Are Offline Matches and Challenge dollars automatically added to the campaign totals?

Yes! Offline Matches and Challenges are offline gifts- that add to the campaign based on their success criteria. 

 

An offline match will incrementally add dollars to the campaign as it's unlocked and an offline challenge will add its full amount at the success of the challenge- no additional adjustments are required.

How Offline Matches and Challenges Work

When Offline Matches or Challenges Close Automatically

Offline matches and challenges automatically close at the end of their specified time period, which may not be the same as the end of the campaign.

How automatic closure works:

Processing delays and how totals refresh

• Campaign totals update via background processing, so changes might not show immediately on the campaign page.
• A background task runs every 10 minutes to refresh campaign totals. In practice, updates usually appear within a few minutes but may take up to 10 minutes.

What to expect:

1. After editing or releasing an offline match or challenge, wait a few minutes for processing to complete.
2. If totals remain unchanged, remember the background task runs approximately every 10 minutes.
3. Verify that the match or challenge was closed/released or that any manual adjustment was saved.

Why this exists:

• Recalculating in the background keeps campaign pages responsive and prevents delays in donor-facing flows, ensuring totals are eventually consistent across campaign pages, tiered pages, and leaderboards.

• Matches and Challenges close immediately when their end time is reached
• The system may take a few minutes to process and apply the value to the campaign page. 
• If a match or challenge was set to "fully unlock even if criteria aren't met," the full amount will be released automatically
• If a match was not set to fully unlock, it will only apply its progress so far. If a challenge was not set to give the full amount it will not add anything to the totals
• No manual intervention is required for offline matches challenges to close

Timing differences between matches and challenges:

• Matches: Unlock incrementally as gifts qualify
• Challenges: Close all-at-once when the end time or goal is reached (regardless of whether criteria were met, if set to fully unlock)

Manually Adjusting Challenge Progress

When You Can Manually Update Progress

For certain challenge types, you can manually adjust progress to account for gifts made before the challenge was created or other special circumstances:

Steps to manually adjust progress:

1. Go to your campaign Settings
2. Navigate to Motivation & Sharing > Matches & Challenges
3. Find the challenge you want to edit and click the pencil icon
4. Look for manual adjustment options in the challenge details

Important limitations:

• Manual adjustments are not available for all challenge types
• User-generated (online) challenges cannot be manually adjusted
• Some match or challenge configurations allow limited updating such as winner takes all or follow the fund

Adding Gifts to Existing Challenges

If a donor makes a gift before a challenge is created and you want it to count toward the challenge, you may need backend assistance to manually adjust donor counts for certain challenge types.

 

How to Check if a Challenge or Match Was Charged

If you need to verify whether a challenge or match payment was processed:

1. Go to Manage Donations in your campaign dashboard

2. Look for the match/challenge in your gift listings

3. Check the payment status - it should show as "Authorized" (which means charged but not yet deposited) or "Paid"

4. Note that challenges only charge when they are completed and released to the campaign

Troubleshooting Payment Delays

If a challenge appears not to have been charged:

• Check if the challenge criteria have been met and the challenge is complete
• Verify the challenge has been "released" to the campaign
• Payment processing may have a slight delay even after completion

Understanding Match Progress Display

Why Match Progress Shows Low Percentages

Matches and challenges only display progress in whole percentage points. This means:

• Progress under 1% will show as 0% on the campaign page
• Small dollar amounts may not visibly move the progress bar initially
• The match is still working correctly even if progress appears stagnant

When Progress Will Update

The progress bar and percentage will update when:

• The match reaches at least 1% of its total goal
• Enough donors contribute to move past the 1% threshold
• Example: A $16,500 match needs $165 in qualified gifts to show 1% progress

Troubleshooting "Stuck" Match Progress

If a match appears not to be updating:

1. Check the dollar amount matched so far vs. total match amount

2. Calculate the percentage: (matched amount ÷ total amount) × 100

3. If under 1%, the match is working but won't display progress yet

4. Wait for more qualifying gifts to push past the 1% threshold

How Matches Interact with Other Matches and Challenges

Match and Challenge Counting Rules

Important: Matches and challenges do NOT count towards other matches and challenges. However, they DO count towards:

• Tiered landing page totals
• Campaign leaderboards
• Overall campaign dollar totals

Example Scenario:

If you have:

• A general campaign match
• A Men's Basketball area challenge

The general match dollars will count toward the Men's Basketball tiered page totals and appear in leaderboards, but those match dollars will NOT help complete the Men's Basketball area challenge.

Why This Matters:

• Challenges and matches are designed to incentivize new giving, not to be fulfilled by other incentive programs
• This prevents double-counting and ensures challenges truly reflect donor engagement
• Tiered pages and leaderboards benefit from all related giving, including match dollars

Automatic Challenge Notifications to Target Groups

How Group-Directed Challenge Emails Work

When you create a match or challenge and enter specific email addresses in the "directed to" field, the system automatically sends notification emails to those recipients.

What Happens Automatically:

• Notification emails are sent immediately when the match/challenge is created
• Recipients receive an invitation to participate in the challenge
• No additional action required from administrators

Email Content Includes:

• Information about the challenge or match
• Link to participate/donate
• Details about the challenge criteria and timeline

Important Notes:

• These are different from general campaign update emails
• You don't need to manually send additional emails unless you want extra reminders
• The emails are sent once when the challenge is created, not when it starts if it's set to start in the future.
• The email content is hardcoded and not currently customizable.
• These matches will only appear to admins, and donors who follow the link from the email. They are not visible to others on the campaign.