Fundraising Article

Mobile Fundraising 101

An interview with Kent Wakely of Fruition Interactive

Why is mobile fundraising so popular right now?

Mobile fundraising is top-of-mind because of the incredible success organizations have had raising money, particularly for the relief efforts in Haiti and Chile. In fact, it's been reported that 10% of all donations made in the US to the Haitian and Chilean relief efforts came through mobile phones.

How can an organization benefit from implementing a mobile fundraising campaign?

The relief efforts in Haiti and Chile confirmed that organizations can raise a lot of money in a short amount of time through mobile fundraising. It provides immediacy - a donor receives a call to action and responds right away. Donors may not have access to their computers or the Internet when they're exposed to your fundraising message - watching TV, listening to the radio, seeing a billboard or reading a newspaper - but they probably have their mobiles within arm's reach. Plus, it only takes about 10 seconds to complete a mobile giving transaction, versus a few minutes through any other medium.

What are the first steps an organization should take to get started with mobile fundraising?

• Start building your list, even if you are not ready to launch a mobile fundraising campaign now. Ask your members and donors for their mobile numbers.
• Register with The Mobile Giving Foundation (www.mobilegiving.org). This organization works on behalf of mobile service providers to vet nonprofits to ensure they are legitimate charities.
• Work with a service provider/consultant who can help you integrate mobile fundraising into your overall fundraising strategy.
• Select a service provider who can integrate data from mobile donors into your constituent management program.

How can an organization combine mobile fundraising with its other fundraising efforts?

Your mobile fundraising efforts need the same elements as your other fundraising efforts, including a compelling message and a strong call to action.

In addition to raising funds, your mobile strategy can also encourage advocacy. A hot advocacy issue can become a strong call to action for fundraising.

What are some challenges of mobile fundraising?

• There is a cap on individual donations. Due to industry regulations, donors can only give $5 or $10 at a time and a maximum of 6 donations per month. Mobile fundraising also does not currently support recurring donations.
• It can take a long time for transactions to clear. Some carriers will not release the funds until they receive the donor's phone bill payment. Then, it can take another 30 days for transactions to clear. This means donations may not show up in your bank account for 90 - 120 days.
• Donors also need more education about the confirmation process. After donors give, they will receive a confirmation text that asks them to complete the donation. However, many donors don't respond to these confirmations. The Salvation Army reported that more than half the people who made a donation to the Haiti relief campaign in Canada did not complete it.
• There's a higher rate of list turnover. Organizations are more likely to have outdated or inaccurate mobile contact information for donors. Mobile donors, as compared with email recipients, are also slightly more likely to opt out of receiving email messages if they feel the messaging is too frequent or off-target.

About Kent

Kent Wakely is managing partner of Fruition Interactive. He has been dedicated to creating great online experiences since 1993. He has provided strategy, design and project planning and management services to clients such as Scotiabank, the City of Toronto, Johns Hopkins University, Rogers Broadcasting and the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship. He founded Fruition Interactive (then known as Xaccute Interactive) in November 2001. He is a Certified Internet Marketing and Business Strategist (CIMBS) and a certified Agile project leader (CSM Level/1). He has been selected to be a judge for the Canadian New Media Awards every year since 2005.