How to Optimize Non-Profit Fundraising With SMS (Text Messaging)

Text messaging for non-profit
fundraising
Michael Sabat
michael@mobilecommons.com
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
www.mobilecommons.com
|
info@mobilecommons.com

What
You
Will
Learn
Today
§ Text
messaging
for
communica<ons
and
text
messaging
for
dona<ons
§ Benefits
of
tex<ng
as
a
channel
§ Approach
to
text
messaging
for
donors
§ Case
studies
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
2

Organiza<ons
using
text
messaging
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
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3

Why
Text
Messaging
Key Statistics
99%
of
text
messages
are
read.
The
average
text
is
read
in
90
seconds.
Text
messaging
is
the
#1
applica<on
on
phones.
Mobile Use
Text
messaging
is
the
most
effec<ve
method
for
reaching
everyone
–
especially
underserved
popula<ons,
young
people,
and
minori<es.
*Sources:
Conversa<onal
Adver<sing
2010,
SinglePoint;
Cell
Phone
Ac<vi<es
2012,
Pew
Research
;
How
Americans
Use
Text
Messaging
2011,
Pew
Research;
CTIA
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
4

About
Mobile
Commons
The Solution
§ Web
applica<on
for
managing
mobile
communica<on:
§ Text
Messaging
§ Phone
Calls
§ Mobile
Web
§ Mobile
Transac<ons
§ MMS
–
Pics
and
videos
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
5

Automated
Conversa<ons
Ask for email and expect an
80% conversion rate
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
6

NPO
+
SMS
=
Fundraising
Success
§ More
Supporters
§ More
Ac<on
§ Engagement
§ Phone
Calls
§ Dona<ons
More
Dona<ons
More
Volunteers
More
On-‐
the-‐ground
Ac<on
More
Advocacy
Phone
calls
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
7

5
–
10x
Increase
in
Response
Rate
§ Print
§ Radio
§ TV
§ Live
Events
§ Press
§ Social
Media
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
8

Text
to
Give
Q:
When
should
you
use
text
to
give?
A:
We
recommend
text
to
give
in
emergencies
or
natural
disasters
when
you
have
a
celebrity
endorser
or
the
afen<on
of
the
whole
na<on.
Why
is
text
to
give
not
good
for
engagement?
1. Text
to
give
limits
the
amount
that
your
users
can
donate
at
one
<me,
thereby
undercugng
your
fundraising
efforts.
2. Text
to
give
is
a
one-‐<me
interac<on
between
your
nonprofit
and
the
donor.
3. Not
everyone
can
donate
with
his
or
her
cell
phone,
and
donors
some<mes
choose
to
cancel
their
dona<ons.
4. Text
to
give
dona<ons
take
<me
to
process.
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
9

SMS
Amplifies
Your
Results
Adding
text
messaging
amplifies
your
results
from
all
your
other
media
channels
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
10
Email
Social
Media
Print
Digital
TV
Events
More
dona<ons
More
likes
More
conversions
More
clicks
More
views
More
engagement

Add
a
CTA
to
Exis<ng
Media
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
11

Case
Study:
Shedd
Aquarium
§ The
Shedd
Aquarium
used
an
SMS
call-‐to-‐ac<on
in
25%
of
their
TV
ads
to
drive
contest
entries.
§ Three
sta<ons
asked
viewers
to
go
to
a
website
to
enter
the
contest.
§ The
fourth
sta<on
asked
viewers
to
text
the
word
FOX
to
69866.
§ The
TV
ad
with
an
SMS
call-‐to-‐ac<on
generated
325%
more
contest
entries
than
any
other
call-‐to-‐ac-on.
§ SMS
entries
made
up
52%
of
the
total
contest
entries,
despite
only
running
in
25%
of
the
ads.
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
12

+
Mobile
Mobile
is
part
of
a
mul<-‐
channel
strategy.
1. True
opt-‐in.
2. +Mobile
supporters
perform
much
befer,
than
email-‐only
supporters.
Donor
and
evangelist
SMS
engagement
=
moving
donors
up
the
ladder
of
engagement
Observer
and
member
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
13

Case
Study:
Human
Rights
Campaign
§ A
+mobile
supporter
is
250%
more
likely
to
donate,
compared
to
supporters
who
are
email-‐only
subscribers.
§ The
value
of
+mobile
supporter
was
309%
higher
than
an
email-‐only
subscriber.
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
14

Send
an
SMS
Reminder
§ The
easiest
way
to
<e
in
text
messaging
to
your
fundraising
campaign
is
to
send
out
a
simple
reminder
to
donate.
§ Cut
through
the
clufer,
grab
their
afen<on
and
focus
it.
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
15

Case
Study:
The
Humane
Society
§ Supporters
that
receive
a
text
reminder
are
77%
more
likely
to
donate
–
through
the
email
ask.
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
16

Ask
for
a
pledge
over
text
§ Make
it
easier
by
asking
your
donors
to
respond
with
a
pledge
to
donate
a
specific
amount
that
they
can
finalize
later.
§ You
can
then
remind
them
of
their
pledge
when
they
decide
to
make
the
dona<on
online,
over
the
phone,
or
in
person.
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
17

Case
Study:
The
Jewish
Federa<on
§ JFNA
chose
to
use
“Text
to
Pledge”
over
“Text
to
Donate”
because
“Text
to
Donate”
dona<ons
are
limited
to
$10
§ Highest
pledge
being
$1000
and
the
lowest
$1
§ The
average
dona<on
was
$96
§ JFNA
saw
a
46%
pledge-‐to-‐
dona<on
conversion
rate
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
18

Coming
Next:
Mobile
Web
Forms
§ The
key
to
gegng
supporters
to
give
is
minimizing
the
number
of
steps
they
need
to
take
in
order
to
make
a
dona<on.
§ By
adding
a
link
to
a
mobile
web
form
that
autofills
their
basic
informa<on,
such
as
name,
email,
and
address,
supporters
simply
have
to
fill
out
their
credit
card
informa<on
to
make
a
contribu<on.
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
19

Mobile
Op<mized
Dona<on
Form
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
20

List
Growth,
Engagement
&
Fundraising
§ High
engagement
–
response
rates
ranged
from
11%
to
138%
§ 25%
more
likely
to
run
§ SMS
Subscribers
raised
50%
more
money
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|
21

Text
NPO to 662266
to see how this works.
Michael Sabat
Michael@mobilecommons.com
Mobile
Commons,
Inc.
|
|

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