Email Marketing: Your Fundraising Campaign Starting Point

At the end of 2022, we asked 1,000+ nonprofit professionals what worked well in 2022, what they believed would work well in 2023, and their general outlook on the current fundraising climate.

Based on survey results, we found that fundraising success is determined by the media channels nonprofits use to share their message and mission. Determining where to start and what channels are most worthwhile can be confusing, especially when staff capacity and external pressures are involved.

To discover the channel mix preference, we asked nonprofit professionals to rank how likely they were to use specific media channels for fundraising. Coming in highest was email campaigns, with 88.6% of respondents stating they planned to use email marketing in 2023.

In this article, we break down the reasons why email campaigns are a perfect place to begin engaging your donors and how your nonprofit can use email to your advantage starting today.

Use email campaigns to connect with donors and raise more funds

Here are a few ways you can get started and make the most out of your nonprofit’s email marketing strategy.

1) Automatic thank you emails after a donation is made

GuideStar reports that new donors who receive a thank you within 48 hours of donating are 4 times more likely to give to your organization again.

Generating thank you emails to your donors after every gift is a simple way to let them know that they are seen,appreciated and making a difference in the world. In your thank you email, provide a receipt of their donation, along with a letter or short message about the impact of their gift.

Start thanking your donors today using our thank you email template.

2) Automatic welcome series to connect with new supporters

An email welcome series showcases your organization’s mission and creates an opportunity for your supporters to be active participants in your campaigns.

Another option for automatic emails is to create a welcome series. Building an email welcome series requires storytelling and mapping upfront, but will ultimately help supporters feel more connected to your mission and understand the organization’s challenges. An email welcome series also helps supporters identify where they can and want to get involved.

Ideas to include in an email welcome series are:

• A brief history of your organization, your mission or a quote from a founder/board member
• A video recap of a recent event or highlight of your service/services
• A spotlight on a staff member or people you serve
• A list of volunteer opportunities or community gatherings
• A breakdown of what donations allow your nonprofit to achieve

Setting up automatic emails through a donor database allows you to create engagement that connects your donors more deeply to your mission and continues to work for your nonprofit without continual effort from you or your team. Once it’s built, it’s done!

Putting some intention behind your pre and post-donation communications can make all the difference to a donor – why not capitalize on this low-hanging fruit today?

If your current donor database doesn’t offer automated emails and you want to start engaging with your donors in this way, we are here to help. Bloomerang has an easy-to-use email automation tool directly in the database.

3) Segment your communication for further impact and connection

Another crucial way to ensure you’re getting the best results from email campaigns is to segment your supporters into different groups. A more personalized message goes a long way to fostering meaningful, long-term donor relationships. No one likes generic emails clogging their inbox.

Segmentation is determined by the information most important to your organization – from demographics to giving capacity to donation timeframes. Whichever direction you choose to take it, segmented messaging leaves a lasting impression on donors, leading to increased retention rates and fundraising success.

4) Consistency leads to increased fundraising

It’s no secret that sticking to regular habits can lead to powerful results over time. Donor stewardship practices aren’t much different. By consistently seeking ways to care for and value donors through email campaigns, you are setting the organization up to do more good and power your mission.

Donors want to know that they are making a positive impact. When your nonprofit takes the time to connect, thank and showcase the work accomplished because of their generosity, the return on investment can be monumental.

It’s no wonder why so many survey respondents shared that email is their most used communication channel to achieve fundraising goals. Your best bet in 2023 and beyond is to use email to drive fundraising efforts home through consistent, segmented, and genuine communication.