Bloomerang’s latest national survey of 1,000 U.S. donors reveals a landscape full of opportunity for organizations ready to meet supporters where they are. These findings don’t just point to what’s changing—they point to what’s possible.

Because when nonprofits have the right insights, tools, and support, more is always within reach.

1. Younger donors are redefining why they give—and how they want to experience impact

Mission alignment still matters most for Americans overall (37%), and two-thirds of donors give because they want to feel like they’re making a difference (67%). But younger generations are rewriting the rules of what motivates generosity.

Gen Z gives for connection—real, human connection

• They’re twice as likely as Baby Boomers to give after a positive engagement with a nonprofit (20% vs. 11%).
• Only 51% say “making a difference” motivates them—far lower than Boomers (76%).
• And 21% have been inspired to give by a celebrity or influencer.

This isn’t apathy. It’s a signal. Gen Z wants philanthropy to feel interactive, communal, and emotionally aligned with how they show up in the world.

Millennials are driven by values—and validation

• 43% prioritize alignment with their personal values.
• 1 in 7 are motivated by recognition.
• And 1 in 7 have donated out of spite (to counteract a policy, person or organization they disagree with)—an unexpected reminder that emotion shows up in complex ways across giving decisions.

Older generations still anchor the sector

Baby Boomers and Gen X continue to be motivated by appreciation (21% and 16%). Their consistency is a reminder that stewardship grounded in gratitude still matters deeply.

What this means for nonprofits

Younger donors aren’t harder to reach—they simply want relationships shaped around insight and intention. With AI-enhanced tools, nonprofits can create recognition moments that feel personal, tailor journeys that reflect individual motivations, and surface the right stories at the right time. Connection isn’t luck—it’s guided by insight.

2. Digital giving isn’t emerging anymore—it’s the default

Donation sites (42%) and nonprofit websites (41%) lead as the top giving channels nationwide. Millennials in particular gravitate toward website giving (48%). But the most surprising insight?

Gen Z is twice as likely as Gen X or Millennials to donate via direct mail

This younger generation wants omnichannel, memorable engagement—not just digital-first touchpoints.

Meanwhile:

• Social campaigns are major drivers for Gen Z (24%) and Millennials (22%).
• Baby Boomers (2%) and Gen X (9%) participate far less.

What this means for nonprofits

Donor journeys are no longer linear—they’re a constellation of interactions. Every channel matters. Every touchpoint has potential.

AI can help nonprofits:

• Personalize website experiences
• Predict which channels will convert different donor groups
• Optimize donation flows in real time
• Reduce friction at every step

Digital isn’t replacing traditional channels—it’s amplifying them. The organizations that thrive will be those that welcome donors in, wherever they show up.

3. Donor trust is powerful—and perishable

Recurring giving remains a foundation of stability: 70% of Americans have given on a recurring basis, driven by mission belief (54%) and impact updates (22%). But younger donors pull back faster when trust erodes.

Gen Z is the most likely generation to stop giving due to loss of trust (14%). And they’re more likely than any other age group to disengage due to over-communication.

For them, trust is built through:

• Transparency
• Clarity
• Meaningful, timely communication
• Respect for their time and attention

What this means for nonprofits

This is where intelligent technology isn’t just helpful—it’s transformative.

AI can:

• Predict donor churn
• Calibrate email frequency
• Craft personalized impact updates
• Surface opportunities to re-engage supporters before they drift

Trust grows when supporters feel seen, understood, and appreciated. Bloomerang’s Giving Platform is designed to help nonprofits strengthen that connection with less guesswork and more confidence.

4. Americans want to be generous—and many can give more than expected

Even in a year marked by financial uncertainty, the desire to give remains strong:

• 75% of Americans say they’d give more than $1,000 if they won the lottery.
• Nearly half would give over $10,000.

Even though many families are feeling the squeeze, our data shows younger generations are more likely to have meaningful discretionary income. Seventeen percent of Gen Z report having $1,500–$3,000 left after essentials each month (vs. 13% of Gen X and 14% of Baby Boomers), and 6% of Millennials say they have $3,000–$5,000 left—compared to just 2% of Gen X and 3% of Boomers. As their earning power grows, so does the runway for future generosity.

What this means for nonprofits

There is abundance all around us. The opportunity lies in inspiring it. With more tailored messaging, frictionless giving experiences, and data-driven storytelling, nonprofits can unlock generosity that’s already waiting to be tapped.

The desire is there. The potential is real. The path is clearer than ever.

The bottom line: generosity isn’t shrinking. It’s shifting—and strengthening.

Our sector is entering a new era—one where donors expect more from the organizations they support, and nonprofits finally have the tools to deliver experiences that match those expectations.

The data tells a hopeful story: When nonprofits connect intentionally, communicate transparently, and steward thoughtfully, generosity grows.

This is why Bloomerang exists: To help nonprofits raise more, retain more, and ignite the relationships that fuel lasting impact. With insight, intelligence, and human-centered design at their fingertips, organizations can step into the next year with confidence.

Because the potential of purpose is limitless. And the future of generosity—your future—is brighter than it seems.

The post The future of generosity: what Americans are telling us about how they’ll give in 2026 appeared first on Bloomerang.

However, you don’t need to dread creating your annual report! When well-crafted, this resource can be a vital tool for retaining and growing donor support.

This guide walks your organization through the process of creating a nonprofit annual report. Here’s what to expect:

• Nonprofit annual report FAQs
• Free nonprofit annual report template
• How to optimize your nonprofit impact report
• Tools for creating your nonprofit impact report
• 15 inspirational nonprofit annual report examples
• How Bloomerang helps nonprofits create stellar annual reports

57% of Americans say they have a high level of trust in nonprofits, more than any other sector. With a robust, informative, and transparent annual report, you can maintain a high level of trust with your donors, leading to long-term support for your nonprofit.

Wrapping up nonprofit annual reports

Your nonprofit’s annual reports will receive much more attention when they’re thoughtfully crafted, compelling, and well-designed. Ensuring that your report is engaging and educational for your supporters will go a long way in building stronger, long-lasting relationships.

The templates and annual report examples throughout this article should help your nonprofit get started making your annual report the best it can be. If you’re looking for more information about donor communications and effective nonprofit reporting, check out these additional resources:

• The ultimate donor engagement guide + top strategies. Your annual report should work in tandem with your donor engagement strategies to enhance your audience interactions. This guide offers top donor engagement tips and strategies.
• How to develop a successful fundraising strategy. As mentioned, your annual report must support your organization’s fundraising strategy and other strategic goals. Review this guide for more information about developing a solid fundraising plan.
• The 12 best donor management software options for 2025. Your donor management software can generate reports on fundraising campaigns and donor engagement efforts to fill your annual report with rich data. Use this guide to explore top donor management solutions.

The post 15 inspiring nonprofit annual report examples (+ template!) appeared first on Bloomerang.

Nonprofits that don’t adequately show appreciation for the hard work and dedication of their supporters will receive less funding in the long run because they’ll struggle to retain those supporters over time. 

Here at Bloomerang, we specialize in donor retention. Our team has studied the effectiveness of retaining donors rather than acquiring new ones, and that research guides our entire approach. Retention is the key to maximizing your fundraising strategy, and appreciation is at the root of that strategy. In this guide, we’ll dive into how your organization can create an appreciation strategy. Then, we’ll provide a list of ideas to help you say “thank you” to your generous supporters.

1. Why Does Donor Appreciation Matter?
2. The Foundations of Your Strategy
3. Donor Appreciation Ideas
   • Ideas for New Donors
   • Ideas for Recurring Donors
   • Ideas for Major Donors
   • Event Appreciation Ideas
   • Appreciation Gift Ideas

We’ll start with the fundamentals: the importance of donor appreciation and how it can inform your fundraising strategy. Let’s dive in!

Why Does Donor Appreciation Matter?

Saying “thank you” to individuals who do you the massive favor of contributing to your organization isn’t just polite; it’s also a necessity to acquire their long-term support and contributions.

Put yourself in the shoes of a supporter. You have found an organization with a mission that is near and dear to your heart. To help fund one of their main programs, you decide to give a donation of $100. It’s not a massive gift, but it’s still a substantial contribution to the cause! A week goes by and you don’t hear anything back from the organization. Then, two weeks go by—still nothing. At first you’re disappointed, but then you simply start to forget about the whole incident. The point is, you never give again.

