Email marketing for nonprofits: Top tips & free templates

When starting with any new donor engagement project, such as email marketing, it's easy for organizations (especially small ones!) to get overwhelmed by doing too much too soon.

Thankfully, launching an email campaign doesn't require a large marketing department or budget. All you need is the right strategy, a few nonprofit email examples for inspiration, and the best tools at your fingertips. 

Email marketing strategy for nonprofits: Five tactics for success 

According to some estimates, email messaging accounts for 26% of all online fundraising. But, like with any considerable opportunity, getting it right can come with a bit of stress. Before jumping into these strategies, assess your resources and set realistic expectations: 

• Staff 👯 Who on my team can manage our email marketing? Will they need additional support (e.g., editing, information gathering, or formatting)?
• Time ⏰ How many hours can this person dedicate to email marketing per month?
• Deliverables 💌 Within that time frame, how many emails can we expect them to complete each month?

Once you’ve decided how much bandwidth your team can dedicate to email marketing, it's time to start piecing together your nonprofit email marketing strategy.

1. Launch a welcome email series 

An email welcome series is an opportunity to educate new supporters about your organization's mission, values, and impact. Typically sent when a new subscriber signs up for your mailing list, a welcome email can be expanded into an automated series of emails that build on each other. 

Through an email welcome series, you can provide valuable, evergreen educational content, such as your most-read blog posts, personal stories from program participants, and media coverage of your work. 

💛 Why it works: Automated welcome emails—when done right—can make recipients feel like they’re joining a community where they are recognized and valued. A welcome series sets supporters up for greater engagement and deeper connection over time. 

✅ What to include:

• Welcome gift (send immediately) 👋 In your first email, introduce your organization, share examples of your work, and tell people where they can find you on social media. Offer free downloadable content related to your mission to get subscribers excited and make them feel part of something special.
• Partnership (send 5-7 days after first email) 🤝 In the second email, tell a more specific story to continue building the reader’s knowledge and investment in your mission. This could be your organization's founding story, examples of successful projects, or testimonials. Make sure to include photos or other visuals! 
• Ask (send 5-7 days after second email) 🎁 The third email is the conversion email. Include one clear call to action that guides readers to take action. For example, they could donate to your cause, volunteer at an event, set up monthly giving, or sign a petition.

Pro tip💡To make the most of your conversion email, create a strong donation landing page that makes it easy for subscribers to contribute.

2. Craft an engaging newsletter

Send out a nonprofit email newsletter on a regular basis to keep all of your contacts up-to-date with your work. Depending on your capacity, you can send it weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, or even quarterly—the most important thing is to be consistent. 

💛 Why it works: A branded nonprofit newsletter email is an easy way to stay connected and build trust with your audience. It informs supporters and potential donors about the impact your organization is making in the community, when important events are happening, and how donor dollars are being spent. 

✅ What to include: 

• Spotlights ⚡Have a particular beneficiary testimonial or staff accomplishment you want to highlight? Add powerful images and all the compelling details to pull on readers’ heartstrings.
• Fundraising goals 🎯 Keep your supporters updated on your fundraising progress and other benchmarks throughout the year. 
• Recent reading 📚 If you wrote a blog post, published a white paper, or were featured in an op-ed in your town newspaper, include it! 
• Events 🎫 Invite your audience to upcoming fundraising events or webinars, and include a brief summary of past events.

Pro tip💡Save your first email newsletter as a template so you never have to start from scratch again. 

3. Create email marketing campaigns for fundraising 

Use email marketing to promote upcoming fundraising events and campaigns like Giving Tuesday. We suggest sending a “Save the date!" email two months before the event, followed by automated reminders as the event date approaches.

💛 Why it works: Automated event reminders are an effective way to build momentum and keep important event details and expectations at the top of supporters' minds.

✅ How to do it:

• Send personalized emails 👯 Segment your contact list and use dynamic merge fields to send targeted messaging. To avoid unsubscribes, only send automated reminders to those who haven't RSVP'd, donated, or purchased tickets yet.
• Create an event landing page 💻 Streamline event sign-ups by having a clear call to action (CTA) that leads to a branded event landing page with an easy way to register or donate.
• Continue to connect 🤝 Once supporters purchase a ticket or donate, automatically slot them into a different drip campaign so you can keep them connected in a new way.  
• Show thanks 💌 Make sure to send a thank-you email after the event or campaign is over. Include details about how much you raised and any other exciting details for donors to share in your success. 

