Match Loss

Better Giving Studio developed this concept during a product sprint led by Intentional Futures, which focused on leveraging giving research and translating it into high level product concepts. 

The Opportunity

Workplace giving programs often offer employer matches for donations up to a maximum amount. The programs are increasingly popular as vehicles for employee engagement, with 65% of Fortune 500 companies offering donation matches. Studies have shown that people are more likely to donate to a cause when a match will make that gift feel more impactful.

However, the median participation rate for matching gift programs is less than 10%. And more than two thirds of those who participate don’t utilize their full available match. This means that an estimated $6 billion dollars in potential matching funds goes unclaimed by employees each year. Match Loss aims to raise the salience of these programs for employees to increase their use.

The Concept

Research has demonstrated that people feel losses more acutely than they feel gains—a pattern known as loss aversion. Furthermore, there is evidence that merely reframing a decision in terms of potential loss rather than gain can affect decision-making, even for people who are aware of this effect. Match Loss proposes the use of loss-framing messaging—describing the match as a benefit that would be lost rather than an available reward—in workplace matches to help increase the participation rate.

Loss-framing messaging could be implemented as a simple email or incorporated into a donor’s profile page on a workplace platform. In either format, the key insight is to frame the total available match as an expiring benefit that will be lost if not used by the end of the year. The messaging would be delivered in both text and graphical format. And it would be paired with direct donation links to recommended or favorite charities. The combination of loss-framing messaging and a clear call to action that removes frictions would maximize the likelihood of donation from engaged employees.

A loss-framing approach to workplace match programs would potentially improve conversion throughout the year. But it would be most crucial around December, when 30% of all US donations are made and donors are primed for giving.

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