Mobile

After the devastating earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, more and more people are texting to give. If it brings in donations from people who wouldn't otherwise give or from folks who then will go on to give larger contributions online or in the mail, that's a good thing — a great thing, actually, to the tune of more than $30 
million just days after the quake hit.

FundRaising Success: How would you define where the fundraising sector in the United States is in regard to mobile giving?

Jim Killion: Mobile giving is in its infancy, but with the dramatic results achieved by the Red Cross with text-to-give to Haiti relief, it is now on most people's radar. In many ways, mobile giving is where what is now often referred to as "traditional Internet giving" was six or eight years ago. And just as Internet giving has taken off in the last decade, so will mobile giving. But the move to mobile will be much faster than the move to Internet giving.

In the wake of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in January, lots of folks are holding out hope that text-to-give and other mobile apps will be the Next Big Thing.

After the tragedy in Haiti, the word “mobile” seemed to take on a life of its own. Like most bright, shiny things, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the success we saw with text-to-donate campaigns for Haiti relief. While bringing the use of mobile devices into the nonprofit world is most certainly a positive step, it still must hold up to the standard critiques given to any new method of communication that an organization decides to test when reaching out to their constituents. Here are a few things to mull over as you add SMS to your nonprofit vocabulary.

Interested in mobile giving? Be sure to read "Early Signals on Mobile Philanthropy: Is Haiti the Tipping Point?," a joint study by Convio, Edge Research and Sea Change Strategies analyzing mobile trends and adoption rates across Gen Y, Gen X, baby boomers and mature donors.

Palo Alto, Calif., March 1, 2010 — CauseWorld, the mobile application that allows consumers to give to causes just by entering retail stores and restaurants, has added the option to contribute to the Chile earthquake relief effort. The funds sent to Chile through the app will be facilitated by CauseWorld partner GlobalGiving, a nonprofit aid resource for disaster relief and long-term development around the world. 

In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, important lessons are unfolding that underscore how the nature of fundraising is evolving as a direct result of technology and social media. 

Feb. 12, 2010, Austin, Texas – The newest fundraising tool for participants in the 2010 Hill Country Ride for AIDS comes by way of the mobile device. The Central Texas nonprofit launched its new iPhone application, further equipping event participants with the technology solutions they need to reach more donors and be more successful in their peer-to-peer fundraising efforts.

In the midst of the massive fundraising efforts for Haiti relief, and with donations garnered through text messaging grabbing national and international headlines, it was no surprise that mobile fundraising provoked much discussion and debate throughout the conference.

Nonprofit organizations around the world are raising millions of dollars via mobile fundraising for disaster relief in Haiti. And their experiences might well turn out to be both proving and testing grounds for this still-new medium.

In the session “Mobile, Online, Offline” at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2010 Washington Nonprofit Conference last week, the “mobile” part of the presentation — moderated by Mark Smith, fundraising director, Greenpeace — took center stage as attendees engaged with speakers in a lively Q&A portion.