Best Email Marketing Tools for Nonprofits (Mailchimp Alternatives)

Erin Booker

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March 28, 2025

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8 minutes

Nonprofit Trends

Donor Communications

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Finding the perfect email marketing platform for your nonprofit isn't just another tech decision—it's about maximizing every donor communication opportunity while keeping costs low and impact high. While Mailchimp has been the go-to for many organizations, today's nonprofits deserve purpose-built solutions that understand their unique needs without breaking the bank. This guide highlights the most powerful Mailchimp alternatives specifically designed with nonprofit fundraisers in mind, paying special attention to digital platforms that save you time, money, and headaches (email aspirin if you will.)

Overview of email marketing for nonprofits

Email marketing remains one of the most effective communication channels for nonprofits looking to engage supporters, share impact stories, and drive donations. Nonprofit organizations use email communication for fundraising events, donation appeals, volunteer management, and celebrating the impact of donations—all crucial touchpoints in the supporter journey.

Nonprofit emails typically target diverse audiences including donors, potential donors, monthly supporters, volunteers, staff, board members, event registrants, constituents, and community members. A robust email platform helps you manage these relationships efficiently and effectively while providing personalized experiences that strengthen supporter connections.

Why consider alternatives to Mailchimp?

Cost concerns for nonprofits

While Mailchimp pricing for nonprofits includes a Mailchimp nonprofit discount for verified nonprofits and a free plan (at the time of writing), the economics often don't add up for mission-driven organizations. Their free plan limits you to a small number of email sends per month with only one user and restricts access to email support after an initial onboarding period—barely enough for even the smallest nonprofits to communicate effectively with their supporters.

As your organization grows, costs can quickly escalate; many nonprofits find themselves paying for features they don't need while missing functionality that would actually help them advance their cause.

Limitations of Mailchimp

Beyond cost concerns, Mailchimp presents several functional limitations for nonprofits:

Recipient lists require manual updates, creating extra work for already-stretched staff and more opportunities for breakdowns in security and internal communication
Recipient email segmentation capabilities are restricted on basic plans
Mailchimp's platform isn't specifically designed with nonprofit fundraising workflows in mind
You're potentially paying for a separate CRM system on top of your email platform

These limitations create unnecessary obstacles for nonprofit teams who need streamlined, efficient, dedicated email marketing tools that integrate seamlessly with their fundraising operations.

Key features of an email marketing platform

Ease of use

As you know, nonprofit staff often wear multiple hats and don't have time for steep learning curves. An ideal email platform offers intuitive interface design, drag-and-drop editors, and accessible templates that make creating professional-looking emails quick and painless.

Email customization options

Your emails should reflect your nonprofit's unique voice and visual identity. Look for platforms that offer flexible customization options like customizable templates, brand color integration, and mobile responsiveness to ensure your communications look great on any device.

Email automation capabilities

Email automation workflows are a game-changer for resource-constrained nonprofits. The ability to set up welcome sequences, thank-you messages, donation anniversaries, and event reminders that trigger automatically saves countless hours while ensuring timely, relevant communications.

Email segmentation key features

One-size-fits-all messaging rarely produces optimal results. Effective email platforms allow you to segment donors based on donation history, engagement level, interests, and other relevant factors so you can deliver targeted email content that resonates with each specific audience.

What is the best alternative to Mailchimp for nonprofits?

Funraise!

#1 Mailchimp alternative for nonprofits: Funraise

Funraise's built-in bulk Email Messaging tool represents a breakthrough for nonprofit communicators. Unlike standalone email service providers, Funraise integrates email functionality directly into our fundraising CRM platform for nonprofits, creating a seamless ecosystem that eliminates the need for constant list updates and third-party platform switching.

This innovative set-it-and-forget-it approach keeps your segmented donor base updated in real-time, ensuring that your marketing emails always reach the right people with the right email message at exactly the right moment. And with such a seamless integration, your email platform is always working with the most current donor data—no manual exports or imports required.

With Funraise's email tool, you can:

Schedule entire email campaigns in a fraction of the time
Create dynamic recipient lists that automatically update
Inform donors about the impact of their fundraising campaign contributions
Target specific supporter segments with customized messaging
Build scheduled email journeys that nurture donor relationships over time
Use intelligent, comprehensive analytics to determine donor engagement

As with all of our nonprofit tech tools, features, resources, support, and advanced analytics, Funraise's laser-focused nonprofit approach means you're not paying for irrelevant features designed for e-commerce or other business models. Instead, you get exactly what fundraisers need: powerful, intuitive email tools that drive engagement and donations while saving precious time and resources.

