5 Creative Ways Charity eCards Can Support Your Mission
Nonprofits are always looking for unique ways to fundraise, gain more community support, and fulfill their missions. While traditional marketing and fundraising methods are reliable, new techniques can invigorate your strategy and stir up excitement amongst your supporters.
eCards are a popular way for people to message friends and family and brighten up each other’s days, but did you know you could use this tool to support your nonprofit’s operations?
Believe it or not, eCards are the perfect vehicle for spreading your mission. They’re easy to create, quick to send, and fun to give and receive. Check out these five creative ways your organization can use charity eCards to support your mission and raise more funds.
1. Thank your donors.
It’s important to make donors feel appreciated for their contributions so you can retain their support and keep fueling your mission. Also, when you properly thank your donors, you make them feel like members of your broader nonprofit community, as opposed to just financial contributors.
While you may already thank your donors with notes or letters, you can replace these traditional methods with eCards. Since they allow you to feature your organization’s unique branding and images, eCards are more engaging and interactive for donors. Plus, you can send them instantaneously, allowing donors to receive your appreciation as quickly as possible.
As with any donor thank-you note, be sure to include the following elements in your donor appreciation eCards (just in condensed form):
- Personalized greeting
- Specific thank-you that references their donation amount
- Plans for using the donation
- Short testimonial or story
- Additional engagement opportunities
- Closing and final thank-you
- Signature and contact information
Alternatively, you may keep your thank-you eCards short and sweet. In that case, prioritize incorporating a personalized greeting, specific thank-you, and closing.
2. Show appreciation for your staff.
While most nonprofits have a donor appreciation strategy in place, it’s crucial to show that same gratitude for your employees. Your donors may be the ones who fund your mission, but your staff members are the ones who do all of the important behind-the-scenes work that makes your mission a reality.
According to eCardWidget, there are a variety of different ways you can use eCards to fortify your nonprofit’s workplace culture:
- Congratulating someone on a promotion
- Applauding someone for completing a major project
- Recognizing a coworker for going above and beyond
Showing appreciation for your staff can increase engagement in the workplace and create a positive environment where people feel empowered to drive impact at work each day. With eCards, you can easily show your staff how much you care and even facilitate peer-to-peer recognition by allowing employees to send appreciation eCards to each other.
3. Offer tribute gifts.
Allow donors to contribute on behalf of their friends and family and send eCards notifying them of their gifts. These are known as tribute gifts, and by adding an eCard into the mix, your nonprofit can make them even more special and memorable for recipients.
When you combine tribute gifts and eCards, the process will look something like this:
- A donor contributes to your nonprofit through your donation page.
- The donor accepts the option to dedicate their gift to a loved one.
- The donor creates a tribute gift eCard with a personalized message using your organization’s eCard software.
- The donor sends their eCard to a loved one to inform them of their tribute gift.
Whether they’re celebrating a birthday, holiday, anniversary, or other special occasion, recipients will feel touched to receive a tribute gift. Especially for those who are philanthropically minded, tribute gift eCards can also serve as an introduction to your cause and encourage recipients to contribute in the future, indirectly boosting your organization’s donation revenue as a result.
4. Encourage advocacy.
As Double the Donation explains, proper advocacy can inspire societal change and unite people in your community around a common cause. With eCards, your nonprofit and its supporters can spread the word about your mission and garner more support.
Start by creating an eCard branded to your organization. Make sure each eCard includes:
- Your organization’s logo, signature fonts, and colors
- Real photos of your staff, volunteers, or beneficiaries (with their permission)
- A short message explaining your mission and how people can get involved
Then, you can send these eCards to potential supporters—such as those who have signed up for your newsletter without taking further action or social media followers who haven’t engaged with your organization beyond its social media presence. You may also allow current supporters to send these eCards to friends and family to market your cause for you.
Check out this example of an advocacy eCard from Project Sleep:
As you can see, Project Sleep used this eCard to raise awareness for narcolepsy in honor of World Narcolepsy Day. The nonprofit accompanied this eCard with the following message:
World Narcolepsy Day takes place on Sept. 22. This day is dedicated to raising awareness of narcolepsy on a global scale. Established by 24 patient advocacy organizations across 6 continents in 2019, World Narcolepsy Day unites the international narcolepsy community to inspire action, increase public knowledge, and elevate the voices of the 3 million people living with narcolepsy worldwide. Together, we can reduce delays in narcolepsy diagnosis, reduce stigma and improve outcomes. Get involved and use the hashtag #WorldNarcolepsyDay.
By combining their branded eCards with this message, Project Sleep was successful in spreading awareness for World Narcolepsy Day and encouraging people to get involved by using their hashtag on social media.
5. Use eCards as a fundraising tool.
Spruce up your fundraising efforts with eCards. Allow donors to send eCards in exchange for a small donation. It’s a win-win situation: donors get something in exchange for their contributions, and your nonprofit earns more for its cause.
Using eCards as a fundraising tool can be particularly effective during certain holidays or major campaigns. For instance, you may run a Valentine’s Day eCard campaign or host an eCard fundraiser to boost revenue from your overarching crowdfunding campaign.
With an eCard as an incentive, you can encourage supporters who may be intimidated by large ask amounts to start small with $5 or $10 donations and work their way up to larger contributions.
No matter your current goals or initiatives, eCards are an easy, effective, and creative way to support your mission. Involve as many stakeholders as possible—including donors, current supporters, and potential supporters—to boost your eCards’ impact and maximize the funds and awareness raised for your cause.
