Email marketing for UK charities: tools, rules and best practices

Despite the rise of social media and other digital channels, email remains one of the most effective communication tools available to UK charities. Strategically crafted email campaigns engage donors, inspire supporters, and amplify your cause.

A solid email marketing programme gives your charity a reliable fundraising channel. Regular updates, appeals, and stewardship emails keep supporters informed and connected with your work.

This guide covers the key benefits of email marketing for UK charities, best practices for launching effective campaigns, and the types of emails that deliver results.

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In this article:

• Why email works for UK charities

• Benefits of email for UK charities

• 13 types of charity emails you can send

• 11 email marketing best practices for UK charities

• Top email marketing tools for UK charities

• Final thoughts on email marketing for UK charities

• Frequently asked questions

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Why email works for UK charities

Email offers one of the highest returns on investment of any outreach channel available to charities. Sector benchmarks from NCVO and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising consistently show email among the most cost-effective ways to reach supporters and drive donations.

Donors and supporters prefer email as a communication channel. A significant share of supporters say they prefer to hear about updates and appeals by email, and many report that emails inspire them to give or take action. As an owned channel, email puts your charity in direct contact with supporters, independently of algorithm changes or platform fees.

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Benefits of email for UK charities

Email campaigns benefit UK charities in several ways, all contributing to one goal: spend less and raise more.

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Cost-effective

Small UK charities typically stitch together several separate tools: a newsletter platform, a donation page, a ticketing system, and a CRM. That stack can cost £50 to £200 or more each month.

Zeffy's 100% free supporter management platform consolidates supporter communications, donations, ticketing, and supporter management in a single platform with no platform fee and no transaction fee, ever.

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Personalise communication

Personalised email communication builds stronger relationships with your supporters.

• Segment your email list based on demographics, giving history, and engagement level.

• Create custom segments for first-time donors, regular givers, and lapsed supporters.

• Tailor your messages to each group, acknowledging their previous support and the events or campaigns they have taken part in.

By delivering relevant content to each segment, you foster stronger relationships and continue raising money for your cause.

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Boosts donor engagement

Email marketing is a highly effective tool for boosting donor engagement. Regular communication keeps supporters informed about your charity's activities, impact, and upcoming events.

Email campaigns with clear calls-to-action encourage supporters to take specific steps: making a donation, signing a petition, or volunteering.

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Supports Gift Aid and regular giving

Email is the primary channel most UK charities use to capture and update Gift Aid declarations. A valid declaration lets your charity reclaim 25p from HMRC for every £1 donated by a UK taxpayer, at no extra cost to the donor.

Email is also the most effective way to convert one-off donors to regular giving. Direct Debit is the dominant UK regular-giving channel, accounting for around 31% of all UK charity donations. A well-timed email sequence can guide supporters from their first gift to a monthly Direct Debit commitment, securing a more reliable income stream for your charity.

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13 types of charity emails you can send

• 1. Welcome emails

• 2. Newsletters

• 3. Appeals: call to donate

• 4. Advocacy: call to act

• 5. Thank you and update emails

• 6. Share a success story

• 7. Seasonal and calendar-moment emails

• 8. Honour a significant day

• 9. Automated supporter series

• 10. Fundraising email campaigns

• 11. Number and statistic-based emails

• 12. Matching donation emails

• 13. Question and survey emails

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1. Welcome emails

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Welcome email campaigns introduce your organisation and share your mission with new subscribers. They are your charity's first impression.

The series can be structured as follows:

• Email 1 (sent immediately): Introduction to your charity, its mission, and the impact it creates. Explain what subscribers can expect from your emails and how their support makes a difference.

• Email 2 (sent 2 to 3 days later): Dive deeper into your charity's programmes, highlighting specific initiatives and success stories. Encourage subscribers to explore your website and social media channels for more information.

