HEP Development Announces MatchMyGift™ for Smart Phones

by Paul Lagasse

HEP Development has made it easier than ever for fundraisers to help donors double their gifts to their favorite charities, thanks to the exciting new MatchMyGift™ app for smart phones.

Over 19,500 U.S. and Canadian companies and subsidiaries match charitable gifts to thousands of nonprofit organizations, universities, alumni associations, and foundations. In fact, 83% of them match 1:1 -- and some even match 2:1 or even 3:1. Gift officers, volunteers, and class agents can use MatchMyGift™ to:

• Search the most accurate and up-to-date corporate matching gift database available
• Immediately discover whether an employer has a matching gift program
• Learn whether spousal and retiree gifts are also matched
• Review the details of a corporation's policies and procedures
• E-mail yourself or a friend the appropriate matching gift application forms
• . . . and more!

With the free MatchMyGift™ app, gift officers can be sure they have the most accurate and comprehensive corporate matching data at their fingertips. That's because MatchMyGift™ is powered by HEP Development's comprehensive GiftPlus® database, which is updated daily with new and revised information about corporate matching gift programs.

Apple iPhone users can download MatchMyGift™ free from the iTunes App Store. BlackBerry users can go to here from their BlackBerry browser. Please note that in order to use the app on either model smart phone, users will need to purchase an annual renewable license to access the GiftPlus® database. Pricing is available for single users and groups.

To learn more about MatchMyGift™ for iPhone and BlackBerry, and to see a demo of the app in action, click here or e-mail matchmygift@hepdata.com.

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Cal Poly State University Grows Matching Gifts Even on a Slim Budget

For Linda Stark, Matching Gifts Specialist at Cal Poly State University, developing and implementing a matching gifts program on a shoestring budget has had unexpected benefits -- not only has she seen a significant increase in gifts, but she has also developed stronger ties to the rest of the campus' development staff. "I think that because my budget is so limited, I have to do a lot of the work in house," explains Stark. "It has forced me to be more creative."

Stark's creative approach focuses on driving donors to the Advancement Office's matching gift page rather than by preparing expensive mailings or campaigns. Stark reaches donors through mailed buck slips that include the webpage's address; these are mailed directly to prospects, included in the packets that fundraisers give to donors during visits, and mailed with pledge coupons during telephone fundraising campaigns. Stark has found that it's important to use these outreach methods to educate donors about the benefits of matching gifts. "Many donors don't know that their company has a matching gift program, or even know what matching gifts are," she says.

Once donors arrive at the matching gift webpage, they can use HEP Development's E-Match Donor Link™ to quickly find out whether their employers match gifts to Cal Poly. The search form matches the design of the Cal Poly website, providing donors with a seamless and intuitive search experience. "I love E-Match Donor Link™," says Stark. "It is an important component to our program. We spend less time on administration because we've given our donors the ability to research their own matching eligibility and access their matching application. Putting the link on our gift receipts and pledge coupons was so successful that we're exploring other ways of marketing the link."

Stark reports that her creative efforts to find fundraising strategies that are easy to implement and self-generating have far outweighed the time and money she has invested. "Our financial goal is to increase matching by 6% annually," Stark explains, "but these past four years matching has increased annually from 12% to 24%." Not only that, but Stark's efforts to break through traditional silos and communicate with other advancement officers across campus -- through regular reports that chart matching gift revenues -- has been beneficial too. "I think we're like many colleges and universities in that matching gifts is on the administrative side of development, not on the fundraising side. So I'm not sitting at the same table with the fundraisers. My matching gift reports help raise awareness and open channels to communicate with them," says Stark. "I work for them. They don't pay my salary, but my job is to support them."

Stark says that no matter what the budget, development officers can benefit from using cost-effective strategies and tools such as E-Match Donor Link™ to increase matching gift revenues. "You can sit around and wait for someone else to lead, but what's been crucial to the success of this program is for me to take on the responsibility and be proactive," Stark concludes. "I think that's the key to any endeavor. Figure out what you can do, and do it."

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News Bits

• New White Paper: Looking for affordable yet effective ways to breathe life into your organization's matching gift program? HEP Development's free white paper, Three Simple Ways to Boost Your Matching Gift Revenue, will show you how. Learn how and why these proven techniques work and discover the applications for which they are most suited. You'll also read about three typical success stories of charities that have used these tips to raise their matching gift revenues dramatically. Download the free PDF here!

• HEP Development Educational Series: Barrett Christensen on Technology and Matching Gifts: Join us for an informative discussion about using social networks and data mining to boost matching gift revenues. Barrett Christensen, Manager of Corporate Matching Gifts at LDS Philanthropies and Brigham Young University, will discuss how his organization developed an effective fundraising strategy that relies on social networks, smart phones, corporate agents, and online fundraising.

  That's Tuesday, October 19th from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in the ground floor Multi-Purpose Room at CASE Headquarters, 1307 New York Ave., Washington DC 20005 (next to Mozart Restaurant). Refreshments and appetizers will be available following the discussion. Please RSVP to Hazel Coupar at hcoupar@hepdata.com.

• Matching Gift Fundraisers Continue to Prefer HEP Products, Services: According to the latest 2010 Matching Gifts Best Practices Survey from Supporting Advancement, HEP Development's GiftPlus® and the HEP/CASE Matching Gift Network continued to be the most-used matching gift products and services by survey respondents, being used by 42.1% and 57.9% of the respondents respectively -- far outpacing rival services. Survey respondents also reported having more success with using online forms and other website data harvesting methods to acquire alumni employment information (53.1% in 2010, up from 44.3% in 2009), and more organizations report that they are planning to use corporate agents (or "widgets") in their fundraising efforts within two years (7.1% in 2010, up from 5.7% in 2009).

• HEP Development Finds Many Companies Match to Institutions of Higher Education, Community Colleges: The latest research from HEP Development has found that 89 percent of companies with matching gift programs match to four-year colleges, while 74 percent match to community colleges.

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September 2010