Recession strategy: Offer matching grants
February 26, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
LaGrange College, in Georgia, is taking $1-million from a much larger bequest to encourage new donations to the college’s annual fund, which typically raises $2.5-million per year. The money will match every dollar given, up to $500,000, with $2.
The college hopes that extra money raised for the annual fund can help make up for losses in foundation grants and other support, says B. David Rowe, the college’s vice president for advancement. “As donors are facing difficult choices, we hope this will help the institution bridge this difficult time.”
The March of Dimes is using a $150,000 matching grant from Farmers Insurance to offset a decline of 1 percent in the returns from its “March for Babies” walkathon, which raises $115-million annually. The grant matched the $25 fee walkers paid to sign up in December, one month earlier than the charity normally registers participants.
The offer recruited 6,000 early participants, and March of Dimes officials say that those individuals, along with efforts to promote the walkathon online, are likely to recruit people who will work longer and enlist others to participate in the April event.
— Holly Hall and Paula Wasley
