Why SMS is not used more for fundraising

Fundraising by text message has long been considered a missed opportunity for charities, because mobile phone usage is so ubiquitous nowadays. Latest figures from the Mobile Data Association shows that Brits send more than one billion texts every week, with volumes growing by 40 per cent year-on-year. Professional Fundraising reports.

But there are several problems preventing UK charities from making greater use of SMS to raise money, not least of which is the fact that the mobile phone companies and the Treasury take a large chunk of each donation. VAT and operator commission can amount to 55p ($1) on a £1.50 gift ($3), making the cost of offering this service to donors prohibitively high, especially for small charities.

... Last December, the debate was temporarily revived when Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten lodged an early day motion calling on the Chancellor to abolish VAT on text message donations, but after attracting 57 signatures, this too appears to have stalled."

Click here for examples of fundraising by SMS.

Nelson Mandela Charities Launch International SMS Campaign

To celebrate the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela, his charitable organisations have come together to launch an international premium SMS service, allowing millions to text their own birthday message to the former South African president.

A mixture of shared and dedicated PSMS codes have been set up in over 20 countries around the world including the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Australia, Spain and Germany as well as many African nations making this one of the biggest premium SMS fundraising initiatives to be staged.

Well wishers text their own message to their specific short code in country, receive a return thank you message complete with unique PIN allowing them to view their message securely online at www.happybirthdaymandela.com/frontHome.seam.

[via Cellular News]

On a smaller scale, in 2003, Telekom South Africa offered the world the opportunity to send voice and text messages to celebrate Nelson Mandela's brithday. All proceeds generated from the voice and text messages were to be donated to the Nelson Mandela Foundation for children's rights.

A blind call. Accidental charity

Every cell phone user has done it: forgot to lock their phone's keypad and accidentally called the first person in the contact list. Usually some unlucky person by the name of Aaron or Abigail.

Belgian ad agency Duval Guillaume came up with a clever campaign that turns accidental calls into accidental donations to the Belgian League for the Blind. They're asking people to add 'A Blind Call' to their list of contacts.

Every time the number is called, A Blind Call is given a cut of the call's proceeds. Calls are cut off after 30 seconds, and the cost to the dialler is never more than EUR 0.75 ($1.10)

[via Springwise]

Indian TV SMS campaign to help deprived children

Indian Amrita TV has launched a public service initiative ‘Send an SMS.Save a Child’ to help the underprivileged children. [via SMSTextNews]

"The entire SMS revenue garnered by the viewer’s votes on the reality shows of the channel will be donated for the education, shelter and health care of underprivileged children, stated an official release."

SMS campaign to help out California fire victims

The Wireless Foundation and the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund have joined forces to help California wildfire victims through a fund raising text message campaign.

Subscribers of participating wireless carriers can donate $5 to relief efforts simply by text messaging keyword "GIVE" to "2HELP" (24357).

The donations will appear on customers' monthly bills or be debited from prepaid account balances.

[Press release]

SMS for Lunch

Meir Panim, an organization that runs a network of soup kitchens in Israel, recently ran a promotional campaign called SMS for Lunch. [via World Changing]

It's a participatory campaign that allows individuals to experience the good-feeling reward of charitable giving as instant gratification. As described at the social advertising site, Houtlust:

The idea was to set up a 'meeting' with one child, and provide an immediate feedback to the action (your donation). A unique platform, integrating web and mobile technologies, enabled such meeting: A boy is seen, facing an empty plate, looking like waiting for something to happen. The copy invites you to donate, through SMS. The moment the system receives your SMS - the banner changes immediately: the plate fills and the boy smiles. Each sms covers the cost of one meal.

SMS campaigns to help fund search for Missing Madeleine

In an article on Internet scammers trying to cash on Madeleine through bogus websites asking for credit card numbers, Techshout mentions some legitimate SMS campaigns to help fund the search.

Madeleine McCann is a four-year old British girl who disappeared while on holiday with her parents in southern Portugal and her search has gained world-wide sympathy attention and attention.

"Multinational companies, including British Petroleum, Shell, Esso, Texaco and Total have launched a massive poster and text messaging campaign as millions have been poured into a fund to help the search.

Telecoms companies including Vodafone, O2 and Spain’s Telefonica are among those backing the phone text campaign. "

Monk to launch SMS fund raising campaign

A Bulgarian monk, who used to be a financial stock broker on Wall Street, is planning on launching an SMS fund raising campaig to renovate a Monastery.

According to Sofia News Agency, "Father Nikanor from the village of Giginzi is collecting money through text messages to save the monastery of Saints Kozma and Damyan, one of the oldest monasteries in the Pernik region near Sofia, Standart daily Newspaper reported."

