Did you know that nonprofits raised an impressive $78 for every 1,000 fundraising messages sent? Unsurprisingly, nonprofits that correctly utilize email marketing strategies can convey their stories effectively. Consequently, they attract the wider masses and in turn receive more support from the community. So, no matter whether the goal of your nonprofit’s marketing campaign is to raise awareness, host fundraising events, or recruit volunteers, it’s handy to know which email marketing platforms are the best.
It’s widely known that sending newsletters via BCC in emails is a bad idea. But, surprisingly, even in 2023, some nonprofits still do it, risking their emails going to spam or breaking email laws. That’s why nonprofits should seriously think about using trusted email marketing platforms to improve their outreach.
In this article, we will go over 10 email marketing platforms that are widely acknowledged as the best for nonprofit organizations.
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Nonprofit Email Marketing Platforms for Simplicity and Ease of Use
Mailchimp
Mailchimp boasts an impressive user base with 2.4 million Monthly Active Users (MAU), as of its last update on September 13, 2021. As one of the most popular and user-friendly email marketing platforms, Mailchimp offers a variety of tools that are not only beloved by users worldwide but also a good fit for nonprofits. You can easily create and send beautiful emails, manage your subscriber lists, and track the performance of your campaigns. Furthermore, they offer 15% off to verified nonprofit organizations.
Their free plan is designed for users with up to 500 contacts, letting them send up to 1,000 emails per month with a daily limit of 500 emails. If you are a small nonprofit, this would be a good starting point. Additionally, it provides integrations with various tools and services.
The second cheapest plan, known as “Essentials,” offers an impressive set of tools designed to help you send the right content at the right time. This plan includes tools such as testing and scheduling features, making it ideal for organizations with high standards.
The cost for the “Essentials” plan starts at just $13 per month for 500 contacts. However, it’s important to note that Mailchimp’s pricing scales with the number of contacts you have. For instance, if you have a contact list of 10,000 people, the monthly cost for this plan would be $100.
Get Response
Get Response is the most generous email marketing platform for nonprofits, with 50% off forever. Nonprofits need to have a confirmed NGO status and can’t be political organizations. If you select this discount, they will ask you to place their logo on your website.
You don’t need any technical knowledge to use it. Get Response It has user user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop functionality that enables users to customize emails, landing pages, and workflows with ease. Consequently, you can create impressive emails with ease.
There are currently 6 plans, starting with the Free plan. This plan lets you store 500 contacts, send 2,500 emails per month, and use their charming templates, but there is no automation or segmentation. Those are available in the paid plans only.
As a nonprofit, you could easily go with their most popular plan, “Marketing Automation”. Although the title is pretty self-explanatory, this package offers various neat automation features, advanced segmentation, and even sales funnels. To give an example, for 10,000 contacts, you would pay only around €40 per month with 50% off.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is a stellar and reliable email marketing platform, especially for nonprofits.
First off, it’s as user-friendly as it gets. Creating newsletters is easy and you can lay out your emails exactly how you want them without exhausting your creative resources and wasting time. But that’s not all. Constant Contact also offers complex statistics on email performance, social integrations, and other useful features. In terms of innovation, they also keep the platform updated to stay aligned with the latest trends in email marketing.
While there is no monthly discount for nonprofits, they offer a 20% 6-month prepay discount and 30% for a 12-month prepay.
Constant Contact offers three plans: Lite, Standard, and Premium. The Lite plan starts at $12 per month and includes 0-500 contacts and sending monthly emails up to 10 times the contact tier allowance. However, it does not include the segmentation feature.
Moving on to the other plans, the Standard plan is priced at $35 per month and provides additional features beyond what the Lite plan offers. Lastly, the Premium plan, which costs $80 per month, offers even more advanced features.
As for the pricing scaling based on the number of contacts, let’s take the Lite plan as an example. If you have 10 001-15 000 contacts, the monthly cost will increase to $180, while still letting you send emails up to 10 times the number of contacts you have.
Nonprofit Email Marketing Platforms with Advanced Capabilities
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is another popular email marketing and marketing automation platform. It’s known for its robust features and flexibility, making it a good choice for any company or organization.
When it comes to pricing, ActiveCampaign offers a free trial and 3 paid plans. The most affordable option starts with the Plus plan, priced at $49 per month for up to 1,000 contacts and no email-sending limits. However, thanks to the 20% discount available to nonprofits, you can get it for $39.20 per month. This plan is your go-to if you’re a small team looking to create a fantastic experience for your supporters.
In case you need more features or contacts, they have more plans and pricing that scale with the number of contacts. Needless to say, they come with a heftier price tag. For example, with the Plus plan, the cost would be $379.00 per month for 25,000 contacts with the discount.
ActiveCampaign’s Plus plan delivers the basics for effective marketing. You’ll have access to powerful email marketing & marketing automation, versatile forms (inline, pop-up, and modal), and eCommerce integrations. Plus, they top it off with a clever Email Content Generation AI to give your email marketing efforts an extra boost.
HubSpot
You’ve probably heard of HubSpot since it’s famed for its all-in-one inbound marketing and sales platform. However, they don’t just do CRM and inbound marketing; they have a nifty email marketing tool up their sleeve.
It can do everything from creating email campaigns and managing your contacts to tracking performance, all from one convenient spot. If you feel a bit lazy in the design department, no worries – HubSpot provides many templates to make your emails look slick.
