How to Ask For Donations With Email: Crafting the Perfect Fundraising Message

In an era defined by digital connectivity, we are constantly seeing more nonprofits turn towards email campaigning as their primary method of fundraising- unlocking a realm of possibilities for these organizations to engage, inspire, and mobilize support to propel their mission forward.  Once something only heard of by business executives, email has become the primary and preferred use of communication around the entire globe today. At Paybee, we are experts at guiding you every step of the way, check out what you need to schedule your live demonstration today. We would love to hear from you!

In this guide, we are going to dive into methods and strategies you can use to perfect your nonprofit’s email drive and maximize your communication potential. With unparalleled reach and cost-effectiveness, online communication is a cornerstone in any social enterprise’s relationship among its supporters and its ability to foster strong, consistent engagement.

In the ever evolving online world, virtual communication is the one remaining constant- allowing the ability to issue a wide spread call-to-action (CTA), establish direct and personal communication. However, there are various rules and guidelines one must adhere to if they expect to see major outcomes. From where to find supporters to ethically asking for support, learn how to focus your intention and evoke emotional responses amongst readers.

Let’s unravel the potential of email as a transformative force in the domain of nonprofit fundraising as we go over how to ask for donations or grants through email.

Crafting the Perfect Donation Email Request

Crafting the perfect fundraising email involves a perfectly balanced mixture of several strategic elements that interconnect to capture sponsor attention, create meaningful connections between the nonprofit and the reader, and inspire a quick, convincing CTA. In formulating the ideal fundraising plea, it is important to center around a strong statement that strikes the viewer on an emotional level and urges them to take immediate, and swift action. You want the reader to believe in your cause and the fact that their assistance is critical in driving the mission forward right from the start.

Aside from a truly compelling and heartfelt story, key elements to consider when crafting your fundraising requests include gathering a large and diverse list of potential contributors, catching the attention of readers through compelling subject lines that proceed emotional stories of your mission and your endeavors, and engaging in follow-up measures to ensure that your endeavor is effective and to making any necessary adjustments if it is not.

Focus on being concise in your mission’s goals and important outcomes that future donations will have for your group by making the fundraising request and the effects of the donations personal, and having a clear, definitive CTA. Pair that CTA with anecdotes that evoke emotional responses within the reader in order to set an emotive tone and lay a solid foundation to build a long-lasting relationship with the client. While describing the impact of the donation, consider how you are describing the mission of the fundraiser. Instead of saying “Your donation will do ___ amount for ____ group”, choose something more moving and personal such as “Discover the tangible outcomes your contribution can achieve and how you can be a driving force for positive change”. This is more personal, and makes the reader feel important and related to the cause.

Email fundraising is an important cornerstone for all non-profit fundraising in this day and age. Online communication is the preferred method of contact for most people (which also means there are several other correspondences that you are competing with) so it’s important to put great emphasis on the importance of two major factors: personalization and clarity.

Effective Wording When asking for Donations

Effective wording is critical to any fundraising email- the importance of how you say it could never be overstated. It serves as the backbone of a good aid appeal and is critical to building the bridge between the reader’s emotions and the organization’s mission- taking the process from a mere transaction to something much deeper and more meaningful. The effectiveness of an entire email donation outreach hinges on the choice of verbiage and phrases that serve to strike an emotional cord within the supporter. Focus on employing texts and phrases that go beyond the impersonal “ask and receive” nature of a basic donation request, and aim to create a sense of belonging that fosters a connection between the donor and the cause. Wording that encapsulates the act of giving as a mutually beneficial endeavor where the donator is able to aid in a cause and that cause in return delivers a meaningful motion of gratitude. Some emotive, opening statements include:

“Amid the noise of daily life, here’s a quiet invitation to make a resounding difference. Your support isn’t a transaction- it’s a plot twist in someone’s life story.”

“Step into a conversation where your voice isn;s just heard, it rumbles as a chorus of change.

