Where next for text fundraising?

Submitted by Louise Brown on Tue, 27/07/2010 - 09:37

Louise Brown

27th July 2010

Louise photo As O2 becomes the second mobile operator to announce that it will give 100% of the value of text donations to charity – Vodafone announced on 6th July – what does this mean for SMS as a way to fundraise?

The NCVO/ ICT Foresight report "Charitable Giving and Fundraising in a Digital World" (2007) started to speculate about the possibilities of mobile giving but until now barriers such as the % going to charities have put many people off exploring it further.

A recent report from NFP synergy found that "More than one-third of people in the 25-34 age bracket, and just under a third aged between 16 and 24, reported that they would be likely to give to charity via SMS."

The same report found, however that "only 5% of all respondents had used SMS to donate to charity in the previous month. And 58% said the charges discouraged them from using SMS as a giving mechanism."

Research this month from the Institute of Fundraising found that "text message donations could be worth up to £100m a year to the sector in five years time".

With the barrier of charges slowly being removed by mobile operators what does this mean for organisations? Is SMS giving really an untapped market? What do organisaitons need to consider before launching SMS giving? What support do they need?

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

Louise Brown's blog
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Comments

Submitted by Ros Jenkins on Tue, 27/07/2010 - 14:06.

I wonder whether the sector possibly didn't embrace texts fast enough and now we're moving on to the next big thing - apps for phones. Considering the benefit apps have for engaging with the user, if you are aiming at the young and affluent market, you probably need to get texts sorted and move onto apps pronto. Perhaps running a campaign where the two methods are linked. Texts on their own just don't seem to give the same level of potential return.

The aim behind charity apps is to drive people to your website (which they can access from their phone) where they will learn more, sign up as a regular giver, decide to follow you on social networking sites and maybe tell their friends. This is much better than just sending you a £1 text and then getting annoyed when you text them back in an attempt to engage them!

On the other hand, if you are looking to reach people without high-tech phones (bearing in mind this number is decreasing rapidly), then texts offer the potential to get donations from people whenever or wherever they are, which is a significant bonus. And if they become the norm, then donors will expect to have that option open to them. But you need to think carefully about whether you try to engage them afterwards and if so, how that is managed.

There's an article about apps in today's Third Sector.

Submitted by Karl Wilding on Tue, 27/07/2010 - 20:06.

If I understand the research on motivation and charitable giving correctly, SMS operators' decision to hand over all the cash wont make any difference to whether people give by text message. It will however make a difference to the amount charities receive. The analogy, some (though not all) would argue, is tax incentives: these are argued by some to only be an incentive for the largest gifts, so text messages dont fall into that category.

I'm a great believer in how new technologies can drive philanthropy, but text messages just dont do it for me personally. I'd feel someone had intruded if they asked me to give via text...but if I walked past a fundraiser with an oystercard reader instead of a bucket I wouldnt feel remotely offended. BTW, why on earth has anyone not cracked this one yet? Or even donate when topping up your Oyster card? The closest I can find after searching for a few minutes is donate your used Oyster card. (And yes, I know this only works in London, one of the richest cities in the world)

Submitted by Chris Taylor on Fri, 30/07/2010 - 08:56.

Going slightly off topic but following on from Karl's question over donating by Oyster Card. Keep an eye on the Pennies Foundation who are working to get retailers to allow customers to round up their card transactions to the nearest pound with the extra pennies going to charity. http://thepenniesfoundation.org/

Submitted by Max Miller on Mon, 04/10/2010 - 22:58.

I see SMS being a major source of charitable donations in the future. It's just so easy to donate that I could see it being attractive to a large group of people. I still like to give to charity in a number of different ways -- donating time, creating charity cards, even SMS donations -- and I feel technological ways to donate will only become more important in the future.