Charity Navigator Logo
    Sign in Nonprofit Resources Support Charity Navigator
    Charity Navigator Logo

    Error attempting donation

    You're too fast!

    Your donation attempt encountered a problem. Please refresh the page to try again.

    You're faster than our page! Give the page a little longer to finish loading and try your donation again.

    Mobile Giving Campaigns

    How text-to-donate can boost your fundraising.

    There’s no doubt that we live in a mobile-obsessed era. About 81% of Americans own a smartphone of some kind, and studies show that American adults spend about 3.5 hours per day on their phones.

    To nonprofit fundraising professionals, these numbers mean one thing: without a strategy for mobile giving, you’re missing out on a major fundraising opportunity. By pursuing mobile-giving campaigns, you can boost your visibility and your funding by providing supporters with a highly convenient donation channel on a device they use all the time. 

     

    Here at Donately, we’ve seen nonprofits successfully leverage mobile giving within their overall digital fundraising strategy. The more tools you can add to your virtual toolbox, the better positioned you’ll be to solicit donations and develop a sustainable revenue source beyond the pandemic. Let’s dive in! 

     

    Benefits of mobile giving  

    Mobile giving is quickly becoming one of the most effective ways to engage with supporters and solicit donations. 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics page shows that mobile users made up about 33% of online gift transactions last year. Additionally, this source found that 50% of all nonprofit website traffic last year came from mobile and tablet users, while desktop-based traffic actually decreased by 9%. 

    Due to the prevalence and convenience of mobile giving, offering your supporters more ways to connect is an effective way to boost your donor retention rates. 

     

    Getting started with text-to-give

    In a text-to-give campaign, nonprofits collect gifts from supporters via text message. With a text-to-give provider, you can start accepting mobile donations in just a few simple steps:

     

     

    1. Create a mobile-responsive donation page. If you already have a digital donation page, make sure it’s functional on mobile devices. This ensures that donors will be able to easily navigate your donation form without experiencing any formatting issues. 

    2. Choose a keyword and a text-to-give number. Share both of these with supporters across your communication platforms, including social media and email. 

    3. Encourage supporters to text your keyword to your phone number. They’ll be sent a link that reroutes them to your mobile-optimized donation page, where they can submit their gifts. 

    In this type of campaign, your online giving page is the star of the show, so make sure it’s as streamlined as possible. Donately’s donation page guide has plenty of tips for designing your form with:

    • Intuitive and effective design. Be sure to design your page with your organization’s branding in mind. Also, include elements that simplify the process for donors like suggested giving amounts and convenient options for recurring gifts.
    • Compelling content. Use captivating imagery that illustrates your organization’s mission. Additionally, include a brief summary of your fundraiser’s purpose to remind donors how their contributions will make a difference.
    • Accessibility. It’s crucial that your form is accessible to those with disabilities or visual impairments. Use high-contrast color schemes, alternative text for images, and clearly labeled form fields to ensure your page doesn’t exclude anyone from giving. 

     

    Also, with a dedicated virtual fundraising platform, you can gather data that reveals important supporter insights. For example, track your most active donors, trends like high-volume donation days, and popular donation amounts. These insights can help you adjust your campaigns moving forward to cater to donor preferences, maximizing the value of your mobile giving efforts.  

     

    If your nonprofit has yet to implement mobile giving, now is the time to get on board. By choosing a virtual fundraising platform that can manage your text messaging efforts, you can easily get in touch with supporters and keep your organization on their radar. Happy fundraising!

     

    Written by Andrew Berry, head of marketing and customer success for Donately. After getting involved with nonprofits at a young age, he discovered a passion for helping the organizations that are making the world a better place. Knowing how vital online fundraising has become, his goal is to help nonprofits raise more money online each year! In his spare time, you will find him cooking up dinner, playing with his dog or cheering on Boston sports teams.

    Related Articles