How to Use Email for Charity Fundraising

Fundraising for a charity event takes dedication, planning, and effective communication. While social media often receives the most attention, email remains one of the most powerful and reliable tools available to fundraisers. With billions of people worldwide using email every day, it provides a direct and personal way to connect with potential supporters, share your fundraising story, and encourage donations. Whether you're training for a marathon, taking part in a sponsored walk, or supporting a cause close to your heart, email can help you reach more people, build stronger relationships with donors, and maximise your fundraising efforts. In this guide, we'll explore how many people use email, the unique benefits it offers fundraisers, and practical ways to use it successfully throughout your fundraising journey.

How Many People Use Email ?

Email remains one of the most widely used forms of digital communication in the world. Despite the rise of messaging apps, social media platforms, and collaboration tools, email continues to play a vital role in both personal and professional communication. The US has one of the largest populations of email users globally. In 2025, an estimated 295 million people in the U.S. actively use email. With over 90% of internet users maintaining at least one email account, email has become an essential tool for communication, online shopping, banking, education, and business operations. In the United Kingdom, email usage is also extremely common. Current estimates suggest that approximately 50 to 55 million people use email regularly. Considering the UK's population and high internet penetration rate, email remains a preferred channel for both personal correspondence and professional communication. Businesses, government services, educational institutions, and online retailers continue to rely heavily on email to engage with customers and users across the country. The widespread adoption of smartphones and internet access has made email accessible to people of all ages, contributing to its continued growth and relevance.

What Special Features Does Email Offer to Fundraisers?

For runners raising money for charity at an event, email offers several unique advantages that social media and messaging apps often cannot match:

Direct Access to Supporters

Email delivers messages straight to a person's inbox, making it more likely that friends, family, colleagues, and past donors will see fundraising appeals compared to social media posts that may be missed in crowded feeds.

Personalised Fundraising Appeals

Runners can tailor messages to different audiences, such as close friends, work colleagues, or local community groups. Personalised emails often generate higher engagement and donation rates.

Easy Sharing of Donation Links

Fundraising pages can be included directly within emails, making it simple for recipients to click through and donate immediately.

Progress Updates

Runners can send regular updates on their training milestones, fundraising progress, charity impact stories and event preparation. These updates help maintain momentum and encourage additional donations.

Automated Thank You Messages

Email allows runners and charities to quickly acknowledge donations, helping donors feel appreciated and strengthening relationships for future fundraising efforts.

Storytelling Opportunities

Unlike social media posts with character limits or short attention spans, email provides space to explain why the runner chose the charity, personal motivations, the cause's impact and event goals and achievements. Compelling stories often inspire larger donations.

Event Reminders

Email can be used to remind supporters about upcoming race dates, donation deadlines, matching gift opportunities and post-event celebrations

Donation Tracking and Reporting

Many fundraising platforms integrate with email systems, enabling runners to monitor donor activity, track fundraising targets and send targeted follow-ups to supporters

Professional Appearance

A well-designed email campaign can appear more credible and trustworthy than a casual social media request, increasing donor confidence.

The Power of the Signature

Adding a fundraising message and donation platform link to your email signature is a simple yet powerful way to promote your charity run, as every email you send becomes an opportunity to raise awareness, share your story, and encourage friends, colleagues, customers, and contacts to support your cause with a quick and easy donation.

Long-Term Relationship Building

Email lists can be maintained after the event, allowing runners to share results and impact reports, promote future fundraising events and build a loyal supporter community

Be prepared to use some humour when you select photos to feature in your emails. Well done to Simon Webb for sharing this finish line photo. He raised £2500 running the Manchester Marathon for Scoliosis Support & Research

How to Use Email for Charity Fundraising

If you're using email to raise money for a charity run, the goal is to take supporters on a journey, from announcing your challenge to celebrating the finish line.

Start with a Launch Email

Send an email as soon as you sign up for the event. Include why you're running, why the charity matters to you, your fundraising target, a clear donation link and a personal photo if possible Potentially like this: "I'm running 26.2 miles for Alzheimer's Society because my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia last year. My goal is to raise £1,000, and every donation, no matter the size, will help."

Segment Your Contacts

Different groups may respond to different messages. Create groups for family and close friends, work colleagues, running club members, community groups and previous donors and send them different messages. Personalised emails typically receive more donations than mass emails.

Tell Stories, Not Just Ask for Money

People donate to people more than causes. Share, training successes, challenges and setbacks, why the charity is important and stories about those helped by the charity: instead of "Please donate." Try: "I completed my first 15-mile training run this weekend. My legs are feeling it, but every mile reminds me why this cause matters."

Create Milestone Updates

Keep supporters engaged throughout your fundraising journey. Examples include, 25% of goal reached, halfway there, one month until race day, or the final fundraising push. These updates give people multiple opportunities to donate.

Make Donating Easy

Always include a prominent donation link, the amount raised so far and the target amount. The fewer clicks required, the better.

Use a Countdown Strategy

As race day approaches: 4 Weeks Out give a training update and fundraising progress. 2 Weeks Out give a reminder and an impact story. 1 Week Out give a final fundraising appeal. On race day give a quick update or photo.

After the Event

Thank supporters and share results.

Ask for More Than Donations

Supporters can also share your fundraising page, forward your email, offer matching donations and promote your campaign at work

Send Thank You Emails

This is one of the most important steps. Include the total amount raised, race photos, event highlights and the impact their donations will have. People who feel appreciated are much more likely to support future fundraising efforts.

An Email Fundraising Template

A practical campaign for a charity runner might look like this:

• Email 1: Announce the challenge

• Email 2: Training update

• Email 3: 50% fundraising milestone

• Email 4: One-week countdown

• Email 5: Race-day update

• Email 6: Thank-you and results

  
  

This approach keeps supporters engaged without overwhelming them and usually raises significantly more than sending a single donation request.

Summary

Despite the growth of social media and other digital communication channels, email remains one of the most effective fundraising tools available to charity runners and event participants. Its ability to deliver personalised messages directly to supporters, share donation links, provide regular updates, and build lasting relationships makes it invaluable throughout the fundraising journey. By combining compelling storytelling with clear calls to action and consistent communication, fundraisers can significantly increase both engagement and donations. Whether you're just starting your campaign or making a final push towards your target, a well-planned email strategy can help turn supporters into donors and donors into long-term advocates for your chosen cause.