Whether you are a small nonprofit or a bigger organization, you’ve likely heard about or are using email for communications functions in your organization.

Are you using it to reach new donors, communicate with current ones, or to host a gala and ensure attendance and a full roster of sponsors?

Email remains a dominant channel in nonprofit communications. Around 86% of nonprofits now use email marketing as part of their strategy. And yet...

• Nonprofits still don’t fully maximize email’s potential (e.g., only ~13% use gated content to grow lists, and under 20% use website pop-ups effectively).

• List growth is slowing compared to earlier years — list sizes grew by only ~4% recently.

• Email fundraising revenue as a share of total online revenue has dipped slightly in recent years — e.g., down from 14% to ~11%.

But email continues to be one of the most effective fundraising channels:

• A third of donors say email is most inspiring to them to give.

• Nearly half of supporters prefer email as their main channel for communication with nonprofits.

Yet, the amount raised per fundraising email and the share of total online revenue attributed to email are slightly declining, signaling that nonprofits need smarter segmentation and messaging to maintain impact.

✔ thoughtful segmentation and personalization

✔ AI-assisted content and automation

✔ mobile-optimized, interactive design

✔ integrated donor journeys that span channels

✔ proactive deliverability and list management

Nonprofits that master these areas are positioned to deepen engagement and drive more consistent fundraising outcomes throughout 2026 and beyond.

Join Ben Abel, TechSoup Co-Host and Chapter Volunteer from 2020-2025, as he helps you solve your email marketing challenges, making it a fun exercise with some learning along the way.