[via SMSTextNews]

Heroes Have iPhone's (?)

MySuperFly, a Heroes fan thinks that several of the characters (Matt Parkman and Nathan Petrelli) were using iPhones in last night's episode.

[via digg]

Send One SMS to save One Life in Darfur

Because millions are dying in Darfur, a Turkish association called Kimse Yok Mu is calling out for mobile user to reach out by sending a single SMS message and a small donation.

According to Today's Zaman, "a YTL 5 donation (or $3.70 - I initially got the conversion wrong, sorra bout that) - to the Kimse Yok Mu Darfur campaign can be made by sending an SMS reading "DARFUR" to the number 5777, through mobile operators Turkcell, Vodafone or Avea. For donations other than YTL 5, the association can be reached at (216) 521 80 80."

Right now you can't participate by text message if you're not a mobile subscriber in Turkey. But the idea should be widely picked up, or Kimse Yok Mu should make the campaign international. It's such a good idea.

Group Questions Cellphone Fund-Raising

A new program that lets cellphone users send text messages to donate to the American Red Cross in major natural disasters has come under fire by a consumer group that contends the program is a business development strategy masquerading as charity. The New York Times reports.

"The program, Text 2Help , enables customers of participating wireless companies to make $5 donations to the Red Cross in natural disasters. Donations are added to monthly cellphone statements or debited from prepaid accounts.

What rankles the consumer group is that each donation is capped at $5 and will incur standard text-messaging fees, which on AT&T are 15 cents. “If you want to contribute $20, you have to send four text messages and you’ll be billed for four text messages,” Mr. Court said. “These contributions are structured so that consumers who want to give more pay a higher price for doing so.”

Read more.

Bono's Red Campaign Slams Financial Assessment

Sources close to rock star BONO’s charity campaign (Product) RED are slamming media reports claiming the organisation has spent more on marketing than raising funds. The high-profile campaign raises money for the Global Fund to Fights AIDS in Africa by selling red products such as iPods, clothing and mobile phones. U2 France reports.

"US advertising trade magazine Advertising Age reported the campaign "raised a meager $18 million (£9 million)" despite a "marketing outlay by Gap, Apple and Motorola (which) has been enormous - with some estimates as high as $100 million (£51 million)".

A source close to the campaign slams the report, telling the New York Daily News, "First of all, Red didn’t launch products until mid-October (06) . And they raised $25 million (£13 million).

-- "Before that, the fund had taken in about $5 million (£2.6 million) over a four-year period

-- Before that, they had one T-shirt out and a pair of sunglasses

-- And on marketing, Bono’s RED campaign didn’t spend anything.

-- "The companies they work with spent a few million each

-- The $100 million is a phantom number Ad Age pulled out of thin air

-- It’s off by tens of millions of dollars." But RED director BOBBY SHRIVER has put a positive spin on the controversy: "This can only help us all stay focused on the fact that 5,500 Africans are still dying needlessly of AIDS every day."

Read Responses to Adage article by (scroll down to bottom of page):

Bobby Shriver, CEO, (RED)
Richard Feachem, Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Jack Valenti, President, Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

and read Paul Vallely's story in The Independent, "

Amnesty International set for donations via mobiles

BCS reports that Amnesty International is to launch a system whereby donations can be made via mobile phones.

"Instead of using the premium rate text message system, the charity intends to introduce a digital wallet method known as LUUP.

This will allow more money to go to the human rights organisation instead of allowing network operators to take a cut for using premium rate messages.

Donors can also send up to £800 via their mobiles, instead of having to stick to the £4.50 limit imposed by text messaging. "

New Orleans seeks text-message donations

According to USA Today, New Orleans, still struggling from Hurricane Katrina, is soliciting text message donations to help it defray costs of the event.

"City officials are working with PayPal to raise cash via text-message and online giving.

The Text to Give program is to retroactively pay for the costs; it began Feb. 8 and is set to run for a year. The initial goal is to raise $1 million."

"Text 2HELP" Florida Storm Victimes

If you want to help stormed out Florida and you are an American mobile user, you can donate $5 to the American Red Cross Relief Effort by text messaging "GIVE" to "2HELP" (24357).

The donations will appear on customers' monthly bills or be debited from prepaid account balances.

[Press release]

The Human Zoo raises money via SMS

The Human Zoo - an experiment which places humans in animal zoo enclosures - opened today with the first group released into their new surroundings at the The Adelaide Zoo. News.com reports.

For the duration of the experiment, which is also a fundraiser, scientist Dr Carla Litchfield will monitor and observe the volunteers, gaining information and looking at the animal behaviour of humans.

