We're three weeks into 2026, and you've felt it.
The pressure to respond. The inbox filling up with updates from organizations moving faster than you.
The question of whether your organization should say something, and if so, what.
Donors feel it too. Every crisis is urgent. Every ask feels like the most important one.
The organizations that cut through aren't just the loudest. They're the ones who built the systems to move fast before the moment hit.
Mercy Corps: Content from the ground, into inboxes fast
Throughout the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Mercy Corps' "We Won't Stop" campaign focused on getting field content into supporters' hands quickly.
Blue State worked with Mercy Corps to develop creative guidelines for field teams before footage was captured.
That meant that when photos and video arrived from the Rafah border, they were already formatted for email and social media. No production bottleneck. No waiting for approvals on asset specs.
The campaign leaned into storytelling from staff on the ground, showing supporters exactly where donations would go.
They also paired fundraising with advocacy: 20,000 ceasefire petition signatures (all new to the list) created a pipeline that led to $100k raised and 750 first-time donors.
The takeaway? Your content pipeline matters as much as the email itself. Brief your field teams on what you need so you're not scrambling when timing matters most.
What the agencies are seeing
The tactics that work in rapid response aren't mysterious. They can just be hard to execute under pressure.
BDI, which works with Rescue Missions across the country, emphasizes having "on-the-shelf" template graphics ready to deploy within 24 hours.
Their advice: use text-based emails (faster to produce and signal urgency), establish a RACI matrix so you're not chasing approvals mid-crisis, and don't let perfection slow you down.
Faircom NY recommends leading with a "breaking news" style email within 24 hours.
Their advice: Tell donors what they need to know, give them a clear action, then follow up with texts and calls to major donors.
NextAfter's research adds a twist: personal tone matters more than polish.
In one test, stripping away branded templates and writing like a real person led to a 145% lift in donations.
Their advice: Crisis emails don't need to look like marketing.
Build your rapid response muscle
Pre-build templates. Have email, landing page, and graphic frameworks ready to customize in hours, not days.
Decide who decides. Establish your approval chain now, not when the news breaks.
Go text-forward. Skip the fancy design. Plain emails move faster and signal urgency.
Ladder your asks. A petition or pledge can capture new subscribers who convert to donors later.
Flag crisis donors differently. They came for the moment, not your mission. Steward them carefully.
The bottom line
Speed wins in rapid response, but speed without systems is chaos. The organizations raising big in the first week aren't scrambling. They're activating plans they built before the moment arrived.
When the next crisis hits, you want to be ready not just to react, but to respond.
'Til next time!
Sara
P.S. Your agency’s or organization’s learnings from year-end campaigns or A/B tests could help spark more wins across the sector! Reply directly to this email to share your successes.