This situation should never happen for your supporters. Dr. Adrian Sargeant conducted a survey about why donors stop giving. He found that 5% of one-time donors thought the charity didn’t need them, 9% had no memory of supporting, 13% never got thanked for donating, and 8% never had any information about how their gifts were used. Although some reasons are certainly out of your control, the ones listed above are within it. Here’s the complete breakdown:

• 5% thought the charity did not need them
• 8% got no information about how monies were used
• 9% had no memory of supporting
• 13% never got thanked for donating
• 16% passed away
• 18% thought the charity had poor service or communication
• 36% thought others were more deserving
• 54% could no longer afford to give

Most of these issues can be completely avoided if your organization is able to communicate effectively and show proper appreciation. 

Then, when supporters do stick around for your organization, you’ll make more money in the long run. It’s around ten times more expensive to acquire new supporters than it is to retain existing ones. Plus, over time, retained supporters tend to end up making larger contributions to your mission, resulting in additional revenue. You can see an example of this and the resulting revenue that accompanies a simple 10% increase in donor retention:

The main idea is that retention (and therefore more effective fundraising) is rooted in communication, appreciation, and gratitude, making a simple “thank you” message worth its weight in gold.

The Foundations of Your Donor Appreciation Strategy

The backbone of any successful donor appreciation strategy is data. Having access to the right data will not only help you to choose the right donor appreciation ideas for your audience but also help you to craft more meaningful and resonant appreciation messages for your supporters.

Therefore, as you begin crafting your appreciation strategy, analyze the profiles in your donor database to be sure you’re reaching supporters where they are and creating messages that resonate with them.

Analyze your audience

Using a dedicated donor database (especially one that’s designed with retention in mind), you can gather all of the information you need about your supporters to craft an appreciation message that will resonate well with them. Consider the segments of your audience and the levels of appreciation that should be attributed to each segment. For instance, you might not add your first-time donors to a donor recognition board, but that could be a great option for your major supporters.

When you start putting together your donor appreciation strategy, create slightly different plans for each of your various audience segments.

Choose your appreciation ideas

After you’ve considered your audience, start thinking of the different appreciation ideas that will best reach each donor segment. For instance, you might consider the following segments:

• When you segment by gift amount, you can choose different appreciation ideas for major and mid-tier donors and others for your lower-tier supporters. Remember that the larger the donation, the fewer supporters you’ll have to thank, which allows you to create more extravagant gestures, like phone calls or donor wall mentions.
• If you segment by recency, implement different appreciation ideas for your first-time donors and long-term supporters. Your first-time donor strategy will aim to achieve your second or golden donation, and you’ll likely act quickly, whereas you may spread out your appreciation for long-term supporters over time.
• When you segment your supporters by age, you can make some assumptions about the types of appreciation that your donors will enjoy. For instance, younger donors may appreciate a personalized thank-you video acknowledgement, while older donors may be more responsive to a handwritten letter.

We could go on and on with various segments, but the ultimate goal is to customize your appreciation approach based on your donors’ preferences and history.

Say Thank You

Remember that the whole purpose here is to say “thank you” to your supporters. Even if you send them a gift or feature their name on an appreciation board, you should accompany the gesture with a note that informs the donor of the gesture and actually say “thanks!”

The note should be personal, noting the supporter by name. You should also be sure to say exactly what the supporter did to earn your appreciation. For example, you might say something like:

Dear Jessie, thank you so much for your donation of $100 to the Save the Dolphins campaign. Your contribution will provide a fish dinner for 10 injured dolphins tonight! 

This note is personal, shows appreciation, and notes the exact donation amount and campaign the donor supported. The next element that you should be sure to include in this note is the impact of the contribution.

Show Impact

You can see in the example above that the nonprofit wrote what the $100 would accomplish for the mission. This is a key element of your donor appreciation strategy because donors want to know where their money is going. Remember the stat from before? 8% of supporters who stop giving do so because they don’t know where their money is going.

Showing impact allows supporters to understand that their money isn’t just a paycheck for your organization—it’s accomplishing something that will help further your mission. After all, your donors give to your mission, not necessarily to your organization.

Donor Appreciation Ideas

While these are by no means the only ideas available, they do present a summary of the potential options for your organization. You can use these as a starting point to begin building out your donor appreciation strategy as a whole.

For your convenience, we’ve split up the 22 appreciation ideas into categories so that you can jump to the ones most relevant to your needs:

1. Ideas for New Donors
2. Ideas for Recurring Donors
3. Ideas for Major Donors
4. Event Appreciation Ideas
5. Appreciation Gift Ideas

Let’s learn more!

1. Donor Appreciation for New Supporters

You work hard to acquire new supporters. It’s a shame to think that after all of the work and funds that you spent on the acquisition process, those supporters could simply give once and never again. If you’re able to retain them for the long run, their lifetime value with your organization will rise significantly.

The rate of supporters who donate for a second time after they’ve given once to a nonprofit is only around 20% according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. But once they’ve contributed this second donation (or the golden donation), the chance that they’ll continue donating to your organization rises to about 60%.

Therefore, your initial sign of appreciation for your new donors is incredibly important to retain their support for the long haul. We recommend creating a cultivation timeline for your first-time donors to show your appreciation, encourage them to get more involved, and eventually make your second appeal. You can see a sample of this type of timeline below:

As you can see, this timeline doesn’t simply provide a single opportunity to say thank you, but has several opportunities to do so. Therefore, you can incorporate multiple donor appreciation ideas in your own iteration of a new donor cultivation timeline.

Let’s dive deeper into four of the ideas that you’ll find on these timelines, each providing an additional opportunity to show donor appreciation.

Immediate Donation Receipt

Most of the time, donors will give their first donation using some sort of online platform. This is one of the virtual fundraising trends that will not disappear anytime soon, but will likely become stronger over time.

Set up your fundraising software so that a donation receipt is sent immediately after the contribution is received, whether it’s for a campaign hosted on a crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, or donation page. Craft this message to say an immediate “thank you” to the donor, also using their name and specific donation amount for personalization. It will also act as a confirmation that the donation was, in fact, received by your organization.

Follow Up Phone Call

Within 48 hours of a donor contributing to your organization, give them a quick call! This may seem like an outdated strategy, but it’s incredibly personal and allows you to make a personal and memorable connection through appreciation.

Create a script that your development team can follow during these follow-up conversations with your new supporters. Customize these scripts based on the segments of supporters who are being called. Then, make sure everyone is up to date on the latest donations so that they can make these phone calls in a timely manner.

Survey 

Surveys are a great way to both get your new supporters involved and to show your appreciation for them. It shows that their opinions matter and are an important part of your organization’s plans going forward.

Send a survey after you’ve called and had a couple of other interactions with each of your supporters. Then, be sure to ask informative questions that will also help you optimize the new donor experience for the future.

Additional Information About Your Mission

Donors don’t give to organizations—they give to missions. Showing your supporters the extent of your mission and the work that you do in the community is a great way to show them how their contributions make a difference.

Provide additional information about your organization through welcome packets, newsletters, and other resources. Be sure to discuss your various projects in the community to show the impact of the donations that your supporters make.

2. Donor Appreciation for Recurring Donors

Recurring donors give at a consistent rate, usually on a monthly basis. These supporters don’t necessarily need to be stewarded towards additional gifts on a regular basis. Every now and then, you may want to approach them. However, on the whole, you should steward them to keep them interested in your organization and your mission.

The key thing to keep in mind here is to not fall into the “set it and forget it” trap with your recurring donors. They should never forget about your mission. If they do, when it’s time for them to rework their personal finances, you might lose your valuable recurring donor!

A good recurring donation program provides consistent funding for organizations and increases the retention rate. You don’t want to lose these supporters!

Instead, show appreciation for your recurring donors by not asking for money. Instead, find other ways to involve these supporters and to show your appreciation for them.

Event Invitations

Host events that simply provide a “thank you” to your supporters rather than asking them to contribute to your organization. These events may be a luncheon, happy hour, or another opportunity to have a good time.