“Hey! We know your moments are valuable, let’s talk about your opportunity to make a grand difference without a grand gesture”

Communicating the powerful achievements of donations is also key in the effectiveness of  wording used when asking for donations or sponsors.  It’s imperative that  you give a clear and specific outcome to donations and accurately express any and all resulting positive changes. Avoid generic statements and try instead to paint a picture that drives the lector to visualize themselves as a vital participant in the cause. Instead of data and statistics, use feelings and emotions and make their importance personal and relatable to them. Letting the supporter know their irreplaceable role plays a critical part in receiving meaningful achievements.

Designing an Email Campaign for Your Fundraiser

The next component to examine when virtual fundraising is how to visually design your fundraising outreach project.  While what you write is very important, how you present your information is also a major contributing factor to consider. A strategic blend of aesthetics and functionality will draw your reader in and keep their attention, while also serving a storyboard for you to clearly and succinctly get your point across- all of which are major pieces to promoting your cause. A smart, clean design and the right typography can visually aid in guiding your reader through the narrative of your crusade by facilitating readability and highlighting your key objectives and CTAs. Compelling visuals and the use of strategic design elements such as tunneling or the use of white space, can do wonders for highlighting the parts of your outreach that you really want to stand out to donors.

When creating eye-catching email designs when asking people to donate, focus on enhancing the visual appeal of your emails by:

Using compelling imagery: High-quality images that emotionally resonate with the viewer. Visuals should tell a cohesive account and invoke an empathetic response, making the cause tangible to the reader.

Enlist engaging headlines and/or subheadings: Compelling headlines that explicitly deliver the purpose of your email. Include persuasive language to grab attention and entice the reader to continue.

Incorporating repeat branding: Seeing consistent fonts, colors, and logos repetitively builds a sense of familiarity and trust between the reader and the foundation.

Including interactive elements: Things like polls or gifs are an engaging way to build a primary connection with the reader and can make your emails stand out more and become more memorable.

Another important factor to consider when designing emails seeking donations is the importance of mobile-friendly formats. Unless you are contacting a major office or organization, there is a large probability that the receiver will be reading your email on their cell phone or tablet. You want to make sure your request letter is legible and conveys your donation message properly, regardless of the way someone might be receiving it. Elements that make emails more mobile-friendly are clickable links, streamlined ways for someone to either donate or find more information at the easy click of a button, and smaller screen readability; the last of which is possibly the most critical and is key in greatly broadening your movement’s reach.

The Timing and the Ask: The Art of the Approach

The Art of the Ask in fundraising is a very delicate balance between the when, and the how, and requires a lot of strategic decision making. The timing and approach of asking patrons to donate money through email is a fine line to balance and can quite literally make or break your entire crusade. Some unsuspected negative phenomena in fundraising can easily occur including a reduction in engagement, donor fatigue in which donors feel constantly bombarded, or missed opportunities from poorly timed asking. Circumvent these risks by doing research on your potential donor group’s taste and preferences and regularly assessing your approach based on feedback and engagement patterns. “Timing is everything” holds a lot of weight in regards to sponsorship proposals.

Nonprofits greatly benefit from knowing the rhythms and habits of their audience.  Taking past donation patterns and analyzing previous data can unveil peak engagement times which you want to use to your advantage. For example, maybe you find that you receive more interaction and engagement Monday thru Thursday evenings- after work and before bed for a certain section of your target audience. This would be your golden window to get in and propose your offer. You may find another group to be more responsive during work hours. Tailor your request to each group; this is a prime opportunity to personalize your approach to each individual segment. Furthermore, aligning your drive with other significant situations, such as holidays or organizational milestones, can really serve to enhance that emotional connection and prompt the higher likelihood of receiving a donation.

After perfecting the timing of your delivery, it is critical to be fully transparent in how you ask for contributions via email. Clearly express your intent with the donation and how the contribution will be used. Provide various giving options and different amounts to allow flexibility for your reader. Doing so eases feelings of control and will allow a sense of freedom and choice to the sponsor. Also include your compelling CTA in order to inspire prompt immediate engagement.

