Automated Personalized Donation Request Email Campaign

## Problem Statement
A nonprofit staff member currently sends donation request emails one at a time by manually reviewing a spreadsheet of contacts. Each email must be individually composed and sent, which is extremely time-consuming and does not currently include any personalization. The organization wants to automate this process so that emails are sent in bulk, personalized with each recipient's name, company affiliation, and past donation history, and include a donation link — all without manual effort per contact.

## Current Process Steps
1. Staff opens the contact spreadsheet.
2. Staff reviews each row one by one for contact details (name, email, company, mailing address, phone number).
3. Staff manually looks up prior donation history for each contact (source system unknown — requires clarification).
4. Staff composes a donation request email describing recent organizational activities and requesting a donation.
5. Staff includes a donation link in the email.
6. Staff sends the email to the individual contact.
7. Staff repeats steps 2–6 for every contact on the list.

## Integrations & Tools
- **Contact data source:** Spreadsheet (likely Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel/CSV — confirm with client)
- **Donation history source:** Unknown — client was asked but did not yet answer; could be same spreadsheet, a CRM, or a separate donation platform (e.g., DonorPerfect, Bloomerang, Salesforce Nonprofit, Network for Good). **This must be clarified before development begins.**
- **Email delivery platform:** To be selected — recommended options include Mailchimp, SendGrid, Mailjet, or a direct SMTP solution depending on list size and budget.
- **Personalization/templating engine:** Dynamic email template supporting variable substitution (name, company, donation amount, last donation date, etc.)

## Data Sources
| Field | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First/Last Name | Spreadsheet | Used for email salutation |
| Email Address | Spreadsheet | Primary delivery field |
| Company | Spreadsheet | Optional; include if present |
| Mailing Address | Spreadsheet | Available but likely not needed for email |
| Phone Number | Spreadsheet | Available but likely not needed for email |
| Donation History | Unknown — TBD | Amount(s) donated, date(s) of last gift |
| Donation Link | Static or dynamic URL | To be included in every email |

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] System reads all contacts from the spreadsheet automatically.
- [ ] Each email addresses the recipient by name (e.g., "Dear [First Name]").
- [ ] If a company name is present, it is referenced appropriately in the email.
- [ ] If donation history is available, the email references at least the last donation amount and/or date.
- [ ] Every email includes a working donation link.
- [ ] Emails are sent to all contacts on the list without manual intervention per contact.
- [ ] The system handles contacts with missing optional fields (e.g., no company, no prior donation) gracefully, using fallback language.
- [ ] Staff can trigger the send campaign manually (and optionally on a schedule).
- [ ] A send log or delivery report is generated so staff can confirm all emails were sent.

## Out of Scope
- Collecting new donations or processing payments (the donation link handles this externally).
- Managing unsubscribes or CAN-SPAM/CASL compliance automation (recommended but not explicitly requested — should be flagged to client).
- Updating the spreadsheet or CRM with email open/click tracking (nice to have, not requested).
- Designing the email content or writing copy (staff provides the message body template).
- Two-way communication or reply handling.
- Importing or migrating historical donation data into a new system.