April 6, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Mercifully Brief Real World Guide to Raising Thousands (if Not Tens of Thousands) of Dollars With Email
by Madeline Stanionis
Madeline Stanionis, president of Donordigital, an Internet fund-raising company, shares some of the basics of creating an effective e-mail campaign to raise money and increase awareness about a group’s mission.
E-mail is cost-effective, easy, and fast, Ms. Stanionis writes, but it was Hurricane Katrina that demonstrated how powerful a fund-raising tool it can be. She begins with an example of the Humane Society of the United States, which raised $10-million online in the days following the storm last summer.
The book outlines 10 steps for nonprofit groups, showing them how to compile lists of e-mail addresses, solicit donations, and stand out in a sea of junk e-mail. She says that smart organizations supplement solicitations with campaign updates and acknowledgments, or “cultivation messages,” to keep supporters engaged.
“Donors will quickly tire of your messages, and click delete, if all you do is ask for money,” she warns.
Ms. Stanionis illustrates her recommendations with screen captures of successful solicitations, interactive polls, and Web sites.
Publisher: Emerson & Church, P.O. Box 338, Medfield, Mass. 02052; (508) 359-0019; fax (508) 359-2703; http://www.emersonandchurch.com; 108 pages; $24.95; ISBN 1-889102-05-9.
