Do’s and Don’ts: 6 Best Practices for the Perfect Fundraising Email 

Marketers struggle with grabbing their audience’s attention and driving action every day.  

Fundraisers come across an extra challenge: It’s not just about driving action; it’s about driving change with donors’ help.  

This makes nonprofit marketing no easy task.  

Consumers usually think twice before giving money to people they don’t know personally for an abstract cause. 

The keyword here being “personally.”  

Thankfully, a solid fundraising email turns things around.  

How? Nonprofit email marketing offers an invaluable opportunity to connect with recipients in a personal way.

You can share individual stories and showcase how their donations change the world day by day.  

Creating an effective fundraising email comes with do’s and don’ts you should consider beforehand. 

Our post will list the best practices for writing successful fundraising emails and analyze standout nonprofit emails to spark your inspiration. 

By using them, you’ll be able to turn fundraising email campaigns into connection opportunities and, ultimately, donations. 

❌ Don’t Use Multiple Calls to Action 

When sending a fundraising email, it might be tempting to add more than one CTAs.  

Besides asking for a donation, maybe you want your subscribers to forward the email to their contacts, attend an event, or sign a petition. 

However, using multiple CTAs could lead to decision fatigue.  

In nonprofit email marketing, it’s wise to have a single campaign objective and direct readers to it.  

So, decide on a core action and remove unnecessary distractions.  

The less information your readers have to process, the easier it gets to take the desired action. 

And the core action should be donating.  

So, center your fundraising email around a single and concise CTA that takes recipients to the next step.  

Also, ensure that your CTA is prominently displayed and bold-colored.  

Using this kind of visual focus on your donation CTA is the most effective way to guide subscribers towards conversion.  

This doesn’t mean you can’t use your call to action twice in your email, though.  

Quite the contrary, using the same CTA more than once increases the chances of subscribers clicking on it.  

Just ensure one of them is placed above the fold. 

That’s because many readers won’t go through your entire fundraising email. 

Also, it’s advisable to use CTA copy variants for the same button or link to sound more creative and less repetitive. 

📩 Subject line: Ukraine Emergency Appeal 

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Why Doctors of the World’s email works: 

• The descriptive and concise subject line reflects the campaign objective in three simple words 
• The first CTA is displayed above the email fold, so it catches the attention of people who won’t read the entire content 
• The CTA repetition at the email bottom increase the chances of conversion 
• The urgent and actionable language highlights the immediate nature of the Ukrainian people’s needs

✅ Opt for Simple Design with Focused Messages 

Very few people go through long and crowded email layouts. 

Despite different email marketing trends in 2025, simple and concise messages win in fundraising emails.  

With large blocks of text or improper formatting, you risk burying your core request. 

Clutter-free emails match the straightforward nature of nonprofit email marketing, where the key point is to donate to a higher cause. 

Here’s how to create simple fundraising emails that serve this purpose naturally:  

• Opt for uncluttered email designs, ensuring that email components are surrounded by plenty of white space.
• Stick to a few font types and a limited color palette to avoid eye strain. 
• Keep your sentences short to ensure skimmable content.
• Use bullet points to facilitate the reading process. This might be particularly helpful in listing the ways donations support your cause or displaying different paying options. 
• Divide your email content into clear sections to separate elements and prioritize key information.
• Optimize for mobile, considering things like proper font size, clickable buttons and links, fast loading times, and short subject lines.
• If you choose to add visuals, make sure they’re mission-specific and impactful, complementing your text and CTA. 
• Don’t neglect a good sign-off. Serving as your email’s last impression, conclude with something meaningful like an actionable donate button or a valuable report. 

📩 Subject line: 5 ways your donation will change lives 

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Why Road Scholar’s email works: 

• Proper information hierarchy with separate sections and bold text highlights important points 
• Thought-out formatting with enough white space enhances readability  
• Numbered list shares all the ways in which donations help  
• Large fonts, visible links and prominent CTAs help all recipients go through the content effortlessly
  

✅ Use Email Marketing Automation 

As a nonprofit organization, you need to focus your efforts on establishing genuine relationships with the subscribers who join your mission.  

This process takes time, though.  

Enter email marketing automation.

Email automation is a valuable tool in your fundraising email campaigns, especially as your nonprofit email list grows.  

That’s because automating different aspects of email creation and delivery saves you time and effort that you can put into more essential tasks.  

At the same time, it allows for personalized nonprofit emails, especially when combined with granular list segmentation. 

With email automation, specific user actions work as triggers to send timely and targeted messages.

One way to enhance this process is by leveraging the best AI email assistants, which can help optimize email content, suggest engaging subject lines, and improve personalization at scale.  

Here are some examples of how automated workflows help you create tailored fundraising emails: 

• Set a workflow in motion each time a visitor signs up for your nonprofit newsletter to welcome and inform them
• Trigger milestone emails to recognize long-term supporters’ contributions 
• Send follow-up emails to subscribers who clicked through your fundraising email but didn’t convert or thank-you emails to donors
• Reconnect with inactive donors through re-engagement emails, including new projects, success stories, and contribution options 

Automating fundraising emails allows for effective personalization without the need to craft the content from scratch.  

However, you should make sure not to over rely on email automation, as too many automated messages might lead to overwhelming readers. 

✅ Evoke Connections Through Storytelling 

Leveraging storytelling in nonprofit emails is a powerful tool to evoke emotions and build awareness for your cause.  

Center your stories on the impact of your audience’s contributions, focusing on tangible results.  

You see, many people are skeptical about donating to abstract causes.  

