AI email marketing tools help nonprofits automate follow-ups, personalize donor journeys, and improve fundraising results in 2025—without growing staff.
Most nonprofits don’t have an “email problem.” They have a time-and-data problem.
You’re expected to send donor thank-yous fast, personalize appeals, keep volunteers informed, and prove impact—often with a tiny team and a patchwork of spreadsheets, event tools, and donation platforms. The good news: email still performs exceptionally well for mission-driven orgs. In 2024, the median nonprofit email open rate was 53.21%, notably higher than the 42.35% median across all industries. That’s attention many brands would pay for.
This post is part of our “AI for Non-Profits: Maximizing Impact” series, where we focus on practical ways AI and automation strengthen fundraising and engagement. Here, we’ll look at four strong email marketing tools for nonprofits in 2025—and, more importantly, how AI-powered automation and smarter segmentation help you do more with less.
Why AI matters in nonprofit email marketing (even if you’re not “using AI”)
AI in email marketing isn’t about writing robotic newsletters. It’s about making your communication system behave like a capable teammate who doesn’t forget follow-ups.
Modern platforms use automation (and, increasingly, AI-assisted features) to:
- Segment supporters automatically based on behavior (donation frequency, event attendance, email clicks)
- Personalize content at scale (dynamic fields, conditional content, tailored journeys)
- Improve send strategy (timing, deliverability hygiene, list quality)
- Track the donor journey end-to-end so you can see what actually drives giving
Here’s the stance I’ll take: Most nonprofits over-invest in crafting “perfect” emails and under-invest in the system behind them. In 2025, the system is the advantage.
The 4 best email marketing tools for nonprofits in 2025
The “best” tool depends on how your nonprofit operates—especially whether you need a CRM, how often you email, and how important deliverability is for you. These four tools cover the most common nonprofit scenarios.
1) HubSpot Marketing Hub: Best for CRM-integrated email + donor journeys
If your nonprofit struggles with scattered supporter data, HubSpot’s biggest win is simple: email and CRM live together.
That matters because donor relationships are cumulative. When a supporter becomes a recurring donor, you shouldn’t be guessing what they’ve seen—or manually stitching together their history.
Where HubSpot tends to shine
- CRM-integrated email campaigns so segmentation can use engagement and donor properties
- Workflow automation to trigger sequences based on actions (form submits, event signups, giving changes)
- Fundraising and event integrations through common nonprofit tools (donation platforms and event systems)
Pricing reality (2025)
- Free plan available (good for testing and small lists)
- Paid plans start at $15/month per seat (starter tier)
- A 40% nonprofit discount is available on eligible plans
How AI and automation show up here Even when you’re not calling it “AI,” the practical effect is AI-like: the platform can route supporters into the right experience automatically—welcome series, reactivation, recurring donor upgrades—based on data you’re already collecting.
2) Sender: Best for budget-conscious teams that still want polish
Sender is a good fit when you want lots of templates, a visual editor, and low-cost sending without needing a heavy CRM.
Where Sender tends to shine
- 1,100+ templates that reduce design time
- Drag-and-drop builder (useful for volunteer-led or part-time marketing)
- Easy integrations with common automation connectors
Pricing reality (2025)
- Free plan includes 1 seat and up to 2,500 subscribers
- Paid plans start at $10/month for moderate sending needs
My take If your team is spending hours formatting emails, Sender can buy that time back quickly. It’s not the deepest donor-journey tool, but it’s efficient—and efficiency is a fundraising strategy.
3) Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): Best for big lists + multi-channel updates
Brevo makes sense for nonprofits managing a larger audience and wanting email plus SMS/WhatsApp options in one place.
Where Brevo tends to shine
- Advanced segmentation for large databases
- Multi-channel messaging when email isn’t enough (or when urgency matters)
- Transactional email included with marketing plans (useful for confirmations and receipts)
Pricing reality (2025)
- Free plan includes 300 email sends per day
- Paid plans start at $9/month and scale by volume
How AI and automation show up here Multi-channel is where smart segmentation pays off. If someone doesn’t open two emails about an event, you can route them to an SMS reminder instead—without adding manual steps.
4) SendGrid: Best for deliverability-first nonprofits (and technical teams)
SendGrid is often the right call when your primary goal is inbox placement and sending at scale, especially if you have a more technical setup.
Where SendGrid tends to shine
- Deliverability tools like spam testing, rendering previews, and authentication support (SPF/DKIM)
- Automation workflows for common sequences
- CRM + donation platform integrations for syncing supporter actions
Pricing reality (2025)
- 60-day free trial (limited contacts/sends)
- Paid plans start at $15/month and scale up to very high send volumes
The stance If your nonprofit is sending high volume and deliverability is slipping, switching tools won’t fix everything—but a deliverability-first platform can stop the bleeding while you clean up list practices.