Building an Online Donor List

For any nonprofit endeavor, having a large and diverse email list is key in crafting a successful fundraising mission. Effective communication is paramount to increasing donor sponsorship and can essentially lay the groundwork in building a solid support system for your cause through adapting your fundraising ideas towards specific groups. Remember to take full use of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, in addition to other platforms where you can spread your appeals. Let’s dive into some essential components in building a successful contact list and fully maximizing its potential:

Compelling Opt-in Campaigns:

First and foremost, you need subscribers to opt-in to receiving your email notices. Do so by clearly expressing what value they gain by choosing to be on your list and the unyielding influence their future involvement will have on your mission. Added bonuses include offering incentives such as exclusive information, detailed updates,  or even discounts or early access to a special event or a unique experience held by your organization. For some extra great ideas, check out how we do online galas with our one screen event solutions!  These aid in building that initial sense of community and reciprocity that is important in fostering a long lasting relationship.

Utilize Social Media channels:

Take advantage of your nonprofit’s social media presence in order to drive traffic to your company’s email subscription landing page. Crafting shareable content that your followers relate to can encourage them to subscribe for more personal correspondences. The integration of social media and email connection builds a strong foundation of online presence that creates a sense of interconnectedness amongst your audience.

Referral Programs:

Implementing a referral program can serve to encourage existing supporters to share your nonprofit’s purpose and use them to encourage others to join your email list.  Word of mouth is a powerful and free tool that takes minimal effort on your behalf.  Offer incentives and small rewards for both the new subscriber and the referrer. Tapping into the already existing networks of your followers allows you to easily reach like-minded individuals.

Events and Webinars:

Host webinars, virtual events, and online meetups related to your nonprofit’s cause. While hosting these meetups, take the opportunity to capture the email addresses of those interested in learning more.  Implementing sign-up forms during registration, then following up afterwards, is a great opportunity to grow your email community and ask others to sign up for regular updates and donation opportunities.

Crafting Subject Lines to Get Messages Opened

Now that you have a vast list of email addresses and have compiled them into  diverse, segmented lists, the next step in crafting a successful donation email is to formulate intriguing and captivating subject lines to kick off your correspondence. This is your chance to make a strong first impression when that email hits the inbox. The subject line is your bridge between the email and the recipient- the first chance you get to make a strong impression and to ensure your intentions get out of the gate.

Remember: when crafting a concise, attention grabbing opening line that you are looking to spark curiosity and convey urgency. Keep it short yet sweet, and aim for around 40 characters in total to allow for optimum viewing on various devices. This is where you can take it a step further and allow personalization come into play; incorporate the recipient's name or any past interactions to emphasize their previous engagement. Incorporate buzz words to convey to the reader a sense of necessary immediacy- terms such as “limited-offer” and “exclusive” pepper in nicely and gently highlight your objective. Other effective draw-ins can be intriguing questions such as “Guess what amazing strides your donation has made?”. The idea is to aim for a mix of personalization and crucial prompting, while focusing on the donor’s influence. The goal is to draw the reader in and encourage them to open your email out of a many in a crowded inbox.

Here are some templates you can use as eye-catching subject lines:

[Insert name of person] Your generosity matters: Transform lives today!”

“Be a Hero: Your Impact by Donating Now.”

“Wondering how your Donation Transforms Communities?”

“Are you the key in Empowering Change? Give Today!”

Last Chance to See the Results Impact: Your Support in Action!”

Think about creating that sense of exclusivity or importance by carefully choosing language that delivers the value of your email’s information. Pose questions, tease the content, or highlight the great and meaningful consequence of your recipient’s potential contribution. And as always, take the chance to do research on the effectiveness of your subject lines. If you find that some are working better than others, get back to the drawing board!

Storytelling in Your Fundraising Email

You’ve now found your target audience, the perfect moment to approach them, and crafted a way to catch their attention with a great subject line.The next step in your perfect donation appeal is telling your story to the reader in a way that convinces them to get onboard with your peer fundraising mission. This is where your captivating testimonial comes in. In the world of non-profit fundraising, storytelling serves as a catalyst in building strong, emotional connections with potential donors. In this context, storytelling is your opportunity to vividly describe the mission, outcomes, effects, and urgent appeal of your project. Go beyond facts and statistics and take the opportunity to foster empathy and inspire in contributors a CTA on a personal level.

