Fundraising by email
For nonprofit organisations that rely on donations from individuals or companies, email can be an important and cost-efficient means of developing relationships and asking for support.
Most donors like to stay in touch with the organisations they support. And the more they’re in touch, the more likely they are to make more frequent and larger donations. Email offers a cheap, fast, friendly way to communicate with your organisation’s donors and prospective donors. Many prospective donors find it less intrusive and wasteful than direct mail or being rung up during dinner.
Fundraising by email is usually best done through an e-newsletter. This can be as simple as a series of one or two paragraph stories about important events, successes and challenges. Each should conclude with a call to action (send money, call an MP, attend a meeting, email for more information) with a link to your website for more information.
Build your email database
Start collecting and using email addresses now. Good email lists are hard to find or expensive and won't work nearly as well as your own list. So, every time you're getting supporters to give you information, ask for their email address and offer to keep them informed of your group's progress through email. This includes reply forms from direct mail appeals, signup sheets from special events, membership applications, and any other time you ask for someone's phone number or address.
Since some email addresses are very long, you need to allow at least 50 spaces in your database for each email address record.
See also Accepting payments through your website and Broadcast SMS.