HubSpot also offers a free plan that includes email marketing. Although this plan is good for smaller organizations or anyone just dipping their toes into email marketing waters, it covers only the basics. As a result, this might become limiting as your organization grows. The next step up is the Starter plan, priced at $20 per month and good enough for up to 1,000 contacts. For even more advanced use and size, there’s the Professional package, but it starts at a minimum of $792 for 2000 contacts.
Nonprofits Email Marketing Platforms for Affordability
VerticalResponse
Used by more than 1 400 000 businesses, VerticalResponse gives nonprofits up to 10,000 emails per month for free. If you need more, you can get a 15% off for all their monthly plans. As a result, you get to save more money for running your organization, and in case you need more emails, you can simply upgrade for a reasonable price.
One of VerticalResponse’s key strengths is its user-friendliness. Many organizations appreciate how easy it is to navigate the platform. In fact, simplicity and affordability are often cited as the primary reasons nonprofits make the switch to VerticalResponse. It excels in handling contact management and basic email marketing needs for smaller organizations.
However, it’s worth noting that while VerticalResponse shines in ease of use, it may have some limitations in terms of robust tracking features and template options.
Benchmark Email
Benchmark Email’s motto is to work smarter, not harder. Users seem to agree as they often praise its intuitive & easy-to-use tools, pre-made templates, and drag-and-drop features.
For small to medium-sized nonprofits, this email marketing tool not only saves time and money but is more than enough to create engaging emails with just a few clicks. Besides, Benchmark Email offers a 25% discount to registered non-profit organizations.
Benchmark Email comes in 3 pricing levels. With the Free plan, you can create amazing emails, segment your contact lists, track performance, and use basic automation. However, this plan has limitations, including a cap of 500 contacts and a maximum of 3,500 emails per month.
The Pro plan is available at an affordable price of $9.99. With this plan, you can automate customer journeys, engage subscribers with professionally designed landing pages, and optimize your campaigns with A/B testing. This plan accommodates up to 150,000 contacts and allows you to send up to 7,500 emails per month. If your needs grow beyond these limits, Benchmark Email also offers a flexible send-based pricing option for even greater scalability.
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor is among the most low-cost email marketing platforms for nonprofits and businesses alike. It’s used by large organizations like UNICEF, Library of America, and Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.
Whether you have a large or small email list, you can easily manage it with the drag-and-drop interface. Moreover, it boasts beautiful built-in customizable templates, automation & personalization features, and detailed reporting.
Campaign Monitor offers 3 plans. The core features are already included in the Lite plan, which is priced at €10 per month. It allows you to have up to 505 contacts and send 2,500 emails per month. Both Essential (€18 per month) and Premier Plan (€149 per month) allow unlimited emails. The fee structure does scale based on the contacts’ size. Nonprofits receive a 15% discount.
Nonprofit Email Marketing Platforms with Specialized Features
Brevo (Sendinblue)
Brevo shines with its simplicity and versatility. With a straightforward interface, it’s a breeze to create captivating email campaigns, even for those new to email marketing. Whether you’re aiming to spread the word about your nonprofit’s cause, coordinate fundraising efforts, or keep your supporters engaged with updates, Brevo offers an all-in-one solution for your email marketing needs.
One standout feature is the user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, allowing you to craft beautiful emails in a matter of seconds. What’s more, it’s provided in both free and paid plans.
Brevo offers a Free plan that includes a range of great features. With this plan, not only will you enjoy unlimited contacts, but you can also send up to 300 emails per day. In addition, you get editable email templates for professional campaigns, a drag-and-drop email editor, and the option to send transactional emails.
It’s worth noting that Brevo provides 4 plans. So, if your needs ever expand beyond the Free plan (although it’s already quite comprehensive), you can easily switch. For instance, the Business plan, which includes more features like unlimited marketing automation, A/B testing, send-in optimization, and multi-user access starts at €49 per month.
They do offer a 15% discount for nonprofits, but it only applies to their Enterprise plan. Thus, it might be less accessible for smaller organizations.
Bloomerang
Bloomerang truly excels as a donor management system. You can monitor different donor categories and their levels of engagement. Moreover, you can also easily reconnect with lapsed donors and identify past contributors. Also, it boasts an incredibly user-friendly interface and offers valuable training resources through the Bloomerang Academy.
Furthermore, Bloomerang is the answer to complex donor tracking. It precisely monitors every facet of donor relationships and equips you with the necessary tools to maintain strong connections with your supporters. Creating reports is easy, and crafting letter templates is even simpler.
It also has built-in letter and email editing and management. While these tools might not be as robust as those found in MailChimp or Constant Contact, they still offer the convenience of creating pretty layouts with relative ease.
Bloomerang has 7 pricing plans, from $79 to $699. The most modest option is the Bloomerang Grow plan. This plan is perfect for organizations with 0-1,000 contacts and less than $250K in revenue. It includes perks like 2,500 emails per month, 2 GB of file storage, and unlimited user access.
Final Thoughts on Email Marketing Platforms for Nonprofit
Choosing the right email marketing platform for your nonprofit organization is a critical decision. It can greatly impact your outreach and engagement efforts. As a result, you need to find a solution that offers the reliability and reach that organizations need to succeed in the digital age.
When it comes to the 10 email marketing solutions mentioned above, you can’t go wrong with any of these picks. Each one has been tried and tested to ensure it meets the unique needs of nonprofits like yours.
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Ross Jenkins
Ross Jenkins is the founder of DigitalME and is an ActiveCampaign Certified Consultant. He is ranked #1 on UpWork for his proficiency in digital marketing. DigitalME offers targeted digital solutions and is perfect for anyone who wants to increase leads, sales, and productivity through automation.