Writing attention-grabbing emails is challenging, but mastering the art of creating fundraising emails with a high response rate is extraordinary. For any non-profit organization or association, fundraising emails play a key role in generating a significant share of funds.

However, if these emails are not crafted in an effective manner, their potential impact may be limited. In this blog, explore the insights on how to write compelling and effective fundraising emails to maximize your outreach and contribution.

Key Takeaways:

• Sorting out your database is essential for personalized and targeted fundraising. Segmenting your donors helps tailor messages to specific groups, increasing funds and reducing unsubscribe rates.
• Incorporating storytelling in fundraising emails is crucial for capturing attention and driving emotional connection. Well-structured narratives around the cause significantly increase the likelihood of donations.
• Given that over 50% of emails are opened on mobile devices, optimizing fundraising emails for mobile viewing is essential. It ensures broader accessibility and engagement, maximizing the chances of capturing attention and receiving positive responses.
• To avoid distraction and confusion, limit your email to a single call to action—usually, making a donation. Maintaining simplicity and clarity in your message enhances the chances of achieving noteworthy results.
• Glue Up offers powerful features like Drag & Drop Email Designer, Push Notifications, Email Templates, AI Copilot, Email Marketing Automation, Smart Lists, and Email Statistics. These tools optimize fundraising emails, making the process efficient and impactful.

What's a Fundraising Email?

A fundraising email serves the purpose of raising funds, which can be contributed by individuals or organizations. Non-profit organizations, in particular, often utilize fundraising emails to gather support for a specific cause.

These emails typically include detailed information about the recipients and the purpose behind the donation drive, and provide account details for easy contribution. Fundraising email campaigns can be initiated to kickstart donation drives, whether focused domestically or reaching out internationally.
 

Why is Sending Fundraising Emails a Favorable Option?

Why is it that, despite other options like galas, community fairs, webinars, and digital fundraising, emails are regarded as the best way to raise funds?

The answer lies in the number of advantages that email fundraising brings:

Emails Are Free/Affordable

In many instances, the distribution of bulk fundraising emails comes at no cost. Most Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems allow for the seamless distribution of emails to hundreds of recipients simultaneously.

Even with an extensive list comprising thousands of entries, the subscription of bulk email packages from various CRMs remains budget-friendly.

Comparatively, organizing workshops or seminars involves substantial expenses. These events have expenditures on guest speakers, the coordination of diverse segments, the distribution of pamphlets, the provision of refreshments, and logistical arrangements.

Similarly, community fairs or digital fundraising initiatives, while conducted online, often come with significant costs. In contrast, email campaigns are a highly cost-effective alternative for advancing fundraising goals.
 

Emails Are Easy to Send and Quick to Deliver Results

Sending emails is more convenient compared to traditional methods like phone calls or in-person interactions. Email campaigns require minimal investment and little manpower; you can effortlessly create a campaign, send it out, and reach a broader audience. Donors often prefer receiving emails as it allows them to access payment details conveniently, responding at their own pace.

Furthermore, email communication offers the advantage of performance tracking. Metrics such as click-through rate, open rate, and conversion can be monitored, allowing you to analyze how well your fundraising emails are doing. Stats indicate that 99% of email users check their inbox daily, with 58% checking it first thing in the morning, presenting an opportunity window for impactful results.

Moreover, emails provide a platform to convey comprehensive details about your cause, offering donors a deeper understanding. Unlike phone calls or in-person meetings, where details might be overlooked, recipients can read emails multiple times, conduct research, and gain satisfaction before deciding to contribute their funds. This comprehensive approach enhances the donor experience and engagement with the cause.

Emails Are Versatile

Another aspect that makes fundraising emails preferable over other methods is their versatility. Email campaigns offer the flexibility to personalize and customize content based on the recipient. Here's how you can tailor your emails for maximum impact:

• Audience-specific Tone and Details: Customize the tone and messaging to resonate with your target audience. Tailor details such as language, imagery, and content to suit the preferences of different segments.
• Demographic Customization: Craft messages that align with the demographics of your target audience. Adjust the content to appeal to different age groups, locations, or other demographic factors.
• Group-specific Personalization: Create variations in your emails to cater to different groups within your audience. Acknowledge and address specific groups’ unique interests or concerns within your donor base.
• Individualized Messaging: Personalize emails individually to make donors feel valued and appreciated. Incorporate the recipient's name, past interactions, or details highlighting their connection to your cause.
• Customization Based on Donation History: Acknowledge and express gratitude for past donations. Tailor fundraising appeals based on the donor's history, encouraging continued support or more significant contributions.

