Nonprofit Newsletter Examples to Inspire You

In this blog, we’re going to show you some great nonprofit newsletter examples.

It‘s not always easy to come up with designs and content that get results, so we hope our showcase of the best out there will give you inspiration!

The big charities can depend on in-house teams of marketers, designers, and other experts.

But not every nonprofit can.

Clever email marketing can have a huge impact on your fundraising and subscriber numbers even on a small scale.

How?

By using our nonprofit newsletter examples gallery to build brilliant campaigns of your own!

We’re going to look at nonprofit newsletter examples in seven categories, so just click on one of the links below to skip ahead to the relevant examples.

1. Welcome Emails
2. Thank You Emails
3. Targeted Appeals
4. Lapsed Donors
5. Showcasing the Work
6. Updates and News
7. Feedback

1. Welcome Emails

75% of new subscribers to any email list expect to get a welcome message, so it’s vital that you make a good first impression.

Above is a simple welcome email from the British Legion.

• It uses personalization, which welcomes the new subscriber by name
• By signing off from a real person, the email feels less impersonal
• It includes social media buttons, which helps include engagement across multiple platforms
• The email also includes several simple Calls To Action (CTA)

Normally, we would only recommend one CTA per email. But in a welcome email – when you don’t know a lot about a new subscriber – it can be helpful to give them several options.

So make sure you track and record which CTAs they interact with and build that into their profiles, or else you are not using valuable data! 

Here’s another good example from Save The Children.

Note how the “donate” CTA has been made more prominent than the other inline CTAs, by being displayed as a button

The banner image of a cute kid is also designed to appeal. A lot of our highlighted nonprofit newsletter examples have prominent imagery!

2. Thank You Emails

When somebody donates or subscribes to your list, they are doing something selfless for a good cause. So make sure you thank them!

This thank you email from Charity: Water is incredibly simple yet effective. It shows gratitude and makes the recipient feel good about themselves.

That is an important psychological factor in charitable giving.

On the other hand, this thank you email takes the opportunity to emphasize the impact the donor’s donation will have.

In addition, it includes a “Get Help” button.

This is good because it is important to remember that some people may subscribe to your list because they need your help.

These nonprofit newsletter examples show how your thank you emails can look very different, but still play a critical role.

3. Targeted Appeals

A major survey of charitable giving found that 68.8% of respondents were more likely to donate after receiving a targeted appeal for a specific need.

Great emails draw attention to an urgent problem and how your subscribers can help solve it.

This email creates a sense of urgency and specific need because it presents the case of an individual child in immediate trouble.

Another approach is to stress the effect the donor’s action can have.

Focus on the difference a donation can make, because that will give readers a clear reason to act now.

4. Lapsed Donors

When a subscriber stops interacting with your communications, re-engage them by reminding them of why they support you.

The example above from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital makes it easy to donate with a prominent CTA. It also shows the urgent need for support by illustrating the children’s situations.

All lists see subscriber churn over time, but you should always try to re-engage people who want to leave.

5. Showcasing the Work

Maintaining good relations with donors and supporters depends on proving that money is being put to good use.

Therefore, nonprofits need to keep showing the impact they are having.

The two nonprofit newsletter examples in this section take a different approach.

For example, the one above lists a wide range of achievements.

While the one below highlights a specific accomplishment.

Both these nonprofit newsletter examples are effective because they show subscribers the impact their money is having.

6. Updates and News

An important part of being an engaged charity supporter is feeling up-to-date with activities, developments, and news.

So, nonprofits need to make sure they keep their subscribers fully informed.

This is a good example. 

Why?

Because it lists a wide range of events that supporters can attend AND because it shows how active the Trust is.

On the other hand, this email presents a series of recent stories to showcase Habitat for Humanity’s work.

7. Feedback

Our final nonprofit newsletter examples look at requests for feedback.

This can be through an email with a survey CTA, or by inviting comments and responses. This example is very simple and direct, with a clear call to action.

On the other hand, you can ask for feedback on very specific things. For example, how a donor found the donation process.

You can use the feedback you get to improve supporters’ experience in the future while building a more complete profile of them in your CRM!

We’ve tried to show the wide range of uses nonprofit newsletter examples can be put to.

As you’ve seen, charities have a lot to think about with their email marketing.

The most important thing to remember is that it is ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS and the more engagement you can develop with your supporters, the better.