Setting up a credit card donation program with a matching component can significantly improve your company's giving initiatives. This guide provides information about best practices and considerations for configuring a successful Credit Card program that supports gift matching.
Program setup
LOGGING IN
Make your Giving page the default landing page to create an easy avenue for donors to request a match and view their recent donations and giving history.
ORGANIZATION SEARCH AND SHORT FORM
Ensuring the donation process is quick and efficient can encourage donor participation and boost your efforts.
- Identify the tax codes for organizations that will appear in the Organization search.
- Configure a short form for collecting necessary donor information using the following fields,
- Amount
- Partial Match Request
- Designation
- Privacy Preference
PAYMENT AND CONTRIBUTION OPTIONS
Establish a relationship with your donor with security and opportunity.
- Collect and securely store all required payment information.
- Allow donors to choose between one-time or recurring contributions.
DONATION HISTORY
Financial transparency helps donors see the impact their donations have and can encourage them to continue to participate.
- Display the donations made in the donation history, including the donation's status.
- If applicable, show the pending match in the donation history or a separate menu.
DONATION MATCHING
Matching donations is a great way to incentivize donor contributions and increase the impact of your efforts.
- Determine the match percentage or ratio, such as 1 to 1, 50%, or 2 to 1.
- Clearly outline match percentages in program match guidelines and on the Giving page. Also it is best practice to include the match limit visualization in the form..
- Display match eligibility guidelines for donors to reduce confusion about donation match qualification.
Configuring match settings and limits
MATCH PERCENTAGES
Ensure your match percentages are clearly communicated on the giving page and form, regardless of the match percentage you choose to use: 1 to 1, 2 to 1, or 50%.
TAX STATUS ELIGIBILITY
Clearly communicate organization tax status requirements to employees to reduce incoming questions. Note that tax status eligibility for matching cannot be set differently within one credit card matching program.
FEATURED ORGANIZATIONS
Enhance donor engagement by adding featured organizations to the donation page.
DONOR AND DONATION LEVEL LIMITS
Set match limits at the donor and donation levels for effective management. Example match limits include:
- $3000 match limit per Donor per year
- Credit Card: Minimum transaction of $5
Disbursements
Keep in mind the following information about processing, approvals, and program requirements. CGDS is the payment disbursement method for all programs that include credit card transactions.
CGDS & AUTOMATIC APPROVALS
- The system treats the donor's credit card donation and the match portion separately.
- Credit card donations are automatically approved.
- Matches can be configured to automatically approve or follow a simple approval process.
- Approved donations and matches are eligible for inclusion in the next CGDS batched invoice.
- Credit card donations will not be immediately sent to the designated nonprofit organization. Funds are disbursed according to your CGDS configuration.
CREDIT CARD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
- Credit card programs can only be funded for US and Canadian-based organizations.
- Credit card donations may only be sent to US organizations listed in the IRS nonprofit database.
- Standard product limitations allow match limits to be imposed only at the donor and donation levels.
Note: The content provided in this guide is based on general recommendations. You may require customization based on your specific requirements and system capabilities.
