Using SMS for Fundraising
SMS is a cheap and ethical way for charities and organisations to communicate with their supporters, notifying them of upcoming events or keeping them informed of what work they have been doing ‐ this makes the supporters feel more connected to the cause and more likely to contribute in the form of volunteering and donating.
Some of the sectors already benefiting from using SMS text messaging for fundraising include the following: Schools, Clubs & Societies, Political Parties but the most common sector using SMS this way is Charities…
Charities
Charities all over the world are already aware of how effective SMS can be in raising awareness as well as funds. These days almost everyone carries their mobile phone with them at all times, it is because of this that SMS text messaging offers an instant form of communication and response between charities and their supporters.
Raising Awareness
The support of like-minded individuals is essential for an organised charity to be able to aid its chosen cause. As a charity these like-minded people need to know that you exist before they can actively offer their support in your endeavours. A great way to do this is to identify groups of people who are likely to want to help and then send them a message to see if they’re interested. Profession and location are a great way to find supporters or perhaps people who have expressed interest in a similar cause in the past.
Organising Events
Once you have established yourself as a charity you will be running fund-raising events and programmes, many of which will rely on the volunteers who support you. SMS is a cheap and efficient means of contacting would be volunteers and updating those who have already signed up to help.
Gathering Donations
When your event is drawing near and your workforce of volunteers is in place you need to let everyone else the where and the when so they can participate in raising money for your cause, again SMS is a great way to do this – it is unintrusive and gets the message directly into their hands. You can even use a premium rate Shortcode to gather donations directly from their mobile phone bill.
Giving Thanks
Once and event is over and the donations have been counted up it is a great idea to let your followers know how much they managed to raise, you can even tell them how it will be spent to help the cause and in appropriate cases send them updates for ongoing schemes. All this is designed to increase the chance that they will donate again, and even persuade some who didn’t before of the good work that is going on.
For more information on how you could be utilising SMS text messaging within your business call us on 0800 954 5305 or email helpdesk@fastsms.co.uk
Related Articles
Using SMS Messaging For a Cause is Catching On
As old as SMS messaging is (going on 25), is it surprising to know that for non-profits and political campaigns it’s just now catching on? It might be, but if you think about it maybe it isn’t surprising. Until the last few years, people have been very reticent to hand out their personal mobile number. Now though, they’re more willing – if they care about the source of the messages.
SMS Voting Ideal for Creative Communities to Engage Followers
Twitter is a great place to quickly scan and see what is going on in the world, or in a particular niche topic. I was looking around at SMS related topics the other day and found many good (and some not so good) articles. But I also found many more pleas for votes from musicians, bands, and even illustrators.
Reasons Why SMS Marketing is a Vital Tool for Charities and NPOs
Most of us are familiar with SMS marketing in a commercial context. Many organisations use text messaging as a powerful means of creating brand awareness, enticing people to buy, and as a way of promoting special deals and new products. The charity sector can also benefit hugely from regular SMS campaigns.
SMS Messaging Offers Opportunity for Fundraising
Is your charity taking advantage of mobile fundraising? A report from ThirdSector indicates 55% of charities aren't doing so, which creates a huge opportunity for those that do. In the UK, almost three quarters of the population, 72%, use smartphones.
5 SMS Marketing Ideas for Volunteers Week
SMS Marketing for Charities – How it’s Changing, and How to Stay on Trend
There are just shy of 200,000 registered charities in the United Kingdom. Between them, they spend around £80 billion per annum. SMS marketing for charities is coming of age as an important tool for reaching supporters and benefactors alike, and there are a few important things that charities should be bearing in mind if they are to make the most out of this fact.
SMS Marketing for Charities and Not for Profit Organisations
Planning Your SMS Marketing Campaign: Back to Basics
SMS messaging is one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing available. Like any marketing, though, it is vital to plan your campaign effectively to ensure maximum success. So let's look at a few basic principles that will help you make the most of your online SMS marketing.
SMS Marketing: Don’t Forget About Print!
The focus for advertising campaigns today is often mobile, web, or digital. It’s certainly true that more and more people are using technology for just about everything. But with all that technology, it’s easy to overlook another, more traditional form: Print!
Using SMS for Fundraising
Related Articles
9 Reasons to use SMS Marketing in 2018 [Infographic]
SMS Messaging for Artists and Performers
Independent artists and performers use many different methods to get people into their shows. Social media is a favourite, but SMS messaging can be even better. Learn how one performer used SMS messaging to sell out performances and how you can too.
Availability Alerts: A Business SMS Use Case
Why Recruiters should be Embracing SMS Marketing
More and more recruiters and marketers are now realising the powerful impact SMS marketing can have. Fast, direct, discreet, and accessible to a candidate even when they might not be able to talk on the phone, they are still able to check their phone for text messages.
How to Choose Between Specialty vs. Multipurpose SMS Service Providers
Choosing the right SMS provider is important for your business. Should you choose an industry specific specialty service or a more general multipurpose SMS provider? We look at the pros and cons of each in this blog. Take a look and see what will work best for you.
SMS messaging helps both job seekers and recruiters
How does SMS messaging helps recruitment agencies? Just as importantly how does it help job seekers? This post explains several benefits for both recruiters and candidates. Perhaps the key issues are the speed of communication with SMS and also the innate privacy of SMS messaging.
What You Can Learn From a Bad SMS Message
In last week’s blog I covered how the Trump campaign sent unsolicited SMS messages to voters. This week I’m stuck on the same topic, but from a totally different angle: what we can learn from that failure. Because honestly, their biggest issue might not be violating the law. It might be the people they have writing their SMS messages. It’s time to dissect the message that spawned the law suit, and learn what we can from it.
