The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, however, the main requirements are just good policy for email use by any organization, nonprofit or otherwise.

  1. Use true and clear header information — Your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” and routing information must acccurately identify the person or business who sent the message.
  2. Use true and clear subject lines — If the message is about requesting donations, don’t have the subject line say construction update.
  3. Identify the message as an ad — If you are sending true advertising (or some portion of the message is a paid ad), identify it as an ad.
  4. Tell recipients where you are located — Include a valid physical mailing address.
  5. Tell recipients how to opt out — Include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how to opt out of getting emails from you in the future. This should be either email or internet based.
  6. Honor opt-out requests promptly — You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days of the request being made.
  7. Monitor what others are doing on your behalf — If you use a third party to manage your mailing list, check up on them and make sure they are following your policies.

While the CAN-SPAM Act technically only applies to messages with a primary purpose of commercial advertisemetn or promotion of a commercial product or service, these guidelines are common sense ways to have good etiquette when communicating with your donors, volunteers, or client base by email.

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