Email Deliverability: The Non-Profit Edition

Whenever the major ISPs alter their SPAM filter algorithms, one of the first questions to arise is how will affect businesses, who must then adapt their email methods in order to avoid the dreaded junk folder. What’s not often asked is how such changes affect the world of non-profits – organization that tend to lack the resources and knowledge of their for-profit counterparts.

A recent op-ed on the Huffington Post sheds some light on the unique challenges of email deliverability for non-profits; highlighting the common pitfalls and how to avoid them. In today’s post, we wanted to expand on a few of those points, and offer our take on how non-profits can improve email deliverability. Let’s take a closer look.

The main deliverability problem for non-profits (like all industries) revolves around list integrity. As the author points out, email lists decay over time, and the more emails an organization sends to “ghosts” (i.e. invalid or expired email addresses), the greater the likelihood that they will be flagged as a spammer. Many email service providers will automatically remove such addresses after a certain number of bounces, but many providers used by non-profits currently do not.

As a solution, it’s recommended that an organization focus on list cleanup – manually, if necessary – in addition to setting a SPF record for your domain and re-engaging supporters on a recurring basis.

If you’re a non-profit organization looking for more concrete tips on how to master email deliverability, we suggest reading this real-world case study of how DonorsChoose.org leveraged SendGrid. You’ll see how this leading crowdfunding was able to grow its email database to 1.4million opted-in users, who now contribute more than $150,000 in donations each month – all through transaction email campaigns.

Read the Case Study Here.

Jonathon Mahon is a content marketer, writer and designer based in Boston. He writes for various digital publications and blogs specializing in the cloud, email automation, software, and technology.​