In addition, events are a great way to mingle with your supporters and create lasting relationships and connections with them. The invite shows that you care and the opportunity to network with them builds up relationships. You can read more about appreciation events later in this article.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering may not immediately sound like an appreciation idea, but hear us out! When you start a volunteer program, you give your supporters a chance for an up-close view of what your mission is accomplishing. While you can tell your recurring donors about their impact that they have on your mission, they’re more likely to develop a personal connection with your organization if they can see that impact as well.

Be sure to incorporate appreciation into the calls-to-action as you’re working with recurring donors to encourage them to volunteer. You might offer to meet after the volunteer experience for a happy hour or work appreciation into your recruitment messaging. For example, you might say, “Hugo, thank you so much for your gifts to Hope Rains, the campaign providing clean water to communities in need. If you want to meet those who have benefitted from your contributions, consider volunteering at this week’s water purifier assembly!”

Bonus! Your supporters who volunteer also may have the opportunity to increase their monetary contributions to your organization as well if they qualify for volunteer grants through their employer’s corporate responsibility program.

Program Updates and Communication

Just as your new donors want additional information about your mission as a whole, your recurring donors will want to know about the progress that your organization is making in the community. Be sure to communicate this progress clearly and consistently to your recurring donors.

Send email newsletters with updates about specific projects and post social media posts regarding the various activities your organization is involved with. Then, of course, be sure to say “thank you” to everyone who makes this progress possible. Be sure to keep in consistent contact with your recurring donors, always showing them their impact on the mission at hand. This lets them know where their money is going and allows you to give a specific “thank you” for their impact.

Thank You Letters

Do you have a leap of excitement when you check the mail and notice that there’s a letter in there for you that’s not a credit card or utility bill? We do too and so do your donors! Studies show that people also absorb and retain information better when they read it on paper than on a screen. This means that donor appreciation letters can make a splash for your supporters.

Write personalized letters that will capture your supporters’ attention. This shouldn’t replace an initial confirmation email or a digital thank you, but it does help solidify your strategy and provides another medium on which you’re showing your appreciation. To make sure these letters are personalized, leverage your donor segments and craft messages that each will find engaging. Then, ask your executive director or development officer to personally sign the letter.

Appreciation Gifts

If you’ve ever run a 5K for charity, you know that the most exciting part of the activity is receiving your free t-shirt at the end of the race. That t-shirt may even become your favorite one that you’ll wear until it has holes along the seams. You may not remember the exact amount that you paid for the race or your finishing time, but whenever you wear the shirt, you’re reminded of the organization and the mission you supported.

This is the reason appreciation gifts are so important and effective. While t-shirts are a classic option, they’re certainly not the only one. Branded merchandise and gifts of all shapes and sizes make for a great way to show your appreciation for your recurring supporters’ contributions. Plus, they’ll think of your mission each and every time they see the gift.

3. Donor Appreciation for Major Donors

Major donors make up the backbone of successful fundraising strategies. According to this article, $410 billion was given in philanthropy in 2017 and 49% of the funds donated were by the top 1% of donors. If that’s not enough, DonorSearch found that 88% of nonprofit funding usually comes from the top 12% of donors.

Because of this grand impact that your major donors have on your strategy, it makes sense that you should put a little bit more emphasis, time, and effort into appreciating them. The only thing better than a major gift now is another promised major gift in the future. Saying thank you is the first step to stewarding these supporters and cultivating additional contributions for the future.

Send Personalized Video Acknowledgements

According to GITNUX research, nonprofits that personalize communications see a 10-15% higher donor retention rate. Plus, statistics from NPSource show that about 57% of people who watch nonprofit videos go on to make a donation.

The takeaway here is crystal clear: personalized appreciation videos are a powerful tool for engaging donors more deeply in your mission and ensuring their long-term support.

Bloomerang makes creating personalized donor videos easy, with a simple three-step process:

1. Your fundraising team sees a special donation come in through the Bloomerang mobile app.
2. A fundraising team member or volunteer records a personalized video message to thank the supporter for their unique contribution.
3. The donor receives the video acknowledgement via email.

Your videos don’t have to be too long—a quick, 30-second to one-minute video that includes a genuine gratitude message from the sender is more than enough to make donors feel seen.

Send gratitude videos promptly (within 48 hours of the donor’s gift) to show supporters that your organization truly values them.

Publicly Highlight Major Supporters

While you’re bound to have some supporters who want to give anonymously, the majority of people appreciate being recognized for their contributions. Public recognition is a great way to give a shout-out to your most impactful supporters, plus it gives others a level to strive for.

You might decide to highlight a “donor of the month” on social media platforms or shout out to them at organization events so that you can give proper recognition to each of your major supporters who want this kind of attention. Be sure to check with them first before highlighting their story for the world to see. You could also highlight major donors in regular documents like your annual report. This allows you to tie the contributions made by these supporters directly to your success from the year.

Personalized Appreciation Letters

We mentioned that appreciation letters can be used for your recurring donors, but it’s also a great strategy to reach your major donors! While you may use segmentation strategies for your recurring or lower-level supporters to show appreciation, you should write completely individual letters for each of your major supporters.

You might decide to start with a thank you letter template to be sure you hit all of the important elements of this letter, but you should make sure the final version incorporates more personalized elements. For example, including information about your major donors’ motivations for giving is a great way to make a personalized connection with them.

Exclusive Event Opportunities

Again, events are a great way to get any of your supporters further involved with your organization and your mission. But major donors should have some preferential treatment given the level of their importance for your organization. Exclusive events allow your major donors to mingle with one another and with your team.

These events can be in conjunction with fundraising events (like galas), but it’s always good to have a healthy mix of both fundraising and stewardship events throughout the year. Therefore, make sure to include events in your regular schedule that will be exclusively available to your major supporters.

Gather Feedback and Insights 

Many of your major donors and stakeholders want some additional insight into your programming than you would typically give for your supporters. They also may want to give your organization additional feedback about your activities given the fact that they’re funding such a great portion of them.

Schedule meetings with your major donors and stakeholders to give them the opportunity to share their opinions about your organization’s current programming and activities. This gives you the opportunity to address any of their concerns, and it gives them the opportunity to also share their concerns and present new ideas for your team.

Donor Recognition Wall

Donor recognition walls are a classic idea to commemorate your major donors. Featuring their names on a physical or virtual wall allows you to share their involvement with the community, providing public recognition for their contributions.

Create an in-person donor recognition wall at your organization in a well-traveled location. This enables your supporters to see their own names on the wall as they pass by. Plus, other prospects and donors might see the names of major donors and feel incentivized to give in order to be recognized alongside them.

4. Donor appreciation event ideas

Earlier in the article, we’ve discussed the benefits of hosting donor appreciation events. The majority of events your supporters are invited to attend are likely fundraising-focused, meaning the hosting organization has an underlying motive to attain funds from the attendees. It often becomes an expectation for donors to give an additional donation during the event itself.

However, when you take a non-fundraising approach and don’t ask for money, you can focus solely on creating connections with your supporters and building on relationships. Essentially, events where you don’t ask for funds ensure the focus of the event is entirely on your supporters themselves, not their wallets.

At the core, these events are designed to build trust, respond to donors’ questions, and help demonstrate the alignment between your donors’ interests and your organization’s mission.

There are some inherent risks to these events. You might receive some backlash about hosting events that have no immediate return on investment. You also can’t host too many of these events; usually just one big one will do the trick! These events will give you some ideas for how you can raise more by not asking for donations at your next event.

Donor luncheon or dinners

Who doesn’t love free food? Donor luncheons and dinners provide the perfect space and opportunity to enjoy a good meal while networking with supporters, encouraging them to mingle with one another, and say thank you for all of their contributions.

You might put together a short presentation or have a speaker chosen to give a group-wide “thank you” for the contributions made to your organization over the year. Depending on your donor management software, this can be a breeze to set up or take some time. Be sure to also include updates about the nonprofit’s progress and impact of gifts to take this presentation further.

Virtual facility tour

Essentially, a lot of the ideas that you could use for your virtual (or in-person) fundraising ideas can be taken to the stewardship sphere if you host them for free. A facility tour is a perfect example! Many of your donors, especially those who started donating during the age of social distancing, may not have seen your office space and work sites before. Showing them where the magic happens is a great way to say “thank you.”

For instance, if you’ve just finished a capital campaign that would help expand your office space, you might record a virtual facility tour that supporters can see so that they know what the campaign accomplished.

