First Year of Mobile Giving Outperforms First Year of Online Giving
DENVER, Dec. 30 — In 1997, online donations in the United States totaled a mere $300,000. In 2007, online donations were pinpointed at $10.44 billion reflecting exponential growth in overall giving and technology, according to a Harvard University study on innovation in Social Enterprise.
The latest wave of giving technology and the latest medium to propel charitable giving is the mobile phone.
In fact, this year saw the launch of the mobile giving channel in the U.S. with a 10 second United Way commercial during the Super Bowl in February. The channel became widely available to nonprofit organizations in May. The mobile channel will outpace the first year of online giving (1997) by raising a half a million dollars in $5 donations, representing more than 100,000 new donors.
The mGive service allows nonprofits to communicate with past, present and possible donors in ways traditional mediums cannot. In its first year, mGive added more than 100 national and international nonprofit organizations to its list of clients. The mGive client list includes household names such as The Salvation Army, Make A Wish Foundation, American Heart Association, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Public Broadcasting Systems (PBS), Children's Miracle Network and UNICEF among many others embracing this new fundraising channel. mGive.com is leading the technology and donations received from mobile users, five dollars at a time.
"People are adopting new technology faster and with more vigor than 10 years ago," explains James Eberhard, Mobile Accord Co-Founder and Chairman. "We know that in 2007, online giving accounted for $10.44 billion, more than half the total donations given worldwide. The vast reach of mobile technology today is evidence that mobile giving will be a primary contributor to this philanthropic trend, and with greater expedience than online giving."
The Mobile Giving Foundation predicts similar adoption of mobile technology by nonprofit organizations. "Mobile giving will be the next fundraising tool, changing marketing efforts as we know them today. It offers a trusted, private and immediate way for consumers to give to a cause of their choice," says Jim Manis, Founder and CEO of the Mobile Giving Foundation. Manis says that, "The pervasiveness and ease of use of mobile technology combined with the gracious commitment of wireless carriers to pass through 100% of the donation collected will make this the channel of choice for new donors."
The recent conclusion of President-Elect Barack Obama's campaign is evidence that small donations from thousands of donors leads to significant, even unparalleled, dollars. Obama raised a record-setting $605 million for his campaign -- mostly from small, $10 and $25 donations from 3.1 million donors. Moreover, Obama's embrace of text messaging reflects the medium's growing popularity as a branding and marketing tool. In June 2008, 116.6 million people, or 52% of U.S. mobile subscribers, sent a text message, according to M:Metrics Inc., a mobile technology research firm.
How to mGive
Mobile giving, in cooperation with the Mobile Giving Foundation, is simple. Customers of most wireless carriers can text a pre-determined keyword that correlates to a specific nonprofit organization or fundraising campaign to a short-code (5 digit phone number) specifically set aside for donations. At the time of donation, mobile giving requires no exchange of money and no credit card charges — it requires only a brief text message that will incur a charge to the donor via their monthly mobile phone bill with donation receipts available through the Mobile Giving Foundation at http://www.mgf.me/receipt. Currently the donation limit is $5 per text transaction, but it is anticipated that this amount will evolve to $10 and monthly reoccurring gifts in the coming months.
As an example, donors can text WISH to 90999 to give $5 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and help make a child's life wish come true.
About mGive.com
mGive is a service of Mobile Accord, an approved service provider of the Mobile Giving Foundation (MGF) and an industry leading Mobile Application Service Provider/Cause-Marketing Agency based in Denver, Colorado. mGive offers the strategic and tactical marketing expertise necessary to successfully implement scalable mobile donation and communication solutions on local and national levels. For more information please visit: http://www.mGive.com or call 303-531-5505 x18.
About the Mobile Giving Foundation
The Mobile Giving Foundation is an autonomous 501c3 enabling the mobile channel for charitable giving by providing the organizational layer and operational guidelines for nonprofit organizations and donors to use the incredible power and convenience of mobile technology. For further information, please refer to the MGF Web site at http://www.mobilegiving.org. Media Contact: Tony Aiello, SVP Business Development, (720) 989-3535
SOURCE Mobile Accord, Inc. | mGive.com
