Make every pound go further with a match fund

We’ve just made it easier than ever to supercharge your Crowdfunder with match funding. Alongside the match funds offered by our funding partners which you can apply to directly, you can now bring your own match funder to the table.

If you have a business, trust and foundation, local authority, or high-net-worth individual  in your network, you can ask them to match every donation your crowd makes, pound for pound. Every £30 becomes £60. Every £50 becomes £100. Without your supporters having to do anything differently.

You can add the match fund to your own project and your supporters will see their donations being doubled. 

What is a match fund, exactly?

A match fund is a pot of money from a partner that sits alongside your campaign. It can come from a business, a trust, a local authority, a major donor, or any organisation that wants to back your cause. When a supporter donates, their contribution is matched pound for pound from that pot.

On Crowdfunder, setting up a match fund is straightforward. Your partner commits a sum, and every public donation is doubled until the pot is used up. Simple, visible, and remarkably effective.

Increase your average donation

On Crowdfunder projects with a match fund, the average donation jumps from £40 to £70.

Donors see that their contribution will be matched and feel compelled to give more. It’s not a bigger audience or a more expensive campaign. It’s the same supporters, giving more confidently because they know their money will go further.

Brighton Table Tennis Club raise £109,340 by leveraging their existing funding partners 

Moulsecoomb venue in early 2025, it brought three existing partners on board as match funders: the Focus Foundation, the Enjoolata Foundation, and the Starr Trust. The club then applied for additional match funding from Sport England and received a further £15,000. 

With every donation going four times as far, the campaign raised over £109,000.

Why does it work so well?

Match funding taps into something real in the way people make decisions about giving.

It creates urgency. Match pots are finite. When supporters can see that the fund is filling up, they act now rather than coming back to it later.

It builds confidence. If an organisation has formally committed to backing your project, that’s a signal to the crowd that your campaign is credible and worth supporting.

It amplifies the feeling of impact. Giving £35 and generating £70 of good feels meaningfully different to just giving £35. The maths is the same, but the experience isn’t.

It gives people a reason to share. A match fund is a natural hook : something tangible and exciting to tell friends and family about. “Every donation is being doubled right now” travels further than “please donate”.

Who can provide the match funding?

This is where a lot of project owners get stuck. They assume you need a major funder or a formal trust relationship. In reality, your match funder could be much closer than you think.

• A local business that wants genuine community visibility
• A grant-giving trust looking to maximise the reach of their funding
• A local authority or council with community investment budgets
• A corporate partner fulfilling a social value commitment
• A trustee, major donor, or key supporter who wants to see their gift multiply
• A sector partner — a sports governing body, environmental foundation, or arts organisation — aligned with your cause

The question to ask yourself is: who already believes in what we’re doing? Who benefits when we succeed? That’s your starting point. 

Why funders love match funds

Asking a partner for a match fund rather than a straight grant works better for both of you. When a partner match funds your campaign, their money doesn’t just sit in your account:

• It actively motivates your crowd to give, multiplying the total impact of every pound they commit.
  
• It also helps you build a wider base of supporters who believe in your work, rather than leaving you reliant on one funder year after year.
  
• Match funding puts your partner at the heart of the campaign. Every donation that is matched will be visible on your project page. Every supporter will see the impact that your partner is having.

How to approach a potential match funder

You don’t need a formal proposal or a lengthy pitch. A good conversation is often enough. Here’s what works:

Lead with their impact, not yours. Frame the ask around what they get – their funding multiplied by public generosity, their name visibly backing a community campaign, a clear story of local or sector impact to share.

Use the data. Show them what match funding does: the average donation rises from £40 to £70 on matched Crowdfunder projects. Their commitment won’t just sit there — it will actively motivate more people to give more.

Time it well. Year-end is a great moment to approach major donors and trusts who are thinking about where their giving will go. Corporate partners often have social value budgets that need to be spent by financial year end.

Ready to add a match fund to your campaign?

If you’ve got a partner in mind — or want to explore who might be the right fit — we’re here to help. Adding a match fund to your Crowdfunder is straightforward, simply complete the linked form and our team will be in touch. 

Add a match fund to your project