All the sibling threads make fine points about why donation matching is helpful, or why you like it, etc.
But to echo and add to parent: "matching" donation campaigns make my "regular" donations feel less valuable.
I've set up monthly donations to a number of organizations I want to support. I set the donations at a level that I feel I can afford. Those same (great, worthy) organizations often send out solicitations for special "double" or "triple" matching promotions. I try not to pay attention, because I've already set up a regular donation for the amount I can afford.
But it makes me feel like I'm doing it wrong. Should I cancel my regular donations and put the money aside waiting for a special promotion on donations? Should I choose recipient organizations based on how good their promos are? Maybe I think org A has 130% of the impact of org B per dollar, but org B has a 3X match while org A only has a 2X match this year, so I should choose org B??
I can't logically fathom that my regular donations really are worth less than "matched" ones, but all the hoopla makes me feel like they are.
You can at least be reassured in the fact that ongoing regular donations allow an organization to better plan long-term future outlays. Matched donations/special promotions are great for funding shorter-term projects, making up for shortfalls in expected donations or building a reserve for future expansion of their mission. Both are valuable to the organization.
I wouldn't worry about it - many of these special offers are basically just the charities trying to leverage big donors into getting more little donors on board. Your donations are just as effective - the matching typically has a limit so it'll only ever reach a certain value.
But to echo and add to parent: "matching" donation campaigns make my "regular" donations feel less valuable.
I've set up monthly donations to a number of organizations I want to support. I set the donations at a level that I feel I can afford. Those same (great, worthy) organizations often send out solicitations for special "double" or "triple" matching promotions. I try not to pay attention, because I've already set up a regular donation for the amount I can afford.
But it makes me feel like I'm doing it wrong. Should I cancel my regular donations and put the money aside waiting for a special promotion on donations? Should I choose recipient organizations based on how good their promos are? Maybe I think org A has 130% of the impact of org B per dollar, but org B has a 3X match while org A only has a 2X match this year, so I should choose org B??
I can't logically fathom that my regular donations really are worth less than "matched" ones, but all the hoopla makes me feel like they are.