Happy hour

Happy hours are a great virtual or in-person way to relax and get to know your supporters. For less formal organizations, you might ask your supporters to meet you at a local restaurant or bar for a happy hour. Or, if you’re a part of a larger or more formal organization, you could even rent out a nice spot for a happy hour to take place.

Make sure you provide conversation starters or topics that your supporters can use to mingle with one another. You should also make sure your major gift officer has the opportunity to talk to prospects during this time and get to know them on a personal level. Similar to the luncheon or dinner idea, you might decide to host a short speech during which you can give a blanket “thank you” to all supporters who contributed.

Holiday celebrations

The holidays are an ideal time to show your appreciation for your supporters. Many holidays have gratitude and appreciation at their core, making it a great time to bring everyone together, celebrate, and show your appreciation for donors. Plus, this provides a memorable experience that you can use as a launching pad for an annual celebration.

The classic idea is to host a winter holiday celebration where you can celebrate the end of the year with your supporters. The only problem with this is that focusing on stewardship could collide with or overshadow your end-of-year fundraising season, potentially causing you to miss out on year-end donations. Instead, you might choose a different holiday season like a Spring fling, Independence Day, or Valentine’s Day to center your event around.

5. Donor appreciation gifts ideas

Who doesn’t love receiving a present? Donor appreciation gifts provide a platform to say thank you to donors at all levels. You might even decide to provide different types of merchandise or gifts for each level of supporter at your organization.

Sending gifts makes supporters feel appreciated. Plus, you can receive additional benefits from this type of appreciation strategy. When merchandise is branded to your organization, your supporters will think of your mission every time they see the merch or use items from a goodie bag. Educational materials can provide additional information about your mission, making it a great way to connect with donors while also informing them further about your organization.

Branded merchandise

Branded merchandise provides two different benefits for your organization. First, it provides a tangible item to show your appreciation for everything your supporters do for you. Second, it serves as a reminder of your organization and your mission over the months or even years.

The classic merchandise items include things like t-shirts and mugs, but you can also get incredibly creative with this idea and design anything related to your organization or your mission as a whole. For example, if you work to provide technology to schools, you might brand a power bank with your organization’s logo and with your dedicated color scheme.

Books or educational materials

Educational materials are a meaningful way to give supporters an inside look at your organization’s activities and the reason for your mission. Plus, they make a great donor appreciation gift!

Let’s say there was a particular book that influenced your leadership to launch your organization; try giving that book out to your supporters! You might even try to host an event with the book’s author if you really want to go the extra mile.

Baskets and goodie bags

When you put together branded merchandise, you’re likely going to have a number of different items to give away or sell. You may even have a number of different designs for your various campaigns. For supporters who go above and beyond, you can put together baskets and goodie bags of these items for them to enjoy.

You might even host little giveaways that all of your supporters are automatically entered into with a number of themed baskets or giveaways. This will not only show your appreciation but also provide additional incentives to give!

Coupons and discounts

You likely host a number of activities, events, and maybe even conferences that your supporters are invited to attend. And chances are that many of these opportunities aren’t free. As a sign of appreciation for those who donate to specific campaigns or above certain amounts, try offering coupons or discounts.

Again, this is an incentives program that provides a token of appreciation for supporters who contribute. For example, you might provide a discount to your annual holiday party registration for everyone who donates to your year-end campaign.

Wrapping up donor appreciation

Donor appreciation is the launching pad for stewardship and retention. It’s the first step to building lasting relationships with your supporters. Therefore, be sure to put together a concrete strategy of your own to say “thank you” to each of your donors.

You can use the various ideas and appreciation approaches throughout this guide to help design your strategy and ensure it’s up to scratch.

If you’re looking for additional advice for building relationships with supporters, consider perusing the various resources below:

• Nonprofit CRM | Complete Guide to Choosing the Best Solution. See how having the best CRM to meet your specific needs results in better relationships with donors.
• Bloomerang’s Guide to Donor Retention. Learn more about donor retention and the impact that it has on your fundraising efforts as a whole.
• Nonprofit Annual Reports [+ Template!]. See how you can create your annual report to best steward your supporters, plus check out some awesome examples to get started.

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Whether the goal is donations, advocacy, or volunteer engagement, well-designed nonprofit marketing and communications can inspire action. But how do you effectively translate your mission into messaging?

Understand your mission and audience

The first step is to know your WHY, that is, your mission. What is your organization’s reason for being, and how can that tie into your messaging? For example, if you are a nonprofit that provides mentorship and leadership development for young adults, you can weave in aspects of your brand’s story by highlighting real-life success stories of mentees who have gone on to make an impact. Your messaging can emphasize themes of empowerment, confidence, and community-building, reinforcing your core mission.

Next, determine your WHO—your target audience. Understanding who you are speaking to is just as important as knowing why your organization exists. Most nonprofits have multiple key audiences, each with different needs, motivations, and ways they engage with your mission. Your stakeholders may include donors, volunteers, community members, partners, sponsors, and advocates. By tailoring your messaging, and marketing materials to each audience, you ensure that your organization speaks directly to their interests, needs, and motivations.

For example, when speaking to donors, you may focus on impact and data, demonstrating how their contributions make a measurable difference. On the other hand, when engaging with volunteers, the emphasis shifts to community engagement and relationships, making them feel valued, connected, and inspired to take action.

Remember, your core brand message doesn’t change, but the tone, format and emphasis will shift to align and resonate with each audience. This approach helps your nonprofit build stronger connections and increase engagement without diluting your overall brand identity.

More than 70% of respondents said they’re more likely to donate to a nonprofit that effectively uses storytelling to communicate mission and impact. (Storyraise)

Craft a clear and compelling message

Once you’ve determined your organization’s WHY (reason for being) and WHO (audience), you can start crafting a compelling brand story around it. A well-crafted mission- and impact-driven narrative helps people form an emotional connection with your organization—and that connection leads to donations, volunteering, advocacy, and engagement.

When crafting your message, it’s vital to highlight your WHY—what sets you apart from other organizations. This is the spark that draws people in and ignites interest and engagement—especially with those who are new to your organization.

Trust is essential in nonprofit marketing. Supporters want to know that their contributions are making a difference. And a consistent brand voice throughout your marketing outreach is key to developing this trust. A strong, cohesive voice builds credibility, strengthens relationships, and ensures that your organization is easily recognized—and trusted.

Overall, keep your messaging simple, clear and action oriented. When developing a marketing piece, always ask yourself: What is the ultimate goal? What action do I want people to take?

People are more likely to take action when the message is clear, direct, and impact-focused. For example, instead of saying “Donate now” be more specific with “Donate now and change a life.”

By keeping your messaging focused, compelling, and actionable, you ensure that your audience doesn’t just understand your mission—they are inspired to be part of it.

A Stanford Social Innovation Review study found that nonprofits that tell engaging stories raise twice as much money on average as those that don’t. (Nonprofit Tech for Good)

Design effective nonprofit marketing materials

Next up is the fun part—design. But before you get caught up in the excitement of colors, fonts and visuals, consider how the design will enhance the overall message and ensure the audience engages with your content.

A strong visual hierarchy guides the viewer’s eye and ensures the most important information stands out. Without it, your viewer may feel uncertain, overwhelmed, or confused.

Hierarchy can be established in a layout in a variety of ways including size and scale, typography and weight, color and contrast, and placement and alignment. For example, you may make a headline larger, bold a date and time, call out a button in color, or place an image in a prominent position.

Next, make sure you are using your visual brand consistently. If you have a brand guide, now is the time to use it! It will ensure that you are using your brand colors, logos, graphics, and typography throughout your marketing. A consistent visual identity strengthens your credibility and makes your organization recognizable.

If you plan to adapt a marketing piece across print and digital channels, keep in mind that specifications will vary so you’ll need to adjust the layout and format accordingly. Again, this is a good time to refer to your brand guide for the proper color and logo file formats for the specific channel you are designing for (i.e. CMYK for print and RGB for digital).

Lastly, don’t ignore accessibility and inclusivity. Designing for readability is good practice in general, however you should also consider your audience’s specific needs. For example, websites should be optimized for a variety of viewers, including those who are sight-impaired.

“Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.”

– Paul Rand, American art director and graphic designer

Inspire action through design

Every marketing piece should tell the viewer what to do next. Including a clear and compelling call to action (CTA) assures that they know what to do next.

