March Matchness 2025: Double the dough-nations, double the impact

Here at Givebutter, the only thing we love more than a good pun is the chance to celebrate the incredible changemakers that use our platform to make the world a butter place. So you can imagine how pumped we were for our second annual March Matchness challenge! 

Keep reading for the entire spread on this exciting initiative and the impact this year’s participants are having in their communities. Plus, explore tips for harnessing the power of matching gifts into a full-court press for fundraising success. 

Why March Matchness? 

Four out of five donors report being more likely to contribute to a campaign if their donation is matched, and matching gift programs are becoming increasingly popular. However, many nonprofit organizations don’t take advantage of this opportunity to quite literally double the funds they bring in from companies and individuals. 

Inspired by the excitement of March Madness, Givebutter launched March Matchness in 2024 to spread the word about the power of matching gifts and showcase the platform’s free matching donation software. 

Meet this year’s MVP changemakers

Among hundreds of incredible fundraising efforts that organizations submitted this year, these three campaigns led the pack with clear, moving storytelling, a range of community engagement tactics, and impressive use of Givebutter’s fundraising tools. 

All three organizations received a $5K matching gift from Givebutter to feature on their campaign pages, motivating supporters to double their contributions for the cause. 

Tell Cancer To Go #TakeAHike 🩷

Back for their third year using Givebutter for their annual fundraiser, SurvivingBreastCancer.org kicked off their 2025 Tell Cancer To Go #TakeAHike campaign for March Matchness—and it’s scaling new heights. 

The event page serves as the main hub to learn about their big hiking event during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, setting the stage for all campaign information, hike registration, livestreaming, and an auction to bring in even more support. Check out how the campaign lays out all of the ways supporters can get involved—one step at a time! 

SLS Georgia Area Code Giving Challenge 🎓

Taking inspiration from Atlanta’s 404 Day, Servant Leader Scholars’ Georgia Area Code Giving Challenge was designed as a fun, week-long competition that recognized and rewarded supporters from the organization’s broader Georgia community: “See which area code can rally the most support for our amazing students while repping their city,” the campaign page declared, encouraging donations of $4.04 or $40.40. With the matching gift from Givebutter, supporters saw their donations double to $80.80.

The campaign has already dribbled its way past its goal!

Grow Hope, Fuel Opportunity! 📚

For ReBirth Empowerment Education (REE), their first peer-to-peer fundraising effort on Givebutter, Grow Hope, Fuel Opportunity!, was nothing but net. REE challenged supporters to “Give $25. Ask 10” in a peer-driven call to action that amplified its grassroots impact. 

“A matching gift will help sustain vital workforce development and economic mobility services,” shared Founder and CEO Terri Altmann. We can’t wait to see that goal bar cross the finish line! 

How were campaigns chosen? 

Givebutter’s panel of fundraising experts had the unenviable job of choosing the three “Most Engaging Campaigns” from more than a thousand strong submissions. 

To guide their decision-making, judges used the following criteria aligned with other Givebutter Gives Back initiatives, such as Black Philanthropy Month and Giving Tuesday: 

📣 Story: Does the campaign effectively showcase the organization’s mission and impact with engaging text and videos, photos, graphics, etc.? 

🧈 Features: What combination of Givebutter’s fundraising tools does the campaign employ to bring in funds and engage supporters, e.g., peer-to-peer fundraising, supporter feed, campaign updates, text-to-donate, custom donation amounts, recurring donations, etc.? 

🔥 Mobilization: How does the campaign foster community building and supporter engagement? Does it include P2P and team fundraising and a fundraising goal bar? Does the campaign page feature additional opportunities to get involved, supporter feed comments, or any other creative ideas?

Score big for your cause with matching donations 

Matching donations are the perfect complement to any fundraising campaign. A donation match gives supporters an extra incentive to contribute, knowing that their funds will go twice as far. 

With Givebutter’s free matching gift software, your donors get to see their donation double in real time right in the checkout flow, with the matched total automatically reflected on your goal bar. Plus, you can seamlessly showcase the company or individual providing the matching gift right on your page. 

Take your matching gift strategy to new heights with these free resources: 

• [Article] How to raise more with a matching gift program → 
• [Freebie] Matching donation communication templates → 
• [Article] 10 Largest companies that match donations in 2025 → 
• Double the Donation fundraising integration → 
• [Webinar] How to secure corporate partnerships and matching donations → 
• [Givebutter Academy course] Corporate matching gifts → 

Ready to bring in more matching funds than ever before? Sign up for your free Givebutter account and launch your matching donation program today!