A powerful marketing automation suite, ideally built specifically for nonprofits, is a critical requirement to support multi-channel communication strategies and engage constituents effectively. This section details the necessary capabilities related to email and text messaging for fundraising, engagement, and stewardship.
The platform must provide a built-in marketing automation suite that supports multi-channel communications—including email, SMS, direct mail, and potentially in-platform messaging. A unified suite enables integrated donor journeys, coordinated messaging, and simpler campaign management. Preference is given to platforms that consolidate messaging tools or offer strong integration strategies.
“We wanted to send donors an SMS reminder the day before Giving Tuesday, followed by an email appeal the next morning—all triggered from the same workflow. Our previous tools couldn’t sync this easily.”
Advanced segmentation and personalization capabilities are essential for creating relevant, contextual messaging that drives engagement. Segmentation should be powered by real-time CRM data and support dynamic triggers.
“We created a targeted reactivation campaign just for lapsed monthly donors from last year and increased our return rate by 17% using personalized messages.”
The platform should support both automated transactional messages and broadcast communications. This includes emails triggered by donations, form submissions, abandoned carts, and milestone events. Broadcast tools should enable mass communications like newsletters or appeals.
“After setting up our ‘new donor’ welcome series, we saw a 35% increase in second donations within the first 30 days.”
Robust SMS capabilities are a high priority, enabling organizations to reach donors where they are most active. Features should include keyword response flows, short code management, and support for conversational and broadcast texts.
“We used the keyword ‘HOPE’ during a live event and had over 200 donors complete a gift within 15 minutes via SMS.”
Flexible template creation and reuse are important for branding, consistency, and efficiency. Templates should support conditional content and be easy to update or version without requiring technical expertise.
“Our team created campaign-specific templates for Easter and Christmas with personalized subject lines and saw a 2x increase in open rates.”
Managing donor communication preferences is essential for compliance and donor satisfaction. The platform must offer a centralized self-service portal for opt-ins/outs across channels, topics, and campaigns.
“Donors can now unsubscribe from appeals but still receive impact updates or receipts—this has reduced our full list opt-outs by over 40%.”
To maintain a single source of truth, all email and SMS activity should be synced to the CRM. This allows fundraisers and staff to see who was contacted, what was sent, and how the donor responded.
“Having email and SMS logs in Salesforce helps our development team prepare for donor calls and spot engagement trends before they happen.”