Why Peer-to-Peer Texting for Nonprofits Is No Longer Optional—It’s Essential

How peer-to-peer texting is transforming nonprofit fundraising with the same speed and precision that’s revolutionizing direct mail

Nonprofit marketers have been led to believe that donor acquisition and retention requires choosing between digital channels and traditional approaches like direct mail. But what if the most powerful fundraising strategy isn’t choosing one over the other—it’s integrating them all?

In a recent episode of Print to Pixel, we spoke with Wendy Marinaccio Husman, Vice President of Digital Fundraising at Mal Warwick Donordigital (MWD), about how peer-to-peer texting for nonprofits is becoming as essential as email marketing—and how it’s creating unprecedented results when combined with direct mail automation.

The Reality Check: Your Donors Are Already Texting

“If you don’t have a texting program, unfortunately, at this point, you are behind,” Husman stated bluntly. “You’re not building as good of relationships with your donors as you could be and also leaving money on the table.”

The numbers back this up. MWD, an early adopter that’s been implementing peer-to-peer texting for nonprofits for eight years, consistently sees response rate increases across all donor segments—including one that might surprise you.

“Everyone, doesn’t matter what generation you’re looking at. They gave more if they received a text versus if they didn’t,” Husman explained, referencing a lift test with 44,000 donors where texted audiences outperformed non-texted groups across every age demographic.

Yes, that includes Boomers. And the Greatest Generation.

Breaking the Direct Attribution Trap for Peer-to-Peer Texting

Here’s where most nonprofits get it wrong: they’re measuring peer-to-peer texting for nonprofits success the same way they’ve always measured channels—in isolation.

“Direct attribution is guiding us to make the wrong decisions,” Husman warned. “The channel someone gives in is not necessarily the channel or channels that motivated them to give or connected them to your mission in the first place.”

This mirrors what we see in direct mail automation. Donors increasingly give through DAFs, online portals, and other methods that don’t directly trace back to the mail piece that motivated them. The solution? Look at constituent behavior holistically, not just direct gifts per channel.

MWD proves this with match-back reports that analyze donors who received different channel combinations. The results are consistent: “With every additional channel you add, response rate goes up.”

The Low-Hanging Fruit: Targeted Messaging That Actually Works

The most successful peer-to-peer texting for nonprofits campaigns aren’t broad-blast fundraising appeals. They’re highly targeted messages sent to specific donor segments at crucial moments:

New Donor Welcome Texts: Welcome first-time donors within a month of their gift. Don’t ask for another donation—just thank them and offer to answer questions. This single touchpoint improves future text response rates significantly.

Lapse Prevention: Text members whose memberships are expiring in the next month, or recently lapsed donors with personalized renewal invitations.

Payment Issue Alerts: Many monthly donors don’t realize their payments have failed due to expired cards or processing issues. A simple text alert can prevent unintentional lapses.

Direct Mail Amplification: Here’s where it gets interesting for direct mail marketers. Text everyone who received your direct mail piece—most won’t give via text, but they’ll return to their mail stack and send a check.

The Integration Advantage: When Direct Mail Meets Peer-to-Peer Texting for Nonprofits

With direct mail automation platforms now tracking USPS Intelligent Mail Barcodes, nonprofits can trigger texts the exact day each donor receives their mail piece. No more guessing when someone got your appeal—you know, and you can act on it immediately.

“Text is a great way to remind people about that stack of mail that they haven’t paid attention to yet, and we see higher response rates,” Husman noted.

This precision timing represents the same transformation happening across nonprofit marketing: the shift from campaign-based thinking to automated, trigger-based communications that respond to donor behavior in real-time.

Rapid Response: The 160-Character Advantage

When news breaks that’s relevant to your cause, peer-to-peer texting for nonprofits becomes your fastest response channel. While you’re still drafting email copy and designing graphics, a 160-character text can reach donors immediately.

Husman’s recommendation? Pre-write scripts for likely scenarios and get them approved in advance. When your issue hits the news, “you want to strike when the iron is hot.”

Beyond the Myths: What Actually Matters

Forget the assumptions about who wants to receive texts or how to structure them. The data from MWD’s testing reveals several counterintuitive insights:

• All generations respond positively to texting—not just millennials
• Including URLs in initial texts works when you’ve established sender reputation
• Mid-level and legacy donors want to hear from you via text and often build stronger relationships through this channel

The Permission-Based Future

As carriers implement stricter delivery standards (similar to email), being a “good player” in the texting ecosystem becomes crucial. This means authentic messaging, proper personalization, and immediate compliance when donors opt out.

Sound familiar? It should. These are the same principles driving deliverability in email and effectiveness in direct mail: show donors you know them, connect them with your mission, and respect their communication preferences.

The Bottom Line: Integration, Not Isolation

Peer-to-peer texting for nonprofits isn’t about replacing other channels—it’s about creating a unified donor experience where each touchpoint reinforces the others. Just as direct mail automation has made it possible to send personalized mail campaigns in 30 minutes instead of 30 days, texting platforms are making real-time donor engagement accessible to organizations of every size.

The nonprofits winning in today’s fundraising environment aren’t choosing between traditional and digital approaches. They’re using automation and integration to make every channel work smarter, faster, and more personally.

Listen to the full interview with Wendy Husman on the Print to Pixel podcast, where marketing leaders share insights on how omnichannel marketing is revolutionizing direct mail and digital integration.

You can also watch or listen to the episode on:

YouTube: Texting Donors and Building Omnichannel Fundraising with Wendy Husman #40 – Postalytics

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0hLQEdj5PmXjQU0nOBYegx?si=lQ7U2nDwRX-PTkylG-1JrA

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/texting-donors-and-building-omnichannel-fundraising/id1707200196

Ready to unlock corporate matching gifts for your nonprofit? Learn how Postalytics can help you create targeted direct mail campaigns that drive matching gift participation. Contact us to see how we’re making direct mail as measurable and automated as email marketing.