Kelly Ripa Launches Text-A-Thon Campaign with MobileCause to benefit Ovarian Cancer Research

During September, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, you can help us raise funds and awareness to support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Donate $5 now to help fund research to find a cure.

Plus, every day you log on to Kelly Confidential, you'll be entered for a chance to win a front load washer and dryer in Turquoise Sky, the color inspired by the teal ribbon of ovarian cancer awareness.

MobileCause provided the Text2Give solution that allows donations to be made through a caller's mobile phone.

The #1 Charity to follow on Twitter is...

Note: We just added a cool new app called Apture. Try clicking on the links in this article...it brings up info and videos without leaving the page.

According to Paste Magazine Twitter offers one of the best ways to connect with charities and Charity: Water does it better than anyone. We're thrilled to have entered into a new partnership with Charity: Water to enable anyone with a phone to donate by simply sending a one word text message. We'll let you know as soon as the campaign kicks in. In the meantime, follow our friends on Twitter (you could be follower #565,607). By the way, have you seen Jennifer Connelly in this amazing video promo?





In the same article, we noticed another one of our clients made #6 in the Best Charities on Twitter list. Our friends at Invisible Children have done an amazing job of utilizing social media to spread the word about the atrocities in Uganda and the children who are forced to be soldiers in Joseph Kony's army. Show your support for them by texting RESCUE to 20222 to donate $5. This is a brand new campaign (Verizon customers may have to wait a week or two more before it is active). Remember, your tax-deductible donation will show up on your phone bill. Follow Invisible Children on Twitter.

By the way, are you following MobileCause on Twitter?

Do you know of a great cause that could use some help connecting with new audiences and donors via mobile? Let us know...

Estimated $5 Million Raised via Text Donations this Year

Why ask potential donors to pull out their checkbook or credit card when they are inclined to give?

As I mentioned in a blog post months ago, Micro-Giving will be the hottest fundraising trend of 2009. According to an article today, VeriSign and the Mobile Giving Foundation expect that more than $5 million will be raised this year via mobile charitable giving.

Text donations (MobileCause is one of the few ASPs provisioned thru all major carriers) take a matter of seconds for web-savvy Gen-Y-ers and the charge shows up on their phone bill.

As MobileCause has been doing for the past 3 years with our Text2Broadcast platform, more nonprofits will also encourage donors to opt into mobile programs to receive alerts, updates and news of events through SMS messages. Personalized messages will also improve the relationship between nonprofit and donor, especially in these hard economic times when charities normally struggle for funds and attention.

Read more about this and other mobile trends in today's article on Mobile Marketing.

Radio's biggest potential lies in building a conversation with audience via mobile

From Mobile Marketing Watch.
With advertising spending drastically spiraling downward across most sectors of print and television media, it is no surprise that the anticipated 40 percent increase in mobile marketing budgets for this year could give a huge boost to radio broadcasting,

According to a group of “mobile marketing professionals” at the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) conference, the mobile segment will attract more than six billion in ad revenues by 2012.

If the mobile marketing geniuses are correct, radio’s biggest potential lies in trying to “stop selling only 30 or 60 second spots and to begin creating a conversation between the station and/or deejay and the audience.”

According to Katz360 President Brian Benedik, “There are 145 million mobile media consumers in the U.S. today, defined as anyone who uses a cell phone for text messaging, downloading content or accessing the Internet. Hence, advertiser appetites for mobile are growing as the market grows. Seventy-six percent of listeners use text messaging, and 66 percent want to text with your radio station.”

Last week, the Nielsen Company reported that advertising in the U.S. in 2008 was down 2.6 percent compared to 2007.

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.

Follow us on Twitter and let us know how we can help you Mobilize your Cause.