In addition to targeted messaging, engaging visuals and graphics can be used to evoke emotion and direct the viewer’s eye to the CTA. Consider the placement and design of your CTA carefully. It should stand out from the rest of the content, drawing attention without being overpowering. Use contrasting colors, larger fonts, and strategic layout positioning to make sure it’s easily noticed.

To further enhance your CTA, think about incorporating interactive elements. Buttons, links, and forms can create a more engaging experience, prompting the viewer to take immediate action. Ensure these elements are user-friendly and optimized for all devices, including mobile phones and tablets.

The language used in CTAs is crucial. Use action-oriented words and phrases that will motivate the audience. Words like “Join Now,” “Donate Today” or “Learn More” can be powerful motivators. You can also tailor the CTA to the desired outcome, i.e. “Help foster cats find a new home.”

Integrating testimonials and success stories near your CTA can also be highly effective. When viewers see positive outcomes from others who have taken the action you’re suggesting, they’re more likely to follow suit. Highlighting real-life stories and impact can make your CTA more compelling and trustworthy.

Lastly, always test and iterate your CTA. Monitor its effectiveness through analytics and feedback, making adjustments as needed to improve its performance.

CTAs surrounded by less clutter and more white space can increase conversion rates by 232%. (VWO)

Measure and refine your approach

Testing the effectiveness of your marketing outreach is essential for long-term success. By tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), gathering audience feedback, and testing different strategies, you can fine-tune your approach.

Each marketing effort should have a measurable goal. Depending on the deliverable, you may be tracking audience behavior in email analytics, engagement metrics in social media, completed transactions on your giving page, or website traffic from a QR code or link.

By regularly reviewing these metrics, you can identify trends, strengths, and areas for improvement, allowing you to adjust your strategy accordingly.

Directly asking for feedback from your audience is also important. Surveys can collect specific data about your marketing and demonstrate which channels are effective, as well as the topics that resonate most. One-on-one conversations can help you identify how a donor perceives your brand and marketing outreach. And even casual conversations can be effective, so don’t forget to regularly ask people what they think—and collect and document that data intentionally.

If you’re unsure of your messaging, A/B testing can provide valuable insights into what resonates with your audience. Try different versions of your CTAs, visuals, and messaging to see which ones yield the highest engagement rates or make the strongest connection.

Marketing is not a one-time effort—it’s a cycle of testing, learning, and improving. As you continuously gather feedback and see what is working (or not) you can begin to refine and update your marketing strategy and deliverables to best connect with your audience and meet their needs.

80% of donors are likely to support a nonprofit that shares stories about issues they care about. (Storyraise)

Review and analyze

Now that you understand what makes an effective marketing piece, it’s time to apply these principles to your own marketing content. A yearly audit of your marketing materials will highlight any branding inconsistencies, as well as potential gaps or opportunities in your marketing strategy.

I suggest conducting a “Tabletop Audit” by gathering all your print marketing and printing copies of your digital marketing. Spread everything out on a large table and review for brand consistency, in both visuals and messaging. Seeing everything at a glance helps to easily spot inconsistences or gaps in your marketing. This Nonprofit Branding Checklist will help you get started.

And make sure to take detailed notes of your findings and file it with your other marketing data, as well as use it to update your strategic communications plan.

Take action

Your brand is more than just a logo—it’s the story you tell and the impact you create. By taking a brand-based strategic approach to your marketing, you can inspire action and build lasting connections with your supporters.

Effective nonprofit marketing isn’t just about looking good. When you combine targeted messaging, engaging visuals, and clear calls to action, you create marketing that not only informs but moves people to get involved.

The post From Mission To Message: Designing Marketing Materials That Inspire Action appeared first on Bloomerang.

Email marketing for nonprofits is a powerful tool that can do far more than raise awareness. A recent Global Trends in Giving report reveals that 33% of donors in the U.S. and Canada find email to be the communication channel that most inspires them to contribute, more than any other platform. Investing in a strategic email program can amplify your fundraising ROI, deepen supporter relationships, and rally more people to champion your mission.

In this guide, we cover everything you need to build and optimize a nonprofit email marketing strategy—including best practices, platform comparisons, benchmarks, deliverability essentials, and ready-to-use copy assets. Use the quick-answer summaries at the top of each section to get to what you need fast.

Why is email marketing worth it for nonprofits?

Email outreach is as relevant and useful for nonprofits as ever. Here’s why it deserves the top spot in your communications budget:

• High email adoption: 99% of email users check their inbox every day—and most check multiple times. Your message reaches supporters when they’re already paying attention, unlike social media where algorithm changes can suppress your reach overnight.
• Exceptional ROI: For every $1 email marketers spend, they receive an average of $36 in return—making it one of the most cost-effective channels available to resource-constrained nonprofits.
• Brand and mission awareness: Email lets you tell your organization’s story on your own terms, directly to people who have already raised their hands to hear from you.

When combined with social media, direct mail, and website engagement, email becomes the connective tissue of a holistic outreach strategy that keeps your nonprofit top of mind for supporters year-round.

What types of emails should nonprofits send?

Fundraising emails

When your nonprofit launches a fundraising campaign, email is your primary engine for generating a steady flow of donations. According to the Nonprofit Tech for Good report, 74% of nonprofits that use email marketing send fundraising appeals. These emails should clearly communicate your campaign’s purpose, goal, and the specific impact a donation will make.

Best practice: Use a series of three to five emails per campaign—an announcement, a mid-campaign update with progress data, at least one urgency send in the final 48 hours, and a closing thank-you. Each email should have a single CTA. For more detailed guidance, see our 10 steps to a successful fundraising email.

Fundraising email example: Help for Heroes boxed figure campaign

Help for Heroes is a UK-based charity that supports veterans with physical and mental health, welfare, and social needs. The email below depicts a campaign the organization launched to raise funds by sending donors a boxed figure to represent their commitment to the cause. It’s a compelling message because it clearly outlines the problem the organization is trying to solve and how supporters can play a role in the solution.

Expressing gratitude after donors give is one of the most effective ways to increase donor retention. Send thank-you emails within 24 hours of a gift—and ideally within minutes via automation. Connect the donor’s specific contribution to a tangible outcome: “Your $50 will provide clean water for a family of four for one month.”

Best practice: Segment your thank-you emails by gift size, campaign source, and whether the donor is a first-time or returning contributor. First-time donors deserve a warmer, longer message that welcomes them into your community. See the copy-and-paste assets section below for two ready-to-use templates.

Gratitude email example: charity:water thank-you message

charity:water is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing clean drinking water to developing countries. A recent email they sent included a thank-you message at the end that uses donor-focused language to spotlight the essential role supporters play.

A welcome series turns a new subscriber or first-time donor from a stranger into a committed supporter. Your welcome sequence should introduce your mission, share a compelling impact story, and give new supporters a clear path to get more involved—whether that’s volunteering, following on social media, or making a sustaining gift.

Best practice: Send four emails over 14 days. Day 0: warm welcome + mission overview. Day 3: impact story. Day 7: how to get involved. Day 14: soft donation ask. See the full welcome series template in the copy-and-paste assets section below.

New supporter welcome email example: Four Freedoms Park Conservancy

The Four Freedoms Park Conservancy is a nonprofit that maintains the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park memorial in New York City. The following email is a welcome message for new email newsletter subscribers. It helps recipients feel welcome, with opportunities to join upcoming events, connect on social media, and learn about FDR’s legacy.

An email newsletter is your nonprofit’s digital bulletin—keeping supporters updated on ongoing initiatives, upcoming events, recent wins, and the people behind your mission. According to the Nonprofit Tech for Good report, 92% of nonprofits that use email marketing send newsletters, with most sending monthly.

Best practice: Keep newsletters to 100–200 words of body copy with one primary story and one to two secondary items. Lead with impact, not logistics. Every newsletter should include at least one link back to your website to drive traffic and track engagement. Remember, email quantity is as important as quality when it comes to staying top of mind with supporters.

Nonprofit newsletter example: charity:water’s Good News

charity:water’s Good News World Channel is a community of supporters devoted to furthering charity:water’s charitable mission to bring clean water to underserved communities. The following email is a newsletter update featuring a recent success story and a few ways to engage with the organization.

