Nonprofit leaders, it has been a rocky start to 2025. With billionaires unsettling the platforms on which you have built your following and reputation, along with the potential loss of funding, you may feel like your nonprofit organization is struggling to stay afloat. Perhaps you are even securing life rafts to remain buoyant amid this uncertainty.
This raises the question: Do I need to keep Meta platforms as part of my nonprofit marketing strategy? You may also be wondering…
- How can you grow your following on platforms that don't compromise your values?
- If you lose federal funding, how will your organization account for that loss?
- Has all of the time you've spent building a reputation on Meta platforms been in vain?
The short answer is that you can still leverage your audience on these platforms while making your exit plan. Think of it as a pivot in your nonprofit marketing. The good news: there's another way for you to directly connect with your supporters without further lining the pockets of billionaires and compromising your values.
And that's Email Marketing.
You can take ownership of how you connect with supporters. You can take ownership of how you maintain your relationship with donors by dropping directly into their inboxes.
With email marketing, YOU control who sees your content and when they interact with it. It gives you the freedom to freely share your values and ideas without algorithms.
With the threat of losing federal funds or grants, your existing network is going to be your biggest asset.
So how do you connect with and grow your email list as part of your nonprofit marketing strategy?
Reconnect With (or Start) Your Email List Now
You May have an email list that's collecting dust. I'm not here to judge. The good thing about having a list already is that, even if it's dusty, you can start reconnecting with your subscribers now.
The first email will blow the dust off. In that email, tell them your plan. Remind them of your values and your plan for moving forward. Most importantly, ask them to share that email with their friends. There's so much power in word-of-mouth! If you aren't sure what to say in your first few emails, I have a fill-in-the-blank style re-engagement email sequence template that can help.
If you're just getting started with your email list, start sharing about it on your existing social media platforms - even the ones you don’t intend to stay on. Encourage your audience to share your links and posts so they can spread the word, too! Once you’ve got a few people on your email list, create a strategy for your emails and start sending them consistently.
Make Partnerships Part of Your Nonprofit Marketing
Do you partner with other organizations or businesses? Do you have a live event or webinar coming up? Are you going to be featured on podcasts or YouTube channels? How about peer-to-peer fundraising? These are all opportunities to add new subscribers to your email list. Add a name and email address block to sign-up forms. When asked how people can get involved, provide your website or email sign-up link instead of your social media platforms or a direct email address.
If they’re participating, watching, or listening, they probably want to hear more from you. If they provide their email address, they expect (and are giving permission) to receive emails from you.
Promote Email Signups and Give Incentives
Emails are a great way to provide event recaps, updates, thank donors and volunteers, or fundraise. Add pop-up forms or inline opt-ins to your website so visitors have an immediate way to stay connected. You can even create landing pages dedicated to specific fundraisers or events that promote email sign-ups. The key here is to keep them on your email list after the event is over so you can build a relationship with them over time.
That’s where high-quality email content comes into play. Make sure your newsletters provide valuable content and answer your network’s questions: How can they get involved? How are you mobilizing your mission? What kind of outcomes are you seeing? They want to know! This is also a great place to showcase impact stories and link to your blog posts or other resources. You can even incentivize email sign-ups by giving subscribers first access to new reports.
Make Email Part of Your Nonprofit Marketing Strategy
As you consider ditching Meta accounts, refresh your email marketing strategy. If you start now with a clear plan and consistency, you can confidently exit platforms that don't align with your values, connect and retain donors, and grow your audience with more ownership.
If you're ready to exit Meta but lack confidence in your email marketing skills, connect with me! Together, we will create a consistent strategy to connect with supporters and grow your list – and your impact.