Retail giving offers NGOs and donors innovative ways to fundraise, and one such innovation is the use of ‘matching contributions’. The concept of a matching contribution, in which a donor extends a grant as a match for the NGO to leverage it to fundraise from other sources, stands to further boost formal everyday giving in India.

This resource contains a report, that through evidence and case studies, presents a strong case for the current and potential impact of matching contributions on individual giving in India and the benefits of this approach.

This resource is recommended for non-profit leaders.

Resource Summary:

1. For corporates: Employee matching programs can enable corporates to: a) create a vibrant culture of volunteering across levels b) encourage employees to give to causes of their choices and c) reinforce their commitment to the country’s development. By offering both structured matching programmes as well as one-off matching campaigns in times of need, corporates can multiply the impact of their funds towards social causes manifold. Moreover, the availability of multiple online platforms offers a great opportunity to automate systems and processes towards linking payroll giving, and employee volunteering.

2. For private donors: Donors across segments and motivations stand to accrue a range of benefits by strategically leveraging matching campaigns. These include a high social return on investment, an opportunity to build grantees’ fundraising capabilities and expand their donor base, and a tool to encourage retail giving Donors must explore the different use cases of matching campaigns, and look to include the same as part of their overall giving model.

3. For independent platforms: Platforms have an important role to play in promoting the potential of matching campaigns, supporting the fundraisers and enhancing the givers’ experience through the journey of the campaign. Platforms must consistently work to identify new ways to personalize the giving experience and celebrate giving. Platforms could also collaborate with NGOs to run pilots to increase ease of giving by working on documentations, engagement with givers, data analytics, and digital storytelling. Lastly, platforms must also look at piloting collaborations with mainstream businesses/ e-commerce/ digital wallets and other offline outlets to build a case for matching.