We are rapidly moving toward the end of the year and for non-profit organizations, this means lots of fundraising.
Whether your organization has been fundraising for years or this is the first year you are doing a year-end campaign, one thing is certain – being organized is key. A few weeks ago, I wrote a post that detailed ideas to help you prepare and organize your year-end campaign.
Master calendars and task lists can be extremely useful, but one additional tool that I forgot to mention is an email calendar.
What is an email calendar
An email calendar is a calendar that provides an overview of what is being sent and when. For organizations that send a lot of emails, do email segmentation, or have a team working on emails, a calendar is a valuable tool.
In my experience, a calendar will not only provide you with the essential information for your email program, but it also allows you to holistically look at the emails you’re sending to ensure continuity.
What goes on the email calendar
There are a few pieces of information that should definitely go on the email calendar:
- Date the email is going out
- Who the email is going to be sent to – note the audience, plus any useful segmenting information
Optional things to include on your email calendar:
- Subject line
- Who is writing the email
There may be other things that are useful to you and your team to include on your calendar. Brainstorm and see what comes to mind.
Tools to create your own email calendar
There are a lot of different tools that you can use to create an email calendar. I would pick the tool that you (or your team) can most easily integrate into your workflow. Here are a few tools to consider.
- An Excel spreadsheet
- Evernote
- Shared calendar is Outlook or Google Calendar
- Asana or Trello
Personally, I like using Google calendar because I can get a monthly view on a calendar.
What tools do you use to get organized? Leave a comment below and share it with us.
