Repositioning the employer matching screen

What we tested

Every extra step in Checkout can create friction. Even when a step is useful, the timing matters, especially when a supporter is ready to complete their gift.

Employer matching is a good example. When a donor's employer offers to match their gift, Checkout can show a dedicated screen to help the donor confirm or adjust their donation. This can increase impact, but it also adds a step before payment is complete.

We wanted to understand whether moving that step later in the flow could help more donors finish their gift without reducing the value of matching.

To test this, we moved the matching gift screen to appear after payment for donors giving more than $25. These donors already clear the most common matching threshold, so they typically don't need to adjust their gift before completing payment. Donors giving $25 or less continued to see the matching screen before payment, where they could still increase their donation to qualify.

The goal was simple: reduce friction for donors who already qualify for matching while preserving the opportunity for others to increase their impact.

Hypothesis

If we move the matching gift screen after payment for donors giving more than $25, donation conversion will increase by at least 0.7% while average gift size remains stable, because removing one pre-payment step reduces Checkout drop-off without changing the donation amount these donors selected.

Test setup

Key results

The new screen order delivered a clear conversion lift without reducing gift value.

• +3.77% increase in overall donation conversion
• +3.83% increase in one-time donation conversion
• No statistically significant change in average one-time gift size
• No statistically significant change in recurring donation conversion
• Matching gift engagement held steady at approximately 8.8%

This means more donors completed their gifts, while donation value and matching participation remained stable.

Segment insights

The strongest gains came from mobile donors:

• +7.54% increase in donation conversion on iOS
• +4.42% increase in donation conversion on Android
• No meaningful difference on desktop

Mobile supporters benefited most from the smoother flow.

Conclusion

The hypothesis was confirmed.

Moving the matching gift screen after payment for donors giving more than $25 increased donation conversion well above the 0.7% target, without reducing average gift size or matching gift engagement.

Because the change improved conversion while preserving the matching gift opportunity, we're rolling out the updated screen order.

What this means for you

Small changes to the order of your donation flow can make a real difference for your supporters. A smoother Checkout means fewer donors drop off before completing their gift — and in this case, donors kept the full benefit of employer matching without the extra friction along the way.

That matters most for mobile givers, an ever-growing share of supporters, who saw the largest gains. Sometimes the biggest fundraising wins come not from adding something new, but from rearranging what's already there.

This is also why we validate every optimization with real donor behavior before rolling it out. If a change improves fundraising outcomes without hurting the donor experience, we ship it, and if it doesn't, we keep iterating until it does.

→ Explore how Checkout optimizations can improve your fundraising results.