In order to engage potential donors, take advantage of the full attention of the reader that you now direct. Humanize your mission: give real examples of the work that your non-profit does and use descriptive text that appeals to your audience in order to really strike emotion and stir up those sentimental feelings in your reader. Personalized stories that depict the tangible outcomes of the donor and sponsor initiatives is yet another method that deepens the emotional connection between the reader and your cause.

Bring a sense of humanity and life to your emails by including real life visuals and stories such as personal journeys of individuals that have been directly impacted by your nonprofit’s work.  Use success stories and testimonials to highlight specific achievements made possible by previous donations. Include behind-the-scenes glimpses into the lives of your organization's members or volunteers. Showcasing milestones and challenges aids in narrating the journey of the nonprofit to the reader and serves to communicate just how much support means to the cause and expresses the obstacles that are essential to overcoming in order to complete the mission.

Effective storytelling isn’t just about relaying your cause, it includes bringing to life the people working everyday to reach these goals and make a difference. It’s about personifying your mission and cultivating something that donors want to invest their time, energy, and money in. Effective storytelling is the chance to evoke empathy and inspire people to be a part of your change.

Giving a Compelling Sense of Urgency

For a nonprofit, creating a sense of exigency when crafting an email asking for donations is a strategic effort that is used to instill a need for prompt, immediate response from potential donors.  This is done by conveying a sense of critical demand that emphasizes the time-sensitive need of the beneficiary's contribution. One of the main reasons creating a demand for swift measures in your emails works is that it taps into the aspect of human decision making that fosters a heightened emotional response from those of whom you are seeking a donation. This sense of immediacy can exponentially increase widespread sponsor engagement by tapping into our innate feelings of responsibility and demonstrating the important role that needs to be filled by these donations.

There are several techniques that can be employed by foundations to effectively convey a need for acute necessity to their patrons.  Start with a clear and specific CTA with a defined deadline, such as a fundraising goal that needs to be set within a certain timeframe or a limited opportunity  fund-matching drives; techniques employed by successful fundraisers that call on donors to act promptly.  The utilization of compelling and emotive language also serves to express the dire consequences that may come to pass should the goals not be reached, further eliminating delayed response on sponsors' part.

The trick in formulating these messages lies in balancing your sense of pressing need without being overbearing and losing respect for the donor. Respectfully urgent appeals avoid overly aggressive or pressuring tactics while focusing on transparent communication and their immediate needs while thoughtfully expressing gratitude for the donor's potential consideration. Being clear and concise on the significance of timely support and how it aligns with both parties' values can strike the right balance and strengthen a pragmatic and trusting relationship between the nonprofit and its supporters. When applied in a thoughtful manner, a sense of time-pressing necessity in philanthropic calls is the driving component for soliciting contributions towards your philanthropic cause.

Follow up Message: Keeping Donors Engaged

The final hurdle in crafting virtual fundraising pleas is the follow up. Crafting effective follow up emails is a pivotal step in maintaining donor engagement and ensuring ongoing, sustained support for any social enterprise. These thoughtful strategies help nurture relationships between your organization and the people they are interacting with and should include providing updates on your progress, expressing gratitude to the beneficiary on the program’s behalf, and reinforcing the donor’s connection to the cause.

Strategize with your team on how you plan to formulate follow up inquiries. Open with a sincere expression of gratitude for the contributor and reiterate the effect they have had on your donation appeals. Provide specific detail on exactly how you have managed to reach your goals. Don’t forget to reincorporate that aspect of personalization here too: refer to donors by name and highlight the importance of their contribution to the ongoing success of the mission. Also take this opportunity to discuss upcoming plans and projects and gently illustrate the continued need for their support.

After you’ve followed up with your backers, keep that support train moving! Establishing consistent communication schedules that don't overwhelm receivers is the long term goal. Word of mouth between people is one of the best ways to garner support. Even a quick “how did we do?” form or a virtual “Thank You” event after their contribution has been completed. Newsletters, updates about the organization's milestones, and impact reports all serve to keep sponsors informed and engaged with your team. (Bonus: A nice touch for your newsletter would be personal recognition of previous donors.)

