The Best Email and Supporter Experience Platform for UK Charities in 2025
Looking for an alternative to Mailchimp, DotDigital, or Engaging Networks that's actually built for fundraisers? If you're tired of juggling multiple expensive platforms that weren't designed with charity fundraising in mind, you're in the right place.
Thread Fundraising is the UK's first all-in-one supporter experience platform built exclusively by fundraisers, for fundraisers. Here's why a growing number of charities are making the switch.
The Problem with Generic Marketing Platforms
Most charities are trying to build supporter relationships with tools designed for e-commerce businesses. The result? You're probably experiencing at least one of these frustrations:
Sky-high costs with unpredictable pricing. Platforms often charge hefty set-up fees and chunky monthly costs. Costs can spiral quickly and unused credits disappear every month.
At Thread, we include 30,000 free sends per month and let you rollover unused credits. You then pay per email (approx 12,000 emails for £10) and with unlimited contacts there are no nasty surprises as your list grows.
Platform overload. One tool for email. Another for landing pages. A third for social media. A fourth for forms. A fifth for QR codes. Each with its own login, learning curve, and monthly fee. Thread does it all in one place.
Generic automation that misses fundraising nuances. Pre-built workflows for abandoned shopping carts? Great for retailers. Useless for stewardship journeys, Big Give campaigns, or event fundraising.
No fundraising context. These platforms don't understand donor lifecycles, stewardship principles, or the emotional journey of charitable giving.
Why Thread Fundraising is Different
Thread stitches together our decades of fundraising experience into a platform built on some of the best and biggest e-tech in the world.
1. Built Exclusively for Fundraisers
We're not a business marketing platform with a "non-profit discount." Every feature, template, and automation has been designed by experienced fundraisers who understand supporter-first impact.
Our platform includes ready-to-deploy journey templates specifically for fundraising:
New donor welcome series
Lead generation conversion
Regular giving onboarding
Running and challenge event supporter journeys
Donation upgrade sequences
Big Give Christmas Challenge campaigns
No need to build these from scratch or adapt business templates. They're ready to go, informed by fundraising best practice.
2. All Your Tools in One Place
Stop paying for and managing multiple platforms. Thread includes everything you need:
Email marketing with fundraising-optimised templates and automation
Landing page builder for appeals, events, and lead generation
Quiz and survey builders that capture insight on your supporters that you can then use within your emails and journeys
Social media management — create, schedule, and post content across platforms, plus reply to comments
AI-powered tools — draft thank you letters, generate content ideas, build chatbots, and automate time-consuming processes
QR code generation for offline-to-online journeys
Lead generation tools and Facebook ads management
Customisable dashboards tailored to your fundraising KPIs
SMS, WhatsApp and multi-channel messaging
Everything works together seamlessly, with your supporter data at the heart.
3. Seamless Integration with Your CRM
Thread connects directly with major fundraising CRMs including:
Salesforce
Raiser's Edge
Donorfy
Microsoft Dynamics
Beacon
Any CRM with an API can integrate directly. For those without, we generate ready-to-import files that load straight into your system. No messy data exports or CSV chaos.
4. AI That Actually Helps Fundraisers
We've built AI capabilities that save you hours every week:
Generate personalised thank you letters in seconds
Create email content and social posts based on your brand toolkit
Build landing pages and websites by typing what you want
Automate donation processing and data entry
Get strategic insights on supporter behavior
Our AI research (featured in sector publications) shows that well-prompted AI can produce thank you letters fundraisers rate as highly as human-written ones — freeing up your time for the personal touches that truly matter.
5. Expert Fundraising Support Included
You're not just buying software. Thread is part of a consultancy of fundraising experts, which means you get:
Comprehensive onboarding (complete it and win back your setup fee in free credits)
Round-the-clock support through training videos and personal assistance
Regular drop-in learning sessions
Access to exclusive fundraising content, insights, and events
A community of fundraisers to learn from
6. Transparent, Affordable Pricing
Starting at £250/month with unlimited contacts — your price doesn't increase as your supporter base grows.
You only pay for what you use, and we give you free credits every month. No surprise bills. No punishing price jumps when you hit contact thresholds.
Our set up fee is £1,500-£5,000 depending on your needs. However, we give you the chance to win this back in credits by completing our on-boarding and training. We want you to succeed and find this is a great way to make it happen!
Is Thread Right for Your Charity?
Thread works best for charities with:
Annual fundraising income of £500k+
A mailing list of 10,000+ supporters
A desire to move beyond juggling multiple platforms
A commitment to supporter-first experiences
If your list is under 10,000 contacts, Mailchimp might actually be a more cost-effective option for now. We're honest about that. Thread is built for charities at a stage where integrated, sophisticated supporter journeys become essential — and where the cost of multiple platforms becomes prohibitive.
Ready to See Thread in Action?
Stop compromising with platforms that weren't built for fundraising. See how Thread can help you create better supporter experiences, save time with AI-powered automation, and consolidate your tech stack — all while reducing costs.
Book a demo to see Thread in action, or explore our Supporter Experience Platform to learn more about specific features.
About Thread Fundraising
Thread Fundraising bridges the gap between freelancer agility and agency capability, offering purpose-built tools for charity fundraisers who believe in supporter-first impact. Our platform combines email marketing, journey automation, AI-powered content creation, social media management, and more — all designed with fundraising best practice at its heart.