• Email 3 (sent 7 to 10 days later): Invite subscribers to take action, such as making their first donation, signing up for a volunteer opportunity, or sharing your mission with their networks. Emphasise the importance of their involvement in achieving your charity's goals.

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2. Newsletters

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Newsletters are the most common yet effective component of a charity email marketing campaign. Here are five reasons why newsletters work:

• Help raise awareness of your cause

• Provide resources and education for subscribers

• Update supporters on your programmes and upcoming events

• Share impact stories and useful statistics

• Spotlight a staff member, volunteer, or supporter's efforts

Since newsletters are recurring emails with a consistent structure, sent on a regular schedule, you can create email templates to save time.

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3. Appeals: call to donate

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Make your appeal emails emotionally compelling to increase donations. Use stories, not just statistics.

Instead of asking for funds to help children in general, share a specific story about a young person your charity has supported. Rather than a generic "Donate now", use copy such as "Help feed a child this winter" to make the impact tangible. It shows supporters exactly how they are making a difference.

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4. Advocacy: call to act

Your charity will always need supporters to further its mission. Use advocacy emails to encourage passionate people to act on issues they care about.

An advocacy email should include:

• A concise explanation of the issue you are working to address

• A clear call-to-action telling supporters exactly how they can help

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5. Thank you and update emails

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Sending thank-you emails with a short appreciation note and an update on your work is a proven way to boost donor retention.

UK supporters strongly favour email as the primary thanking channel: quicker than post, and warmer than a receipt-only acknowledgement. By subscribing to your emails, supporters have signalled they want to hear from your charity. Keeping them informed helps them stay engaged and encourages them to give again.

This is also the natural moment to remind eligible UK taxpayers to complete or update their Gift Aid declaration, adding 25p per £1 to every qualifying donation at no cost to the supporter.

Thank-you and update emails can highlight:

• Your charity's major milestones, such as reaching a specific fundraising target or supporting a particular number of people

• Anniversary celebrations of your organisation

• Your charity's latest programmes, fundraising campaigns, or upcoming events

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6. Share a success story

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Celebrate your charity's achievements with your supporters. Success stories help them see the real difference their contributions have made.

Highlight specific stories that demonstrate your charity's impact. These may include:

• Testimonials from people you have helped

• Photographs showing the difference your work has made

• Statistics and outcomes from a fundraising campaign

Sharing this kind of content builds trust and strengthens your charity's credibility with supporters.

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7. Seasonal and calendar-moment emails

The UK giving calendar offers rich opportunities throughout the year. Capitalise on key moments by planning seasonal email campaigns in advance.

Key UK fundraising moments to build campaigns around include:

• Giving Tuesday (widely observed in the UK in late November and early December; explore Giving Tuesday campaign ideas for UK charities)

• The Big Give Christmas Challenge (UK's largest online matched-giving campaign, running in December)

• Remembrance Sunday (November)

• Children in Need (November, BBC)

• Comic Relief and Red Nose Day (March, bi-annual)

• Macmillan Coffee Morning (late September)

• Christmas appeal season (December and the final weeks of the calendar year)

Plan your seasonal fundraising campaigns well in advance and notify supporters through timely email communications. Encourage them to donate to a meaningful cause rather than buying another gift.

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8. Honour a significant day

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Targeting a significant awareness day that aligns with your charity's mission can help you raise substantial donations.

UK awareness moments worth building campaigns around include:

• Volunteers' Week (early June, run by NCVO)

• Mental Health Awareness Week (May, Mental Health Foundation)

• Trustees' Week (November)

• Diabetes Week (June, Diabetes UK)

• National Storytelling Week (January and February)

• Any sector-specific awareness month that resonates with your cause

Find a significant day that aligns with your charity's work and build your email marketing around it. Include content related to the occasion and clear guidance on how supporters can get involved.

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9. Automated supporter series

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Email automation saves time and maintains consistent engagement with your donors.