... Throughout the week, visitors can vote by text messaging for their favourite human, with the proceeds going towards the construction of a new enclosure at the Monarto Zoological Park."

Bid on special edition Nokia Sirocco, signed by Brian Eno

Nokia and composer Brian Eno - best known as the father of modern ambient music. - today announced a charity auction to benefit the Keiskamma Aids Treatmentprogram and The World Land Trust.

Starting on January 8th 2007 and ending on Febuary 12th 2007, a total of ten Nokia 8800 Sirocco Brian Eno Signature Edition mobile phones, individually numbered and engraved with Brian Eno's signature, will be auctioned online with all proceeds going directly to both charities.

To place a bid on one of these rare collector's items or to learn more about this joint charity project between Nokia and Brian Eno, please visit www.nokiacharityauction.com.

[Press release]

The Pink Ribbon Text Campaign

txt4cure.org launches "The Pink Ribbon Campaign" subscription in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The site features a "Share Your Story" section which allows visitors to submit their cancer stories in text messaging format. Txt4aCure.org visitors can also contribute their favorite quotes and statements that have helped them during their cancer struggle.

The charity will then distribute these stories and quotes to subscribers' mobile phones to raise money for cancer research and heighten cancer awareness. Txt4aCure even has a special subscription just for women that will raise money for breast cancer research. [More in press release]

Other ways cell phones have contributed to raise money for cancer research:

-- Pink Cell Phone To Fight Cancer

-- Pink mobile phone headset sales to benefit breastcancer.org

-- Breast Cancer Care launches SMS fund raising campaign

-- Old phones to raise money for cancer research

-- Cancer Fundraising Through SMS

When Disaster Strikes, Text 2HELP

The Wireless Foundation, participating wireless carriers, and the Amercan Red Cross today announced their official partnership to provide Text 2HELP, an initiative which enables wireless customers to text message a monetary donation to the Red Cross to support its relief efforts in the event of a large-scale disaster.

In the event of a major disaster (such as Hurricanes Katrina or Wilma) the American Red Cross will collaborate with the CTIA to activate the Text 2HELP initiative. At that time, subscribers of participating wireless carriers can send a text message to "2HELP" (24357) containing the word "HELP."

A $5 tax-deductible donation will be made to the American Red Cross for disaster relief efforts. Donations will appear on customers' monthly bills or be debited from prepaid account balances. [ Press Release]

Click here for many more examples of fund raising by SMS

MTC Group launches SMS fund raising campaigns for Lebanon

MTC Group has launched SMS donation campaigns in coordination with the Red Crescent of Kuwait, in Bahrain in coordination with the Lebanese embassy and in Jordan, Fastlink is launching an SMS campaign in coordination with the Lebanese embassy in Jordan. [via AME Info.

RE*Generation Movement to raise awareness for homeless and abused kids

Virgin Mobile USA, Stand Up For Kids, and Youth Noise have teamed up to start the RE*Generation Movement to raise awareness for homeless and abused kids.

The movement looks to help those living on the streets, in abusive situations, and individuals who simply don't have a voice in mainstream society.

Design a cell phone charm; enter it into the contest. Teens & young people will be judged by a rock star panel (including Bloc Party, Jewel, and others).

If your design is chosen, Virgin Mobile will produce the charm using your design and you'll win a "Wake Up Trip" to Africa with Virgin Unite.

Pink Cell Phone To Fight Cancer

Following Bono's recent addition to the Product Red campaign - a fund raising effort to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria - with a red Motorola SLVR cell phone, Qwest and Sanyo announce the launch of a new pink phone to help raise money for cancer research, according to Softpedia.

..."The release of the new phone is accompanied by a series of efforts to raise funds and awareness for the Komen Foundation and breast cancer. Qwest's marketing team will present breast cancer materials together with pink phones to more than 200 events throughout 2006, reaching an estimated number of 25 million people."

Other ways cell phones have contributed to raise money for cancer research:

-- Pink mobile phone headset sales to benefit breastcancer.org

-- Breast Cancer Care launches SMS fund raising campaign

-- Old phones to raise money for cancer research

-- Cancer Fundraising Through SMS

Increase Your SMS Donation Revenue?

One of the biggest barriers to creating an SMS text messaging based donation drive is that the carriers (who handle the billing) take 50% of the cut, writes Justin Oberman on mopocket.

[reblogged] "This has prevented a lot of organizations from taking advantage of the extremely useful way of raising money. This, again is mainly because the service was set up for retail purposes.

But companies like Mobile Accord (the premier company for handling your SMS donation campaigns) are actively working with organizations and governing bodies in the wireless industry to get the carriers to significantly cut their revenue share on charitable donations.

