Many nonprofits have come to realize that texting is one of the most personal forms of marketing, helping them reach donors of all ages. The ease, accessibility, and individualized feel of text messages make them highly effective for engaging donors, building relationships, and keeping nonprofit causes top-of-mind. 

However, adding any new marketing channel to your organization can be challenging. If you’re new to text or SMS marketing, brush up on these basic do’s and don’ts before you dive in. 

Do create an SMS marketing strategy.

Like any other marketing channel, SMS warrants a thoughtful strategy to support your organization’s goals. Typically, creating a text marketing strategy requires making decisions about:

• Goals: Texts can help you further goals related to donor acknowledgment, engagement, retention, fundraising, and advocacy. Outline the goals you want to focus on, and start brainstorming the types of messages you might send to further each one.
• Message frequency: How often will you text your supporters? What messaging cadences will you use? Track relevant engagement metrics and adjust your cadences accordingly to find the most effective frequencies for your audience.
• Opt-in strategies: We’ll cover this in more detail later, but the bottom line is to ensure your text marketing strategy includes multiple easy ways to collect opt-ins. 

At its best, nonprofit texting isn’t about volume — it’s about relevance and respect. Supporters are more likely to engage when messages align with their values and feel like an invitation to participate in impact, not a transaction.

Don’t forget to incorporate text messages into your organization’s broader marketing strategy, too. Getting Attention’s guide to nonprofit marketing plans explains that the channels in your multichannel marketing strategy must support each other to establish a firm foundation across touchpoints. 

Analyze your current multichannel strategy and find places where texts naturally fit. For example, you might add texts to your existing donor appreciation plans or send text message event announcements ahead of follow-up emails that provide more detail.

In practice, text messaging can be especially effective when paired with moments of everyday engagement, such as thanking donors for small, recurring actions or reinforcing impact over time rather than focusing solely on one-time asks.

Remember that there are other text marketing regulations outside of opt-in laws. For instance, you must also identify your organization in the message and provide a way for recipients to opt out. Research your state’s specific regulations to ensure you abide by all relevant laws.

Do leverage text automations.

Strategic automations will streamline your text marketing efforts and improve your messages’ timing, personalization, and relevance. By segmenting your opt-in list and setting up automated triggers, you’ll ensure you don’t miss any chances to engage supporters over text.

For instance, you might use triggers and message templates to send immediate follow-up text messages whenever someone in your database:

• • Makes a donation
  • RSVPs for an event
  • Signs up to volunteer
  • Attends an event
  • Signs or shares a petition
  • Completes a feedback survey

Thoughtful automation helps nonprofits respond to supporter behavior in real time, creating moments of gratitude, encouragement, and stewardship that builds confidence and long-term loyalty.

You can easily create both simple and intelligent automations by using an SMS marketing app integrated with your nonprofit’s CRM. For instance, nonprofits that use Salesforce should leverage a Salesforce-native SMS app. This way, you can use your CRM’s automation features and incorporate texts into your existing multichannel automated journeys. 

With the right nonprofit technology, you can even create and automate text message surveys that add response data directly to donor profiles.

Don’t send long, wordy paragraphs.

One of the major benefits of text messages is their brevity, making them easier for supporters to read and engage with. Don’t negate this benefit by writing text messages that are too long or wordy.

Standard text marketing best practice is to keep your texts within 160 characters. This way, you’ll keep your messages concise and avoid the chances of SMS carriers splitting up long messages into multiple texts. If you can’t fit all the information you want to communicate in 160 characters, remember that you can always follow up your texts with emails, direct mail, or links to web pages with more details.

For example, say you’re sending a text to welcome new members to your nonprofit’s membership program. You might send a short message like, “Darah, welcome to our Wildlife Warriors community 🐻 We’re so glad you’re here! Look out for an email about all the perks you can look forward to!”

Do personalize messages.

Personalization is most effective when it reflects a supporter’s interests and preferred ways of engaging, allowing them to feel seen, valued, and in control of how they participate.

Even though texts are short, they can (and should) be highly personalized. Take the same approach to text personalization as you would with any other marketing or donor stewardship channel. Along with addressing recipients by name, consider their habits, preferences, charitable interests, and commonalities to draft messages that resonate with each person.

Simplify personalization by using the donor segments in your database and creating new ones designed for your SMS recipients. For example, you might create a segment for regular online volunteers and send them texts announcing new digital volunteer opportunities.

Don’t ignore opt-outs.

Respecting communication preferences is foundational to trust — and trust is the cornerstone of sustainable generosity.

It may seem counterintuitive, but it’s highly important to let supporters know they can opt out of receiving your text messages.

Every message your nonprofit sends should include clear instructions for how to opt out. Typically, this just means including the words “Text STOP to opt-out” at the end of each message. Then, your text marketing software should automatically place supporters who text “STOP” on a list that prevents them from receiving any more messages.

Donors want to know that you respect their wishes regarding donations and communication preferences. By honoring these opt-outs, you’re not only following the law but also increasing supporters’ trust in your nonprofit.

Use these best practices to build a strong foundation for your new text marketing strategy, but don’t be afraid to experiment. Document all of your fundraising strategies and monitor metrics like message click-through and conversion rates to gauge their success.

Effective nonprofit communication meets supporters where they are — honoring their time, preferences, and desire to make a difference in ways that fit their lives.