8 email marketing best practices for more year-end donations

By Dionna Dash

As the year draws to a close, many nonprofits rely on their year-end fundraising campaigns to meet their financial goals and make a lasting impact in their communities. Email remains one of the most effective tools for reaching donors. In fact, according to the 2022 Global Trends Giving Report, 26% of respondents indicated that email is the tool that most inspires them to give, outpacing social media (25%), website (17%), and print materials (13%).

However, crafting the perfect message can be a challenge. To help you maximize your year-end giving efforts, we’ve compiled eight best practices for email fundraising that can boost donor engagement, drive more contributions, and inspire lasting support. These strategies will ensure your year-end emails stand out and deliver the results you need.

1. Use a compelling subject line
Your subject line should grab attention and create a sense of urgency or excitement. To find the best phrasing for your subject lines, consider using A/B testing. With this method, you create two variations of the same email, each with a different subject line, and send each version to half of your donors. For example, one of the versions might be vague, like “Noah’s story,” while the other might be more direct, like “Support more soldiers like Noah.” 

By tracking the performance of each version and analyzing open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and other metrics, you can determine which phrasing is more effective for your audience and use that for the rest of the fundraising campaign.

2. Leverage human stories
Use emotional storytelling to connect with your audience, getting them to open their hearts and their wallets. Share the stories of real people who have received and benefitted from the services your organization offers. You can also highlight how their donation can make a tangible difference by including statistics like, “Your gift can provide 50 meals for families in need this winter.” 

Bolster these stories by including impressive numbers about how many people you’ve helped and moving photos that visually showcase the impact of your organization’s mission.

3. Personalize each email 
Personalization is an easy way to increase open rates and engagement. By including variable data tags that pull info from your customer relationship management (CRM) system or a spreadsheet, you can insert your donors’ names and past donation amounts into your fundraising emails. 

Segmenting your email list takes this personalization a step further. Use data such as giving levels or areas of interest to craft tailored appeals for each segment. For example, send more urgent appeals to lapsed donors, offer special recognition or rewards to top supporters, and send updates on new initiatives or projects to engaged or recent donors. Personalization like this increases the likelihood of a donation by making the ask feel more relevant.

4. Inspire urgency with a countdown
Create a sense of urgency by reminding donors how little time is left in the year to make a donation. Phrases like “Only 48 hours left to make your year-end gift” can drive action by highlighting the limited timeframe donors have to make an impact.

Another way to spur giving is to share how many other people have already contributed to create a sense of community and momentum. Statements like “Join over 500 others who’ve already given this holiday season” help inspire action through social proof, reinforcing that others believe in your cause.

5. Offer a matching gift
If you have a matching gift offer, promote it prominently in your email. For donors, this can be an incentive to give more, knowing their donation will be doubled or tripled. Be sure to include and emphasize a countdown if there’s a limited time frame. It can also be beneficial to explain how the match works by adding a phrase like, “$5 will become $10, $50 will become $100, and $500 will become $1,000.”

6. Add direct calls to action
Encourage giving by providing clear, direct calls to action (CTAs). Instead of simply asking for a donation, frame your CTA in a way that connects emotionally to your cause. Use language like, “Give today to provide educational opportunities to children from low-income families” or “Help us ensure that every senior in our community receives a nutritious meal this holiday season.” Emotional appeals resonate more deeply and can prompt a stronger desire to contribute.

To streamline the donation process, include buttons below these CTAs and ensure that the donation form they link to is mobile-friendly.

7. Send multiple emails…but not one right after the other (please)
Timing is important for end-of-year fundraising. Send a series of emails, at least 4-8, throughout December. Each email should have a unique angle, like showcasing a beneficiary story or featuring a countdown. Create a schedule to avoid overwhelming your audience with too many emails.

You can also figure out the best time of day to send emails to your specific audience. Some people might check their emails first thing in the morning, others during a lunch break in the afternoon, and others in the evening after the workday ends. Compare open rates, click-through rates, and other metrics to see when your donors are most engaged throughout the day.

8. Express gratitude
Be sure to send a thank you email at the end of your campaign. The first week of January is prime time to express your gratitude. You can include details about how much was raised or the different projects those funds will be allocated toward. Either way, this final email will reinforce the positive experiences your donors had while contributing and will encourage future giving.