How to E-Mail-Fundraising: 17 Tips

According to the Nonprofit EMail Report 2023 48% of donors prefer email as a source of information from organizations—making email still one of the most important channels in fundraising. However, there are several factors to consider in email fundraising to achieve good results. Below, you’ll find our 17 top tips for successful email fundraising.

1. Use different types of fundraising emails

Email fundraising is more than just donation appeals. For example, you can send newsletters about project progress or thank-you emails—these are valuable opportunities to strengthen your relationship with donors. Your email program should therefore include not only traditional donation appeals but also newsletters, thank-you emails, birthday greetings, welcome emails, and similar communications.

2. Build a strong mailing list

The first step to success in email fundraising is a quality mailing list. It should ideally contain no incorrect email addresses or addresses that cannot receive your emails, as these harm your deliverability rate and increase the chances of your emails ending up in spam.

On average, nonprofit email lists contain 4,191 contacts (small NGOs: 547, large NGOs: 6,602), according to the Nonprofit Email Report 2023. To attract as many interested people as possible for your email communications, follow these steps:

Integrate sign-up forms for your newsletter on your website.
Promote it everywhere, such as in thank-you and welcome emails, at events, etc.
Offer exclusive content in exchange for a newsletter subscription, like a guide.
A pop-up with the newsletter sign-up is also a great way to encourage people to subscribe.
Include the option to receive information via email in petitions and online donation forms.

3. Remember the legal requirements

Who can receive newsletters? Handling email addresses requires care. For example, newsletters may only be sent to contacts who have explicitly signed up for them—using the double opt-in process. Double opt-in means that an email address is first entered in a field to subscribe to the newsletter, and then, in a second step, the sign-up must be confirmed by clicking a confirmation link.

Thank-you and welcome emails, however, can be sent to all donors. This is permitted, as they are in a “business relationship” with your NGO after making their first donation.

Donation appeals and similar emails should also preferably only be sent to newsletter subscribers. This is somewhat of a gray area—some organizations send emails to all donors, even if they have not completed the double opt-in for the newsletter, interpreting this as an “update” in an ongoing business relationship. However, this approach always carries some risk.

It’s important that your emails include an unsubscribe link, which you can place discreetly in the footer of the email.

In our FundraisingBox newsletter, the unsubscribe link is integrated in the footer. Additionally, all necessary legal information and our contact options are provided here.

4. Keep the Frequency Balanced

Avoid overwhelming your contacts with too many messages. A balanced frequency helps maintain interest and engagement. Send donation appeals approximately 3-4 times per year, and newsletters 1-2 times per month. Project updates and other informative emails can be sent occasionally to share exciting content.

5. Segment Your Recipients

Segmentation allows you to tailor messages to your donors’ interests. If you know which donors are interested in specific projects, you can divide your mailing list into corresponding segments and send different emails. This way, everyone receives relevant information.

To gather data for your email fundraising, you can ask for specific interests during sign-up or occasionally send out surveys.

6. Offer Exclusive and Engaging Content

Exclusive content, available only to newsletter subscribers, can be a great incentive to sign up and also strengthens your connection with them. Share interviews with project participants or beneficiaries, showcase success stories, provide numbers and facts, or offer helpful guides. Storytelling is also essential in emails: tell stories about donors, beneficiaries, or team members.

Ensure the text is easy to read by avoiding jargon and using short sentences. To prevent “text overload,” include enough white space between paragraphs. To make skimming easier, bold important words and sentences. Lists also help readers navigate the content.

7. Emotional Stories with a Specific Focus

Focus on one topic or story per email. It can be tempting to cover your organization’s entire spectrum each time, but this can quickly overwhelm readers. Instead, share a story with a strong emotional impact, such as personal experiences from team members, success stories, or inspiring moments. The key is to engage readers emotionally, motivating them to support your cause.

