How do I grow an email list for my charity?

Make signing up easy on your site, after a gift and at events, ask for consent properly and keep your list clean. Here is how to do it with WeGlow Mail.

To grow an email list for your charity, make signing up easy at every place people already meet you: your website, your donation page, your events and your social media. Offer a clear reason to join, ask for permission with an unticked box, and keep the list clean. Do not buy lists and do not add people who never agreed.

Why does list growth matter?

Lists lose people all the time. In the M+R Benchmarks study (2026 edition, data for 2025), lists grew by 5% on average, while 12% of the subscribers at the start of the year unsubscribed and 4% became unreachable. If you only send and never recruit, your list shrinks. So growing is part of the normal work, not a one-off project.

Step 1: Give people a reason to sign up

"Subscribe to our newsletter" is a weak invitation. Say what they get and how often: "One mail a month: what your gift made possible and one way to help." Be honest and specific, and test the wording on a colleague who does not know your work. A promise you keep is the best retention tool you have.

Step 2: Put the form where people already are

Your website: in the footer, on the homepage and at the end of stories.
After a gift: a donor who just gave is warm. Offer to keep them informed, as a separate, optional choice.
Events and volunteer days: a sign-up sheet or a QR code that opens your form.
Social media: a link to a simple landing page with one field and one button.

Step 3: Ask for permission the right way

The GDPR says consent must be given by a clear affirmative act. Silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity are not consent. You must also be able to show that someone consented, and withdrawing must be as easy as giving consent.

So: an unticked box or an explicit button, a short sentence about what they will receive, and a link to your privacy policy. Do not bundle it with something else, such as a donation receipt.

Step 4: Import your existing contacts carefully

You may already have people in a spreadsheet. Only import those who agreed to receive your mail. If you are not sure where a contact came from or whether they agreed, leave them out. A smaller list of people who want your mail beats a large one that complains.

Step 5: Keep it healthy

Remove people who unsubscribe straight away, and look at addresses that bounce. Send at a steady rhythm so people remember who you are. Say hello in the first mail, because that is when attention is highest. A short welcome that repeats what they signed up for, thanks them and shows one example of your work sets the tone for everything after it.

How does WeGlow Mail help?

WeGlow Mail has a sign-up form wizard with templates and a customiser. You can show the form in four ways: embedded in a page, as a popup, as a slide-in in the bottom corner, or as a landing page.

For popups and slide-ins you set when they appear, you copy the embed code onto your site, and you can see who submitted the form. Form texts are translated automatically per language.

For existing contacts there is a four-step import (file, map columns, check, done). A tickbox records the consent as a GDPR record, rows with a missing, invalid or duplicate address are skipped and counted, and you can undo a whole import within 24 hours; contacts who already received mail are kept and reported. Every mail carries a footer with your identity, address and an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribed or bounced contacts are left out of sends.

Price: WeGlow Mail is included free up to 250 contacts (500 emails per month) in every plan. Start (up to 1,000 contacts) is €19 per month (excl. VAT), Growth (up to 2,500) is €29. With the Pro platform plan (€40 per month or €400 per year), mailing is included up to 2,500 contacts. Check the current prices in your dashboard, and build your first form under WeGlow Mail.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy an email list?

We advise against it. People on a bought list did not choose to hear from you, so you cannot show valid consent.

Can I add everyone who ever donated?

Not automatically. Whether you may email them depends on what they were told and agreed to. Read our article on GDPR for newsletters first.

How many sign-ups should I expect?

That depends on your audience and where the form sits. We do not promise numbers.

Sources

M+R Benchmarks 2026, email messaging: list growth and churn in 2025 (checked on 2 October 2026).
GDPR (EUR-Lex): consent by clear affirmative act, no pre-ticked boxes, demonstrable and withdrawable consent (checked on 2 October 2026).