This level of customization not only enhances the relevance of your fundraising emails but also creates a stronger connection with your audience, ultimately increasing your chances of collecting maximum funds.

16 Proven Best Practices for Writing High-Impact Fundraising Emails

If your fundraising emails aren't producing the anticipated results, have you ever wondered what might be going wrong? Here, we're going to share 16 proven best practices with you.

Give these a try before sending your next emails, and you'll experience precise, visible results:

Sort Out Your Database

The first practice involves sorting your databases, a process that essentially means segmenting your audience. This includes refining and extracting donors from your database, enabling you to send the right message to the right people. This strategic sorting helps prevent the random bombardment of everyone's inbox, ultimately reducing unsubscribe rates.

By carefully sorting out your database, you can engage with each member on a more personal level, avoiding generic interactions that can be perceived as annoying. You can identify which donors are high contributors and distinguish them from new or first-time donors through segmentation.

This practice not only saves time, resources, and energy but also yields the best results by tailoring your approach to the unique characteristics and history of each segment within your audience.

Craft a Powerful Subject Line

The subject line is crucial in email performance as it serves as the initial impression on the recipient. It's the subject line that compels recipients to open the email. The subject line essentially shapes the trajectory of the entire email. In a cluttered inbox, a standout subject line becomes the deciding factor for email opening.

Furthermore, personalization plays a significant role in subject line effectiveness. Including the recipient's name in the subject line can significantly boost open rates.

Therefore, crafting a compelling and personalized subject line optimizes email engagement and performance.

Here Are a Few Tips to Improve Your Fundraising Emails’ Subject Lines

1. Make it Powerful: The subject line should capture attention with impactful language.
2. Catchy/Engaging: Must create interest and entice recipients to explore further.
3. Short: Needs to be concise and maintain clarity and prompt readability
4. Emotion-Driven: Provoke emotions to establish a connection with the recipient
5. Tailored According to Audience or the Recipient: Customized and based on the preferences and characteristics of the target audience

Get Your Formatting Right

Maintaining proper formatting in your email is another essential practice that you must follow. Correct formatting not only enhances the visual appeal of your email but also lends it a professional and polished appearance.

Here Are a Few Tips to Get Your Fundraising Email Formatted Right:

1. Readability: Ensure a high readability score for your email by employing easy language, clear fonts, choosing an appropriate font size, and incorporating proper line spacing. This ensures that readers find it easy to understand your message.
2. Layout: Organize your email content effectively by incorporating headings and subheadings. Break down lengthy paragraphs and utilize bullet points to make it easy for readers to understand and identify crucial information.
3. Graphics and Color Scheme: Maintain a consistent and visually appealing color scheme throughout your email. Use high-quality images to enhance the overall aesthetics, capturing your audience's attention and reinforcing your communication's professionalism.

Tell a Compelling Story

Suppose a compelling subject line encourages recipients to open your email. In that case, compelling storytelling captivates them and prompts them to read the entire content, ultimately driving them to take action.

Storytelling is a crucial practice, highly recommended across various contexts, and particularly impactful in fundraising endeavors. Crafting a well-structured narrative around your cause can significantly increase the chances of people making generous donations.

When raising funds for a cause, consider framing the purpose within a narrative encompassing facts and emotions. This approach helps individuals realize that even their modest contributions can have a profound and positive impact.

According to stats from the Nutcracker agency, facts are 22 times more likely to be remembered if presented within a story. Therefore, by conveying your cause in a storytelling format, you enhance the memorability of your message.

Furthermore, the power of storytelling extends to boosting conversion rates by 30%. Hence, incorporating storytelling techniques can lead to a remarkable 30% increase in fundraising conversion rates.

Mastering the art of storytelling engages your audience emotionally and inspires them to contribute to your cause actively. So, investing in compelling storytelling can significantly elevate your success rates when seeking to enhance your fundraising efforts.

Here Are a Couple of Ways You can Employ Storytelling in Your Fundraising Email:

1. Choose the Right Storyline: To maximize your impact, carefully select a storyline that goes beyond the ordinary, illustrating how donations have transformed or saved lives. Instead of repeating generic narratives, highlight the uniqueness of each individual's experience—making it relatable and compelling. By avoiding repetitive tales, you capture the audience's attention and convey the diverse and profound impact of their contributions. Craft narratives that inspire, resonate, and showcase the extraordinary changes made possible through their support.
2. Proper Structure of Story: Begin with a captivating hook, drawing readers in with a compelling scenario or character. Establish an emotional connection by highlighting relatable experiences that provoke empathy. Position the narrative as a force for positive change, casting the donor as a helper. Introduce obstacles to build tension, keeping readers engaged as the stakes escalate. Emphasize urgency, stressing the immediate need for action. Finally, deliver a strong call to action, asking readers to contribute to the cause and emphasizing the immeasurable impact of their donation.

