Almost every nonprofit knows the pangs of obtaining funds in order to operate or continue operating a nonprofit organization. Money or having funds allows an organization to operate and to operate a scale they would like to choose. The problem comes when trying to obtain those funds, it can be difficult to solicit or to convince someone to invest in something that doesn’t make money. By no means should email be counted out when considering marketing channels.

How can I utilize email marketing to raise funds or get donations? Well, it’s not much different than any other company using email marketing. With email best practices, nonprofit programs can be very successful. It’s not much different but there are special considerations when we solicit, like do not always solicit with every single email.

Let’s first start with subscribers. As a non-profit program, every single person in your list counts, maybe more because nonprofits rely heavily on networking and donations. It is also important to distinguish your subscribers. From the donors, volunteers, and staff members, to the board member and the curious person. You’d want to segment your list especially as a nonprofit, to target these specific segments with the information they care to see.

The content of the email is very important because it’s never easy to ask for money. Well, it may be easy to ask, but you also need to convince the other person to give it to you with a small string attached, and that is to work towards the organization’s mission. The reason why people donate to nonprofit programs is because they believe in what you are doing .

Timing is also important. Keeping a schedule and having different schedules for your different segments is crucial when asking for funds or support. Donors who have already donated hard earned cash may want a quarterly update to see how their money benefitted the company. Whereas volunteers may want to see weekly or monthly updates on the program for a morale boost.

In all of the emails you could have a small button that asks for a donation, it is really important not to be in their face about it. It’s important that you keep your readers, followers, or subscribers believing in the program. So when it comes time for fundraising or a benefit Gala where it is an appropriate time to ask, “Would you like to donate to our worthy cause?”  they’ll be more likely to cough up the dough, because of the emails you send them.

Author Bio:

by Benchmark Team