Eight Engaging Content Ideas For Non-Profits That Aren’t Fundraising Asks

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This piece is excerpted from Ephraim Gopin’s new book, “101 Email Content Ideas That Are Not a Fundraising Ask,” available for purchase here. Use coupon code “inbox” at checkout to get the book for just $12.

“What else can we send besides fundraising asks?”

This is one of the most common questions I get from non-profits. Besides “donate now,” they’re not sure what else to email their subscribers.

My answer is always: “Content variety is the spice of email life.”

Non-profits should be sharing different types of content to keep their audience opening, reading, clicking, and taking action. Mixing in a variety of content is important because it:

• Will boost open and click-through rates (and hopefully conversion rates, too).
• Creates value for the reader. Email is a two-way street. If someone signs up for your newsletter, they expect to get value from it. That value should include more than just updates about your programs and services.
• Builds the relationship with the individual subscriber. The more emails they open and the more content they consume, the more engaged they will become with your mission and work.

And remember: If you’re only sending emails asking for donations, readers will likely start to tune them out. They’ll see your organization’s name in the inbox and think, “Oh, they must be asking for money again!” You want your non-profit to stand for a lot more than that.

I’ve spent the last two decades using email to help non-profits grow while also reading and analyzing tens of thousands of non-profit emails. I’ve seen how many different content ideas are out there, and I’m confident that I have a few suggestions for formats that will connect you to your readers.

Here are a few ideas I think are worth trying:

Tell a story from a different perspective

Storytelling sits at the heart of your fundraising and marketing. A lot of your stories will be about beneficiaries, their needs and how donors are impacting people’s lives.

But I believe that at times you need to change the perspective of the story and tell it from a different angle.

I love this example, from Orbis, a non-profit dedicated to improving eye care — and preventing blindness — around the world. They sent an email highlighting the story of Seymour the Bear, a stuffed animal that they give to every child that receives eye surgery through Orbis. Then they link out, not to a donation ask, but to a blog post about the origin story of Seymour. (There are additional CTAs to donate or learn more on the blog post.) 

It’s an email that gives readers a warm and — appropriately for a message about a stuffed bear — fuzzy feeling. But importantly, they’re also telling a different story than they usually do. Not every email can be about the people you support. It helps to mix in different messages, and Orbis did that by telling an unexpected story.

Here’s one more example I love: Feeding America sent an email as told from the perspective of a teacher. 

Ask them to sign an ecard

Sometimes, engaging readers can be something as simple as asking them to add their signature to an ecard. It’s an easy action for people to take, and it connects them to the mission, work, and staff at your non-profit.

With National Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week approaching, Children’s Day Preschool in New Jersey emailed me with this note, asking me to sign an ecard showing gratitude for their staff:

I’ve seen that readers will engage with content like this — and better still, there’s usually a correlation between readers who engage with these content-first emails and readers who will later donate. By asking them to engage, you can start to create segments of your most-engaged users for future campaigns. 

Here’s another example: Watch and learn from what the American Red Cross did for Valentine’s Day in 2023.

One more tip, if you try the ecard strategy: Besides asking readers to add their name, insert a field where people can leave a personalized message. Let them show the love in their own words.

Celebrate a donorversary

Check your database. Find the date when a donor gave their first donation to your organization. Send an email on that date celebrating them — that’s their “donorversary”!

Spread happy emojis on your header image. Send a video of staff saying thank you and throwing confetti in the air. Add a celebration GIF.

Personalize the email. Show you appreciate them. Make them feel your love, warmth, and gratitude.

That’s a powerful way to build relationships.

Crowdsource content from readers

In honor of Leap Day, February 29, I asked my subscribers to submit songs about leaping, jumping, or clearing hurdles. If they could find songs with the number 29 in it, that was even better.

I then took all the submissions and created a Leap Day playlist. We created a space for audience participation, and something they could enjoy listening to, too.

You could crowdsource content in other ways, too. You could ask readers to write back in with original stories that could be re-shared in your newsletter, or you could invite readers to recommend a book or product as part of a roundup. (I’ll share an example of an email of resources below.) Readers’ engagement is a great way to mix things up, and as a bonus, getting readers to reply may also help with deliverability.

Be transparent about where their donations go

Let’s say your non-profit raises money to help people in need of food or medical supplies. Your organization recently asked followers to donate so you could ship life-saving supplies to these people. Don’t let that be the end of the campaign — keep readers in the loop by tracking shipment of supplies.

Show where you order the supplies from, and how they get packaged and ready for shipment. Use a map to show their journey, and then show them actually reaching the centers where they are distributed.

Let people see how you’re using their gift to make an impact. Use email to show the process (through words, icons and pictures), or start the story in an email and direct traffic to a blog post with all the details (which can include video).

Share a few free resources

Email shouldn’t just be about your non-profit asking for donations. You should be providing additional value for your readers, too. One way to do that is to share free resources they can benefit from.

The Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington shared this list of useful smartphone apps — all of which might be useful to readers who are vision impaired:

You can also consider creating a content/resource hub on your website featuring this sort of content. From time to time, remind subscribers to visit the page — or incorporate it into your welcome series.

Educate readers about your cause 

The reader who cares about your non-profit is probably also interested in getting smarter and more informed about whatever space you operate in. Taking the time to educate them about your world is a good way to engage and connect with them.

Take the American Red Cross, which once sent an email with instructions of what to do in case of fire. That’s on brand for them, but it’s also the kind of thing a reader might want to save for later — you never know when you might need those instructions.

Ocean Conservancy sent an email with facts about jellyfish, which they used as a way to start a conversation about their mission and work.

Or here’s one, from Sightsavers, which sent a brilliant email with a cataract simulator. Readers could click through to a tool that would show them what the world would look like with cataracts. You inserted an address, and then you’d see what someone with cataracts would see. Once you’re engaged with their content, then they ask you to support their work.

Celebrate those fun (if fake) holidays

World Porcupine Day is coming up and you’re a pet shelter? Post five reasons why porcupines wouldn’t make good pets.

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day is on Saturday, and you run the email strategy for a non-profit that works with kids in your community? Email subscribers and ask them to share with you their favorite ice cream sundae toppings.

Non-profits deal with such heavy topics: Disease, homelessness, hunger, and the like. It’s okay from time to time to have some fun, do something different, and put a smile on the faces of your readers.

Remember: Email is an excellent platform for connecting with subscribers, mobilizing them to take action and building a relationship that will last. 

But email success relies on your ability to share a variety of email content. Provide value while keeping people engaged, interested, and informed so that when you do send a campaign asking readers to donate, they’ll be likelier to open the email and give.

Ephraim Gopin’s new book “101 Email Content Ideas That Are Not a Fundraising Ask,” features 101 content ideas for non-profit emails. You can buy the book here — use coupon code “inbox” to get the book for just $12.