We hear all the time about how email marketing works to drive revenue streams and how it is one of the most cost effective ways an organization can market.  All true, but have you ever thought about using email marketing as a communication tool amongst volunteers within a very small organization to be more efficient?

I know of one such organization that wasn’t sure if email marketing was for them. Their existing database was very small and they were not sure if they could benefit from the services.  In the end they decided to take the plunge and to give it a “try”.

The organization began gathering emails just like any customer does and before they knew it, they had built the database to over 200 volunteers.  Being able to reach over 200 contacts with one keystoke and sending an email did wonders to promote this volunteer organization and meet it’s needs.  The results have been tremendous.  One email was sent to the list of volunteers requesting specific items to fulfill a specific need.  The cost of the combined items was approximately $1000, a lot of money to ask volunteers to secure when there is no budget to buy these items.  I’m told that the email was sent on a Wednesday and that the items arrived at the organization on Sunday.  Pretty powerful way to communicate.

If you are passionate about a cause that you work with and have a relationship with an ESP, it might be worth a call to see if they are able to offer you a discounted rate on an account dedicated to your cause, or some other creative partnership option. Not only does email marketing work in the business world but it works in the volunteer world of extremely small email databases.  It may not provide large monetary revenues but it provides rewards that are just as big.