5 Email Templates That Will Help You Get Larger Donations Online
In today's digital world, online fundraising has become a significant source of income for nonprofits. Email marketing is an essential and powerful tool in reaching out to current and potential donors and creating a connection. By utilizing effective email marketing strategies, nonprofits can secure larger donations from their supporters.
This blog post outlines five templates that use fundraising email best practices to get larger donations online through emails.
Keep in mind that for effective email fundraising, the type of nonprofit fundraising software is very important. Using software like Crowdfunding to track all the data you need on each donor will allow you to provide more customization to your emails. Pro tip: Unless you’re requesting a specific amount ($X amount allows us to help X people), never train your donor to give less than they have in the past.
1. Personalize Your Emails
In a world where inboxes are cluttered with generic emails, personalization is vital. By addressing your supporters directly and individually, you show them that they matter and make a difference and visually allow them to see their name in connection to your cause. Personalized emails also lead to higher open rates and donations.
Subject: [Donor's First Name], Help Us Make a Bigger Impact!
Dear [Donor's First Name],
Thank you for your continued support of our cause. Your contributions have made a significant difference in the lives of those we serve.
We are currently working on [specific project or campaign], which aims to [describe the project's goals]. With your help, we can reach our target and make an even greater impact.
By donating [donor’s past donation amount] today, you can help us [specific outcome]. Can we count on your support right away [Donor's First Name]?
[Donate Now Button]
Thank you for your generosity,
[Your Name]
2. Tell Compelling Stories
People respond well to stories. By sharing real-life stories of those who benefit from your work, you create an emotional connection and inspire donors to contribute even more. This can be a useful approach for existing donors to continue or upgrade their level of support.
Subject: Meet [Beneficiary's Name]: Your Support is Changing Lives
Dear [Donor's First Name],
I want to share the story of [Beneficiary's Name], whose life has been transformed by your support.
[Describe the beneficiary's background, challenges, and how your organization helped them overcome those challenges.]
[Donor’s First Name], because of your generosity, [Beneficiary's Name] has [describe the positive impact]. But there are many more individuals like [Beneficiary's Name] who need our help.
Will you consider donating [donor’s past donation x2] to support our mission and change more lives? If that is not possible can you continue to make stories like [Beneficiary's Name] possible with a gift of [donor’s past donation] today?
[Donate Now Button]
With gratitude,
[Your Name]
3. Employ the Power of Social Proof
By showing donors that others support your cause, you reinforce the value of your organization. Sharing testimonials, statistics, and endorsements helps build credibility and encourages larger donations.
Subject: See the Impact Your Support is Having!
Dear [Donor's First Name],
We are grateful for your ongoing support. Together, we have accomplished so much. But don't just take our word for it. Here's what our beneficiaries and supporters have to say:
[Testimonial 1]
[Testimonial 2]
[Testimonial 3]
Your support has helped us reach [number of beneficiaries or specific milestones]. Imagine the impact we could make if we reached [next milestone]!
Can you chip in [donor’s past donation x2] to help us expand our mission and transform even more lives?
[Donate Now Button]
Thank you for your continued support. With your gift today of [donor’s past donation x2], or [donor’s past donation] I look forward to sending you even more success stories of lives changed.
With gratitude,
[Your Name]
4. Offer Matching Gift Opportunities
Matching gifts encourage larger donations, giving donors the assurance that their contribution will have a greater impact. Part of your major donor strategy should incorporate reaching out to corporate partners or large donors to offer a matching gift program. Remember, this type of email should have a hard deadline to allow you to use urgency phrases.
Subject: Double Your Impact Today: [Company Name] Will Match Your Donation!
Dear [Donor's First Name],
We have exciting news! [Company Name] has generously offered to match all donations made to our organization for the next [time period]. This means that your gift will have twice the impact on the lives of those we serve.
By donating [donor’s past donation x2], you'll help us [specific outcome], and with [Company Name]'s match, your donation will go twice as far!
This incredible opportunity is only available for a limited time, so don't miss your chance to double your impact with a gift of [donor’s last donation x2] or [donor’s last donation] before [time period].
[Donate Now Button]
Thank you for your generosity,
[Your Name]
5. Re-Engage Lapsed Donors
Having past donors re-engage with your organization can have a big impact on your fundraising.
For this type of email, you’ll need your nonprofit software to provide good list segmentation to find donors who have not engaged since a specific time (typically 1 year).
Knowing the amount they last gave is very important as you will be asking them to re-engage at that past level of support and then also include an ask for a smaller amount. This is the one time it’s acceptable to ask for a lower amount than they last gave—the primary goal is to get a lapsed donor re-engaged.
Subject: Since You Last Gave, [Donor's First Name]!
Dear [Donor's First Name],
I wanted to give you an example of a life changed since you last partnered with us.
[Beneficiary's Name] is a life that has been transformed by your support.
[Describe the beneficiary's background, challenges, and how your organization helped them overcome those challenges.]
[Donor’s First Name], because of your generosity, [Beneficiary's Name] has [describe the positive impact].
But since you last partnered with us, there have been several more stories like [Beneficiary's Name] that need your help.
Can you join us again with a donation of [donor’s last donation amount] today?
If that is too much, even a gift of [half of the donor’s last amount] can make a difference in a life like [Beneficiary's Name].
[Donate Now Button]
Thank you in advance [Donor's First Name].
With gratitude,
[Your Name]
By employing these five strategies, your nonprofit can significantly increase the chances of securing larger donations online. Don't forget to track your results, analyze the data, and fine-tune your approach for continued success. Happy fundraising!
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Madison Hull
This article was inspired by our customers and written to encourage your fundraising efforts. Although we work with nonprofits and events daily, our team members are not Event Consultants. We encourage you to consult with your event consultant, executive team, and/or affiliate organization before making any major changes to your events.