Advocacy and volunteering emails

Donating isn’t the only way supporters can show up for your mission. Advocacy and volunteer recruitment emails expand engagement beyond the transaction and build the kind of personal investment that correlates strongly with long-term giving.

Advocacy and volunteering email example: Help for Heroes call for volunteers

Help for Heroes also created a useful example of a volunteer request email. The following email uses eye-catching red button calls to action (CTAs) to inspire recipients to sign up.

Seasonal emails

Timely communications tied to holidays, awareness months, or seasons create an additional touchpoint with supporters and capitalize on donors’ increased motivation to give during certain times of year. Year-end giving season (October–December) is especially high-impact for nonprofit email campaigns. For guidance on timing your sends effectively, check out our guide on when your nonprofit can and cannot send an email.

Seasonal nonprofit email example: CJ holiday campaign

This email is an example of a seasonal email sent by a business in an effort to support nonprofit causes during the holiday season. The email allows recipients to vote for the cause they think the business should support with their holiday donation.

What email marketing best practices matter most for nonprofits?

Segment your communications for a deeper connection

No one likes generic emails. A personalized message builds meaningful, long-term donor relationships—and the data backs it up: 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions, and 76% get frustrated when this doesn’t happen (McKinsey).

Start with these five core segments and build from there:

• New donors
• Active donors
• Lapsed donors
• Prospects / email subscribers who haven’t yet given
• Volunteers

For a deeper dive into effective segmentation strategies, read our guide on using segmentation to boost nonprofit email campaigns.

Adopt a consistent communication cadence

Email quantity matters as much as quality. Too many emails overwhelm supporters and drive unsubscribes—too few cause your organization to fall off their radar. Here’s a practical nonprofit cadence framework:

• Newsletters: Monthly at baseline, quarterly if team capacity is limited
• Fundraising appeals: 1–2/month standard
• Welcome series: Four emails over 14 days for all new subscribers
• Thank-you emails: Automated, triggered within minutes of a gift
• Re-engagement sequences: One email every two weeks for three sends, then suppress unresponsive contacts

Track email metrics to optimize your strategy

Your email metrics are as good as gold for determining the best ways to optimize your email strategy. See the full benchmarks glossary below, and prioritize tracking these key data points:

Optimize your subject lines

Your subject line is the single most important factor in whether your email gets opened. Research shows that 60%+ of email opens now happen on mobile devices, which display only 30–35 characters before cutting off. Here are the rules:

• Mobile sweet spot: 30–35 characters or 6–7 words
• Desktop sweet spot: 40–50 characters
• Safest range for both: 35–45 characters
• Avoid: ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation, and spam-trigger words (“Free,” “Act now,” “Guaranteed”)
• Use: Personalization ([First Name]), numbers (“47 families”), and questions (“Will you help us reach $10,000?”)

Write concise email bodies

The body of your email should be as long as it needs to be—and no longer. Here are the recommended lengths for each type of nonprofit email:

• Urgent campaign appeals: <50 words
• Donation thank-you emails: 50–75 words
• Supporter welcome emails: 75–100 words
• Newsletters: 100–200 words

Use a single, clear call to action per email

Every email should have one primary CTA. Multiple competing CTAs dilute attention and reduce conversions. Place your primary CTA button above the fold (visible without scrolling on mobile), repeat it as a text link near the bottom of the email, and use high-contrast colors so it’s readable for supporters with vision impairments. For example, your CTAs could have white text on a red background like the Help for Heroes example below—strong color contrast ensures your CTAs are readable for recipients with vision impairments.

Ensure compliance with email marketing regulations

The CAN-SPAM Act sets regulations for commercial email marketing practices that apply to for-profit and nonprofit organizations. See the full deliverability and compliance checklist below for a complete breakdown of requirements across CAN-SPAM, CASL, and GDPR.

Emotional, specific language drives opens and action. The most effective emotional triggers for nonprofit email are urgency, impact (with real numbers), community belonging, and fear of missing out. Avoid vague language like “help us make a difference”—replace it with the specific outcome: “help us serve 200 more meals this month.”

Maintain consistent branding across every send

Your emails should be instantly recognizable: consistent logo placement, brand colors, fonts, and tone of voice. Create templates for each email type and document them in a style guide every team member can access. Consistency builds trust—and trust drives opens.

Use multimedia intentionally

Emails with images have up to a 42% higher click-through rate than text-only emails (Vero). Use one to three primary visual elements per email—header image, a single supporting photo, or an infographic—and keep images compressed to under 200KB to protect load times on mobile.

Nonprofit email metrics glossary: plain-English formulas and 2026 benchmarks

Use this glossary to understand what each metric means, how to calculate it, and what counts as a healthy range for nonprofits in 2026. Benchmarks are drawn from the M+R Benchmarks 2025 study, Mailchimp, and MailerLite nonprofit data. Treat open rate with particular caution—Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), launched in 2021, automatically marks emails as “opened” for all Apple Mail users, artificially inflating open rate dashboards by 15–25 percentage points.

Which email marketing platforms work best for nonprofits?

Nonprofit email platform comparison

All pricing reflects estimated costs as of April 2026—confirm directly with each platform before purchasing, as nonprofit discount terms can change.

Platform	Best for	Nonprofit discount	Automation depth	Segmentation	Native CRM integration	Compliance & deliverability	Starting price
Bloomerang ★ Best for donor management + email unified	Nonprofits that want donor management, email, and volunteer management in one system	N/A — purpose-built nonprofit pricing	Automated thank-yous, drip sequences, scheduled sends	Donor lifecycle, giving history, engagement score	Built-in — CRM and email share the same database	Deliverability insights, readability testing, DMARC compatible	From $125/month (includes CRM + email)
Mailchimp ★ Best value / getting started	Small-to-mid orgs, early-stage programs, budget-conscious teams	15% discount via TechSoup for paid plans, free tier (up to 500 contacts)	Visual automation builder, conditional logic, multi-step journeys	Up to 5 audience groups on free tier, advanced on paid	Separate CRM— Bloomerang integration available	Built-in compliance tools, dedicated IP available (Premium)	Free (500 contacts) | From ~$13/month
Constant Contact ★ Best for event orgs	Nonprofits hosting events, galas, and in-person campaigns	20–30% nonprofit discount (contact sales)	Basic automation: welcome series, drip, event reminders	Tag-based and list-based segmentation	Separate CRM— Bloomerang integration available	Strong deliverability, CAN-SPAM tools, real-time analytics	From $12/month (no free tier)
Campaign Monitor ★ Best for template control	Teams wanting tight brand control and multi-user management	No standard nonprofit discount — contact sales	Visual automation, time-based and behavior-triggered flows	Link-click-based segmentation, custom fields	Separate CRM— Zapier integrations available	Advanced deliverability dashboard, suppression management	From $9/month
ActiveCampaign ★ Best automation depth	Mid-to-large orgs with complex donor journeys and sequences	25% nonprofit discount (apply directly)	Industry-leading: conditional branches, lead scoring, predictive sending	Robust: dynamic segments, custom fields, engagement scoring	Built-in CRM lite (add-on)—Bloomerang integration via Zapier	Spam testing, deliverability reporting, blocklist monitoring	From $15/month
Flodesk ★ Best design experience	Orgs where visual storytelling and brand aesthetics are top priority	No standard nonprofit discount	Basic: welcome series, timed drips	Simple list-based segmentation	No native CRM— Zapier/API only	Basic compliance tools, less robust deliverability reporting	$38/month flat (unlimited subscribers)

Platform deep dives

1. Bloomerang Giving Platform

Bloomerang is a purpose-built nonprofit platform that unifies donor management, fundraising, volunteer management, and email marketing in a single system. Because Bloomerang’s email tools share the same database as its CRM, you can segment by giving history, engagement score, volunteer activity, and more—without any data sync or integration layer. Features include a built-in drag-and-drop editor, brandable templates, deliverability insights, A/B testing, scheduled sends, and readability testing. Best for: organizations that want to eliminate the gap between donor data and email marketing. Learn more about Bloomerang’s marketing and engagement features.

2. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is the most widely used email marketing platform in the nonprofit sector. Its free tier supports up to 500 contacts with basic automation, templates, and reporting—making it a strong starting point for early-stage organizations. Paid plans unlock advanced segmentation, behavioral automation, and multi-step journeys.

