How to Fundraise by Email
Jessica Harrington, Vice President
April 2010
Your website is up-to-date and primed for fundraising. You’ve been building your list of email addresses through every opportunity you can (with online sign-ups, on direct mail pieces, at in-person meetings)…now you’re ready to ask for donations by email.
Email has many advantages over more traditional fundraising methods, such as direct mail or telemarketing. It can be cheaper to send (no postage!), so you’re able to reach audiences you wouldn’t otherwise be soliciting. Plus, on email you can include as many full-color photos as you want – or, better yet, a video or other interactive element that really tells your story.
So what works in the world of email fundraising?
- Testing! While we can provide you with the best practices for email fundraising plus some nifty tips and tricks to try, always make sure you’re testing these to find out what works best for your donors.
- Personalization. Most email service providers allow for some level of personalization – whether in the salutation, gift string, subject line or even by including customized paragraphs within the email itself. Make sure you’re collecting as much data as possible from your donors so you can tailor the email to their giving interests.
- Specificity. You need to raise $23,473.61 to buy a truck to send meals to homebound seniors? Say that! Tell your donors exactly how much money you need – you might be surprised and find a very generous donor willing to give you exactly that amount.
- Asking. This seems obvious, but remember – on average, people spend only 8 seconds on each email once they’ve opened it. So that means you need to put your request at the very top of the email where it is most likely to be read. Make sure you include as many asks within the email as possible – throughout the letter, in the P.S., in the sidebar, next to any images – so that no matter where a person looks, he or she understands what you’re asking and why.
- Consistent signer. Just as in direct mail, your email should use the voice of the specific person who signs the email. In this way, you’ll be able to build up a more personal relationship between the signer and the donor. Don’t use an “e-newsletter” format; make sure the letter is direct and personal. And remember to put the same person in the “From” line!
- Urgency. If you can, set a deadline. Because email is such an immediate interaction, you need to give donors a reason to give now before they delete the email or let it get buried in their inbox. Plus, with a deadline, you can send follow-up emails announcing “24 hours left to XXX” and restate your case with even more urgency.
- Videos & pictures. Donation pages with videos receive more donations, while pages with images receive a larger average gift size than those without pictures. Make sure you include at least one of these elements! Remind donors why they’re giving – after all, a picture is worth 1,000 words.
These are just a few elements to try in your own emails. And remember, you should be contacting your donors by email not just to raise money, but also to keep them informed of what’s happening at your organization. The more your audience feels connected to your mission – through heartwarming success stories and exclusive insider info – the more inclined they’ll be to donate when you do ask.
Schultz & Williams is a national consulting firm based in Philadelphia; providing management, fundraising and marketing consulting for nonprofit organizations, along with full-service direct marketing, database and creative/production services.
