Email Sender

Project Overview

Automated Donor Outreach Tool for Women’s Rugby is a Python-based utility designed to assist my local senior side women’s rugby team in streamlining the process of identifying and contacting potential donors. The tool automates web searching for emails, allows for human verification, and supports templated email sending with attachments. Its design prioritizes both functionality and accessibility for non-technical users on the team’s board.

The project was created with practical fundraising in mind, specifically targeting silent auction donations. It accommodates differences between new and returning sponsors and ensures manual oversight in cases where web automation may yield inaccurate results.

Key Features:

• Web Searching with Google API: The tool queries the web using business names listed in an Excel spreadsheet. Each found email is saved immediately upon discovery, mitigating data loss if the API limit is reached mid-process. This approach prioritizes data retention over runtime efficiency.
• Manual Verification Workflow: The system intentionally separates the web search and email sending stages to allow for human verification. This prevents misdirected outreach — for example, when a search finds a journalist’s email instead of the intended business contact.
• Email Sending Logic: Emails are sent in markdown format with support for file attachments. The system distinguishes between new and returning donors, sending personalized messages with appropriate content and tone for each case.

Project Structure:

• Attachments Directory: Supports any file type. For this campaign, it included a PNG image showcasing last year’s sponsors and a PDF version of the current sponsorship package.
• Email Templates: The tool supports customized messaging. Returning donors receive messages thanking them and explaining the impact of their past support, while new donors receive an introduction to the team and the silent auction fundraising goal.
• Excel Integration: The DATA.xlsx file (renameable) serves as the project’s data source. scrape.py reads the business names, performs the web search, and writes both the email and source URL back into the spreadsheet for easy review.
• Email Dispatch: sender.py reads the updated spreadsheet and sends the appropriate email (new or returning) to each contact. When available, the system addresses recipients by name; otherwise, it defaults to the business name.
• Accessible Configuration (settings.py): Designed for ease-of-use by non-technical users. Email credentials, API keys, sender display name, subject line, and the Excel filename are all stored here. While this method sacrifices best security practices, it prioritizes usability for the intended audience.

Technologies Used:

• Python: Core logic and automation for querying, processing, and emailing.
• Google Search API: Used for web scraping email addresses based on business names.
• OpenPyXL: For reading from and writing to Excel files.
• smtplib and email.mime: To construct and send emails with support for markdown and attachments.

Conclusion:

The Automated Donor Outreach Tool supports grassroots fundraising through thoughtful, accessible automation. By combining custom email generation, real-time web search, and clear opportunities for human verification, the project helps ensure effective and accurate donor communication.

While built for a specific local rugby initiative, the structure and design of this tool are flexible enough to be adapted for other community fundraising efforts, making it a valuable model for accessible, semi-automated outreach.