It’s for You!

A quick case study
As the mobile donation channel expands across the U.S. marketplace, many nonprofits are looking for innovative ways to leverage celebrity endorsements and mobile donations. One great example of how well this new fundraising channel is working is Keep a Child Alive, supported by its main spokesperson, singer Alicia Keys. Keys now includes a specific appeal for mobile donations during each show of her current 33-city tour. During her concerts, Keys stops halfway through the show, dims the house lights, and asks concertgoers to pull out their cell phones and donate $5 to Keep a Child Alive by texting “ALIVE” to 90999 — right then and there. The instructions for the mobile-donation appeal are displayed on all screens and promoted throughout the venue with banners, flyers and T-shirts. Keep a Child Alive continues to raise thousands of dollars at each stop of the tour, with about a 6 percent to 12 percent response rate for venues of 15,000 to 20,000 people.