In the world of fundraising, securing financial support can often be challenging. Traditional methods like grant giving and match funding have long played a crucial role, but live match funding is emerging as a more dynamic and effective approach.

We’ve taken a look at what it all means for fundraising, alongside speaking to our Head of Crowdfunder Connect and funding expert Graeme Roy.

Defining funding methods

Before delving into the benefits of live match funding, let’s take a look at the three primary funding approaches:

Grant Giving: This is a financial award provided by governments, foundations, or corporations to support specific projects or initiatives. Grants are typically non-repayable and awarded based on predefined criteria, often involving lengthy application processes and strict conditions.
Match Funding: In traditional match funding, an organization or individual pledges to match donations raised up to a specific amount. This method can significantly boost total funds raised, but the matching typically happens after the fundraising campaign concludes, which can limit donor engagement and momentum. Crowdfunder Connect actually adds the funding mid campaign sometimes known as ‘Bridging’ to alleviate these limitations and drives further donations.
Live Match Funding: A more dynamic form of match funding, involving real-time matching of donations during a fundraising campaign. Each donation is instantly doubled (or matched at a set rate - we’ve seen up to quintupling of donations through Crowdfunder Connect), creating an immediate impact and encouraging donors to contribute more.

The evolution of match funding

Initially, crowdfunding campaigns incorporated match funding either at the beginning or, more commonly, at the end of the fundraising period. This typically led to a ‘U’ shaped fundraising campaign with lots of funding pledges made either at the start (“In first”) or at the end (“Top up”) of the campaign, with a middle period that received fewer donations and often saw fundraisers stagnate.

The “bridging” match funding that has become more common on Crowdfunder effectively negates these issues. This allows projects to see their funding targets to often jump from 25% to 75% funded after the crowd raises the initial 25%.

However Live match funding has again taken this forward once more, as donors see their donations matched in real time. This complex functionality is not available through many crowdfunding sites and less common on standalone fundraising platforms.

Crowdfunder Connect enables not only one match funding partner but multiple match funders to offer live funding to a project at the same time. As a result, more match funding partners are now turning to Live Match funding.

Why Live Match Funding is changing the game

1. Increased donor engagement

One of the primary advantages of live match funding is its ability to boost donor engagement significantly. When contributors see their donations matched instantly, they feel a heightened sense of participation and impact. This real-time reinforcement can lead to higher donation amounts and a greater number of contributors.

Graeme’s insight: "Live match funding is an incredibly powerful tool for fundraisers. It’s become a very compelling sell to their audiences to help receive donations more easily. Which in turn has seen donors feel that their contribution is immediately more valuable, which has proven to lead to higher engagement and bigger donations. We’ve seen projects increase average donations from £40 to £70 when matchfunding is in place."

2. Enhanced credibility and trust

Having a funding partner actively matching donations in real time lends credibility to a fundraising campaign. The presence of a well-known match funder signals to potential donors that the project is legitimate and worthwhile donating to. This validation helps overcome any skepticism and encourages broader community support.

Graeme’s insight: "When donors see our match funding partners investing their campaigns it gives a huge boost to the project, really increasing the likelihood of success. Live match funding creates a sense of shared responsibility and partnership, putting our partners right in the heart of these amazing projects"

3. Accelerated momentum

The instant nature of seeing funds matched in real time provides a sense of urgency and excitement. Campaigns that receive live match funding often reach their targets faster, maintaining momentum throughout the campaign period. This acceleration can attract media attention which in turn further boost donations.

Graeme’s insight: "When donors see their donations double, treble or even more on our site, we know that huge appreciation is given towards the partners funding these projects. Creating the feeling that the community couldn’t have achieved this without the partners support "

4. Amplification of funding

Live match funding ensures a funding partner's pledge is amplified by public donations, which sees the impact of their support significantly magnified. Through Crowdfunder Connect and Crowdfunder, every pound pledged by a partner attracts further contributions from donors inspired by the cause. This multiplier effect not only increases the total funds raised but also fosters a deeper sense of community engagement. Funding partners can turn their investment into a catalyst for greater social change.

Graeme’s insight: "We’ve seen some amazing examples of amplification, our largest partners often seen their funding budgets tripled by the crowd. We’ve even had an instance where local funding has seen a return of 33 times more than the funding. By providing funding to causes that matter to your organisation and the crowd can make a phenomenal impact”

Sport Englands impact through using Crowdfunder Connect (2024)

5. Partner awareness

Another benefit for matching funding partners is the increased exposure through the mechanics of live match funding. The process ensures that each donation made during the payment process is instantly matched, increasing both the donor's contribution and the partner's pledged amount. This is shown in different ways across most sites, however, through Crowdfunder Connect, this is highlighted throughout the donation process, giving greater visibility to partners who support a project.

Graeme’s insight: "With live matchfunding there is no hiding from who is providing the support. With every donation the funding partners name and logo is there in the checkout for everyone to see, with the funding partners total donated sitting proudly at the top of the supporters list. ”

6. Empowering Grassroots Initiatives

Live match funding enables smaller organizations and grassroots initiatives to access larger funding pools. By demonstrating strong public support, these initiatives can attract further investment from bigger funding bodies and stakeholders, opening doors to long-term sustainability.

Graeme’s insight: "Crowdfunder Connect allows multiple partners to back specific projects, which could mean that a project receives support from more than one partner in real time. Charity and community projects often benefit more, however there are lots of opportunities for all types of projects to receive funding that would not be possible via grant applications.”

In conclusion

Live match funding is proving to be a revolutionary force and is reshaping the fundraising landscape. This approach is now surpassing traditional match funding and grant giving in many ways. Partners are now also realising the stronger impact of their investments into these projects and better relationships with the project owners and donors.

About Graeme Roy

Graeme Roy is Head of Crowdfunder Connect at Crowdfunder, with over 15 years of fundraising experience. Graeme is a world leading expert on matched crowdfunding. Having overseen the distribution of £35m in match funds to thousands of projects.

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The power of live match funding: A game-changer for fundraising