Use Advanced AI Tools

AI serves as a potent remedy for writer's block, offering an array of ideas and aiding in the selection of words to enhance the overall quality of communication. Particularly noteworthy is its ability to streamline the creation of multiple subject lines, enabling a systematic evaluation of their performance.

With tools like AI Copilot, this transformative potential is utilized to its fullest. This advanced writing assistant can instantly create a draft email that is not only relevant but also engaging. Tailoring the AI-created content to suit your fundraising needs ensures that the emails are more personalized and impactful.

Moreover, this adaptability feature of the AI Copilot ensures that the final content aligns perfectly with your campaign's goals and donor expectations. By leveraging artificial intelligence, organizations can enhance communication quality, and optimize the effectiveness of their fundraising messages, ultimately contributing to the success of their campaigns.

According to HubSpot, a staggering 95% of marketers employing generative AI for email creation find it effective, with 54% rating it as very effective. These statistics underscore the efficacy of AI in optimizing email creation. Hence, leveraging AI for email writing is strongly recommended to achieve superior fundraising results.

Use a Single Call to Action

When crafting a fundraising email, the primary objective is to capture the reader's attention with a singular focus, directing them towards a specific action: donating. It is imperative to employ only one call to action in order to ensure that the reader remains undistracted, with a clear and singular objective in mind – to contribute to the cause.

The use of multiple calls to action risks diverting the reader's attention, creating confusion, and diluting the primary message. Maintaining simplicity and clarity through a singular call to action enhances the chances of achieving noteworthy results, as the reader is guided toward the intended goal without unnecessary distractions.

Demonstrate a Tangible Impact

Express the full force of your message to the reader about the profound impact even their modest donation can have. Paint a clear picture of the tangible outcomes of previous contributions – how lives have been transformed, saved, and futures shaped.

Illustrate the effect of children receiving an education, shelters offering refuge, and communities thriving. Engage them emotionally by narrating success stories, emphasizing the direct correlation between their generosity and these positive changes. Provide compelling projections, such as how a single donation could save ten lives or provide food for a thousand hungry children.

By spotlighting the incredible difference their support can make, you compel donors to recognize their contributions' real, tangible impact, motivating them to be part of something transformative and significant.

Create an Effective Closing

Clarity is a must in your email. The message, the cause, and the call to action should be evident. As the reader reaches the closing, there should be no confusion – they should already understand what needs to be done and how to do it.

An effective closing is not just a formality; it's a pivotal element that can make or break potential donor engagement. A clear and compelling closure ensures that your audience leaves with a firm understanding of the cause and a ready knowledge of how they can contribute.

Make It Easy to Give

Make donating as easy as possible by offering diverse payment options. Whether it's bank transfers, credit cards, debit cards, popular digital wallets like PayPal or Google Pay, or even cryptocurrency transactions, cater to the donor's preferences.

In addition to providing multiple options, ensure transparency by clearly stating the routes for donation—be it account numbers for bank transfers, wallet addresses for digital platforms, or QR codes for swift transactions.

This comprehensive approach aligns with the donor's comfort, making the contribution process hassle-free and tailored to their preferred channel, building a sense of satisfaction and encouraging them to donate happily.

Track and Evaluate Your Emails

Another crucial practice for effective fundraising is thoroughly tracking the performance of your email campaigns. It is essential to monitor key metrics such as the opening rate, click-through rate (CTR), and the conversion rate. Understanding the percentage of recipients who open your email provides insights into the initial engagement.

Simultaneously, analyzing the CTR unveils how many recipients are not just opening the email but also taking the desired actions. Most importantly, evaluating the conversion rate allows you to calculate the ultimate success of your campaign by determining the proportion of email recipients who transformed into actual donors.

This comprehensive tracking approach empowers you to assess the effectiveness of your email strategy, identify areas for improvement, and optimize future campaigns for enhanced fundraising success.

Send It At The Right Time

Recognizing the substantial impact of timing on email engagement, it's vital to consider strategic days and hours for sending your fundraising emails. The favorable time frames, such as between 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST and 12:01 PM - 3:00 PM EST, can markedly increase open rates and conversions.