Divide your welcome email into a three-part series to introduce your charity, its mission, and its impact. Automating thank-you emails for every milestone your donors reach demonstrates genuine appreciation for their support.

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10. Fundraising email campaigns

Sometimes your charity emails are purely focused on requesting donations. These fundraising emails are essential to encourage:

• Annual giving

• End-of-year donations

• Emergency appeals such as disaster relief

• Donations through Giving Tuesday campaigns

You can also use a dedicated fundraising email to prompt eligible supporters to add a Gift Aid declaration to their previous donations. Under HMRC rules, declarations can be backdated up to four years, meaning a single email can unlock significant additional income from past gifts with no extra cost to the donor.

Pro tip: To create urgency, include countdowns or a fundraising thermometer. Visualising your goal encourages more supporters to contribute.

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11. Number and statistic-based emails

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Including compelling statistics in your subject line grabs subscribers' attention immediately and demonstrates the urgency of your cause.

For example, subject lines could reference statistics such as:

• "1 in 3 people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water", if your mission centres on sanitation and clean water.

• The number of emergency food parcels distributed by the Trussell Trust in the most recent year, if your charity addresses food insecurity in the UK.

• Outcomes from your own charity annual report showing how donations have changed lives.

Build on these statistics in the email body and prompt supporters to donate.

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12. Matching donation emails

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Many donors are more motivated to give when they know their donation will be matched. The idea of doubling the impact of every contribution makes matching gift emails a highly effective fundraising tactic.

Although matching campaigns run less frequently than other fundraising appeals, they can generate significant income. To drive contributions, particularly during key fundraising moments, include a matching donation appeal or a direct link to your donation form.

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13. Question and survey emails

Including surveys and question-based messages makes your charity's email marketing more interactive. They help you learn more about your supporters and improve your email list segmentation.

Surveys give supporters a voice, which can distinguish your charity from others. They also enable you to send more personalised emails with content that is genuinely relevant to each segment.

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11 email marketing best practices for UK charities

• 1. Build a healthy email list

• 2. Get consent and comply with UK GDPR and PECR

• 3. Be consistent with your emails

• 4. Focus on targeted messaging

• 5. Adopt a mobile-first email design

• 6. Create personalised campaigns

• 7. Include a call-to-action

• 8. Automate your charity email marketing

• 9. Segment your supporter database

• 10. Optimise your email marketing campaign

• 11. Monitor your campaign's performance

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1. Build a healthy email list

Your fundraising campaigns deserve to reach the right inboxes. Building a strong email list is essential to maximising the impact of your charity's email marketing.

Here are some practical tips:

• Ask attendees for their email addresses at every charity event. With Zeffy, you can easily create email signup forms to capture new subscribers.

• Promote your signup page across all your channels and keep the process as simple as possible. A pop-up signup form can help increase conversions.

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2. Get consent and comply with UK GDPR and PECR

Emailing supporters who have not opted in will harm your campaign's engagement rates. It is also a legal requirement to obtain appropriate consent or a lawful basis before sending marketing emails.

UK charity email marketing is governed by several overlapping frameworks:

• UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply to all personal data you hold on supporters. You must have a clear lawful basis to collect and process supporter information.

• PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations) specifically governs direct e-marketing by email and SMS. Charities must obtain consent or establish an appropriate lawful basis before sending marketing messages.

• New "soft opt-in" guidance for charities (2026), issued by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), provides more flexibility for organisations contacting existing supporters about similar activities.

• The Code of Fundraising Practice (in force from 1 November 2025) sets out expectations for responsible fundraising. Section 2.1.5 requires explicit consent or a legitimate-interest basis before sharing or selling supporter data. Section 9 sets specific expectations for online platforms and digital communications.

• The Fundraising Preference Service (FPS), operated by the Fundraising Regulator, lets supporters request that charities stop contacting them. You must honour any FPS request promptly.

Fines under UK GDPR can reach up to £17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover, enforced by the ICO. Robust consent processes also protect your emails from landing in spam folders.

