Why Double the Donation’s Matching Gift Tool is the Best
Earlier this month, we here at Fundly announced an exciting new integration: we now offer 360MatchPro from Double the Donation to our NonProfitEasy users.
Double the Donation is a matching gifts database provider, and 360MatchPro is the fully automated matching gifts platform that they offer in addition to the database. 360MatchPro optimizes any matching gifts strategy through eligibility verification, automatic follow-up, and matching gifts status and revenue tracking.
But Double the Donation isn’t the only matching gifts database provider on the market. In fact, we had to give some serious consideration as to which database provider we would entrust with our NonProfitEasy users.
In the next few sections, we’ll break down different facets of our decision-making process, and explain which factors convinced us that Double the Donation was the right matching gifts database for our community.
1. What are Double the Donation and 360MatchPro?
Double the Donation is a matching gifts database provider that was founded in 2010. The goal of their product is to make it so easy for donors to learn about their matching gift or volunteer grant eligibility status that they can’t help but want to submit the match or grant request.
The number one reason that donors don’t submit matching gift requests is that they simply don’t know about them.
More than 26 million people are matching gift-eligible in the United States, but nonprofits everywhere have given up on trying to include matching gifts in their fundraising strategies. Double the Donation wants to change that.
360MatchPro is a fully automated matching gifts platform. As Double the Donation’s flagship product, this solution was designed to help fundraising organizations maximize the impact of their matching gifts strategy.
With our new integration with 360MatchPro, we can’t wait to see how NonProfitEasy optimizes their matching gifts abilities.
2. How does Double the Donation work?
The concept of a matching gifts database is fairly easy to understand: like any other search engine, the curious party types their query into the search bar and pores through the results to find what they are interested in.
Double the Donation has created a search engine that brings back results relevant to matching gifts or volunteer grant eligibility, based on information that they’ve curated and organized.
The matching gifts process works like this:
- A supporter of an organization makes a donation.
- The supporter is directed to the matching gifts database.
- The supporter searches for their employer and finds their employer’s matching gift policy.
- The database directs the supporter to the relevant forms or website.
- The supporter completes the form and submits the match to their employer.
Then the job of the supporter is done! It’s as easy as that.
However, to ensure that the matching gift request actually gets submitted to the supporter’s employer, several key things must happen:
- The supporter must be able to find their employer in the database.
- The database must include up-to-date and accurate information.
- The links to the forms must be live and accurate.
A database that doesn’t allow the supporter to easily find this information and submit the match is a fundraising software that has failed its objective. We loved Double the Donation because their matching gifts database fulfills all of these requirements and more.
When we decided on a matching gifts database for our CRM, we looked for one that would smoothly lead a supporter through each step of the matching gift request process.
In the next section, we’ll cover each criteria that we used to evaluate the different matching gift database providers, and what we learned about each.
3. What are the most important features of a matching gift tool?
The top four competitors in the matching gifts database space are Double the Donation, HEPdata, Amply, and Blackbaud’s Matchfinder. HEPdata has been around the longest, having been founded in 1997, followed by Matchfinder circa 1999, Double the Donation in 2010 and then Amply.
We evaluated the following criteria when debating which matching gift software to create an integration with:
- Comprehensiveness of the data.
- Number of forms in the database.
- How current the database was.
- Search functionality of the database.
- Ease of use of the data.
The first thing we learned while researching was that while Amply provides a matching gifts automation service, they don’t keep their own database—instead, they use HEPdata’s. The fact that Double the Donation offers both industry-leading data and the most advanced automation tools presents a number of benefits to us, including:
- That the matching gift data can be structured perfectly for the automation platform. We found out Double the Donation has added multiple fields across all its companies to allow for enhancements in 360MatchPro functionality. Without the automation provider controlling its own database, actual functionality would be limited.
- That we could ensure perfect system uptime for our integrations. Double the Donation maintaining its own database means there is no risk of data access being cut off for any reason.
- That the customer support process would be simpler. No matter if we needed assistance with the automation platform or the database itself, we are able to work with one single company that already understands our integration.
Now let’s break down the different criteria, and evaluate how we were convinced that Double the Donation was the right choice.
Comprehensiveness.
We wanted a database that had enough entries that nearly anyone would be able to find their matching gifts program. Due to the nature of the beast, however, that means that the database has to include:
- Parent companies.
- Subsidiaries.
- Alternate spellings and name variations.
This means that no matter if someone works for Disney World and looks for Disney, Walt Disney, or The Walt Disney Corporation, they’ll be able to find the right entry.
What impressed us most about Double the Donation is that it has over 24,000 entries in its database, and covered over 99% of donors with matching gifts eligibility.
That means that more than 99% of donors who work for a company with a matching gifts program would be able to find their policy information in the Double the Donation database.
Number of forms.
Once we determined that Double the Donation had the breadth of entries that we were interested in, we got a little more technical and tested how robust the entries themselves were.
We asked the following questions of a sample of entries:
- Are there links to forms, and are those links still live?
- Do the links actually go where they need to?
- How many forms are available online for immediate submission?
Because the purpose of a matching gifts database is to make the submission process as easy as possible for donors, we wanted a database that could quickly direct the most donors to their forms. Double the Donation had the most forms, as well as the fewest dead links.
Recency of updates.
Another crucial factor in our decision was how up-to-date the information was, and how frequently the entries were checked. It does your fundraising strategy no good whatsoever to turn in a matching gift request form that was last accepted in 2010.
