How to Use Non-Profit Email Templates to Set Up Appointments

4 Wordstir tips for writing efficient non-profit email templates

 

Once you start pitching to non-profit decision-makers, you have to know that a high percentage of non-profit organizations are responsive; however, they are not interested in direct commercial offers aiming to close the deals. Here is another history. The primary goal, in contrast to commercial outreaches, is to create your emails for non-profits to pique their interest in your product's necessity. Why do they need it? Why should they invest in your product? 

 

Based on our experience with non-profit institutions, we worked out our strategy for targeting appropriate titles and are willing to share it with you. 

 

       1. Select the right decision-makers and learn more about them. 

In order to create a well-performed email template, it is not enough to follow basic rules. Moreover, you must be out of the box while reaching out to non-business entities. 

 

Mind that titles in commercial companies vs. NPOs differ in terms of position levels. 

Often, in small non-profit organizations with less than 15 million turnovers, there is no person in charge or the owner who makes the ultimate decision. This is an interchangeable environment where the organization's goals are distributed between various members. These members are mostly volunteers or part-time employees whose focus doesn’t tend to be totally involved in the activity. 

 

Therefore, it is essential to identify the right person in the organization and select appropriate titles whose interests will be relevant to yours. Follow these steps:

• Conduct due diligence
• Define the correct person to reach out
• Create the portrait of the prospect
• Customize the email accordingly
  
  

       2. Create value indifferent from what you are used to. 

 

Once again, the value you deliver in your email depends on the title of the person you address to. Behavioral patterns of the persons working in NPO differ greatly. For instance, while C-level executives in retail industries are looking for optimized and streamlined solutions to their businesses, people engaged in non-profit organizations are open to communication unless it regards commercial sales intents to directly sell the product. Thus, if you are going to target your prospect with something like this:

 

“Our solution helped our clients cut costs by 20%...”, 

or “Compared to our competitors, we are the number one company with lower prices..”, 

or “Our Client 1 and Client 2 boosted their ROI by… ”

 

—> It would be a useless attempt to build a connection with prospects in this sector.

 

Moreover, it is worth paying attention to the products they already use since your product can be of the same functionality. And offering the same product because it has a lower price, for example, is senseless since non-profit organizations have free opportunities for utilizing different paid tools and platforms. 

 

       3. Personalize your email according to the non-profit business model

 

Considering the specifics of this industry and how such organizations operate, formulate your value proposition to express empathy and concern about the activity this non-profit organization runs. You may want to focus on your business strengths, but keep in mind that they should be provided with consideration of the organization’s needs and goals. Are your product benefits beneficial to them? And here we come to the precise determination of your target audience again. 

 

For those who just started reaching out to NPOs, we want to share one essential hint before creating the email: identify their funding sources. Let’s model two scenarios. In general, there are two sources of income for NPO:

 

1. Individual donations
2. Corporate contributions and grants.

 

The financing type defines how the organization uses certain products/tools/services. By that, we mean if, for instance, the organization is financed by individual donations, it has freedom of action, allowing its members to decide by themselves what product or tool to utilize. In contrast to individual contributions, the funds from the grants are spent as outlined, with specific conditions attached and policies set. Basically, understanding this difference significantly impacts how you formulate your CTA in the email and how your copy will perform. 

 

Wordstir Note: For example, if your product has similar functionality to that product this organization incorporates and this tool is financed by the grant, your chances to stand out in your non-profit email outreach is close to zero. In order to make the prospect see the value of your offer, you must wrap up your outreach in a way your product can bring alternative solutions to this organization with additional perks, for example. Let’s say you pitch CRM, but they already have free access to Salesforce CRM. Offering a CRM integration platform or something like this will have more chances to make your prospects resonate. 

 

       4. Use a friendly and conversational tone of voice 

 

Avoid formal emails and subject lines using the name of the organization. Since there are mostly no responsible people for running operations in small NPO, the “mood” you share in your email has to be casual without formality. We at Wordstir elaborated upon our own educational and conversational approach, according to which we ask for an online appointment setting to share our insights and trends. Your main goal is not to push your product but rather to show your interest in the organization’s development. Via such an approach, you build a connection with the prospects where you deal with educational material aiming to improve their current activity. 

 

In addition, you can always ask for a referral name in the organization who will be more interested in your proposal.

Wordstir Note: To fuel the interest in prospects’ minds, try out the email sequence geared toward the gradual involvement of your target audience without being too pushy or intrusive.

 

4 Non-profit email examples

 

Template 1: Focus on the prospect’s needs

 

Good day {{Title}} {{FirstName}},

 

I’m {Name}, the founder of {Company}, reaching out to you regarding your Church’s cultural transformation and retention level of first-time guests. 

 

We believe in helping people find their place in the world and bringing hope to their despair. We help churches attract and retain a higher number of members by creating a culture of belonging. Often, churches fail to reach the desired effect from their social media or have an issue with reaching people that look somewhat like the community than the people coming through their doors.

 

As a former pastor myself and a person who’s been both excluded and done the excluding, I’m very proud that we at {Company} share the idea that every church should foster belonging and a relationship with God for everyone.

Would be great to have a brief talk; I could expand on how we can help {{Company}} by conducting your online presence inventory and Sunday Morning Review (where we go through your Sunday morning as a first-time guest), etc. Would you have any time slots next week?

Blessings,

 

Template 2: Just a quick follow-up

 

Wave 2 - Same thread

Hi {{Title}} {{FirstName}},

Have you had a moment to review my earlier note on your Church’s cultural transformation to help a larger number of your first-time guests find Hope in Jesus?

Would you be interested in a brief talk next week to learn how we can help? I’d just need 15-20 min of your time.

Blessings,

 

Template 3: Incorporate educational approach

 

Wave 3
SL 1: {{Company}} becoming a Community center
SL 2: {{Company}} and First to Faithful: follow-up

Hi {{Title}} {{FirstName}},

I’ve tried contacting you several times, but the timing must have been off. I hope today works.

You are definitely aware of that, and I just wanted to highlight that when your Church is a community center, when belonging is a reflex, first-time guests don’t come in with the perspective of ‘just Church shopping/Church hopping,’ they come in because they’ve heard about it and want to be a part of it.

We at {Company} have extensive experience in helping churches achieve that. We aren’t interested in behavior modification, which is what many companies provide; we believe in Church transformation, a community transformation, where Churches transition from country clubs to community centers. 

Would you be available for a brief chat next Tuesday so that I could share some other info on what we can do for your Church to become a Community center?

Blessings,

 

Template 4: Focusing on pain points and 

 

Wave 4 - Same thread

Hi {{Title}} {{FirstName}},

I’m circling back again to remind you of my suggestion to have a brief talk to discuss your Church’s state of the collaboration (as opposed to the state of the union). We’d talk about the past and the present, and after identifying some symptoms and some diagnoses, we would figure out if there is a potential partnership for the future together.

Would you be interested and available?

 

What mistakes do businesses make? 

 

X They use the same approaches as while targeting commercial businesses.  

X They write lengthy emails using formal language and boilerplate designs, fonts, and colors. 

 

Such a behavioral pattern in your cold email outreach to non-profit organizations is the path to failure. The central values of NPO are trustworthiness, honesty, and faith. Consider this while setting up a conversation with your prospects: how you deliver your message will directly impact your credibility and trust.