How To Make Mobile Giving Fundraising Work

(Photo : How To Make Mobile Giving Fundraising Work )

In the past year, mobile giving donations increased by 205% making it an increasingly popular choice for nonprofits. Text to give provides many benefits for the nonprofits doing the fundraising and for donors. 

For fundraisers, it unearths another potential revenue stream and promotes impulse giving. For donors, it is a simple and convenient way to support a campaign in just a few clicks. 

The numbers behind this phenomenon 

The average donation from text-to-give fundraisers is $107. This can lead to hugely successful campaigns. A good example is the Red Cross's Haiti earthquake relief which raised $43 million from its text campaign. 

Part of the reason why these campaigns can be so successful is that 91% of adults in the US have a smartphone. This is opposed to a declining rate of landlines in households and lower rates of adoption for social media channels. 

Sending texts via mobile phones is also more efficient than emails in getting people to view and respond to any fundraising reminders. Text message reminders are read in three minutes in 90% of the cases. Emails can go to spam and even those that hit the primary inbox can go unread or lost in a sea of marketing, personal, and work emails.

How does it work?

Prospective donors will see that a nonprofit is raising funds and then hopefully act on this. They will usually learn of the request through digital marketing, word-of-mouth, or advertised at an event/service. When a donor decides to give, they will send a text message with the keyword specified to a shortened number. 

Text to give essentially raises money in two ways: 

1. A donor will have a specified amount added to their mobile bill.

2. A donor will click on a link in the text message they receive after responding and it will open to a page with all of the campaign information. They will complete the online donation form and specify how much they wish to contribute and enter their payment details. 

6 Practical Tips for Nonprofits Setting up Text-to -Give Campaigns

While the beauty behind the text to give fundraising, method lies in its simplicity there are a number of considerations to take into account. Of course, not every campaign is as successful as the Haiti example earlier. There are some pitfalls if you're new to this donation channel. 

1. Be selective - spread your text campaigns throughout the year. It lessens the impact of future campaigns and could overwhelm your donors.

2. Choose simple keywords - the shorter and more memorable your keyword is for your campaign the greater the chance of its success. Make it relevant to your cause too so if your campaign is raising funds for the homeless you could set your keyword as "HOME2". 

3. Donation forms - make sure your online donation forms that donors will click through to load quickly, have large text and have the least amount of fields required to complete as possible. 

4. Landing pages - if your donors are to click through to a form make sure the page it's held on is customized with logos and includes a thermometer with your fundraising targets and how close you are. 

5. Promote your campaign - include it in other material you share like newsletters and on your website. If you're holding a fundraising event be sure to have your text to give campaign details displayed with clear instructions. 

6. Thank donors - make sure you follow up any donations with a thank you.

Once you have set up your campaign you can start tracking results. If you're not reaching your expected numbers, you may need to adjust something in your marketing material and strategy. 

Best of luck running your text to give campaigns. This channel is an excellent addition to use alongside other traditional methods, in order to capture as many donations as possible and broaden the visibility of your cause.