Email is a tried-and-true marketing tool in the mission-driven sector. Nonprofits use regular correspondences to spread the word about their mission, cultivate relationships with prospective donors, and boost online donor engagement.

The best part: Email marketing is inexpensive and likely to result in a high return on investment (ROI). 

Despite the rising popularity of other digital channels like social media and text messaging, email is not dead! In fact, According to a study by the Radical Group, the number of worldwide email users reached 4.2 billion in 2022. Practically everyone has an email account for one reason or another, so why not use that to your advantage? 

In this guide, we’ll explore 6 types of emails that are sure to keep your supporters engaged, including: 

1. Welcome Email Series
2. Email Newsletters
3. Fundraising Appeals
4. Event Invites and Follow-Ups
5. Thank-You Emails
6. Retention Emails

Plus, we added a few tips at the end to help you cultivate the most successful email campaign. Let’s get started! 

1. Welcome Email Series 

A welcome series is an automated drip campaign used to educate and familiarize new subscribers with your organization. As soon as someone joins your mailing list, they will immediately receive an email detailing who you are and what you do. Then, over the course of 3-5 more emails, they will learn about your organization’s mission, available resources, and stories of impact.

You get to decide on the specific content and frequency of your welcome campaign. But as a general rule of thumb, an effective welcome email series starts with a general introduction then gradually invites readers to engage on a deeper level.

Let’s say your nonprofit specializes in wildlife conservation and you want to grow your donor base. Follow these steps to an effective welcome campaign: 

• Email 1: Introduce your goal of protecting wildlife from extinction and invite them to read a blog post on your site about endangered species. 
• Email 2: Share a video of conservationists working in the field. Then, ask readers to follow you on social media so they can stay up-to-date with the progress you’re making. 
• Email 3: Remind readers that purchasing a single, low-cost item, such as a coffee mug, helps support vulnerable species and include a link to your online gift shop. 
• Email 4: Give insight into the day-to-day costs of conservation and invite your subscribers to donate or set up a recurring gift. Include a clear call-to-action button that links to your donation page. 

These first few emails are your chance to make a memorable first impression on subscribers so they commit to becoming supporters. Once you’ve thought through the impression you want to make and drafted your emails, a welcome series should take no more than an hour to set up and can be used continuously, meaning your nonprofit will build strong donor relationships with minimal effort. 

2. Email Newsletters

An email newsletter sends important information, such as news and updates, to a list of subscribers. These subscribers include existing supporters and prospective donors who have agreed to receive regular communications from your nonprofit. 

The goal of a nonprofit email newsletter is to foster deeper long-term engagement with your organization. When done well, email newsletters inspire readers to take action and generate meaningful support to your mission. 

Here are some best practices to keep in mind when sending out an email newsletter: 

• Make your logo and branding visible. When your supporters receive an email newsletter, they should immediately be able to recognize that it’s from your organization. Make sure your logo is prominent and your visual elements are consistent throughout the newsletter. 

• Keep your content fresh. If you reuse the same statistic or solicitation each month, your supporters are more likely to unsubscribe. Add new information to each email newsletter, such as a success story, upcoming event, donor spotlight, or recent blog post. 

• Encourage social sharing. Have a dedicated social sharing section at the end of each email so that subscribers can spread your message along their networks. 

• Send on a regular schedule. Whether you send newsletters on a weekly or monthly basis, keep your schedule consistent. Don’t go long periods without sending a newsletter and don’t bombard your readers with daily email blasts.

In the end, regular email newsletters will help you stay in touch with your supporters and keep them invested in your nonprofit. 

3. Fundraising Appeals

Donation request messages, like those offered at Fundraising Letters, should be an integral part of your nonprofit’s outreach strategy. One of the biggest perks of sending out a solicitation is the opportunity to tell a compelling story and motivate your donors. 

However, writing physical letters can be time consuming and costly. Email simplifies the entire process, delivering you tangible results in no time. 

A fundraising appeal email should detail your needs and explain how donors can help. Following these steps will help you create the best fundraising appeal: 

• Personalize: Address your donors by name and send your email from a real person at your organization. These small personal touches will make the reader feel valued. 

• Raise the issue: Explain the problem at hand. Is your community facing high rates of food insecurity? Is your animal shelter overrun with stray dogs? Create a sense of urgency to prove that help is needed now. 

• Make the ask: Propose a specific solution and invite donors to get involved. Your email should include a clear call-to-action, such as “donate today.” 

• Show impact: Donors want to know where their money is going. Demonstrate how a single donation can impact the problem. For instance, “$25 provides 100 meals to our neighbors in need.” 

Asking for donations using an email marketing strategy is a quick and effective way to reach your fundraising goals when your messages tell a compelling story and are targeted to the right segments of your active donors who are likely to give to an online appeal.

4. Event Invites and Follow-Ups

Whether you plan to host a virtual auction or live gala, your nonprofit should be using email marketing as a tactic to get the word out. Sending an email invitation is quick, easy, and affordable. Simply forward a save-the-date message to your mailing list and wait for the RSVPs to come streaming in!