Conversely, avoid less favorable periods, especially between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM EST, to ensure your messages aren't lost in the virtual noise. Moreover, aligning your email campaigns with Tuesdays statistically proven most effective day can further boost your fundraising success.

By incorporating these insights into your email distribution strategy, you enhance visibility and maximize the potential for donor engagement and contributions, ultimately improving the overall effectiveness of your fundraising efforts.

Personalization

To establish a meaningful connection with your recipients, personalizing emails according to their individual details, such as their name, position, or company name, proves immensely effective. Tailoring your communication in this way demonstrates a genuine and thoughtful approach and makes recipients feel uniquely valued.

When individuals perceive that the message is crafted specifically for them, it promotes a sense of importance and personal connection. This personalized touch significantly enhances the likelihood that recipients will engage positively with the email and, in the case of fundraising efforts, willingly contribute.

Personalization goes beyond just customization; it cultivates a sense of appreciation and consideration, creating a more favorable environment for successful donor engagement.

Use Images

Incorporating compelling images into your email is a powerful strategy to capture the attention of potential donors and enhance the overall appeal of your message. Visual elements not only make the email more engaging but also play a crucial role in generating better results.

For instance, if your cause is related to healthcare, including images of patients and the impactful work being done in hospitals can evoke a strong emotional response. Similarly, for causes involving orphanages or shelter homes, showcasing images of those directly benefiting from the donations creates a connection with the reader.

Using visuals helps tell a compelling story, making your cause more tangible and relatable. By integrating meaningful images, you create a visually appealing email and increase the likelihood of attracting support and funds for your cause.

The Sender Matters

The identity of the sender holds significant weight in establishing a sense of trust and connection with the audience. When the sender is a donor, beneficiary, or volunteer associated with the cause, it adds a personal touch that resonates more profoundly than a generic organizational email.

Recipients tend to trust and connect with messages coming from individuals directly involved in the cause, as it conveys authenticity and personal commitment. Alternatively, using an email account associated with a registered fund-collecting organization enhances credibility.

People are more likely to trust and engage with emails sent from recognized and legitimate sources, contributing to a sense of transparency and reliability. Therefore, whether from a direct participant or a registered organization, the sender's identity plays a crucial role in fostering trust and encouraging meaningful engagement from potential donors.

Optimize For Mobile

Ensuring that your fundraising emails are mobile-optimized is a crucial practice that can yield immense results. According to statistics, more than 50% of emails are opened on mobile devices, so catering to the mobile audience enhances accessibility and engagement.

Given the prevalence of billions of mobile phones worldwide, a mobile-friendly email design becomes imperative. By optimizing your fundraising emails for mobile viewing, you not only accommodate the preferences of a significant portion of your audience but also enhance the chances of capturing their attention and getting positive responses.

Therefore, incorporating mobile responsiveness into your email strategy is a strategic move to maximize outreach and achieve better fundraising results.

Coordinate Your Email & Social Media Efforts

Maximize your fundraising impact by coordinating email and social media campaigns. Seamlessly redirect your audience between platforms, maintaining an active presence on both sides to capture diverse engagement styles. Utilize the expressive power of emails and the viral potential of social media to adapt to varying audience preferences.

This dynamic strategy not only drives donations but also serves as a potent storytelling and brand-building tool, ensuring your cause resonates on multiple levels.

Include Contact Information In Your Footer

Make it effortless for individuals to connect with you and refer potential donors by including your contact details in the email footer. Whether it's a phone number, landline, or website, placing this information at the bottom ensures easy access, building seamless communication and collaboration in support of your cause.

4 Fundraising Email Templates to Help You Reach Your Goal

Here, we present you with four fundraising email templates that you can use to reach out to your potential donors effectively and maximize your fundraising efforts.

Template 1: Donation Request to Members, Foundations, and Potential Donors

Subject Line: Brief Cause Description e.g. Join the Movement: Your Support Needed to Empower Underprivileged Youth

Dear [Insert Name],

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to share something important with you. I've recently become involved in a cause that means a lot to me, and I believe your support could make a significant difference.

As we work towards [specific goal or project], I am reaching out to everyone who shares my passion for [cause]. Your contribution, no matter the amount, would go a long way in helping us achieve our objective.

If you are able, I kindly ask for a donation of [mention a specific amount, or suggest they contribute what they can comfortably afford]. Your support means a lot to me, and together we can make a positive impact on [cause].

Additionally, it would be fantastic if you could share this message with your circle. Spreading the word will amplify our efforts and bring us closer to our goal.

Here's the donation link: [Insert donation link]

Thank you so much for considering this. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

I would love to talk to you about this cause in detail and share more about the impact we can create. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or if you'd like to discuss it further.

