Hi Rabbi [LAST_NAME GOES HERE],

Stop looking for new donors (at least for a minute).

Because sitting in your database, right now, is a group of people who already said “yes” to your donation requests once (or twice). You haven’t heard from them since, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care.

They’re lapsed donors, an incredibly underestimated asset.

If you bring them back on, they’re more likely to give than any brand-new donor you can find.

But these donors seem to have fallen off the face of earth, so how do you get them back?

A re-engagement sequence is your (re)introduction.

It’s a series of emails to engage lapsed donors again…without begging, guilt-tripping, or blasting them with a boring, generic appeal.

Here’s how to build an email re-engagement sequence that works.

Email 1 — We noticed you’ve been quiet

• Open with a brief, warm reminder of who they are to you — a past supporter
• Acknowledging the silence directly
• Tell them you don't want to keep emailing if they're not interested
• Offer the unsubscribe link

Why this works: Acknowledging the drift (without hard feelings) lowers the reader's guard. The unsubscribe offer is counterintuitive but powerful — it signals that you’re confident in the emails you send and improves your list health either way.

Email 2 — Re-introduction

• Remind them why the originally donated by sharing your org’s mission
• Ideally, frame it around one powerful story or message
• End with a genuine question or low-friction click — something that invites a response, not a transaction (like “reply” or “learn more”)

Why this works: Dropping a pure story email with no donation link — and genuinely inviting a reply — is email gold: they train spam filters to trust you, and bump future emails in this person’s inbox, which will help re-engage them.

Email 3 — We'd love to have you back

• Open by reflecting their donor identity back at them — they've already proven they care
• Have one SMALL, specific request to donate

Why this works: "You've already proven you care" reminds them who they are — a person who gives — rather than asking them to become someone new.

Email 4 — Last call

• Share that this is the last email and, if there’s no engagement, you will remove them from the list
• Give them two options: unsubscribe or update preferences
• Close warmly and leave the door open in case they ever want to come back

Why this works: "This is the last email" creates honest urgency. The preferences link gives a dignified out that keeps your list clean and allows everyone to let you know where they stand.

Here’s an example from a re-engagement sequence we created for Merkaz L’Taharas Hamishpacha:

If we had to summarize a re-engagement sequence in a few words, it would be these:

Remember. Reconnect. Reinvite.

A lapsed donor already decided your cause was worth their money, and that decision doesn’t disappear.

Your re-engagement emails return donors to their place in your story…so “Once upon a time” does not remain the last chapter in your story together.

Our agency helps multi-million dollar nonprofits with marketing strategy and copywriting that touches hearts. And gets people giving. See our NPO packages

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