But when you turn them into real and emotional narratives, you immerse subscribers into the heart of the problem.  

Which, in turn, increases the sense of fulfillment they get once they make the donation.  

To maximize the effectiveness of storytelling in your nonprofit emails, follow these email practices:

• Narrate personal stories by introducing a specific hero to your readers. Featuring one affected individual in your emails makes it easier for readers to connect deeper with your protagonist.
• Don’t limit your email storytelling to text but experiment with success stories in the form of videos. Video content evokes empathy and conveys messages in a more direct and digestible way compared to plain text.
• Write in straightforward and relatable language. Your goal is to make potential donors understand and empathize with the pain point you’re highlighting. Academic phrasing and industry jargon will only turn them off.
• Don’t share all the initiatives you’re working on in a single email. To prompt fundraising with storytelling, recipients should understand why they should give to a specific cause instead of reading every action you take.
• Ensure your stories explain exactly how the donors’ money will support that specific cause. For instance, if you’re fighting against childhood illiteracy, mention how many children get access to education with each donation made. 

📩 Subject line: A new way of life for Srey. 

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Why Charity Water’s email works: 

• The subject line not only introduces the affected individual but also highlights the impact of giving with a powerful phrase (“a new way of life”) 
• The entire email is around Srey: her headshot image, details about her origins and family, an image of her standing next to the filter that transformed her daily life 
• The clever inclusion of a before-after image showcases the change in the family’s water supply 
• There’s a focus on the impact of the recipient’s monthly donations 
• The different yet equally effective CTA encourages readers to share the update  

✅ Emphasize the Impact of Donations 

As discussed, fundraising emails should tell a personal story and present your mission as the solution.  

But how will your readers know whether you delivered?  

Your audience expects to know the impact of your project instead of reading excessive details about your mission. 

This includes how exactly their money will support your cause and what actions you’ll take respectively. 

In other words, emphasize how your nonprofit joining forces with them will make a difference. 

And this difference translates into adding value to others’ lives or contributing to a significant cause.  

The best way to do this is by making this value tangible.  

Clarity is also key when discussing the impact of each donation. 

For instance, “$50 provide 5 children with polio vaccines” works better than “fighting against polio in children population groups.” 

By sharing a specific outcome, you allow subscribers to visualize how their generosity affects others’ lives. 

Even more importantly, you build trust with donors.  

Transforming data into concrete numbers offers transparency, easing donors’ minds that their donations are indeed used for the common good. 

Just make sure you don’t go overboard with numbers or statistics they don’t understand. 

📩 Subject line: Show veterans they are not forgotten 

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Why Help for Heroes’ email works: 

• Every element, from the strong and attention-grabbing subject line to the prominent footer, evokes emotions and empathy 
• Carl’s narrative, paired with images of the several stages he’s been in the last years, serves as an excellent storytelling example 
• The email message is reinforced by two different yet equally effective sections – one to tell Carl’s story and the other to explain how donations work 
• The charity clearly explains how different donation amounts are spent and the specific impact they have on veterans’ wellbeing 

❌ Don’t Neglect Following Up 

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Fundraising is founded on showing appreciation.  

That’s why not all your nonprofit emails should be about collecting donations.  

Valuing your donors’ contributions plays a pivotal role in forging lasting connections.  

Therefore, it’s important to acknowledge donations with email follow-ups. 

Following up includes saying thank you, sharing project updates, and expressing gratitude.  

Some nonprofits even send physical thank-you cards, which is an excellent touch to deepen the bond using offline communication. 

However, there are occasions when you can use following up with an email to remind subscribers of your fundraising request.  

For example, if a recipient clicked through your fundraising email but didn’t take action, it doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t convert with a gentle nudge. 

In this case, it makes sense to leverage some kind of incentive to convince them to take that leap of faith. 

An effective tactic is to mention how far you’ve come in your fundraising project, how many people have donated so far, or the number of individuals you’ve helped.  

If you were planning to reach a certain donation amount, ensure to highlight this in your content. 

Perhaps that’s exactly the motivation they need to follow other donors’ lead. 

For nonprofits looking to optimize their follow-up strategies, email marketing agencies in Philadelphia or any other city can provide expert guidance in crafting compelling, data-driven email campaigns that enhance donor engagement and boost fundraising efforts.

Final Word on Optimizing Your Fundraising Email Strategy 

Creating great fundraising emails will take you so far.  

What works now may not work every single time.  

But it can evolve into something even more effective with some trial and error. 

Or what resonates with part of your audience won’t resonate with your entire list.  

So, measuring and tracking essential email KPIs like clicks, conversions, and unsubscribes will help you optimize your fundraising email strategy.  

For instance, if you experience high unsubscribe rates, perhaps you should revisit your segmentation, so subscribers don’t receive email content that doesn’t interest them.  

Also, keep in mind that your fundraising email performance isn’t limited to the email content.  

If you don’t see the anticipated results, try evaluating parameters like your sending times.  

Do readers click on your CTA but don’t proceed with the donation? Then, you might have to rethink your donation process.  

A confusing or multi-step process could be the reason why this happens.  

Therefore, ensure you make giving as straightforward and simple as possible. 

Lastly, always think of your fundraising emails as part of your nonprofit digital marketing strategy to create a cohesive experience for your donors.  

Use multiple touch points to engage them, mixing and matching strategies to gain visibility. 

For example, add call to actions to your emails, directing subscribers to relevant social media campaigns. 

This will make your fundraising emails part of a larger conversation. 

A conversation that will lead to a lasting relationship and commitment to your cause.