Email Stewardship for Virtual Challenges
Email does things that Facebook Groups can’t. It reaches participants in their own inbox — not subject to algorithm decisions about what gets shown in a feed — and it arrives whether or not they’ve been active in the community recently. For time-sensitive communications, registration nudges, and fundraising guidance that requires a specific action, email is the more reliable channel.
It also enables automation that responds to individual participant behaviour — what they’ve done, what they haven’t done yet — rather than treating everyone identically.
The basics
Sign emails from a named person on your team: “Sarah from the [Charity Name] Events Team” rather than a generic organisational address. Participants who feel they’re hearing from a real person are more likely to respond with questions and updates, which is how you build the supporter relationships that outlast the immediate campaign.
Each email should have one primary focus and one clear call to action. Multiple competing requests in the same email typically result in no action being taken. Keep the content concise enough to scan on a phone.
Cut the repetitive filler: opening every email with “Thank you for joining us” and closing every email with “If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask” makes the sequence feel templated rather than purposeful. These phrases add no information and erode the sense of personal attention you’re trying to create.
One practical note on timing: communicate incentive shipping timelines and key challenge dates earlier in your sequence than feels strictly necessary. Participants appreciate advance notice and it reduces the volume of inbound queries later.
Lead nurturing — before registration is complete
For supporters who submitted the lead form but haven’t completed full registration, send two to three emails over approximately 48 hours. These should be short, benefit-focused, and action-oriented — lead with the excitement of the challenge, mention the incentive clearly, and make the registration link as easy to click as possible. This isn’t the place for organisational background or extensive cause information; that comes after they’ve committed.
The post-registration journey
Plan for 12 or more emails spanning from registration through challenge completion and follow-up. The essential touchpoints:
Registration confirmation with an immediate welcome and clear next steps. First steps guidance covering fundraiser activation and joining the Facebook Group. A proactive check-in a few days in, offering support and linking to useful resources. Incentive delivery timing so participants know what to expect and when. A challenge countdown building anticipation in the days before the start. Daily or regular motivation during the active challenge period. Collective fundraising milestone updates sharing the group’s progress. A completion celebration acknowledging what participants achieved and sharing the final impact numbers.
Throughout the sequence, weave in impact stories, specific fundraising tips, and prompts for participants to share their fundraising pages. Connecting the activity back to the cause at regular intervals maintains motivation better than a single mission statement at the start.
Trigger-based automated emails
Set up around six automated emails in GivePanel triggered by specific participant actions rather than a fixed timeline. These are the messages that feel most personal because they respond to what someone has actually done.
Useful triggers: a congratulations message when someone receives their first donation; celebration messages when participants hit milestones like £50 or £100; a gentle encouragement and practical tips email for participants who have had no donations after a defined period; a final push message in the last days of the challenge, tailored to the participant’s current fundraising level.
JustGiving page claiming
If you’re running on JustGiving, include at least two emails specifically addressing page claiming — explaining why it matters (so donations reach your organisation correctly and the page can be personalised) with clear step-by-step instructions. This step confuses a meaningful proportion of participants without explicit guidance, and unclaimed pages mean lost donations.
On email design
GivePanel’s branded templates are a good starting point, but simpler, less image-heavy emails often perform better. Plain text or minimal design can feel more direct and personal than polished HTML layouts. Test both approaches with your audience — the answer varies by cause and demographic.
Segmentation and tracking
Use GivePanel’s segmentation to send different content to participants based on registration timing, fundraising progress, email engagement, and — for international campaigns — geographic location. Segmented messaging consistently outperforms blanket sends.
Monitor open rates and click-through rates, but focus primarily on the downstream conversions: fundraiser creation and donation activity. Email engagement metrics are useful context; conversion to meaningful action is what matters.
For organisations looking for specialist support on email automation and stewardship strategy, Social AF have experience building virtual challenge email journeys including trigger-based automation and segmentation.
Get the full email guide
Request a demo to see how GivePanel’s email automation features support stewardship throughout the challenge lifecycle, or download the Virtual Challenge Playbook for email templates and sequence frameworks.