3. Constant Contact

Constant Contact is especially strong for nonprofits that host events—its event promotion, registration, and attendee tracking tools integrate directly with email outreach. Its drag-and-drop editor is one of the most beginner-friendly on the market. Nonprofits qualify for a 20–30% discount (contact Constant Contact directly). Bloomerang and Constant Contact integrate natively, allowing donor engagement data to inform email segmentation.

4. Campaign Monitor

Campaign Monitor offers strong brand control with a sophisticated drag-and-drop editor, template management with team access controls, and detailed geographic and device performance reporting. It’s a solid choice for nonprofits with multiple staff managing email and strict brand standards. No standard nonprofit discount—contact sales for custom pricing.

5. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is the strongest platform for nonprofits with complex donor journeys that require multi-step behavioral automation. Its conditional logic, lead scoring, and predictive sending capabilities support sophisticated cultivation sequences—for example, automatically moving a lapsed donor into a re-engagement series when they haven’t opened an email in 90 days. Nonprofits qualify for a 25% discount (apply directly). Integration with Bloomerang is available via Zapier.

6. Flodesk

Flodesk stands out for its visual design capabilities—custom fonts, branded graphics, and a clean aesthetic that makes emails feel like editorial content rather than marketing blasts. Its flat $38/month pricing (unlimited subscribers) is attractive for organizations with large lists. Trade-offs: segmentation is basic (list-based only), CRM integration requires Zapier or API, and deliverability reporting is less robust than competitors.

How do I choose email marketing software as a nonprofit?

Work through this five-step decision framework in order. Each step narrows your shortlist before you invest time in demos or trials.

Decision paths by org type

• Small nonprofit (<1K contacts, team of 1–3): Start with Mailchimp’s free tier. Upgrade when you hit 500 contacts or need automation beyond a welcome series.
• Mid-sized nonprofit (1K–10K contacts, dedicated comms staff): Evaluate Bloomerang (if you want CRM + email unified), Constant Contact (if events are central), or ActiveCampaign (if automation is your top need).
• Large or high-volume nonprofit (10K+ contacts): Bloomerang or ActiveCampaign for sophistication—request custom nonprofit pricing from Campaign Monitor. Avoid platforms with per-contact pricing that scales punitively.
• Org already using Bloomerang CRM: Use Bloomerang’s built-in email marketing tools first—the native integration is worth more than any standalone platform’s feature advantage.

Deliverability and compliance checklist for nonprofits

1. Configure your sending domain and sender identity

• Use a branded sending domain (yourname@yourorg.org)—never send campaigns from a Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail address. Free email providers are flagged as spam by major inbox providers.
• Use a consistent “From” name and email address in every send. Changing your sender identity mid-program confuses filters and reduces open rates.
• Avoid “no-reply@” addresses. They signal inaccessibility, hurt engagement, and can increase spam complaints. Use a monitored mailbox like hello@yourorg.org or connect@yourorg.org instead.

2. Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (required since 2024)

Google and Yahoo now require bulk senders (5,000+ emails/day) to authenticate their sending domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records—enforced with stricter penalties from November 2025. Even below that threshold, proper authentication dramatically improves deliverability for all senders. Your email platform’s support team can help you configure these—here are the patterns:

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) — Add a TXT record to your DNS that authorizes your email platform to send on your behalf:

Replace sendingplatform.com with your platform’s SPF include string (e.g., include:mailchimp.com). Use ~all (soft fail) rather than -all (hard fail) while testing.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) — A cryptographic signature that proves emails haven’t been tampered with in transit. Your email platform generates this. Add the CNAME or TXT record they provide to your DNS:

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) — Tells inbox providers what to do with emails that fail SPF/DKIM. Start with p=none (monitoring only), then move to p=quarantine once your authentication is stable:

The rua address receives daily reports from Gmail, Yahoo, and other providers showing which servers are sending mail as your domain.

3. Maintain list hygiene on a regular cadence

• Remove hard bounces immediately after every send—your email platform should do this automatically, but verify.
• Suppress soft bounces after three consecutive failures.
• Run a list-cleaning pass every six months: identify contacts who haven’t opened or clicked in 12 months and run a re-engagement sequence before suppressing them. Monitor domain reputation in Google Postmaster Tools (free) to catch deliverability problems early.
• Never buy, rent, or import email lists without verified consent. Every purchased contact is a potential spam complaint. For strategies on growing your list the right way, see our guide on how to build a nonprofit mailing list.

4. Include all required footer elements

Every email must include the following elements in the footer to comply with CAN-SPAM (US), CASL (Canada), and GDPR (EU):

• Your organization’s legal name
• Physical mailing address (a P.O. Box qualifies)
• A clearly visible, one-click unsubscribe link
• A link to your privacy policy

Copy-ready compliant footer example:

5. Compliance law quick reference for nonprofits

Copy-and-paste email assets for nonprofits

20 subject lines by goal

All subject lines are written for nonprofits. Swap [bracketed placeholders] with your real details. For best performance, A/B test two subject lines per campaign using a 20% sample of your list. Remember: don’t be lazy with your email subject lines—they’re the single most important factor in whether your email gets opened.

Four urgent appeal email bodies (<50 words each)

These are designed to be short, high-impact, and mobile-first. Use them as the full body copy for urgency sends—day-of or final-hours campaign emails.

Appeal 1: Matching gift — final hours

Appeal 2: Year-end / tax deadline

Appeal 3: Emergency / crisis response

Appeal 4: Campaign milestone / almost there

Two donor thank-you email variants (50–75 words)

Variant 1: First-time donor (warm, welcoming)

Variant 2: Returning donor (relational, impact-forward)

Four-email welcome series

Trigger Email 1 immediately on signup. Schedule Emails 2–4 automatically. Each email should have a single CTA and be shorter than 100 words of body copy. Primary metric for the series: CTOR on Emails 2–4 (measures content quality, not just inbox placement).

Eight high-performing CTAs with character counts

All CTAs are written in first person (“my,” “me”) where possible—research consistently shows first-person CTAs outperform third-person (“Donate” vs. “Make my gift”) by as much as 90% in some studies. Use ALL CAPS for CTA buttons.

Wrapping up

A strong nonprofit email program isn’t built in a day—but it compounds faster than almost any other channel in your communications mix. Every consistent send, every personalized thank-you, and every well-timed appeal reinforces the relationships that keep donors coming back year after year.

Start with the four foundations: segment your list, establish a cadence, optimize your subject lines, and use a single CTA per email. Layer in the compliance checklist, then use the copy assets above to accelerate your first campaigns. Track CTOR as your north-star content metric and let your data guide every iteration.

For more resources on nonprofit communications and donor engagement, explore these related guides:

• Donor retention strategy: A guide to donor retention
• Donor segmentation: How to segment your donor communications
• Troubleshoot your fundraising emails: How to troubleshoot your fundraising email

The post Email Marketing for Nonprofits: the Ultimate How-to Guide appeared first on Bloomerang.

The great thing about email fundraising is that you get quick results and a lot of data to make sense of those results. As someone who analyzes hundreds of fundraising emails a year, here’s a process that you can follow to pinpoint where your email got off track and how to improve it in your next fundraising email.

The funnel of fundraising emails

Fundraising emails have a basic funnel, and if you follow that funnel, you can often identify where things went amiss. Here’s what the funnel includes:

• The universe: This is the group of people receiving your email. Sometimes this is based on targeting or query criteria.
• Number of opens: This is the total number of email subscribers who opened the email.
• Number of click-throughs: This is the total number of clicks links or URLs in your email received.
• Donation page conversion rate: This data point represents the total number of donations you received divided by the number of donation pages, multiplied by 100.

At each point in the funnel, we want to maximize engagement in order to maximize the number of donations we receive from the email. Let’s dive into each of these points further to look at where we can run into problems and how to fix them.

The universe size and email targeting

At the very top of your funnel are the subscribers you’re sending that email to. For many nonprofits, most emails go to their entire list with little to no targeting. If that’s the case for your email, go back and check that you really did send the email to everyone. If for some reason you sent the email to less people than you meant to, you may have identified your problem.

If your nonprofit segments its email list, it’s crucial to triple-check your targeting or query criteria to ensure that you sent the email to the correct group of people. Human error happens and there are times when we send an email to the wrong people and that can impact the email results.

Once you’re sure that you have the targeting correct, move to the next point of the funnel for analysis.

