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Nonprofits may Not Profit from Charitable Texts

By Juliana Kenny
TMCnet Web Editor

Although mobile giving is the way to go these days for nonprofits seeking funds for various disasters the world is experiencing, there are several considerations that should be taken into account so the profit outweighs the cost.

Many nonprofits cannot afford the necessary promo involved with publicizing mobile giving campaigns. There are less costly, more profitable ways to publicize mobile giving, but in the past, a “round-the-clock, disaster-driven” news event does not produce adequate ROI, according to the New York Times.

After the earthquake in Haiti, everyone wanted to hop on the text-to-give train. Why wouldn’t they? The Red Cross raised $30 million by the time everything was set and done. $2 million of that arrived within 24 hours after the disaster. James Eberhard, founder of Mobile Accord stated, “We got calls from thousands of nonprofits wanting to get started with mobile giving.” Mobile Accord’s subsidiary, mGive, was behind the Red Cross’s Haiti campaign.

“If you want to communicate with the generation under 30, text messaging is the way to build a relationship, and nonprofit fund-raising is all about building relationships…It’s not all about the money,” Eberhard said.

Cannibalizing is a definite risk for nonprofits looking to start in on mobile giving. All donations are limited currently to a max of $10, and some companies limit five donations per month from one number. Katrin Verclas, a co-founder of MobileActive, a nonprofit network of people using mobile phones to advance social welfare, stated, “When nonprofits smell money, they tend to jump on the bandwagon without thinking it through…Mobile giving isn’t a magic bullet. It’s just one of many tools nonprofits can use.”

The short and long of it is basically that no nonprofit will be able to replicate the huge success of the Red Cross’s campaign during the Haitian crisis. But maybe it will soon become more affordable and less risky because it’s certainly the easiest way to donate to urgent charities.

Juliana Kenny graduated from the University of Connecticut with a double degree in English and French. After managing a small company for two years, she joined TMC (News - Alert) as a Web Editor for TMCnet. Juliana currently focuses on the call center and CRM industries, but she also writes about cloud telephony and network gear including softswitches.

Edited by Juliana Kenny