Two Clever Nonprofit Emails

We spend so much time criticizing nonprofit emails, we should at least recognize two recent emails that have a clear call to action and deliver a compelling message.

Sojourners, "a Christian ministry whose mission is to proclaim and practice the biblical call to integrate spiritual renewal and social justice" sent an email entitled "All I Want for Christmas is a Moral Budget" which invited people to host or participate in a "vigil" at their Congressman's office in favor of higher taxes and more government spending on social programs. The email links to a meet-up registration page hosted by DemocracyInAction.

Doris Day Animal League capitalized on the hype surrounding the release of "King Kong" by sending an email inviting readers to watch a flash movie about the use of Great Apes in movies as part of their "No Reel Apes" campaign, coordinated with the Chimpanzee Collaboratory. Even though no apes were used in the making of King Kong, the release of the film provides an opportunity for nonprofits to ride the wave of online hype and draw attention to their issues. Not long ago World Wildlife Fund put up a page on their conservation efforts in Madagascar timed for release of the animated movie. No doubt they shared in the results of people searching for "Madagascar" on Google.

We've long said that nonprofit emails have to have a clear call to action. These do. You should be doing something equally engaging and compelling. Make that a New Year's Resolution.

Rick...