Does adding a matching gift to a fundraising campaign significantly increase response rates?
We analyzed the effect of incorporating matching gifts into fundraising campaigns across multiple clients, timeframes, and packages. The goal was to determine the average lift on performance when a matching gift was added to the offer.
SET UP AND TIMEFRAME:
Various direct mail and digital campaigns across multiple organizations.
- Group A: Received matching gift offer.
- Group B: Received no match offer.
RESULTS:
Our findings show that removing the match consistently resulted in a decrease in response rates.
- Test 1: 36% decline in response rate – statistically significant at 99.9% confidence.
- Test 2: 26% decline in the response rate to general donors with 99.8% confidence
- Test 3: 25% decline in the response rate to higher-value donors with 97% confidence.
KEY LEARNINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Utilizing a matching gift offer consistently improves response rates across campaigns and donor value tiers, making them an effective tool to boost revenue
