Neon One, a nonprofit software solutions company, has released a new report, Nonprofit Email Report 2023, that contains data from over 1,500 organizations and establishes benchmarks for the ever-changing landscape of email communications and fundraising.
The report includes statistics and data points from Neon One’s own research, data from other industry sources, and email strategies and takeaways informed by that data–all broken down by organization size.
Data from Neon One’s 2022 report, Donors: Understanding the Future of Individual Giving, found that email is a heavy favorite for donors, with 48% citing it as their preferred method of hearing updates and appeals from the organization.
Supporters prefer to receive updates and appeals via email, which makes it the single most important communication channel and the most effective digital fundraising channel.
Supporting this is data from the Global Trends in Giving Report, which found that 26% of donors say email is the tool that most inspires them to give, outpacing social media, websites, and print materials.
These trends indicate that understanding key performance benchmarks and using data-backed email strategies is critical for nonprofits.
Report Findings/Takeaways include:
- The average small nonprofit’s email open rate is 45.70%
- Unsubscribe rates tend to be similar (+/- .03%) across organization size
- The average nonprofit raised $5,598.51 per email campaign
- Donors engage with emails most on Wednesday and Friday
- Avoid words like “reminder,” “member,” and “meeting” in your subject line
- Include imagery in your emails for higher engagement
The report also highlights the Most Engaging Email of 2022, written by Science Olympiad, a nonprofit organization that promotes science education through competitive events.