Entice your readers into registering as soon as possible by including the following elements in your email: 

• High-quality videos of people enjoying the last event. 
• Discounted costs for early-bird registration.
• Pictures of the merchandise that will be distributed at the event. 
• A detailed itinerary or description of activities that will take place. 

When readers understand the value of your event, they’ll be more willing to commit up-front and register.

An event follow-up email is just as important. This is your chance to request feedback from attendees, share photos and videos, and even make an additional solicitation. Just be sure to send the email shortly after an event so that the experience is still fresh in their minds. 

With a few short emails, you can elevate the success of your events and increase loyalty to your cause. 

5. Thank-You Emails

Nonprofits wouldn’t exist without in-kind and monetary donations. That’s why it’s important to show appreciation for your supporters, whether they regularly attend events or make a small, one-time gift. A quick thank-you email makes them feel valued and encourages them to continue giving. 

The most effective thank you emails do more than just offer an expression of gratitude. They also work to make a connection with the donor, showing how they’ve contributed to furthering your cause. Here are a few things you might consider when writing your next thank you message:

• Know when to autocomplete. Information about donation amount can often be auto-populated if you set up automatic thank-you emails for online gifts. For larger and more meaningful gifts, speaking from the heart and writing a fully personalized email or letter is a good idea.

• Focus on the supporters. Give your supporters the credit and recognition they deserve for powering your mission with a message like, “Our organization sees your generous and compassionate heart.” List the accomplishments they made possible and put them at the center of your outreach. 

• Include an impact story. Show your supporters exactly where their time and money went with an impactful story. Think something along the lines of: “Because you volunteered your time, we were able to build a new home for 5-year-old Jaden and his family.” 

• Link to other ways to get involved. Make your supporter aware of upcoming events, fundraisers, and volunteer opportunities. Adding in a link can encourage them to continue their involvement with your organization.

These messages of appreciation show that you care and will leave your donor with a positive impression of your nonprofit. 

6. Retention Emails 

Recurring donors care about your cause and want to know that they’re making an impact. With that in mind, send emails to your regular donors to retain their support. 

Give weekly or monthly updates to let your donors know how their continued support has made an impact. Along with thanking your donors for their gifts, it’s important to show your appreciation for their loyalty. 

Then, allow them to make their voices heard with a survey or poll. Ask how they feel about your attempts to engage with them and if there is anything you can do to improve. Once you receive the feedback, follow through and make adjustments to your operations. 

In turn, these recurring donors will be more engaged with your nonprofit and more likely to advocate on its behalf. 

Additional Tips for Running a Successful Email Campaign

When done right, nonprofit email marketing can be a powerful tool for connecting with your audience and converting them into donors, volunteers, and engaged supporters. Follow these tips to make the most of your email campaigns: 

• Gather the right data. Inaccurate or outdated data can negatively impact your outreach, making it hard to get in contact with the right people. That’s where email appends come in. Data appending verifies existing information and expands your marketing lists to include missing contact information.

• Personalize your messages. Go beyond addressing a supporter by name. Collect information that allows you to personalize your emails, including donation history, event attendance, and birthdays. Then, add these personal touches to your emails to make a real connection with your supporters. 

• Create compelling copy. Communicate the importance of your mission and how subscribers can play a role. Use clear, eye-catching subject lines and plain language. Through A/B testing, you’ll be able to experiment with what works best for driving email subscriptions.

• Make emails interactive. Liven up your emails with image carousels, videos, surveys, hyperlinks, and CTA buttons. These simple additions will bring you higher click-through and conversion rates. 

• Automate the process. Snowball’s article on fundraising software recommends using smart technology to manage your campaigns. With automated services like Mailchimp, you won’t have to spend hours drafting and distributing emails.

• Monitor performance. Metrics help your organization set and track goals. When it comes to email marketing, keep an eye on email open rates, unsubscribe rates, bounce rates, and click-through-rates. This information will reveal what is and isn’t working and help guide your operations going forward. 

With these best practices, you have everything you need to create a strong email marketing strategy or refine the one you're already using.

For nonprofits looking to build a loyal donor base, engagement is just an email away! Pushing out the right messages is the key to your nonprofit’s success. Email marketing drives donations so that you can focus on what matters most: powering social good.

About the Author

John Killoran

John Killoran is an inventor, entrepreneur, and the Chairman of Clover Leaf Solutions, a national lab services company. He currently leads Clover Leaf’s investment in Snowball Fundraising, an online fundraising platform for nonprofit organizations. 

Snowball was one of John’s first public innovations; it’s a fundraising platform that offers text-to-give, online giving, events, and peer-to-peer fundraising tools for nonprofits. By making giving simple, Snowball increases the donations that these organizations can raise online. The Snowball effect is real! John founded Snowball in 2011. Now, it serves over 7,000 nonprofits and is the #1 nonprofit fundraising platform.