The number of opens your email received

The number of opens your email received, also known as the open rate, is a key point of engagement in the email funnel. The more people who open an email, the more clicks you can potentially get.

The obvious place to go when we look at open rates is the subject line. Subject lines are important in email fundraising, no doubt about it. With your most recent email, did you get an open rate that is in line with your list’s average?

If the open rate is lower than what you normally see with email open rates, this is a point of improvement for your email. You can consider A/B testing subject lines on future emails or look back at well-performing past subject lines to see what’s resonated with your email audience.

Now, subject lines aren’t the only factor that influences open rates. The sender name is an important factor, and even more important, your email deliverability. Email deliverability is the measure of how many of the emails you sent actually made it to inboxes and there are many factors that can influence deliverability. Read this article if you’d like a deeper dive into email deliverability.

The number of click-throughs your email received

Let’s say your email had a good open rate. The next point of engagement to consider is the number of click-throughs your email received, also known as the click-through rate. The click-through rate tells us a few important pieces of information including how compelling the call to action was for subscribers and whether or not the content resonated with subscribers. But there are also many factors outside the email that can impact whether or not someone clicks.

As with the open rate, a good place to start with the click-through rate is to benchmark your email’s click-through rate against past fundraising emails. If your click-through rate was lower, go back to the basics of a strong call to action.

• Was the call to action obvious enough in the email? Meaning, did you hyperlink more than the words “donate now.”
• Was the call to action sentence(s) direct, clear and specific in its ask?
• Did you ask more than once?

In addition to looking at the call to action itself, we have to consider the content leading up to the call to action. For instance, is there a compelling hook at the beginning of the email or is there a strong, coherent argument put forward for giving?

Lastly, and this is the part that is often frustrating to every fundraiser, we have to look outside of our email for context. What else was going on in the world that could have impacted people’s interest in your fundraising email?

The best example I can give you here was a GivingTuesday a few years ago that tanked for several of my clients and that was because our area had experienced catastrophic rain that led to flooding. The magnitude of the natural disaster eclipsed anything else happening in our region so it made a lot of sense that we saw a much lower click-through rate and ultimately donation rate during the campaign.

The donation page conversion rate

The donation page conversation rate is the best metric to judge your email by as it represents the ultimate goal of a fundraising email—getting donations. You can also consider the overall email conversation rate (the number of donations made divided by the number of emails sent), but since we’re talking about troubleshooting emails here, the donation page conversion rate is more useful to consider.

Your donation page is the last stop before someone makes a gift and it can make or break your results. M+R Benchmarks 2024 reported the average donation page conversion rate at 16%, which can be a useful data point when you’re trying to figure out if your nonprofit’s donation page conversion rate is good or bad. In my experience, the range tends to be somewhere between 14% and 30%.

If your donation page is the problem, there are a few reasons why that could be.

• The messaging on the donation page doesn’t match your email enough and that throws people for a loop
• There are navigation buttons at the top that allow people to leave. Please get rid of these as they do a huge disservice to your conversions!
• The donation page loading time is too slow and is causing people to bounce off the page
• The donation form is too long and a turn-off for people

All four of these reasons are opportunities to improve your donation page and increase the number of donations you receive.

The gift of email fundraising is that, unlike direct mail, we have a lot of user data that can help us pinpoint what’s working and what’s not working. Follow the email engagement funnel to find your trouble spots and improve your next email. Happy fundraising!

The post How To Troubleshoot Your Fundraising Email appeared first on Bloomerang.

Dear Charity Clairity,

We have started mailing quarterly impact reports to those midlevel and major donors who aren’t emailable, and emailing otherwise. USPS mailings are getting expensive and it has been suggested we might save money by including our next impact report (slated for dropping in Dec) in with our appeal – or perhaps AS the appeal, with an accompanying cover letter. This does not feel like a good strategy to me and I need to be able to articulate why. It seems to me the focus of this mailing needs to be on the call to action – which is to give. It is a time to make the case for what the donor’s money can do and – as awesome as our impact has been and continues to be – not what we have already done. (I’ve been including these reports with acknowledgement letters, which seems like a perfect touchpoint.) Thanks for any quick wisdom you can provide!

— Weighing Trade-offs

Dear Weighing Trade-offs,

You are in a pickle; one which all businesses face. And that is whether the upfront cost (spending) is justified by the back-end result (generated income).

Right now, the expense in question is a mailing. You note you’re mailing only to a subset of your donors. But you could easily ask this same question for all your donors. And that question is whether the inclusion of the impact report with the appeal will depress or boost fundraising results. If the former, then not spending on the separate impact report mailing would be a version of penny-wise/pound-foolish. If the latter, you might want to make the combo approach part of your overall strategy for all donors.

But… jumping into the deep end seems risky. How to mitigate this risk?

You may know where I’m going next: The only way to know for sure is to run an A/B test. If you randomly split your list and mail a combined impact report/appeal mail to half of them and separate mailings to the other half, you’ll be able to compare real-time results. But then you’ll need to know how to measure and evaluate those results to determine their validity and statistical relevance. And, it’s possible, the results may vary for donors of different amounts. There are firms, like NextAfter, that can help you with this.

Now let me offer you some of that “quick wisdom” you requested via some general rules:

1. You largely need to spend money to make money. Trying to cut fundraising and marketing expenses too much is a “cut off your nose to spite your face” exercise. So, think twice before cutting back on communications – especially during the end-of-year season when people tend to do the lion’s share of giving.
2. Enclosing anything in your fundraising appeal has a tendency to depress response. Why? As you suggest, the insert takes the focus away from your carefully crafted case for support and primary call to action. If you enclose the impact report with your appeal, it’s likely to include lots of information totally unrelated to your appeal. With appeals, less is more. Just a letter that is simple, easily skimmable, and strategically crafted
3. Directing attention to your impact report from your email appeal has a tendency to depress response. For the same reason suggested above, I counsel folks to strip all tabs other than “give now” off their donation landing page. You don’t want people delaying action while they take time to “learn more,” “volunteer,” “subscribe,” or anything other than simply click and donate.
4. Building a donor relationship requires multiple touch points over the course of the year. People should hear from you when you’re not asking for money. Impact reports are a form of gratitude, re-enforcing the “warm glow” donors felt when they made their gift. When you continue to fan the flames of passion, folks will be sufficiently warmed up when you send your appeal, such that they’ll be persuaded to give. When you mix the cultivation apple of the impact report with the solicitation orange of the appeal, you strip out the persuasion and ‘feel good’ that was the purpose of the report.
5. Response rates to direct mail tend to be higher than email appeals. So, it behooves you to budget for appeal mailings. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t email as well –integrated, multi-channel marketing not only hedges your bets, but also works by reminding folks, multiple times, of your mission’s importance. NextAfter found that people who received some email communication throughout the year — but still only sent in checks when it was time to give — gave 90% more than those who didn’t get email communication. The beauty of direct mail is that people tend to keep it on their kitchen counter for days or weeks as they ponder their overall philanthropy for the year. Emails don’t last. They’re also subject to the recipient’s whims or mood of the day. Often they’re deleted without being read.
6. Impact report and annual report mailings may merit the email treatment. As noted above, consistently emailed donors give more. And when it comes to slick, hard copy reports, many donors respond negatively. Not to mention fancy appeals that cost extra to mail (which is what an impact report disguised as the appeal would look like). Many donors don’t want their money spent this way. Some, of course, like hard copies.  The best way to know is to survey your donors and ask them for their mailing preferences. You can run a quick, free survey using SurveyMonkey or GoogleDocs. This would also provide an opportunity for you to request email addresses for your midlevel and major donors who you currently aren’t emailing [just tell them you’d like to email future reports to use resources wisely and reduce waste].

Appeal letters are not about the organization’s accomplishments, awards, and victories. They’re about a specific problem, a specific solution, and how the donor can help bring that solution about. Generally, sharing one story is best. Impact reports, on the other hand, tend to share multiple stories.

— Charity Clairity (Please use a pseudonym if you prefer to be anonymous when you submit your own question, like “Weighing Trade-offs” did.)

How do you share your impact report? Let us know in the comments. 

The post [ASK AN EXPERT] What Are The Pros And Cons Of Combining An Appeal Mailing With An Impact Report? appeared first on Bloomerang.