As Justin Wheeler, CEO and Co-founder of Funraise, explained in our email feature announcement:

"There's no better way to build stronger donor relationships than by sending the right message to the right supporters at the right time. And with Funraise's new email messaging tool, nonprofit fundraisers can easily and quickly set up campaign communications that will stay fresh and focused."

Top Mailchimp alternatives for nonprofits

Feathr

Feathr specializes in digital marketing for associations and nonprofits, offering robust email marketing capabilities alongside other digital engagement tools. Their platform helps organizations create personalized campaigns that drive event attendance, membership growth, and fundraising success.

DailyStory

DailyStory provides marketing automation designed to help nonprofits nurture relationships through personalized communications. Their platform combines email marketing with SMS, web forms, and landing pages to create cohesive supporter journeys.

DotDigital

DotDigital offers marketing automation tools that help nonprofits deliver personalized communications at scale. With nonprofit-specific advanced features, DotDigital supports fundraising campaigns, event promotion, and donor engagement with sophisticated segmentation capabilities.

Muster

Muster combines email broadcasts with advocacy tools, making it particularly valuable for nonprofits focused on policy change and community mobilization. Their email broadcast is a standout feature that integrates seamlessly with their advocacy platform for coordinated email marketing campaigns.

Additional Mailchimp alternatives for nonprofits

Constant Contact

Constant Contact offers user-friendly email marketing with attractive, customizable templates and essential automation features. They provide a solid nonprofit discount (that may increase for longer or prepaid email plans), making them a budget-friendly option for smaller organizations.

Bonus: Funraise has a direct integration with Constant Contact.

HubSpot

HubSpot's all-in-one marketing platform includes powerful email tools alongside CRM functionality. While their comprehensive approach may exceed some nonprofits' needs, organizations looking for extensive email marketing capabilities beyond email might find value in their ecosystem.

Bonus: Funraise has a direct integration with HubSpot.

Klaviyo

Klaviyo specializes in data-driven marketing automation with advanced segmentation and reporting features that help nonprofits deliver highly personalized communications based on supporter behavior and preferences.

Bonus: Funraise has a direct integration with Klayvio.

Emma

Emma offers email marketing with a focus on beautiful design and audience segmentation. Their platform provides nonprofits with a suite of tools to create visually compelling campaigns that drive engagement and action.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign combines email marketing with advanced automation and CRM functions, helping nonprofits create sophisticated supporter journeys that nurture relationships through personalized touchpoints.

MailerLite

MailerLite provides straightforward, affordable email marketing with essential features that smaller nonprofits need. Their user-friendly interface and competitive pricing make them accessible for organizations with limited resources.

Brevo (Previously Sendinblue)

Brevo offers multi-channel marketing capabilities including email, SMS, and chat. Their platform helps nonprofits coordinate communications across channels for consistent, engaging supporter experiences.

Kit (Previously ConvertKit)

Kit provides creator-focused email marketing tools for nonprofits with dynamic content-driven strategies. Their automation features help organizations nurture supporter relationships through valuable content management.

AWeber

AWeber delivers reliable email marketing with powerful automation capabilities and extensive, pre-built template options. Their straightforward pricing and established reputation make them a stable choice for nonprofits.

GetResponse

GetResponse combines email marketing with landing pages, webinars, and basic CRM functionality. Their versatile platform supports various nonprofit communication needs beyond standard email campaigns.

Campaign Monitor

Campaign Monitor offers elegant drag-and-drop tools with powerful automation capabilities. Their drag-and-drop email editor and beautiful, customizable email templates help nonprofits create professional-looking campaigns with minimal effort.

Zoho Campaigns

Zoho Campaigns provides affordable email marketing that integrates with Zoho's broader suite of tools for businesses. Their platform offers essential email capabilities with straightforward pricing suitable for budget-conscious nonprofits.

Ways to boost your email marketing platform

Supercharge your email platform with Funraise API

Integrate your email platform with Funraise's API to ensure seamless data flow between your fundraising operations and email communications, creating a unified ecosystem that maximizes efficiency and effectiveness.

Keep Mailchimp around as a backup

Maintaining a secondary email system can provide redundancy for critical communications and specialized campaigns, ensuring you're never without a way to reach supporters. And since Funraise has an integration with Mailchimp...

Work with an email consultant for nonprofits

Expert guidance from a nonprofit consultant can help optimize your email strategy, improve deliverability, and enhance engagement metrics, especially when implementing a new platform or revamping your approach.

Tools to monetize your newsletter

Explore opportunities with partners like Letterhead.ai to generate revenue through your newsletter with sponsored email content and partnerships that align with your mission and provide value to your supporters.

Connect SMS communications with your email asks

Coordinate messaging across channels by integrating SMS campaigns with email communications, creating multi-touch engagement opportunities that reinforce your calls to action.

