How Email Marketing Can Help (or Hurt) Your Fundraiser
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 5:36 am
In the midst of strict social distancing guidelines, nonprofits are looking for new ways to communicate with their supporters without meeting them face-to-face. Developing a comprehensive email marketing strategy is a classic method for reaching out to supporters while they’re still in the safety of their homes.
To make sure you are using email marketing strategies correctly, you will need to be fully aware of the benefits and limitations that email can have for nonprofit organizations.
In this guide, country email list we’ll look at the qualities of email marketing and how these qualities can help or hurt your fundraising efforts . We’ll cover the following qualities:
Email is instant.
Email is inexpensive.
The email appeals to a basic audience.
Email enables mass communication.
Email allows you to take risks and try new strategies.
Don’t assume that because you implement email into your strategy that your nonprofit will automatically be better off. It takes some research and strategy to get the most out of your communication platforms.
You're off to a great start! Just reading this article will launch you into the important research process. So let's get started.
1. Email is instant.
Email is instant
Technology has an impressive ability to speed up our daily activities. Your supporters receive the emails you send immediately, so you don't have to worry about physical letters taking too long to arrive or any redirected addresses.
Once sent, the email appears in your inbox for your supporters to see.
This can be especially useful in a time-sensitive scenario. For example, let’s say your nonprofit is hosting a virtual event next week. You want to send a reminder to those who have registered online to attend. So, you draft an email, import your contact information, and send it to all attendees.
Email can also streamline your organization’s data collection. For example, if your email is integrated with your nonprofit CRM, you can track supporter engagement with messages through open rates, click-through rates, and other important metrics. There are many tools available to measure engagement and track your campaigns. If you’re looking to streamline your operations with software, check out CharityEngine’s Nonprofit CRM Guide to learn more about using your donor database for your research process.
The other side of the coin…
Remember how we said earlier that email has its limitations? Email is not the be-all and end-all for speed. In fact, sometimes speed itself can be a bad thing!
Have you ever hit “reply all” on an email you meant to send to a single individual? Email speed is inherently dangerous if you’re trying to work too fast. Nonprofits run the risk of sending emails to the wrong people, sending them before spell-checking the content, or forgetting to read to make sure everything is correct.
Email leaves a lot of room for human error.
According to DNL OmniMedia's Email Marketing Guide , 13% of emails are opened and read within 5 minutes of being sent. This means that if there is a mistake or error in your strategy, there is very little chance it will go unnoticed.
When setting up your email strategy , try to create a checklist of items you can use to ensure that your emails are optimized and well-crafted for your strategy. For example, you can make sure to double-check for spelling errors, content inconsistencies, recipient list, and mobile optimization. This way, you’ll check all the boxes and make sure everything is ready for your supporters’ inboxes.
To make sure you are using email marketing strategies correctly, you will need to be fully aware of the benefits and limitations that email can have for nonprofit organizations.
In this guide, country email list we’ll look at the qualities of email marketing and how these qualities can help or hurt your fundraising efforts . We’ll cover the following qualities:
Email is instant.
Email is inexpensive.
The email appeals to a basic audience.
Email enables mass communication.
Email allows you to take risks and try new strategies.
Don’t assume that because you implement email into your strategy that your nonprofit will automatically be better off. It takes some research and strategy to get the most out of your communication platforms.
You're off to a great start! Just reading this article will launch you into the important research process. So let's get started.
1. Email is instant.
Email is instant
Technology has an impressive ability to speed up our daily activities. Your supporters receive the emails you send immediately, so you don't have to worry about physical letters taking too long to arrive or any redirected addresses.
Once sent, the email appears in your inbox for your supporters to see.
This can be especially useful in a time-sensitive scenario. For example, let’s say your nonprofit is hosting a virtual event next week. You want to send a reminder to those who have registered online to attend. So, you draft an email, import your contact information, and send it to all attendees.
Email can also streamline your organization’s data collection. For example, if your email is integrated with your nonprofit CRM, you can track supporter engagement with messages through open rates, click-through rates, and other important metrics. There are many tools available to measure engagement and track your campaigns. If you’re looking to streamline your operations with software, check out CharityEngine’s Nonprofit CRM Guide to learn more about using your donor database for your research process.
The other side of the coin…
Remember how we said earlier that email has its limitations? Email is not the be-all and end-all for speed. In fact, sometimes speed itself can be a bad thing!
Have you ever hit “reply all” on an email you meant to send to a single individual? Email speed is inherently dangerous if you’re trying to work too fast. Nonprofits run the risk of sending emails to the wrong people, sending them before spell-checking the content, or forgetting to read to make sure everything is correct.
Email leaves a lot of room for human error.
According to DNL OmniMedia's Email Marketing Guide , 13% of emails are opened and read within 5 minutes of being sent. This means that if there is a mistake or error in your strategy, there is very little chance it will go unnoticed.
When setting up your email strategy , try to create a checklist of items you can use to ensure that your emails are optimized and well-crafted for your strategy. For example, you can make sure to double-check for spelling errors, content inconsistencies, recipient list, and mobile optimization. This way, you’ll check all the boxes and make sure everything is ready for your supporters’ inboxes.