You’ve decided to take your PAC to the next level and start a PAC Match Program. PAC Match is a great tool to increase PAC participation and contribution amounts. When you offer a charitable match to your PAC Members’ favorite charities, members are more loyal, contribute more, and spread the word! With this increase in participation comes an increase in administrative time. Wise PAC Mangers take advantage of an outside vendor to handle Charity Match administration because tracking charity selections and writing hundreds, or thousands, of checks is tedious and time-consuming.
As a Senior Charity Match Manager, one of my responsibilities is to on-board new PAC Match Programs. Based on my 10+-years of experience, here are a few tips for a smooth start to your Charity Match program:
- Program Parameters: Set your program parameters – number of charity choices, required giving minimum, types of charities, match levels, etc – with your team. Be as open as possible and allow members to select any 501c3 organization, and keep in mind that budgets can be met by adjusting the match levels. Your vendor is a valuable resource for advice to get started and program best practices.
- Communication with Members: When you announce this exciting new member benefit, be sure to have a communications plan and timeline in place. Share that information with everyone involved so timelines can be met. Once the program is launched, set a schedule for annual reminders to give members a chance to choose or change their charity selections. Make sure communications are approved and email IP addresses are whitelisted well in advance of the first communication date.
When you offer a match to your PAC Members’ favorite charities, members are more loyal, contribute more, and spread the word!
- Funding: Your funding is approved, but where is it coming from and how will it get to the charity match bank account? Set-up an in-house meeting with your accounts payable department to confirm the process for requesting funding and the turn-around time you can expect for receiving the funds. You will need the funding in-hand before check processing begins. Communicate payment dates to your members with the funding schedule in mind.
Be prepared for the exciting PAC growth that comes with the launch of your charity match program! Contact PASS to partner with you on this new adventure. We will help ensure that your charity match program is a success. Schedule a demo to see our Charity Match software and hear about our services.