Donor Recognition 

Recognizing donors is an essential step for inspiring future giving. Regularly emailing thank-you messages whenever donors give is a good practice your nonprofit should adopt if it hasn’t already. Try sending an eye-catching eCard alongside these donor recognition messages. 

Compared to a standard email, eCards add extra flair to your donor recognition messages. This makes communication with your nonprofit more memorable, making donors more likely to remember and connect with your nonprofit again in the future. 

Here are a few opportunities you can use eCards to steward donors:

• Donations. When a supporter donates, send them an eCard thanking them for their gift. You’ll want to follow many of the same best practices of regular donation emails, such as sending them within 48 hours after the initial donation and tailoring the message to the donor. For the eCard’s visual element, consider adding a photo of your beneficiaries or an illustration that helps supporters visualize how their donation helps your cause.

• Special events and occasions. For your recurring donors, send eCards on their birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions, such as the anniversary of your nonprofit’s founding. This will help you keep in touch with donors throughout the year and make your organization stand out as having unique outreach.

• Event attendance. If a supporter attends an event, thank them for their participation with an eCard. You can also use eCards to invite supporters to events you think they may be interested in or to make an event feel a bit more special. For example, you might send out eCards for a gala aimed at your mid-tier supporters. 

When it comes to recognizing donors, eCards are faster and cheaper than physical mail and more memorable than generic emails. Plus, once your nonprofit has a few eCard designs on hand, sending eCards to supporters can become an automatic part of your donor communication strategy. 

Charity eCards

eCards can be used to thank donors and earn new donors through charity eCard fundraisers. Rather than sending eCards to donors, nonprofits can sell celebratory eCards to supporters so they can send them to friends and family. 

To set up a charity eCard fundraiser, follow these steps:

1. Determine your audience. Who are you selling eCards to, and why would they want to buy one? Many nonprofits host charity eCard fundraisers around holidays when supporters are likely already interested in buying greeting cards. Additionally, consider your audience when setting your price point. Most supporters will be willing to pay more for a charity eCard than a regular postcard, knowing their money is going to a good cause. However, some audiences, such as school students, will appreciate eCards in their budget.
   
   
2. Partner with an eCard platform. To create and distribute eCards, your nonprofit needs to partner with an eCard service. Look for eCard platforms that have previously worked with nonprofits. These vendors are more likely to have tools and features suited to charitable organizations like yours.

    

3. Design the eCards. Create eCards with fun designs that will appeal to the audience you identified in step one. Your designs can be photographs, illustrations, or even animations. For inspiration, eCardWidget’s charity eCards guide shares these eCards from the nonprofit One Tail at a Time’s holiday fundraiser:
   
4. Set up your eCard store. To sell your eCards, create a page on your nonprofit’s website where supporters can browse and purchase them. Your eCard platform should provide you with the necessary tools and directions for embedding eCards into your website so supporters can purchase them, add personalized messages, and send them to their intended recipients.
   
   
5. Promote your fundraiser. Once your charity eCard fundraiser is set up on your website, promote it to your supporters. Send them emails and post on social media to show off a few of your eCards’ designs and promote the joy of sending them to friends and family. 

Charity eCard fundraisers are especially effective since they help nonprofits earn revenue and promote their cause to new supporters at the same time. After all, supporters buy your eCards and then send them to members of their personal networks who may be less familiar with your nonprofit. After receiving an eCard from a trusted friend or family member, these recipients may be curious about your nonprofit and become supporters themselves.