Link social media posts to your email schedule

Develop an integrated content calendar that aligns social media posts with email campaigns, creating a cohesive messaging strategy across all digital touchpoints.

Infuse your email with UTMs

Implement UTM parameters in your email links to track campaign performance and gain insights into supporter behavior, enabling data-driven refinements to your strategy.

Use free tools to test your emails before sending

Leverage powerful tools to check deliverability, mobile responsiveness, and spam scores before launching campaigns to ensure optimal performance and reach.

Clean your email lists regularly with easy online resources

Maintain list hygiene by regularly removing inactive subscribers and correcting invalid addresses, improving deliverability rates and ensuring your engagement metrics reflect actual supporter interest.

Top email consultants for nonprofits

kb digital

Kate Baughan specializes in digital marketing for mission-driven organizations, offering expert guidance and email marketing tips for nonprofits on email strategy, implementation, and optimization.

Whiteboard.io

Whiteboard provides comprehensive digital strategy services including email marketing, helping nonprofits develop integrated approaches to supporter communications.

DickersonBakker

DickersonBakker offers fundraising and marketing consulting with expertise in donor communications, including email strategy development and implementation.

LemonSkies

LemonSkies delivers creative digital marketing solutions for nonprofits, with specialized knowledge of email campaigns that drive engagement and conversions.

Elevation

Elevation focuses on web and digital marketing services for nonprofits, including email strategy development and implementation of a variety of platforms for nonprofits.

How to Choose an Email Service Provider (ESP)

Selecting the right email service provider requires careful consideration of your organization's specific needs, resources, and goals. Consider these factors in your evaluation process:

Integration capabilities: How well does the platform connect with your existing systems, particularly your fundraising and donor management tool for nonprofits?
Scalability: Will the platform grow with your organization, accommodating increasing list sizes and communication needs?
Budget alignment: Does the pricing structure make sense for your organization's resources and expected ROI?
Standout feature relevance: Does the platform offer the advanced features that matter most for your communication strategy?
Ease of adoption: How quickly can your team become proficient with the platform given their current capacity and technical skills?
Support quality: What level of assistance is available when questions or problems arise?

Remember that the best platform isn't necessarily the one with the most email marketing features—it's the one that best addresses your organization's unique communication needs while respecting your resource constraints.

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Nonprofit ESP FAQ

What's the most affordable email marketing platform for small nonprofits?

For small nonprofits with limited budgets, Funraise offers exceptional value through integrated email capabilities that eliminate the need for a separate ESP. MailerLite and Brevo also provide cost-effective options with nonprofit-friendly pricing.

How important is CRM integration for nonprofit email marketing?

CRM integration is critical for effective nonprofit email marketing software. Platforms like Funraise that directly incorporate email functionality into their fundraising CRM eliminate the need for manual data transfers and ensure communications always reflect current donor information.

Can I switch email platforms without losing subscriber data?

Yes, most platforms support data migration through CSV exports and imports. However, you may need to rebuild custom segments, marketing automation workflows, and pre-built templates when moving between platforms. The best part of having your CRM and email together in Funraise's platform is that all of your donor data is already at your fingertips.

How often should nonprofits send emails to their supporters?

The optimal frequency varies based on your content, audience, and relationship stage. Most nonprofits find success with a regular newsletter (weekly to monthly) supplemented by campaign-specific communications and automated transactional email messages.

What email metrics should nonprofits track?

Key email metrics include open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates (especially for donation asks), unsubscribe rates, and overall list growth. Focus on trends over time rather than individual campaign metrics to identify broader patterns in supporter engagement.

Mailchimp for nonprofits FAQ

As we were researching this article, we saw that there are tonnnnns of people searching for superbasic information on Mailchimp. And while some of the questions just need a word or two, we decided to collect a bunch of them here because no question is too small.

What is better, Mailchimp or HubSpot?

They're different! Both offer email and marketing platform tools. Mailchimp is great for newbies who want to spend some time figuring things out, while HubSpot is perfect for mid-level to expert emailers who want to dive right in.

How is Klaviyo better than Mailchimp?

Klaviyo is specifically created for B2C, meaning it has greater functionality for businesses to personalize for individual customers or donors as well as segmentation and journey tools.

Does Mailchimp go to junk?

Only if you do it wrong.

What is the difference between MailerLite and Mailchimp?

MailerLite is for emailers who know that they just need barebones essential tools. Mailchimp is for folks who are interested in growing and expanding their email program.

Is Mailchimp or Constant Contact better?

They're super similar. Mailchimp has expanded their offerings aggressively in recent years and Constant Contact has followed suit with mixed reviews. It's all in what you like.