Email Marketing for Nonprofits

What a nonprofit email year looks like

• Quarterly newsletter: impact stories, program updates, thank-yous.
• Event invitations: galas, volunteer days, open houses.
• Year-end appeals: a short series in late November and December, which is when many donors give.
• Volunteer coordination to a smaller list, as needed.

What a year costs

Example: a nonprofit with 8,000 supporters sends a quarterly newsletter and three year-end appeals.

A smaller nonprofit with 2,000 supporters doing the same thing pays nothing for its newsletter months and $14.95 in December (8,000 emails), so $14.95 for the year. Try your own plan in the pay-as-you-go calculator.

Preparing your list for year-end giving

• Clean the list in October. Remove addresses that bounced. MailAddiction removes hard bounces and unsubscribes automatically after each send.
• Re-engage before you ask. If you haven't emailed some supporters in months, send an impact update before the first appeal so your appeal isn't the first thing they've heard from you in a year.
• Segment donors from newsletter subscribers so past donors get a thank-you and a renewal ask, not a first-time pitch.
• Schedule the series in advance so December appeals go out even during the busiest weeks.

A year-end appeal series

Rather than one big ask on December 31, most nonprofits get better results from a short, planned series that builds through the season:

1. Late November, the impact story: one person or project your supporters made possible this year. No ask, or only a soft one.
2. Early December, the appeal: a clear goal, what a gift of a specific amount does, and one prominent donate link.
3. Mid-December, the progress update: how close you are to the goal, and a thank-you to everyone who has already given.
4. December 30 or 31, the last call: short and direct, for supporters who give at the very end of the year.

Write the whole series in November and schedule it, so it goes out even in the busiest weeks. AI writing help can draft each email from your notes and talking points; a person should always review appeals before they're sent.

Make every email count

• One email, one job. A newsletter informs and thanks; an appeal asks. Mixing them weakens both.
• Send from a real person such as your executive director, with a reply-to address that someone actually reads.
• Thank donors quickly. A short thank-you email after a gift makes the next ask much easier.
• Watch the reports. Opens and clicks after each send show which stories resonate, so next year's series can lead with them.

Small nonprofits and the free tier

The first 2,500 emails every month are free for any organization, so many small nonprofits never pay at all:

• A 600-supporter animal rescue sending a monthly newsletter and an occasional adoption event email stays under 2,500 every month: free all year.
• A 1,200-member neighborhood association emailing twice a month sends 2,400 emails: free.
• A 2,000-supporter food bank emailing monthly is free until it adds a second send in a month, which takes it to 4,000 emails and $9.95 for that month.

Because pricing follows sends, a growing list doesn't push you onto a bigger plan. Your cost only rises in months you choose to email more.