gifts are exactly what they sound like: companies matching donations made by their employees. If a donor gives $50 and their employer offers a match, that contribution can turn into $100 without any additional cost to the donor.

The challenge is awareness and timing. Many donors either don’t know this benefit exists or forget about it when they’re in the process of giving. As a result, a significant amount of potential funding is left on the table.

That’s why integrating matching directly into the donation experience is so effective. With haku’s integration with Double the Donation, donors can search for their employer, check eligibility, and take action without leaving the donation flow. Instead of requiring follow-up steps after the fact, matching becomes part of the giving moment itself.

This shift removes friction and increases the likelihood that donors actually complete the matching process.

How to actually use corporate matching gifts strategically

Enabling corporate matching is easy. Seeing real results requires a bit more intention.

Here’s where organizations get the most impact:

Put matching where donations happen

If your matching strategy starts after the donation is complete, you’re already losing conversions.

The highest-performing organizations embed matching directly into:

• Donation forms
• Event registration flows
• Fundraising pages

That way, donors see it before they check out, not after.

Why this matters:

Donor intent drops off quickly after the transaction. If matching isn’t presented in the moment, most people won’t come back to it.

Factor matching into your fundraising goals

If a meaningful portion of your donations are matched, it should influence how you plan campaigns.

Organizations that lean into matching often:

• Reach fundraising minimums faster
• Increase total campaign revenue without increasing participant effort
• Adjust goal-setting to reflect both direct and matched contributions

Ignoring matching in your strategy means underestimating your actual potential.

See how it actually works in haku:

Take the self-guided tour: here

Why corporate matching should be part of every fundraising strategy

Corporate matching is one of the highest-leverage tools available because it works with the momentum you already have. It increases total revenue, improves the donor experience, and reduces operational friction, all without requiring additional effort from your team or your supporters.

It also fits seamlessly across different types of fundraising, from standard donation pages to peer-to-peer campaigns and event-based fundraising. That flexibility makes it an always-on way to grow revenue rather than a tactic tied to a specific campaign.

Ultimately, corporate matching is about getting more value from the gifts your donors are already making. When implemented well, it becomes a quiet but powerful driver of growth across your entire fundraising strategy.

Ready to get more out of what you’re already doing?

Take the self guided tour or get a live demo today