Communication Lists allow your supporters to manage which marketing messages they receive. This feature gives them control over their subscriptions through their Donor Portal, and allows your organization to send more targeted, compliant emails.
What Are Communication Lists?
Communication Lists are opt-in marketing categories (e.g., newsletters, updates, campaigns) that donors can choose to subscribe or unsubscribe from. Only supporters who are subscribed to a particular list will receive messages associated with it. This does not affect transactional messages like donation receipts or confirmations.
How to Create a Communication List
- Navigate to the Engagement tab
Click on Communication Lists to view a table of all your existing lists. - Click the blue "+" button
Create a new list by giving it:
- A name (e.g., "Quarterly Announcements")
- A description (shown in the Donor Portal to explain the purpose of the list)
- A name (e.g., "Quarterly Announcements")
- Choose your audience
- Apply a tag to show the list only to a certain group of tagged supporters
- Or tag all supporters if you want it to be universally visible
- Apply a tag to show the list only to a certain group of tagged supporters
- Enable Double Opt-In (Optional)
If enabled, donors must confirm their subscription/unsubscription via a follow-up email. This adds an extra layer of consent. - Click Save
Your list is now ready to be used in marketing emails.
Using Communication Lists in Emails
- When creating a marketing message (not a transactional one), you can choose a Communication List as your audience.
- Supporters who have subscribed to the list will receive the message.
- Supporters who have unsubscribed will not receive the message, even if included in broader audience rules.
- Audience rules can be left blank—the Communication List becomes the sole filter.
- You can also set a preferred email type (e.g., personal, work) to use for delivery.
Supporter Experience in the Donor Portal
- Supporters can manage their preferences from the "Preferences" section in their Donor Portal.
- Here, they’ll see:
- A list of all communication categories available to them
- The ability to subscribe or unsubscribe at any time
- A list of all communication categories available to them