Ten Reasons Mobile Giving will be the Bright Spot in Fundraising for 2009...

This post is a response to a commentary made by a traditional fundraising consultancy.

"One major question we continue to ask ourselves is what is the value of a $5 text donation? Our traditional fundraising research shows us that donors who give low dollar amounts (such as $5), have a commensurately low lifetime donor value. Often, we’ve found that the cost to cultivate (i.e. mail, email, call, etc.) these donors exceeds the donation income they provide. In other words, we end up LOSING money in cultivating donors who give very small amounts."

First of all, I'm glad they're bringing attention to micro-giving. We believe (along with Forrester Research, Mobile Marketer, and others) that micro-giving will be one of the trends to watch in 2009 and following. They are correct that in previous "traditional research," small one-time donors may have a lower lifetime value, but these studies have not accounted for the new developments in text donations.

Here are 10 reasons why Text Donations will be the be the trend to watch and why every Cause should consider adding Mobile to their Donor Engagement tool belt.

1. Turns a mobile phone user into a donor in less than a minute (no credit card, web access, phone operators necessary!)
2. Donation is tax-deductible and shows up on the caller’s phone bill.
3. Engages the donor at the closest point of emotional engagement. (we carry our phones at all times!)
4. Caller can text-donate up to 5 times per month (5x per billing cycle)
   
5. $10 donations are now possible (as of March 2009)
6. Recurring donations will be available soon. That means sending a one-word text message instantly turns a caller into a $120/year donor! Wow.
7. The Call-to-Action couldn’t be easier to remember–across all types of media channels. Pick up your mobile phone and try this sample: text GIVE to 27138. (no donation will be transacted. It is a sample to show how easy it is)
   
8. Used in conjunction with other mobile engagement tools (like text2broadcast and text2screen), organizations can build consistent and lasting relationships with donors.
9. As of 2008, all major carriers have waived 100% of their fees for approved 501c-3 orgs who partner with a qualified service provider like MobileCause. (Elsewhere in the world, the carriers still charge up to 50%)
   
10. Response rates have shown to be 10%-40% compared to 1% - 3% for direct mail and other types of donor acquisition methods.

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Things are moving extremely fast with Mobile Technology and we are thrilled to partner with the Mobile Giving Foundation to help organizations like Open Doors, Focus on the Family, Invisible Children, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Sparrow Clubs and so many others fulfill their mission in effective new ways.

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