Mailchimp

Email marketing and outreach platform for donor and supporter communication

Mailchimp enables organisations to run structured email outreach campaigns with targeted and automated communication. It also provides analytics to track engagement and measure campaign performance.

Outreach and marketing challenges for nonprofits

Challenge

Communication with donors and supporters is irregular or inconsistent

Messages are often generic and not tailored to different audiences

Email campaigns are difficult to design and manage without technical skills

Limited visibility into how outreach efforts perform

Solution

Mailchimp helps organisations design, send, and track email campaigns—enabling more structured, consistent, and measurable communication with supporters

Key capabilities of Mailchimp

Email campaign builder

Create emails using templates and drag-and-drop tools

Audience segmentation

Group contacts based on engagement, interests, or donor history

Marketing automation

Send welcome emails, reminders, and follow-ups automatically

Analytics and reporting

Track open rates, clicks, and campaign performance

Signup forms and landing pages

Capture new subscribers and supporters

Integrations

Connect with CRMs, websites, and donation platforms

Mailchimp in action

Case example: World Central Kitchen

World Central Kitchen uses Mailchimp to send timely, targeted email updates during crisis response, helping engage supporters and drive donations at scale.

Read Full Case Study

Pricing for nonprofits

Free plan

Supports up to ~500 contacts with limited monthly email sends

Paid plans

Advanced automation, segmentation, and higher sending limits

Costs increase as contact list grows
Pricing can scale significantly for large lists

Best suited for which organisations

NGOs starting with structured email outreach

Organisations managing donor or supporter lists

Teams looking for a simple communication tool

Organisations needing full CRM or pipeline tracking

NGOs with very large contact lists and limited budget

Similar tools

HubSpot

Brevo

SendGrid

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Mailchimp used for in nonprofits?

Mailchimp is used to send email campaigns, newsletters, and updates to donors and supporters, and to track how people engage with those communications.

Is Mailchimp free for nonprofits?

Mailchimp offers a free plan with basic features. Paid plans are required for advanced automation, larger contact lists, and higher email limits.

How is Mailchimp different from HubSpot?

Mailchimp is primarily an email marketing tool, while HubSpot combines CRM and marketing. Mailchimp is simpler, but HubSpot offers more advanced contact and pipeline management.

Is Mailchimp suitable for small NGOs?

Yes, Mailchimp is often a good starting point for small NGOs beginning structured email communication due to its ease of use and free plan.

Can Mailchimp handle large contact lists?

Yes, but costs increase as the number of contacts grows. Organisations should evaluate pricing as their list expands.

Does Mailchimp require technical skills?

No, basic features like email campaigns and templates are easy to use. Some automation features may require initial setup.

Is Mailchimp enough for managing donors?

Mailchimp can manage communication with donors, but it is not a full CRM. Organisations may need tools like HubSpot for complete donor management.