Why are matching funds — this often-untapped source of free money for your college or university — so allusive? Why is it such a challenge to get those donors who work for a matching gift company to fill out a simple form and send it to their human resources department?
Weather it is forgetfulness or the perils of a busy life, wouldn’t it be great if you had an effective way to nudge the matching gift along?
Consider this possible scenario:
An alumnus goes to your website and gives $100. According to your alumni database, he works for a matching gift company. Twelve hours later, the donor receives an automated email from you that asks, “Have you submitted your matching gift information? Our records indicate that you work for a matching gift company. Please ‘click here’ to fill out your form online.”
Conversely, if the donor has moved on from his former company — people change jobs so frequently these days and alma maters want to know — you offer him a link to update his information.
What if the alumnus does not respond to the email?
The next time he goes to the website to check athletic scores, he sees a toaster — a small, simple ad that rises slowly from the bottom of the screen like toast from a toaster — that says, “Did you remember to submit your matching gift information?”
This is just one way marketing automation becomes an extension of your office, creating personalized nudges to leverage timeliness and relevance to deliver a custom call to action when alumni are most engaged with your institution.
If Uber and Amazon are any indications, people more than ever expect their transactions to be seamless and simple. Make it as easy as possible for them to click that toaster or click that link to provide their matching gift information after they’ve made a gift. If they’ve moved on to a new company, make it seamless and simple for them to update their information.
Helping advancement teams maximize their matching gifts is just one of the practical uses of Capture’s marketing automation software, Capture Behavioral Engagement (CBE). This game-changing tool for university advancement can help you automate and streamline your marketing efforts, allowing you to communicate with alumni and donors when it matters most.
By Kevin Hyde, Senior Content Writer, Capture Higher Ed