The 5 features that matter most (and how AI makes them stronger)
If you’re evaluating tools, don’t start with templates. Start with these.
1) Automation workflows tied to supporter behavior
Answer first: Your tool should trigger messages based on what supporters do, not what your calendar says.
Examples that consistently perform:
- First-time donor: immediate receipt + “what happens next” story
- Event attendee: recap + photos + volunteer invite
- Lapsed donor: re-engagement series with impact proof
Automation is where AI-powered marketing tools deliver the most practical value: less manual sending, more consistent follow-up.
2) Segmentation that reflects real supporter intent
Answer first: If you send the same appeal to everyone, you’re choosing higher unsubscribes.
High-signal segments I’ve found useful for most nonprofits:
- New donors (first gift within 30–60 days)
- Recurring donors vs. one-time donors
- High-engagement non-donors (clickers/attendees who haven’t given)
- Lapsed donors (no gift in 6–18 months)
3) Donation and event integrations that keep data clean
Answer first: Your email tool should know when a person gave, registered, canceled, or upgraded—automatically.
When donation data doesn’t sync, teams end up:
- thanking donors late
- sending appeals to people who donated yesterday
- missing recurring cancellation saves
4) Analytics that connect engagement to revenue (not vanity metrics)
Answer first: Opens and clicks matter, but donation conversion tracking matters more.
At minimum, you want:
- open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribes
- conversion tracking for donate/registration actions
- list growth sources (forms, events, imports)
5) Contact management you can trust
Answer first: The best email platform is the one your team can actually maintain.
Look for:
- easy imports and de-duplication
- signup forms that don’t require engineering
- preference management (so supporters can reduce frequency instead of leaving)
A step-by-step way to choose the right tool (without wasting a month)
Tool selection goes sideways when nonprofits shop by brand name. This process is faster.
Step 1: Map your real communication “moments”
List your repeatable sends:
- donation acknowledgments
- monthly/quarterly updates
- campaign appeals
- event invites and follow-ups
- volunteer recruitment
Then mark which ones should be automated.
Step 2: Decide what system is the “source of truth”
If your CRM is the source of truth, pick a tool that respects it.
If you don’t have a reliable CRM, choose a platform that can act like one—or you’ll keep rebuilding lists forever.
Step 3: Run a 14-day pilot with one campaign
Pick a single workflow (like a welcome series) and test:
- how fast you can build it
- whether segmentation feels intuitive
- whether you can report outcomes to your board
Step 4: Model costs at 12 and 24 months
Email pricing usually scales by:
- contacts (common for CRMs)
- send volume (common for high-volume systems)
Project list growth realistically—especially if you do year-end acquisition.
Step 5: Choose for your team’s capacity, not your ambitions
A tool that’s “more powerful” but never used is worse than a simpler tool that runs every week.
A practical nonprofit email campaign that AI-powered tools make easy
Year-end fundraising is a perfect example—especially right now, as many orgs are running post-holiday stewardship and planning for Q1.
Here’s a simple, high-performing structure you can implement with the tools above:
1) Build a 4-email stewardship-to-ask sequence
- Impact receipt (immediate): what their gift did
- Story email (3–5 days later): one person/program outcome
- Community proof (7–10 days later): totals, milestones, volunteer effort
- Next-step ask (10–14 days later): recurring upgrade or specific fund
2) Personalize without writing 12 versions
Use conditional blocks by segment:
- recurring donors get an “increase your monthly support” ask
- first-time donors get a “make it monthly” invitation plus reassurance
- lapsed donors get “what changed this year” and a low-friction comeback ask
3) Keep subject lines specific and mission-first
Strong nonprofit subject lines usually include one of these:
- a concrete result (“We placed 212 families this month”)
- a deadline (“Matching funds end Friday”)
- recognition (“Your support made this possible”)
4) Make the CTA obvious
One primary button. One job for the reader. Don’t bury it.
A useful rule: if your email has three CTAs, it has none.
What to do next
If you’re choosing email marketing software for nonprofits in 2025, make your decision around data flow and automation, not just templates. The tool should help your team follow up faster, segment smarter, and measure what drives donations.
If your nonprofit is trying to mature its digital services, this is a good next move in the broader AI-for-nonprofits journey: build a reliable communication engine, then layer on smarter forecasting (like donor propensity) and deeper personalization as your data gets cleaner.
If you had to pick one place to start this week: set up a welcome series that changes based on donor behavior. You’ll feel the impact immediately—less scrambling, better stewardship, and a healthier pipeline heading into 2026.
What would change in your fundraising results if every supporter got the right follow-up within 24 hours—without your team lifting a finger?