... Justin refers to an article that explains how a mobile marketing company in the UK called Incentivated found a way of extending the amount of money people are able to donate to Cancer charity MacMillan via text."

Pulling at the purse strings

According to The Guardian, describes how charities are going to greater lengths to access our wallets, including innovated web options to attract young people.

"Exclusive website designs are incredibly useful. For teenagers, the web is the key means of communication. They will grow older in the next few years and become potential donors."

Vicki Pulman, PR manager of the Charities Aid Foundation, has also witnessed a surge in specialist schemes targeted at adolescents. Text messaging, multi-media campaigns and wristbands are all ways in which charities are trying to improve their relationship with young people."

Fund raising by SMS - how it works

A wonderful article by Justin Oberman on mopocket recounting his meeting with Scott Dudelson, who was "promoting an SMS fundraising effort for non-for-profit organization Sweet Relief".

A must read for anyone interesting in fund raising by text messaging, as you will find all the details of how it works - how to register a short code, what it cost, the $10 cap on the amount that can be donated by SMS and what cut the operators takes (40-50 percent of the profit) and how companies like Mobile Accord "are actively working with organizations and governing bodies in the wireless industry to get the carriers to cut their rev share on charitable donations significantly."

For many examples other of fund raising campaigny by SMS, click on this related category in textually.org.

Helping Fight AIDS with a call or SMS

The Nelson Mandela Foundation is being joined by telecommunications giant, Vodacom South Africa (Vodacom), in fighting the war against HIV/AIDS. Mobile Africa Reports

"Vodacom will be selling a 46664-branded Vodacom Prepaid Starter Pack in what is to be its first commercial initiative in an ongoing involvement with the 46664 campaign.

The concept behind the Vodacom 46664 Starter Pack is simple. There is no donation on the sale of the 46664 Starter Pack, but each time a person recharges, Vodacom will contribute a portion of the money to the 46664 Fund to support the fight against HIV/AIDS - at no cost to the customer."

Ringtone as a gift - after a donation to the Red Cross

News is pretty slow today. Something interesting though posted on Ringtonia, former ABBA member Benny Andersson has composed a ring tone that will be sent to people who donate money to the Swedish Red Cross' annual Christmas collection drive.

"To get the ring tone, called Red Xmas, Swedes must donate about $6 by sending a text message from their mobile phones to a special number set up by the Red Cross. The donation will then be added to their phone bill, and a link to download the ring tone will be sent to their phones."

[Red Cross press release in Swedish]

Other fund raising schemes involving ringtones:

-- Links to ringtones which raised funds for tsunami relief

-- Downloading ringtones to raise money

-- Ringtones raise money for schools

UNICEF Uses SMS in Global AIDS Awareness Campaign

Millions of SMS have been sent as part of a global campaign by UNICEF to raise awareness of the enormous impact of HIV/AIDS on children around the world, reports Mike Grenville for 160characters.org.

"The launch of Unite for Children. Unite against AIDS took place on 25 October 2005 in 50 countries around the world and in two countries SMS has been used to back up the poster campaign.

Uzbekistan

Nearly a million cell-phone subscribers in Tashkent received an intriguing ‘wake-up call’ on 25th October through an SMS message to launch the campaign in Uzbekistan.

The message asked “Why are so many young people contracting HIV?” Each SMS message had a link to the UNICEF website where everyone interested was able find more detailed information about the campaign.

Nigeria

Cellphone provider MTN arranged for an SMS message to be sent to all 9 million subscribers in Nigeria. The message read, in part: “You can stop AIDS from destroying our children and leaving millions of orphans in Nigeria. UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS.”

Download Memorial Flowers on your cell phone

Britain's remembrance day poppies have gone high-tech: Digital versions of the red paper flowers can be downloaded to mobile telephones, reports News.com.

Mobile users can text the word POPPY to 85099 to receive a virtual poppy on their cell phone. Each text costs £1.50. ($2.60).

The poppies' move into cyberspace is a bid to get younger Britons aware of the sacrifices made by those who fell in battle, the Royal British Legion charity said on Friday. "This is the first time ," a spokesman said. "The poppy is about remembering those who did not come back."

Fund raising by SMS for Breakthrough Breast Cancer

A new SMS campaign launches to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. [via Netimperative]

"Carmaker Nissan has organised a 13 city nationwide fleet of pink Micra C+Cs to raise money and awareness of Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s new breast awareness campaign - ‘Show your breasts some TLC: Touch Look Check’.

Passers by are invited to enter into the “text to win” competition, each text raising 90p for the charity.

Texters will be entered into a draw to win the first Micra C+C off the production line, which is a pink special edition. "