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3. Be consistent with your emails

Schedule your email content to stay organised and maintain regular contact with your donors.

Maintain a consistent sending schedule rather than emailing in bursts only when a campaign is live. Consistency helps you nurture your supporters and build long-term relationships with them.

Note: Make sure every email contains valuable and relevant information for the recipient.

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4. Focus on targeted messaging

A one-size-fits-all approach does not work in charity email marketing. Rather than sending the same email to every donor on your list, segment supporters according to their interests and giving history.

Most email marketing platforms let you segment your list to create targeted campaigns. Add custom questions to your signup form to learn about new supporters' preferences from the outset.

Send survey emails to understand what your existing donors care about most.

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5. Adopt a mobile-first email design

A significant proportion of emails in the UK are opened on a mobile device, according to research by Ofcom on digital communications. Your email campaigns must be mobile-friendly for better accessibility on smartphones and tablets. Even excellent content will be ignored if the email is not easy to read on a small screen.

Most email marketing services provide responsive templates that adapt automatically to mobile devices and desktops.

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6. Create personalised campaigns

Personalised campaigns allow your emails to feel as relevant as messages from friends or colleagues. Personalised emails achieve substantially higher open rates than generic mass communications.

Use personalisation tactics such as referencing past interactions or previous donations made by the recipient. Tailor the content to their known interests and preferences. Keep the design clean and avoid excessive animations or external links.

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7. Include a call-to-action

What do you want your subscriber to do next? Do you want them to donate to your cause or register for an upcoming event? Be direct with your calls-to-action to reduce the time it takes a reader to understand what you need from them.

A call-to-action in your email prompts the reader to take a specific step. It typically accompanies a button or a link to a donation form, event registration page, or campaign landing page.

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8. Automate your charity email marketing

UK charities manage many tasks at once, from administration to events and programme delivery. Finding time to send emails consistently can be a real challenge.

Email automation keeps your audience engaged while you focus on other priorities. Automated emails consistently generate higher engagement and revenue compared to non-automated equivalents.

Emails you can automate easily include:

• Welcome emails

• Thank-you emails

• Donor retention emails

Make sure to include links to your social media profiles in automated emails so supporters can stay connected with your work on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

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9. Segment your supporter database

Segmenting your email list ensures you send the right message to the right person at the right moment.

Each individual in your supporter database is at a different stage of their relationship with your charity. Your emails should reflect where each supporter is on that journey.

Create segments based on:

• Donation amount

• Events attended

• Actions taken on your website

• Engagement on your social channels

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10. Optimise your email marketing campaign

Beyond the email body, pay attention to elements such as subject lines and visual design.

Ensure your subject line is concise and fully visible on both desktop and mobile screens. Your emails should be easy to scan, with:

• Enough white space

• Clear breaks in the text

• Supporting images

• Link buttons

Most email marketing software includes pre-built design templates that help you optimise your emails for better engagement rates.

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11. Monitor your campaign's performance

Analytics are essential for improving your email strategy over time. Email marketing software gives you access to key metrics such as:

• Open rates

• Click-through rates (CTR)

• The days and times when your emails are most often opened

If one group of supporters opens emails on Thursday mornings and another on Tuesday mornings, you can send to each group at their preferred time to maximise engagement.

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Top email marketing tools for UK charities

• 1. Zeffy

• 2. Mailchimp

• 3. Beacon

• 4. Donorfy

• 5. Brevo

• 6. HubSpot for Nonprofits

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1. Zeffy

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GetApp rating: 4.8/5

Zeffy is a complete fundraising solution that gives UK charities a comprehensive set of tools at no cost whatsoever. The platform includes an email marketing tool that lets you send targeted and personalised emails with no platform fee. Unlike most email marketing tools, Zeffy lets you send unlimited emails and set up email automation.

