"Mobile phones are used across the world to raise money for social causes such as disaster relief, poverty relief, rescuing abandoned animals, and supporting other human needs," according to Using Mobile Phones in Fundraising Campaigns, produced by MobileActive.org. "Combined with other fundraising techniques, mobile fund raising is emerging as a new tool for organizations to identify potential donors and raise money."
Mobile giving campaigns, at this point, focus more on giving small amounts of money. After all, who can't afford to give $10 toward a humanitarian effort? Back in 2005, the Red Cross used this technique to raise money for Katrina relief, requesting donations of $5. Another approach is to sell ringtones or graphics for donations. A charity called Sweet Relief, which supports career musicians facing illness, disability, or age-related problems, sold exclusive ringtones for a $4.99 donation.
On a local level, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga is in the middle of a "textathon," requesting donors to submit their cell phone numbers to make a $10 donation. Visit http://www.rmhchattanooga.com/www and the first thing you see is the textathon request.
What can this mean for schools? Consider these things.
- The trend in mobile giving is to raise money through many small donations. It's an easy gift that nearly everyone can give.
- The appeal can "go viral" easily. Posting an appeal on a Web site, via Twitter, or through e-mail allows individuals to forward that appeal to friends and family, reaching more people than you may have on your prospect lists.
- Mobile giving can be expensive. There are set-up and management fees with the mobile carrier, as well as fees to send the messages. There are transaction fees to process the gifts. That Sweet Relief ringtone? The mobile carrier kept 50% of the gift. Plus marketing costs come into play.
While you are going to see more and more mobile giving campaigns, this method for easy donations is not easy or cheap on your end. Still, it's a trend to watch, especially as cell phone use, and technologies with it, continue to grow.
"Imagine being at a concert or sporting event and the lead singer or team captain asks you to get out your phone and donate $10 right now to an organization," says Nick Allen, CEO of Donordigital. Clearly, the potential is enormous as the technique matures.
Have any of you explored, or even tried, text-to-give? We'd like to know—send us your stories!
Want more information? See Text-to-Give Fundraising Campaigns Take Off.
Click here to download MobileActive.org's Using Mobile Phones in Fundraising Campaigns.
