Teleton MexAmerica Raises Largest One Day Amount to Date Using Mobile Accord's Text Message Donation Platform, mGive.com
DENVER, March 12, 2009 — Fundacion Teleton MexAmerica, the organization behind the annual Teleton, included a text to donate call to action for the first time ever in a nationally broadcast telethon. The nonprofit partnered with mGive.com to use its groundbreaking technology to raise an unprecedented amount of money through mobile donations. Viewers of the Telethon were asked to send a text message with the keyword TELETON to 90999 to give $5. The tax-deductible donation is charged to the donor's regular monthly cell phone bill.
The telethon was broadcasted in the United States on December 5, 2008 on Galavision, a leading Spanish-language U.S. cable network reaching over 8 million Hispanic households or 81% of the Hispanic cable/satellite homes in the US. The text message donation program was promoted with the call to action displayed on a scroll bar at the bottom of the screen throughout the day, and was emphasized during major musical performances during the 27-hour event.
Adriana Rangel, International Program Coordinator for Fundacion Teleton MexAmerica said that "During the event, we received about $5 million dollars via the web and through our 800 number. Our Mobile Giving ask helped us acquire 15,232 donors and raised $76,160. As we learn more about those who gave via text it is apparent that they were first time donors."
This was the first time the Mobile Giving channel was used during a telethon in the United States. Not only did they recoup their annual license fee in a little over an hour, they posted a return on investment of Two Thousand Four Hundred Thirty-Eight percent (2,438%). Teleton is now incorporating Mobile Giving into online and social networking promotions using mGive.com's turnkey solutions.
"We are extremely excited about the results of the Telethon. It provides a blueprint for promoting mobile giving during televised events, furthermore, it clarifies that Mobile Donations drive incremental donations and new donors rather than cannibalizing traditional donations," said Tony Aiello Co-Founder of Mobile Accord.
Mobile Giving
Mobile Giving is made possible through cooperation between Mobile Accord, Inc. and the Mobile Giving Foundation. 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. 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. Over 150 organizations are currently participating in the Mobile Giving channel.
US Wireless Market Stats:
- 263 Million US Mobile Subscribers
- 75 Billion Text Messages sent per month in US
- 95% of mobile phones support text messaging
About Fundacion Teleton MexAmerica
Started in 1997, Teleton is a yearly event in which money is collected through television and radio over a 27-hour period. The mission of Teleton is to design, construct, install and operate medical care, rehabilitation, and diagnosis centers in Mexico, with special focus and emphasis on poor children with neuromuscular skeletal disabilities.
In addition, Teleton works to promote the integration into society of these kids. Now, Fundacion Teleton operates 13 Rehabilitation Centers attending 15,000 children.
Fundacion Teleton MexAmerica was born in 2002 in the United States and recognized as a 501-C3 organization.
It has deep cultural roots in the community, where it has been conceptualized as "a project of national unity where Mexicans have the chance to gather and work for the same cause."
More Information on Fundacion Teleton MexAmerica is available at https://www.teletonusa.org/
About Mobile Accord, Inc.
Denver-based Mobile Accord, Inc. provides turnkey tools for nonprofit organizations to leverage the power of mobile technology using SMS (text messaging), PSMS (premium SMS), and mobile content (ringtones, wallpapers, etc.). Mobile Accord can easily make any part of an organization's existing outreach efforts mobile - for example, distributing urgent action alerts, volunteer opportunities, or donation via text message. As the first company in the United States to offer mobile tools specifically built for non-profit organizations, Mobile Accord is unique in its ability to facilitate wireless fundraising and constituent outreach campaigns while also helping clients understand the immense power of mobile technology.
