Is Your Matching Gift Program Successful? 5 Metrics to Measure

Matching gift programs are one of the most effective ways to amplify employee generosity, yet many organizations struggle to define what success actually looks like. It is easy to focus on total dollars matched, but that number alone does not tell you whether your program is reaching its full potential.

To measure success effectively, you need a more complete view. By tracking the right metrics, you can identify missed opportunities, improve participation, and create a better experience for employees. In this blog, we will walk through five essential metrics that help you evaluate and strengthen your matching gift program.

Main Takeaways:

• Measuring the right combination of participation, conversion, and financial metrics gives you a complete view of your program’s performance.
• Small gaps in awareness and follow-through can significantly limit the total impact of your matching gift program.
• Leading programs consistently track unclaimed match opportunities and act on them to increase overall giving.
• Clear, ongoing reporting helps you demonstrate value to stakeholders and continuously improve the employee experience.

1. Match Participation Rate

Your participation rate shows how many eligible employees are actively using your matching gift program. It is one of the clearest indicators of awareness and engagement.

To calculate this metric, compare the number of employees who submitted a matching gift request to the total number eligible for the program.

What strong participation looks like:

• Participation steadily increases over time as employees become more familiar with the program
• Engagement is distributed across teams, regions, and employee groups
• Matching gifts are integrated into broader employee engagement initiatives

Industry data reinforces the importance of participation. Research shows that 84 percent of employees are more likely to donate when a match is offered, highlighting how powerful this benefit can be when employees know it exists.

If your participation rate is low, the issue is often awareness. Consistent communication and visible promotion can make a measurable difference.

2. Match Request Conversion Rate

This metric measures how often eligible donations actually turn into submitted match requests. It helps you understand whether employees are following through after they give.

A strong conversion rate indicates that your process is simple and visible. A low conversion rate usually points to friction.

Common factors that impact conversion include:

• How easy it is to submit a matching request
• Whether employees are reminded at the right moments
• How clearly eligibility rules are communicated

This is one of the most actionable metrics you can track. Even small improvements in the request experience can drive immediate increases in matched giving.

3. Total Matched Donations

Total matched donations represent the overall financial impact of your program. This is often the first number stakeholders want to see, and it plays a key role in demonstrating value.

However, this metric is most useful when viewed alongside participation and conversion data. Growth in total matching can come from:

• More employees participating
• Higher average donation sizes
• Better capture of eligible matches

For example, organizations that actively promote matching gifts often see stronger giving behavior overall. One study found that one in three donors would increase their gift size if matching is applied, showing how this benefit influences both participation and total impact.

4. Average Match Value per Employee Over Time

Analyzing the average match value across the year can help you understand how employees are engaging to different campaigns or moments of activations. The goal is to never simply set and forget a gift matching strategy, but to understand how employees engage so you can guide future campaigns.

This metric can reveal:

• Seasonal trends in giving behavior
• Which campaigns or causes inspire larger donations
• Opportunities to encourage higher engagement during key moments, such as year-end or disaster response campaigns

For example, targeted campaigns can significantly increase impact when paired with matching. In this PGE wildfire donation matching success story, a focused 10:1 match initiative helped generate more than $132,000 in total impact to support wildfire prevention and youth jobs.

Understanding your average match value per employee can also help you set realistic match caps that reflect actual giving behavior. If most employees give below the cap, it may signal a need to focus on participation, while higher averages can support the business case for increasing match caps to further amplify impact.

5. Unclaimed Matching Gift Opportunities

Unclaimed matching gifts represent one of the biggest missed opportunities in most programs. These are donations that could have been matched, but were never submitted or completed.

Tracking this metric helps you quantify lost impact and prioritize improvements.

To reduce unclaimed matches:

• Send timely reminders after employees make donations
• Surface matching eligibility directly within the giving experience
• Reinforce deadlines and program details through ongoing communications

If you want to go deeper on improving program performance, this guide on best practices for multiplying impact provides practical strategies to increase participation and promote matching more effectively.

Bringing It All Together

Each of these metrics provides a different lens on your matching gift program. When you track them together, you get a much clearer picture of what is working and where you can improve.

Start by establishing a baseline for each metric, then set realistic goals based on your organization’s size and engagement maturity. Review performance regularly and share insights with stakeholders to build alignment and support.

Most importantly, connect your data back to the employee experience. A successful matching gift program is not only measured by dollars raised, but by how easy and rewarding it is for employees to support the causes they care about.