A match is a great opportunity for your organization to gamify donations and encourage donors to consider giving more to maximize their gift. Matching is a free feature available for Page and Event campaigns. When enabled, matching banners and indications will appear on the campaign page, on matched donation posts in the supporter feed, and in the checkout flow.
How it works 🔍
Your organization sources a sponsor (this could be an individual, a foundation, a corporation, or another group) to match donations submitted to your campaign.
Enable matching on your campaign and configure the settings to suit your organization and match requirements (ie. maximum amount, time limit). Multiple matches are not currently supported – each campaign can have one active match at a time.
When a transaction is submitted, match information appears in the checkout flow.
Matches apply to:
✅ Donations processed after a match was created and made active
✅ Ticket purchases with an additional donation – total amount is matched
Matches do not apply to:
❌ Standalone ticket purchases (without an additional donation)
❌ Auction item purchases
❌ Imported transactions
❌ Transactions processed before a match was created
❌ Backdated transactions added outside active match dates
Matched donations are indicated in the supporter feed and across the campaign. Matches can also count towards your overall campaign goal.
When your match maximum has been met, your campaign is over, or your match time challenge finishes, export your match data for reporting purposes.
Matched funds are recorded in Givebutter via donations processed, but it is the organization's responsibility to collect match funds from the match sponsor.
Configuration ⚙️
By default, matching will be disabled. To enable it, go to your campaign's Tools tab, and scroll down to the section called Matching. Click the toggle to enable Matching. Next, you'll configure your match settings:
Match amount (required) – The maximum amount available to be matched.
Match ratio – The ratio by which a donation will be matched.
2x (1:1) – ie. $100 donation is matched with $100, for a total donation of $200
3x (2:1) – ie. $100 donation is matched with $200, for a total donation of $300
4x (3:1) – ie. $100 donation is matched with $300, for a total donation of $400
Show match amount – Show the total match amount on your campaign.
Match offline donations – Apply a matching donation to check or cash donations that are attributed to this campaign. This includes check donations made by donors or offline donations that are manually added by admins.
Include in goal bar progress – Increase the goal bar with both the donation and the matched amount.
Start date (required) – When your match begins.
End date (optional) – Add an end date, ie. for a matching time challenge.
Show countdown – Add a countdown for your end date, for display on the matching card under your campaign's cover photo.
Match name (required) – Name your match for display on the campaign page.
Upload an image (optional) – Add an image for your match, for display on the matching card under your campaign's cover photo. Upload 444x320px for best resolution.
Match description – Provide a public description about your match. This is displayed in the campaign header bar and matching card.
The match description is also shown under What's this? in the checkout flow. We recommend context in the description for donors that may not recognize the sponsor (or the concept of a match).
Submit a matched donation 💰
Matches are automatically applied to all applicable transactions entered on a campaign. They are integrated into the regular checkout flow, so donors can submit a matched donation by clicking the main Donate button in the upper right corner of the campaign page.
Clicking the Match my donation! button in the matching card below the campaign cover photo will also open up the checkout flow.
Once a matched donation is submitted, the donor will receive an automatic emailed receipt including match information for reference.
Match reporting 📝
To export data for matched donations, you can generate a Transaction details report. This report will include match name and match amount by default.
It is not yet possible to view matched donations directly on the Transactions page, but we are working on adding this option in the near future!
FAQ 🤔
What's the difference between the Double the Donation integration and matching?
Double the Donation (via 360MatchPro) is an integration for corporate matching through a donor's employer. Double the Donation allows donors to select a validated employer from a search field in the checkout flow, and is used by organizations processing a large volume of donations annually. Matching allows you to add challenges and sponsors specific to your own organization – matching does not supply organizations with sponsors. Matching is for use by any organization that has a matching sponsor.
If a matched donation is refunded, will the match amount change to reflect this?
Yes – successfully refunded transactions are removed from match calculations.
Matching isn't appearing as an option on my campaign.
Matching hasn't been enabled for the campaign.
A ticket was purchased without adding an additional donation.
The campaign is a Form campaign – matching only works on Pages and Events.
The match has already been allocated to donations and no match funds remain.
The match end date has passed and matches are no longer being applied.
The match amount isn't correct, or isn't being calculated accurately.
If a match amount doesn't appear to be calculated correctly in the checkout or on a campaign page, this is likely because the full amount of the donation isn't being matched. This would happen if a match is running low on available funds. For example, if $100 in match funds remain, and a donor submits a $1000 donation, only the remaining $100 of the match will be applied – the donation will not be matched in full, and the total donated amount will appear as $1100, rather than $2000. No further donations will be matched after a match is exhausted.
Can a donor opt out of donation matching on a campaign?
Donors cannot currently opt out of donation matching if it's been enabled, but a donor is only charged for the amount they chose to donate – not the entire matched amount.
Are imported transactions matched?
No – matches do not apply to imported transactions.
Can matching be added to Form campaigns?
Not currently – matching is a feature designed for use on Page and Event campaigns.
Are platform fees or processing fees charged on the match amount?
No – any applicable fees only apply to the amount submitted by the donor, excluding the match amount. Because match amounts are not processed online by Givebutter, there are no fees involved for the additional documented funds.
Where is matching information displayed on a campaign?
On the campaign page, badges appear on each matched donation in the supporter feed, a matching header bar (including the match name and multiplier amount) appears at the top of the campaign page, and a matching card is shown below the campaign cover photo. In the checkout flow, a banner is shown in the checkout selector, and upon completion of a matched donation, match information is shown on the confirmation screen. Matching information is also included in the automatic receipt emailed to the donor.
Can my campaign have multiple matches at the same time?
No, only one match can be live at a time on a campaign.
How do I log the sponsor's matching funds at the end of the campaign without adding the transaction to the campaign total?
If you add an offline transaction or import a transaction to a campaign at the end of a match challenge, it'll be added to the campaign total. To add the sponsor's match to Givebutter without adding it to the "total raised" for the campaign, you can add a one-time pledge and then mark it as fulfilled with an offline transaction. When setting up the pledge, be sure to turn off "Include payments in campaign total" so the pledge payment does not count towards the campaign.