Best regards,

[Your Name]
[Contact Information]

Template 2: Time-Sensitive Donation Request

Subject: Urgent: X Days Left to Save a Life - Your Generosity Can Make a Difference

Dear [Recipient's Name],

I'm reaching out to you with a time-sensitive and critical appeal. [Person's Name], someone dear to us, is facing a life-threatening emergency and urgently needs [X amount] for a crucial operation.

[Provide a brief but compelling description of the person's situation and the urgency]

We believe in the power of collective generosity, and if [X number of people] can contribute [X amount], we can ensure that [Person's Name] receives the necessary medical intervention to save their lives.

Your support can make an immediate impact and be the lifeline that [Person's Name] desperately needs. We urge you to be generous and donate to this urgent cause. Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to reaching our goal and securing a chance at life for [Person's Name].

Here is the donation link: [Insert donation link]

Time is running out, and we are counting on your compassion to help us in this race against time. Your swift action can truly be the difference between life and death for [Person's Name].

Thank you for considering this urgent appeal, and please share this message with your network to maximize our collective impact.

Gratefully,

[Your Name] [Your Contact Information]

Template 3: Donation Request to Businesses

Subject Line: Short and compelling. Try to include your cause

Dear [Insert Name]

I trust you are having a good day. I am reaching out to you with great enthusiasm and a sense of purpose. Over the past few weeks, I have been dedicated to raising funds for a cause that is close to my heart - [X Cause]. As someone who deeply values the impact businesses can have on society, I am reaching out to seek your support.

[Provide a brief but compelling description of the cause]

Your generous donation has the potential to bring about significant positive change and improve lives within our community. By contributing [X amount], you would play a crucial role in helping us achieve our goals and create lasting betterment.

Here is the donation link: [Insert donation link]

Feel free to contribute whatever amount aligns with your capacity, as every donation, big or small, contributes to our collective impact.

Your support means the world to me, and I believe that together, we can make a tangible difference in the lives of those who need it most.

Thank you for considering this request, and I appreciate your commitment to creating positive change in our society.

Best regards,

[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]

Template 4: Donation Request for a Particular Day, i.e. Monday, Tuesday

Subject: Celebrate Monday by Joining My Donation Cause!

Dear [Recipient's Name],

I wish you a great day. I've been dedicating my efforts to making a positive impact on the lives of stray dogs and cats by providing them with shelter, food, and essential care. I am grateful for the support I've received from many kind-hearted individuals like yourself.

Now, I'm reaching out to you with a special request. This Monday, let's come together to make a difference. Your contribution to my cause will help save and improve the lives of these innocent creatures.

By donating to this cause, you'll be directly contributing to providing shelter, food, and care for stray dogs and cats who need our support.

Here's the donation link: [Insert donation link]

Your generosity can make a significant impact, and I truly appreciate any amount you can contribute.

Thank you for considering this request and for being a part of this meaningful cause. Let's celebrate Monday by making a positive change together!

Best regards,

[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]

How Glue Up Can Optimize Your Fundraising Email

In this blog, you've discovered valuable insights on crafting compelling fundraising emails, including tips on content, creating an impressive impact, mobile optimization, simplifying the donation process for donors, and organizing your database effectively.

But here's an exciting revelation – with Glue Up, you can maximize the ease of sending these emails. Glue Up is an all-in-one AMS (Association Management Software) that includes emails, CRM, memberships, and events on a single platform. This eliminates the need for organizations to store data in different places, increasing security and saving time.

Combined statistics on one dashboard make tracking engagement easy. In addition, Glue Up's robust email campaigns and CRM options, provide a suite of features designed to optimize your fundraising emails. Explore the following capabilities:
 

• Drag & Drop Email Designer: Create visually appealing and effective emails with ease.
• Push Notifications: Stay connected and engage your donors with timely push notifications.
• Email Templates: Utilize professionally designed templates for consistent and impactful communication.
• AI Copilot: Benefit from Glue Up's AI tool, AI Copilot, empowering your emails with intelligent insights for optimized engagement.
• Email Marketing Automation: Streamline your workflow with automated email campaigns for enhanced efficiency.
• Smart Lists: Segment your donors intelligently to target specific groups for personalized communication.
• Email Statistics: Gain valuable insights into your campaign's performance, open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate allowing you to refine your strategy and maximize impact.

Get the best results from your fundraising emails, book a demo, and experience the full potential of your fundraising efforts with Glue Up's comprehensive email marketing and CRM tools.