Sequence template · 4 steps over 18 days

Reactivating corporate donors who went quiet

For NGOs returning to companies that supported them before: a four-step sequence that thanks first, reports what their past support did, and asks for a conversation.

Goal. A renewed conversation with companies that supported the organisation in the past

Step 1Day 0, campaign start

Subject What {{company}}'s support in {{last_support_year}} made possible

Hi {{first_name|there}},

In {{last_support_year}} {{company}} supported {{supported_project}} at {{org_name}}. I wanted to write, before anything else, to tell you what came of it: the project ran, the people it was meant for were reached, and the work continues today.

We have not been in touch since, and that is on us.

If you have fifteen minutes, I would like to show you where {{supported_project}} is now and hear whether {{cause_area}} is still something {{company}} wants to be part of.

Thank and report before asking. The admission that contact lapsed on your side is what makes the rest of the sequence credible.

Step 2Day 4

Subject Re: What {{company}}'s support in {{last_support_year}} made possible

Hi {{first_name|there}},

Companies stop supporting for ordinary reasons: budgets move, the person who championed it leaves, priorities change. If any of those happened at {{company}}, it would help us to know, and there is no awkwardness in saying so.

If the contact simply lapsed, then this is us picking it up again. Either way, a short reply tells us how to proceed.

Names the likely reasons so the reader does not have to explain. A one-word reply is enough, and you learn which segment they belong to.

Step 3Day 10

Subject A short update from {{org_name}}

Hi {{first_name|there}},

Here is what {{org_name}} is doing on {{cause_area}} this year, in three lines: the programmes running, the one we are starting, and the gap we still need partners for. I have kept it brief on purpose; the full report is available if you want it.

If {{company}} is considering where to give this year, we would like to be in that conversation, at whatever level fits.

Replace the three-line placeholder with three actual lines before sending. Fresh subject so it reads as news, not as a reminder.

Step 4Day 18

Subject Re: A short update from {{org_name}}

Hi {{first_name|there}},

I will leave it here. Whatever {{company}} decides, thank you again for {{last_support_year}}; it mattered, and we should have said so sooner.

If you would like to keep receiving one update a year from {{org_name}}, reply with "yes" and that is all you will get from us.

Closes with gratitude and a very small ask. A yes here goes on a once-a-year list, not back into outreach.

Use this sequence for companies that gave money, time or goods in the past and have not been heard from in a year or more. It assumes the relationship went quiet, not that it ended badly. If a company stopped after a complaint or a dispute, write to them personally instead.

Who to put in it

The person who dealt with you last time, if they are still there, and one current contact in the role that would own giving today (CSR, marketing, or the owner in a smaller firm). Before importing, check each old contact against your suppression list: anyone who asked not to be contacted stays out, no matter how generous they once were. Address verification on import will also tell you which of the old addresses are gone, which is common after a few years.

Both people at a company belong to the same company card, so if the old contact has left and the new one replies, you see the whole history in one place.

What to change before sending

supported_project and last_support_year must be correct. Pull them from your donor records, not from memory, and review every row in the To check queue before the first send. Step three has a placeholder for three lines about this year; write them, and write them plainly. If your organisation publishes an annual report, offer it as a tracked offer link rather than a PDF attachment, so you know who read it.

How to read the replies and when to stop

Step two often produces the most useful replies, and many of them will be short: “budget cut”, “new owner”, “we still like you but never heard from you”. Reclassify by hand where needed. A “the person who handled it left” is not a no; ask who handles it now and start that person on step one with a line about the history. If a colleague answers instead of the addressee, when a colleague replies instead of your prospect covers how to continue without restarting.

Watch the company card as well as the inbox. A company that opens every message and reads the update but does not reply is warming up; the temperature on the card will show it, and company temperature explains how to read it. A personal message at that point often does what the fourth step cannot.

Stop after step four. Companies that reply “yes” to the yearly update go on a separate list with one message a year. Companies that stay silent are left alone for at least twelve months.