Email fundraising templates to send this week

Email fundraising templates work when they give the reader words to send today, not a lesson for later. Below are five: a thank you, a pledge reminder, the ask, a follow-up for no response, and a year-end appeal. Each one is a starting point you can copy, fill in a name and an amount, and send.

A finance director staring at Monday’s list doesn’t need another explanation of email strategy. They need the text of the email itself, something to adapt once and reuse for every donor on the list. These email fundraising templates are built for that week.

Copy any of them below, swap in your candidate’s or organization’s details, and send.

Key Takeaways
– Five templates cover the moments that come up most: thank you, pledge reminder, the ask, follow-up, and year-end appeal.
– Every fundraising email needs a working unsubscribe link and a physical address under the CAN-SPAM Act, campaign and nonprofit senders alike.
– Campaign ask emails should note that contribution rules differ by state and office; nonprofit ask emails should note that gifts may be tax-deductible.
– A pledge reminder works better pulled from a list of what’s actually outstanding than written from memory.
– One follow-up email is a nudge; three in a week is a complaint. Space them out.

Why an email fundraising template beats a blank page

A template saves the time a finance director would otherwise spend rewriting the same ask from scratch. The tradeoff is that a template sent without a name, an amount, or a reason feels like spam, so the five below are built with blanks for exactly those three things.

Every fundraising email, from a campaign or a nonprofit, needs a working unsubscribe link and the sender’s physical address under the CAN-SPAM Act. It is a small line at the bottom of the email, not a design choice.

FundHero’s fundraising templates for email, social and text hold the versions below so a volunteer can send the right one without writing it again.

The donor thank-you email template

Thank the donor before you ask again. A thank you that goes out within 48 hours, from a person rather than a receipt, is the one donors remember.

Subject: Thank you, [First Name]

[First Name],

Thank you for your gift of $[Amount] to [Campaign or Organization Name]. [One sentence on what the gift does: pays for yard signs in the final stretch, covers a week of the food pantry’s deliveries.]

[One sentence that’s specific to this donor: their history of giving, a shared connection, or why their timing mattered.]

With thanks,
[Your Name]

See a longer version, including a template for a mailed letter, in our donor thank-you letter template.

The pledge reminder email template

Write this one from a list, not from memory. Pull the donors whose pledges are still outstanding, then send each one a short, specific reminder rather than one general email to everyone.

Subject: Finishing your pledge to [Campaign or Organization Name]

[First Name],

On [date], you pledged $[Amount] to [Campaign or Organization Name]. We haven’t received it yet, and we wanted to check in before [relevant deadline, if any].

[Payment link or instructions.]

Thank you again for your support.
[Your Name]

In FundHero, a smart group lists every pledge that’s still outstanding, so this email starts from a real list instead of a guess.

The ask email template

The ask differs by audience. A campaign’s ask email should note that contribution rules differ by state and by office; link the FEC or your state’s campaign finance office rather than stating a limit yourself. A nonprofit’s ask can note that the gift may be tax-deductible, without promising a specific deduction.

Subject: [One line naming the need: “We’re $2,000 short of our goal by Friday”]

[First Name],

[One sentence stating the specific need and the deadline.]

A gift of $[Amount] would [one concrete outcome: cover the cost of one more week of mailers, fund one month of meal deliveries].

[Donation link.]

Thank you for considering it.
[Your Name]

The follow-up email for no response

One follow-up is a nudge. Three in a week starts to feel like a complaint, so space these out and keep the tone the same as the first ask instead of raising the urgency.

Subject: Following up: [the need from the first email]

[First Name],

I wanted to make sure this reached you. [Repeat the need and the deadline in one sentence.]

[Donation link.]

No pressure either way, and thank you for reading this far.
[Your Name]

Our post on email fundraising responses covers when a second email is worth sending and when it isn’t.

The year-end or deadline appeal email template

Nonprofits work against the calendar year; campaigns work against election day or a filing deadline. Name the one that applies.

Subject: [Deadline] is coming, and we need your help by then

[First Name],

[One sentence naming the deadline and why it matters: the calendar year closes on December 31 for tax purposes, or the campaign’s filing period ends on a specific date.]

[One sentence on what’s still needed to hit the goal.]

[Donation link.]

Thank you for being part of this with us.
[Your Name]

For the longer, mailed version of this one, see our year-end appeal letter template.

Track every email so nothing repeats

Writing the templates is the easy part. Remembering who already got which one is harder. FundHero’s Contact History logs every email, call and pledge to a donor’s timeline, so a volunteer can check whether a donor already got the ask, the reminder, or the thank you before sending the next one.

Frequently asked questions

What should a fundraising email subject line say?
Name the specific need or deadline rather than a general appeal. “We’re $2,000 short by Friday” outperforms “Please donate today” because it answers a question before the donor opens the email.

How long should a fundraising email be?
Short enough to read on a phone in under a minute: one need, one amount, one link. The templates above run four to six sentences for that reason.

When should I send a pledge reminder email?
As soon as a pledge’s expected date passes without a payment, pulled from a current list of outstanding pledges rather than written from memory.

Do fundraising emails need a legal disclaimer?
Every commercial or fundraising email needs a working unsubscribe link and a physical address under the CAN-SPAM Act. Campaign emails may need an additional disclaimer depending on the office and the state; confirm with the FEC or your state’s campaign finance office before sending.

Should campaigns and nonprofits use different email templates?
The structure is the same; the details differ. A campaign’s ask should reference contribution rules that vary by state and office, and a nonprofit’s ask can note that the gift may be tax-deductible.

Start this week

Five email fundraising templates: a thank you, a pledge reminder, the ask, a follow-up, and a year-end appeal, cover most of what a finance director or development director sends in a normal week. Copy the one you need today, fill in the name and the amount, and send it before the list gets longer.

You’re the one making the ask. FundHero just keeps track of who already said yes, so the next email goes to the right person. Start a free trial: no payment information required.