The methods that you used to build your sponsor list should be continuous occurrences. Try to periodically send interactive aspects to your correspondences. For example, elements such as surveys or polls allow you to learn and reflect on your last project and find ways to progress on your next one.

Measuring the Success of your Campaign: Unlocking Insights for Future Fundraising

Nonprofit fundraising is rarely a one and done type of ordeal. No single fundraising pursuit is enough to solve all the world’s problems, therefore going back over your operation and seeing what did and did not hold up sets you up for success in your next one. Understanding how your audience engaged with your fundraising emails provides critical insight that helps shape future strategies and can make or break your contribution petition the next go around.  

Five important points of data you should focus on include:

Open Rates: The percent of recipients that opened your email. Higher percentages show the success of your strategically composed subject lines.

Click-Through-Rates: The amount of people that clicked on links in your email. Reflects the amount of engagement you were able to garner through your compelling narrative and the strength of your CTAs.

Bounce Rates: The amount of emails that were not successfully delivered. This metric helps you understand how successful you were at compiling your list of recipients. Did you get people genuinely interested in signing up to be a part of your venture? Or did you find yourself hit with a slew of fake email addresses?

Unsubscribe Rates: The amount of people who opt-out of future communication. Use this to refine your communication and adjust the frequency of emails. Oftentimes a survey is attached when someone asks to be removed from a mailer list. Ask the reasoning here.

Conversion Rates: How many beneficiaries were you able to gain? The amount of people that gave to your cause. How successful was the drive at accomplishing your goals.

Use this data to perfect your next campaign. Do you find that you would benefit from resegmenting your email list? Maybe people in some groups were receiving correspondence too frequently while others weren’t receiving them enough. Or maybe you find that certain buzzwords were not as successful as you originally thought. All of your findings are just as important to your petition as any other step has been.

In short, your project isn’t only measured by the obvious, immediate resolutions. You must also take into account the lessons you learned when you reflect back on your efforts. Regularly take a step back to review the processes that you have taken and adjust as necessary as you go.

Legal and Ethical Considerations in Donation Emails

Now that we have discussed how to write the perfect letters asking for donations, let's discuss some legal and ethical components you must consider. The aim is to maintain the integrity of your work and maintain the trust of your donors. Be transparent in where the revenue is going. There are several compliance regulations in place such as the CAN-SPAM Act ( Contoling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornogreapht and Marketing) which mandates transparency in email communications, including clear identification, accurate subject lines, and opt-out mechanisms. There are also various data protection laws in place that force one to have explicit consent for collecting and using personal information.

One must also pay attention to the charity solicitation laws that are in effect and vary from state to state. Many states require charitable institutions to be registered before they are able to start soliciting philanthropic assistance.

Ethically, organizations should place great focus on transparency in communicating exactly where donations are going and how they are being used. Safeguarding donor privacy is also a key concern that can be eased by laying out a detailed privacy policy and requesting explicit consent if ever their information should be shared.  

These are not only basic standards that your group should be upholding every step of the way, many of these legal and ethical terms listed are elements that help you successfully complete your venture.

Mastering the Art: Crafting a Compelling Donation Request Message for Impactful Email Marketing

As you navigate the vast landscape of online fundraising, remember that success isn’t just the immediate yields you find, but a long ongoing process compiled off all of the lessons you learned before, during and after your drive. Crafting compelling subject lines, painting emotive stories, and building heartfelt, lasting relationships are all integral pieces to your meeting your nonprofits goals.

In wrapping up this how-to-guide on requesting donations electronically, it‘s important to recall all of the steps required in creating your successful movement. Crafting compelling donation pleas involves a strategic blend of compelling language, well thought out visual aesthetics, and respectfully assertive calls-to-action. As you conclude one project and prepare for the next, remember you are now armed with many pragmatic strategic tools to help you navigate the intricate arena that is email fundraising.

‍