8. Write Strong Subject Lines

The subject line determines whether an email gets opened. Avoid generic subjects like “May Newsletter” or “News from XY.” Instead, use curiosity-driven subjects like “Urgent: Help Needed for Snow Leopards!” or “Here’s How You Can Make a Difference Today.” Use powerful words like “surprising,” “just today,” “urgent,” and similar phrases.

Emojis in the subject line are generally not recommended, as they can display incorrectly across programs and may lead to lower open rates, according to some studies.

9. Personalization and Sender

Personalized emails are more appealing. If possible, use the first and last names of recipients. The sender name should also feel personal. Instead of just the organization name, an ideal combination is something like “Karin Sommer from FundraisingBox”—this can increase open rates.

10. Use Attention-Grabbing Images

Images are a great way to quickly evoke emotions and direct attention. However, avoid overloading your email with images, as this can increase file size. Show people and faces in particular—they capture the most attention. Also, add links to images so that, when clicked, readers are directed to your desired website (e.g., donation form or blog article).

Ein fröhlich lächelndes Kind mit einem Bleistift

Images featuring people capture the most attention and instantly evoke emotions.

11. Include Clear Call-to-Actions

Call-to-actions motivate your recipients to take further action. In email fundraising, they are crucial, as you want to inspire recipients to act—such as donating. Therefore, add buttons and links that all lead to the desired outcome, with clear instructions: “Learn more now,” “Save a snow leopard,” or “Yes, I want to help” are good examples.

Place your call-to-action at the beginning, middle, and end of the email. Also, stick to just one call-to-action per email to avoid confusing readers.

12. Monitor the Results

Email fundraising offers numerous tracking opportunities. The key metrics include open rate, click-to-open rate, and subscription and unsubscription numbers. A good open rate is between 25% and 45%, while click-to-open rates between 10% and 20% are excellent.

For donation appeals, track the number of donations generated by the email. This allows you to calculate the average donation per recipient. According to the 2023 Nonprofit Email Report, smaller organizations collect an average of €6.15 per email recipient, while larger organizations collect around €0.88.

13. Test the Timing of Emails

The right timing can greatly impact your email’s success. Tests have shown that Wednesdays and Fridays between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. are generally promising, but this can vary for each organization depending on the target audience. It’s best to experiment to find the day and time that yield the best results for you.

14. Optimize for Mobile

Many people read emails on their smartphones. It’s essential that your emails display well on these devices. They should look good on small screens, with call-to-action buttons large enough to tap easily. Short, concise texts work best, as long paragraphs are harder to read on mobile devices.

15. Create a Sense of Urgency

Creating urgency is one of the most commonly used techniques in behavioral design, providing a strong incentive to act. Phrasing like “only 3 days left” or “Help today!” amplifies the impulse to act immediately. This is especially effective if you communicate a clear goal or deadline.

16. Use Social Proof

Social proof is another behavioral design technique. In email fundraising, it’s also effective in boosting credibility and trust in your organization. Mention, for instance, the number of donors who have already contributed or quote satisfied donors. Testimonials and statistics can provide positive reinforcement, such as “Over 500 people support us monthly.”

17. Visual Consistency for Recognition

Your emails should be visually consistent, with the same design elements whenever possible. Keep colors, fonts, and layout uniform so that emails are immediately recognizable as coming from your organization. This strengthens your brand identity.

The FundraisingBox newsletter maintains a consistent header and layout for brand recognition: it begins with a quote, followed by the cover story image, an introductory text, and a button linking to the cover story.

Extra Tip

Use a PS! Many recipients first scroll to the end of the email. A brief but impactful PS line that includes your call-to-action stands out here. Often, the PS is the only part that actually gets read.

Email Fundraising with Many Levers

Successful email fundraising requires a bit of experience. The good news is that you can test and experiment with minimal risk to see what works best. As you’ve seen in this article, there are many levers you can adjust to improve your results. Get creative and try different approaches!