How do I set up a welcome email series for new donors?

A welcome series of three to four mails over about a month thanks, tells your story and invites. Here is how to build it with WeGlow Mail automations.

A welcome series for new donors is a short run of automatic emails, usually three to four over the first weeks, that thanks the person, shows what their gift does and invites them to stay close. Write it once, set it to start when someone gives for the first time, and let it run. The timing below is a common rule of thumb, not a law of nature.

Why do new donors deserve a series?

The first weeks after a first gift are when a donor decides whether you are an organisation they want to hear from. If the only thing they receive is a receipt, you have wasted that moment. A few warm, useful mails turn a transaction into a relationship, and they save your team from remembering to write to each newcomer by hand.

What should the four mails say?

Four short mails: a thank-you, your story, a result and an invitation. Below is what each mail says and when it goes out.

  1. Mail 1, right after the gift: thank you. Say thanks in a human voice, name what the gift will do and tell them what to expect next. Keep it short. One personal line with their first name is enough.
  2. Mail 2, a few days later: your story. Tell who you are and why you do this work. One person, one place, one photo. No ask.
  3. Mail 3, about a week after that: what your gift did. Show a concrete result, even a small one. Concrete beats big.
  4. Mail 4, a week or two later: stay close. Invite them to follow your newsletter, join an event or volunteer. Make clear that a second gift is welcome, but not required.

Space the mails out. A common rule of thumb is to keep the series to four mails over about a month. That is long enough to build trust and short enough that nobody feels followed.

What makes a welcome mail work?

  • A subject line that is warm and honest: "Thank you, Sophie" beats "Welcome to our mailing list".
  • A real sender name and a reply-to address that a human reads.
  • One idea and one button per mail.
  • No hard ask in the first two mails.
  • A visible unsubscribe link. Automated mails need one too.

What about the law?

Automated mails are still direct marketing when they promote your cause beyond confirming a gift. Under the GDPR people may object to direct marketing at any time, and you must tell them about that right clearly, at the latest at the first communication. If you also want to put new donors on your newsletter list, ask for it as a separate choice. We explain consent in our GDPR article.

You reply to an objection in principle within 1 month. According to the Belgian Data Protection Authority, objecting and withdrawing consent must be easy and free of charge.

What does it look like on a calendar?

A made-up example: a donor gives on a Monday. The thank-you goes out within minutes, the story follows on Thursday, the result mail on the next Thursday and the invitation ten days after that. By the time the series ends, the donor has heard from you four times in about a month and has been asked for nothing. Your newsletter then takes over at its normal rhythm.

Which mistakes should you avoid?

  • Waiting days to say thank you, which feels cold.
  • Asking for a second gift in the first mail.
  • Writing the series once and never reading it again. Check it twice a year so that facts and photos stay current.

How do you build this in WeGlow Mail?

WeGlow Mail has automatic mails with four triggers: new contact, new donation, lapsed contact, and manual. For a welcome series you choose "new donation" (or "new contact" if you welcome subscribers) and pick a pre-built starter template for that trigger instead of starting from a blank page.

A sequence can have several steps, each with its own delay, and a timeline view shows the whole series at a glance. You write each mail in the same block editor as your newsletter, with tags such as {{first_name}}, and an overview lists all your automations. Glowie can draft the text from an idea, and you review it before it goes live. Every mail has the footer with your identity and the unsubscribe link.

There is no flow-chart builder, by design: a welcome series is a simple line, and the timeline keeps it that way. 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 set up your first sequence under WeGlow Mail.

How many mails should the series have?

Three to four is a good start: enough to say thanks, tell your story, show a result and invite. You can always add a step later, once you see how donors react to the first mails.

Should the series include a donation ask?

Not at the start. Thank, tell your story, show results, then invite. A later ask lands better when trust is there, and a second gift can be welcome without you asking for it in the first mails.

Do recurring donors need a different series?

Often yes, because they have already committed more than one-off donors. Write them a shorter series that focuses on updates and thanks, and do not ask again for a gift they already make every month.

Does an automatic welcome mail need an unsubscribe link?

Yes. Every mail needs a visible unsubscribe link, automated ones included. According to the Belgian Data Protection Authority, objecting or withdrawing consent must be possible at any time, easily and free of charge. In WeGlow Mail the unsubscribe link sits in the footer of every mail.

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