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• Create custom email lists

• Access email marketing insights including open rates, click-throughs, and unsubscribes

• Set up email automation workflows

• Add links to pre-filled donation forms in emails

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2. Mailchimp

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GetApp rating: 4.5/5

Mailchimp is a widely used email marketing platform that offers tools to design, send, and track email campaigns. It provides easy segmentation and automation features, and integrates with CRMs and online donation platforms.

Mailchimp's features include:

• Drag-and-drop email editor

• Data insights and reporting

• Lead capture landing pages

• A/B testing

• Autoresponder templates

Mailchimp offers a 15% discount to verified charities. Its free plan supports one user, up to 500 contacts, and 1,000 emails per month, but does not include advanced customisation or segmentation features. Many small UK charities find they outgrow the free tier as their supporter lists grow. Check current UK pricing at Mailchimp's website before committing to a plan.

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3. Beacon

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Beacon is a UK-built fundraising CRM that has been rated the number one fundraising CRM in the UK by Fundraising Magazine for six consecutive years. It includes native email marketing alongside Gift Aid claim submission and supporter management, making it a strong choice for UK charities that want CRM and communications in one place.

Beacon's features include:

• Drag-and-drop email builder

• Advanced segmentation and personalisation

• Native Gift Aid claim submission to HMRC

• Supporter timeline and relationship tracking

• Integration with GoCardless, Stripe, and major UK donation platforms

Beacon starts from around £33.50 per month, with pricing based on the number of active supporters. It suits fundraising-led small and medium UK charities that want a modern CRM with built-in email tools. Check current pricing at Beacon's website before purchasing.

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4. Donorfy

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Donorfy is a UK-built supporter CRM now owned by The Access Group. It offers a free tier for up to 500 supporters and paid plans above that threshold. It integrates with GoCardless, Stripe, JustGiving, and Mailchimp, making it a practical option for charities already using those platforms.

Donorfy's features include:

• Supporter record management and contact history

• Gift Aid reporting and submission support

• Integration with GoCardless for Direct Debit regular giving

• Reporting and analytics dashboard

• Flexible API for connecting other platforms

For charities that prioritise integrations and flexibility over a polished built-in email tool, Donorfy is a practical and affordable choice. Check current pricing at Donorfy's website.

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5. Brevo

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Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a popular email marketing platform among small UK charities, particularly those who have outgrown Mailchimp's free tier. It offers a generous free plan and competitive paid tiers for organisations with growing lists.

Brevo's features include:

• Drag-and-drop email editor

• Email automation workflows

• SMS marketing

• Landing pages

• Segmentation and personalisation tools

Brevo does not currently offer a dedicated UK charity discount, but its pricing structure is competitive for small organisations managing a growing supporter list. Check current pricing at Brevo's website before committing.

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6. HubSpot for Nonprofits

GetApp rating: 4.5/5

HubSpot offers an all-in-one marketing platform that includes tools for email marketing, CRM, sales, customer service, social media marketing, and content management. UK charities can create campaigns and access landing pages, forms, social media advertising, and a wide range of templates.

The platform also offers live chat capabilities, advanced analytics, and detailed reporting features.

HubSpot's free plan is limited on users, analytical tools, and monthly email sends. Through the HubSpot for Nonprofits programme, eligible organisations can access a 40% discount on paid plans. Check current UK pricing and eligibility criteria at HubSpot's website.

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Final thoughts on email marketing for UK charities

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Committed donors are the backbone of any charity. A strong email marketing strategy helps convert potential supporters into loyal donors and drives more donations for your organisation.

Diversify your email strategy across the 13 types of emails above and follow UK best practices, from building a GDPR-compliant list to personalising every campaign and prompting Gift Aid declarations at every opportunity, to achieve your fundraising goals.

Zeffy's 100% free fundraising and supporter management platform gives UK charities everything they need to run targeted email campaigns, engage their community, and acquire new donors, with no platform fee and no transaction fee, ever.

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Frequently asked questions

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