How to sell to CTOs at Nonprofits companies
CTOs at nonprofits focus on maximizing technology investments while ensuring data security and compliance with regulations. They respond to outreach that demonstrates a clear understanding of their unique challenges, such as limited budgets and the need for scalable solutions that enhance fundraising efforts. Addressing how technology can drive mission impact is critical for engagement.
Written and maintained by the SoloRiff team, who build outbound software and run outbound with it. The figures below are our own: we measured 572 nonprofits company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.
What actually hurts
- limited technology budgets
- data security concerns
- compliance with fundraising regulations
- scalability of tech solutions
The playbook
- 01
Identify organizations with recent funding rounds
Filter your prospect list for nonprofits that have received new funding in the last 6 months. These organizations are likely to be investing in technology to enhance their operations and outreach, making them more receptive to discussions about tech solutions.
- 02
Highlight data security in your outreach
Craft your email to emphasize how your solution addresses data security concerns specific to nonprofits. Mention recent data breaches in the sector to demonstrate awareness of their vulnerabilities and position your offering as a safeguard against such risks.
- 03
Connect during annual planning cycles
Reach out during Q4 when many nonprofits are finalizing their budgets for the next year. Timing your outreach to coincide with their planning phase increases the likelihood of your solution being considered for upcoming projects.
- 04
Mention compliance with fundraising regulations
In your follow-up, reference specific compliance requirements that affect their fundraising activities, such as GDPR or PCI-DSS. This shows that you understand their operational landscape and how your solution can help them navigate these complexities.
- 05
Leverage shared connections in the nonprofit sector
Use LinkedIn to identify mutual connections who can introduce you. A warm introduction from someone in the nonprofit sector can significantly increase your chances of getting a response compared to cold outreach.
Can nonprofits companies even receive your mail?
We measured the DNS of 572 nonprofits companies, sampled evenly across company sizes, to see how many authenticate their own email. It matters in both directions: a domain that does not authenticate is a domain whose team is used to mail going missing — and if your own domain is in the gap, yours is the mail going missing.
Publishes a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject — the domain actually asks receivers to act on failures.
The gap is the finding: 11.5% of 1–10-person companies against 75% of the largest — 64 points apart. Small companies are where the unauthenticated domains are, and small companies are who most cold outreach is aimed at.
Where does your domain sit?
Same three lookups, run live against your domain. Nothing is stored and nothing is emailed to you.
How this was measured
Company domains were sampled within employee-count bands, then queried over public DNS for SPF (TXT at the apex), DMARC (TXT at _dmarc.) and MX. One domain per company, deduplicated. Anyone can reproduce any single row of this with dig.
DKIM is deliberately absent. A DKIM key lives under a selector that cannot be enumerated from outside the domain, so a company with flawless DKIM under a name we did not guess would be counted as having none. That would measure our guess list, not the industry.
Domains with no MX record are excluded rather than counted as failures — parked and redirect-only domains would otherwise drag every figure down and make the result an artefact of the sample.
Sampled within bands, so this describes the population of companies, not of employees: a 10-person company counts once, as does a 10,000-person one. Each band is at least 60 domains; bands below that are not published. Figures are percentages of the sample, not of the whole industry, and we publish no company names — only counts.
Measured 2026-09-03. Re-measured monthly.
The full census across every industry — sortable, with sample sizes, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
Subject lines that fit
- Enhancing tech for fundraising success
- Navigating data security in nonprofits
- Maximizing your tech budget
Questions
- Why do CTOs at nonprofits hesitate to engage with sales outreach?
- CTOs at nonprofits often face budget constraints and prioritize solutions that align with their mission. They may perceive sales outreach as generic or disconnected from their unique challenges, making them hesitant to engage without a clear value proposition.
- What technology challenges do nonprofit CTOs face?
- Nonprofit CTOs frequently struggle with limited resources, outdated systems, and the need to integrate new technologies with legacy systems. They also contend with ensuring data security and compliance while maximizing the impact of their technology investments.
- How can I demonstrate understanding of nonprofit tech needs?
- Showcase your knowledge of nonprofit-specific challenges, such as fundraising efficiency and compliance requirements. Tailoring your message to reflect their mission-driven goals and the unique pressures they face can help establish rapport.
- What common objections do nonprofit CTOs have to tech solutions?
- CTOs in the nonprofit sector often cite budget limitations, lack of time for implementation, and concerns about the return on investment as key objections. Addressing these concerns directly in your outreach can help mitigate resistance.
Or have it run itself
SoloRiff does every step above on its own — finds the companies, finds the people, writes each of them individually, and handles the replies. Drop your URL and watch it work before you sign up for anything.
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