5 tools every nonprofit emailer should know about

“We just got an email from a donor who said our email looked funky in Outlook.”

Chances are pretty high you’ve heard this one before.

From open rates cratering to a template that didn’t render correctly, the headaches can add up fast. 

And more often than not, the answers to these problems aren’t clear from inside your CRM.

Luckily, there are tons of tools out there that can help. Here are some of my favorites:

Google Postmaster Tools
This tool is FREE, and not to be dramatic — but run, don’t walk, to set it up if you haven’t already.

Gmail is one of the most popular free mailbox providers. You’re leaving valuable insights on the table if you’re not using it.

It shows you how the mailbox provider sees your domain across personal email accounts: sending reputation, spam rates, and authentication (DKIM, DMARC, SPF).

Yahoo offers a similar tool, and Microsoft’s Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) is helpful if you’re using a dedicated IP.

GlockApps
You might see that your most recent fundraising appeal was “delivered,” but that just means the receiving server accepted it. 

GlockApps shows you what happened next.

You send a test email to their seed addresses across mailbox providers, and it reports back whether it landed in the inbox or spam.

Deliverability expert Al Iverson recommended it in our AMA last fall (along with a few other tools worth exploring), and plans start at $59 a month. 

Litmus
We all know how Outlook can make or break an email template.

Litmus allows you to preview how your email appears in the inbox across dozens of mailbox providers, operating systems, and devices.

Some CRMs have embedded Litmus directly in their platforms: HubSpot, MailChimp, and Salesforce (Marketing Cloud), to name just a few.

Sinch’s Email on Acid is a similar tool that’s also worth a look (and slightly more affordable).

Beefree
Maybe you run an email program for a nonprofit organization with international, state, or local chapters. 

Beefree is a drag-and-drop email builder with shared template libraries and brand kits. 

UNICEF used it to keep everyone on-brand without requiring anyone to touch HTML.

If brand consistency and broken templates are sticking points across a distributed organization, this tool is truly built for that problem.

About My Email
This one’s another solid recommendation from Al Iverson, and it’s worth bookmarking.

Aboutmy.email sends a test email to an address they generate for you.

It then checks your authentication setup, email structure, and compliance with mailbox provider sender requirements.

If you want a quick answer to whether your technical setup is correct, this is the fastest way to find out.

The bottom line
Let’s be very clear: none of these tools alone will save a broken email program.

Good content, ethical opt-in policies, and building real relationships with your supporters still rule the day.

Start with what’s free, add what you need, and make sure someone on your team is actually responding to the findings.

Check our events list for more or reply to this email to submit one for consideration.

‘Til next time!
Sara