Pro tip💡Want to take one more thing off of your plate? Set up automated event confirmation and reminder emails to send at specific times (one week before, 24 hours prior, and one hour before your event starts).  

4. Automate personalized donation receipts 

Many nonprofits send generic donation receipts with necessary tax information without a second thought. However, these emails are a great opportunity to connect with donors and build relationships beyond simply providing information for their records.  

When creating your receipts, consider customizing the following:

• Subject lines: Subject lines with personal details can go a long way. In fact, supporters are 26% more likely to open your email when they’re addressed by name.
• Calls to action: Though donation receipts are primarily for recognizing donations and are not fundraising emails themselves, they can still include calls to action for further engagement, such as following your nonprofit on social media or signing up for an upcoming event. Keep in mind that personalized CTAs convert readers 202% better than those with generic language. 
• Graphics: Every email your nonprofit organization sends should be designed to fit your brand (think logo, colors, etc.). Doing so will remind supporters of your mission and garner a higher click-through rate. 

💛 Why it works: Personalization and customization make supporters feel truly seen and valued, and more likely to give again.  

✅ How to do it:

• Create an autoresponder 🔀 Choose email marketing software built into your fundraising platform to automate these thank-you notes to arrive promptly after every donation. 
• Customize your thank-you messages ✍ Use Canva to create engaging graphics and dynamic merge fields to personalize each thank-you note with the individual's name and specific donation amount.
• Integrate with a CRM 📊 Use marketing and engagement software with a built-in nonprofit CRM to keep track of all donor communication in one place.

5. Celebrate supporter milestones

Don’t just contact donors when you need their support—financial or otherwise. Foster deeper connection with emails that recognize donors as individuals, such as supporter milestones (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.)

💛 Why it works: Ongoing engagement and recognition helps to build trust, loyalty, and a sense of community, which in turn increases the likelihood that donors will continue to support your organization over the long term.

✅ How to do it:

• Set up workflows 💪 Create custom triggers for different supporter milestones so your team always reaches out at the right time.
• Create supporter-specific emails 💛 Design emails for all different types of supporters (major donors, recurring donors, first-time donors, etc.) so they feel uniquely recognized.
• Send emails automatically 🔄 Once you’ve created your emails, make sure they’re set up to send automatically so you never miss an opportunity to connect.

Free nonprofit email marketing templates 

Ready to put your newfound email marketing skills to the test? 

This freebie features three simple nonprofit email templates and nonprofit email marketing examples to jumpstart your strategy. We’ll also teach you how to maximize your impact with a new advanced email editor, templates, and workflows in Givebutter Plus.

Freebie alert!

Download three nonprofit welcome series templates ->

Even more email marketing best practices 

No matter what your nonprofit email marketing strategy is, it’s crucial to keep a few key nonprofit newsletter best practices in mind:

• Keep things fresh 🍀 The best nonprofit email newsletters don’t let design and content grow stale. To avoid boring your supporters, don’t use the same material too many times.
• Dive into analytics 📊 Research your average open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to increase engagement and understand your target audience.
• Treat emails like a conversation 👋 A great email marketing strategy always approaches messaging like a conversation, adding a level of humanity back into digital communication. 
• Make it easy for supporters to subscribe 🙌 Put subscription links on all your social media profiles and embed signup forms directly on your website to collect contacts and build relationships effortlessly.
• Automate it 🔄 Never want to miss a chance to connect with donors again? Automate emails like first-time donor follow-ups, birthday messages, anniversary acknowledgments, and more—that way, your team can retain donors without a second thought.

Use top-rated nonprofit email marketing tools

Your organization may be missing out on crucial funds for your cause if you’re not making the most of your email marketing strategy.

Fortunately, Givebutter offers powerful nonprofit email marketing tools to help you succeed, including and advanced drag-and-drop email editor with 300+ nonprofit templates to new email automation, workflows, and more now available through Givebutter Plus.

Set up your free account today to see how Givebutter's email tools can help drive donor engagement and raise more for your mission.