Companies frequently change policies and programs in the fast-paced world of for-profit businesses, so nonprofits have to be able to keep up to maintain their matching gifts strategies.
We were thrilled by Double the Donation’s comprehensive update schedule. Their updating process includes:
- Daily updates to entries.
- Monthly and quarterly automated scans of information.
- Annual database updates based on companies’ policy changes.
- Real-time updates through automatic CSR database syncs.
This attention to detail, exclusive data integrations with the platforms that directly manage companies’ giving programs, and continuous relevancy ensures that our nonprofit CRM clients will always have the right information for their donors.
Search functionality.
When we compared the different matching gift databases, we found immediately that Double the Donation’s search function was far more accurate and efficient than its peers.
Instead of the donor typing in the name of their employer, hitting enter, and searching through every entry that has the search term in it or having a long drop-down list of thousands of entries, Double the Donation streamlined the process with an autocomplete option.
The Double the Donation search functionality works like this:
- The donor begins typing in the name of their employer.
- The database autocompletes the search, suggesting companies to the donor.
- The donor chooses the correct option and is taken to the entry.
The autocomplete function minimizes the chances of a donor overlooking a name variation and missing their employer, or getting overwhelmed by the number of subsidiaries and giving up.
Ease of use.
Finally, because we intended the matching gifts database to be a donor-facing resource, we considered how easy it is to read, understand, and act upon the information presented after a search is completed.
Some of the nonprofit software solutions present information in a way that is functional and practical for a nonprofit’s development team. This is a useful feature for a different organization that may have the time to call or personally email every single donor, but not for us or Fundly’s many nonprofit clients.
Double the Donation’s information is presented in an entirely donor-centric way, which aligned with what our vision for the database was.
4. What is Double the Donation’s new auto-submission feature?
Double the Donation has long been at the forefront of matching gift innovation—and this played a huge role in the Fundly team selecting 360MatchPro for our clients’ matching gift abilities. Their new auto-submission functionality is an excellent example of such.
Here’s what we think you should know regarding matching gift auto-submission with our partner, Double the Donation.
How matching gift auto-submission works.
Auto-submission works to streamline and amplify matching gift program participation for the donors, nonprofits, and companies involved. Like many technology revolutions, it depends on powerful software partnerships to make it happen.
Here’s how auto-submission works with applicable donors and companies:
- An individual makes a donation to their favorite nonprofit organization’s website or donation tool. During the giving process, the donor is prompted to enter their employer’s name to determine matching gift eligibility.
- Once the donor has completed their gift, they are directed to their donation confirmation page, where they are thanked for their contribution and provided with the opportunity to partake in auto-submission. All they have to do is enter their corporate email address on the screen and authorize Double the Donation to submit their match request on their behalf!
- Double the Donation leverages already-provided donation and organization data to automatically submit the individual’s matching gift request to their employer or the company’s CSR platform.
From there, the request is processed like a typical matching gift submission behind the scenes, and corporate match funding is paid out to the organization quickly and easily.
Benefits of auto-submission.
Matching gift auto-submission has the potential to bring any matching gift program to the next level—and the advantages span the employees, donors, companies, nonprofits, software providers, and overall communities involved.
This includes:
- Simplified match request processes for donors (no redirects, submission can be completed directly from an organization’s website);
- Decreased submission roadblocks (e.g., lack of awareness regarding program eligibility and request processes, lack of submission follow-through, etc.) for employees;
- Increased match revenue for nonprofit organizations (i.e., simpler match processes lead to more matches submitted and more match revenue collected);
- Elevated participation rates for companies (also resulting in increased benefits such as employee engagement, positive brand image, and more).
- More accurate and up-to-date program information through exclusive database syncs with CSR platforms that manage companies’ matching gift programs. When the companies make updates to their programs, Double the Donation receives real-time updates to their database to ensure the highest level of accuracy.
In the end, everyone benefits from a more succinct matching gift process!
Why it makes Double the Donation stand out.
Double the Donation is currently the first—and only—matching gift software provider to roll out this breakthrough and widely beneficial feature. When seeking a matching gift software integration for Fundly users, we wanted to ensure our technology was elevated with best-in-class solutions that are always one step ahead.
With fundraising technology and the overall corporate philanthropy landscape constantly changing, we knew it was important to consider a partner that’s consistently at the forefront of innovation. And that’s Double the Donation!
Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro has long provided its users with a streamlined and simplified matching gift process, providing targeted data points and automated follow-ups that drive more matches to completion. Now, matching gift auto-submission is taking things to the next level. As a result, we can expect to see more matches followed through, more satisfied matching gift donors, more developing corporate relationships, and fewer roadblocks to success all around.
If you’re interested in more information about Double the Donation or 360MatchPro, you’re in luck. They offer free demos so anyone can see how it works.
We’re thrilled to have announced our 360MatchPro integration for our NonProfitEasy users, and can’t wait to see how a robust matching gifts database like the one from Double the Donation will improve the matching gifts strategy of our whole community.
For more information on matching gifts as well as other innovative fundraising strategies, check out some of our other favorite additional resources:
- 21+ Thoughtful Holiday Fundraising Ideas. Get a head start on inspiring your donors to give this holiday season by filling your supporters with the spirit of the season with our fun guide.
- Matching Gifts: The Expert’s Guide. Get a deeper understanding of matching gifts and how they can help your organization with this guide from the experts themselves at 360MatchPro.
- The Most Successful Corporate Fundraising Ideas. Strengthen all aspects of your corporate philanthropy strategy by suggesting the ideas from our guide to your own employer!
