Mobile Donations in the US

In the US, a mobile donor can make a $5 or $10 donation per text message. The amount is determined by the non profit charitable organization, so the donor can decide whether or not to make a donation but not how much to give. Pre-paid mobile plans can also be used to make donations.

The donor sends a text message to a short code with a keyword, like any other text message. For example, for the Haiti campaign, mobile donors sent the word HAITI to 90999 and a $10 donation was automatically added to their mobile phone bill.

Once the keyword has been sent to the short code (e.g., ‘HAITI’ to 90999), the donor receives a message back that asks her to confirm the donation with an OK or YES response. The donor confirms the donation and the next time the donor receives their mobile bill, the $10 donation will appear on the statement. There may be other messages sent to the donor, including opt-in marketing messages, etc.

Fees for Mobile Giving

The fees related to mobile fundraising can include one-time costs for set-up, recurring monthly costs which can also include other services like text message campaigns or extra keywords, and the actual transaction costs for the mobile donations.

There are some providers who charge fees as low as $99 and allow charitable organizations to begin mobile giving campaigns almost immediately.

Depending on your mobile giving volume and contractual agreement with a provider, you could be looking at a couple of thousand dollars or more each month as a cost base for a mobile giving initiative.

Service Providers

There are a couple of different players in the mobile giving chain. Trusted third parties sit between the mobile carriers and non profit fundraising organizations. Their job is to validate your organization so the mobile carrier knows it’s a true tax-exempt, non profit organization.

The trusted third party receives the donation payments from the mobile carrier and then pays the fundraising organization. Two trusted third party organizations in the US are the Mobile Giving Foundation and the mGive Foundation.

The charitable fundraising organization will work directly with what’s called an application service provider (ASP). ASPs provide your organization with short codes and keywords that can be used to facilitate the mobile giving initiative (e.g., text the word ‘HAITI’ to 90999).

They may also offer CRM, e-mail marketing, and other tools your organization can use to further connect with donors. The ASP is the primary point of contact for the non profit fundraising organization and will arrange the contract with the trusted third party.

What About Security?

The mobile donation process is fast and secure. As I said above, the amount of the mobile donation is set by the organization at either $5 or $10 and the number of charitable donations that can be made in any given month is typically capped at 5 or less. This limits the exposure and risk of the donor and the fundraising organization.

The non profit charity fundraising organization also has limited information about the donor; the only information provided to the organization is the donor’s mobile phone number. Donor’s can opt-out of further communications by replying to a fundraiser’s message with the words STOP or NO.

Keep in mind it could take 90 days or more before your charity receives the funds from donations. Currently, donations are filtered to the fundraising organization from the mobile carriers via one of two trusted third parties: The Mobile Giving Foundation and the mGive Foundation.

Mobile giving can be a great addition to your integrated marketing campaigns. More information about setting up an account and getting started is available at the links above.

Gene De Libero helps people and companies innovate, compete and succeed. Find out more at www.genedelibero.com.

Article Source: Fundraising Through Mobile Giving Initiatives

Rec.fm allows you to recommend products to your friends via your social networks in three easy steps.

First, search for the product you want to recommend on their website.

Next, explain in 140 characters or less why you’re recommending it.

After completing the prompt to log in via Facebook or Twitter, you’ll then be given a shortened rec.fm URL to share information about the product via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and nearly a dozen other social networking platforms.

If someone makes a purchase via your recommendation, the charity of your choice will receive the majority of Rec.fm’s revenue from the sale. Read more about this creative fundraising idea at Mashable.com.

You should try to choose a restaurant that is locally centralized so that you can get a large turnout. Advertise locally what your group will be doing and when. Work with the restaurant owner to create a special menu for the evening that is themed to your charity or group.

You might be able to get the restaurant to donate $1 for every meal ordered from the special menu.

Remember to be polite, fast, and accurate.

Teams are formed, and over several weeks, tasks are given, such as selling baked goods, or putting on a talent show, and for each task half of the money raised is given to the winning charity.  At the end of the period of time, the winning team would receive the other half of the money from the previous tasks.

www.wikihow.com/Fundraise-for-Charity

Companies in the UK are partnering together to sponsor such an event. Corporate teams are invited to test their business knowledge and entrepreneurial skills in a contest to raise the most money for charity over a six-week period. Read more here…

Teams from various businesses compete against teams from other businesses. Only one team per company should be allowed so there is not competition among co-workers. After all, part of the objective is to build teamwork within your company.

Start each corporate team with a small amount of seed money, say $100, and see what kind of profits they can turn in a short period of time. The contest will require creativity, resourcefulness, and a lot of energy to win, but the bragging rights will be well worth it.

Use your specialty to benefit your charity by cooking up a batch and selling it.

It could be pans of lasagna, chocolate chip cookies, strawberry jam, or whole-wheat bread. The options are limitless.

Take orders for the item and sell it at fairs and festivals. Be sure to let people know that the proceeds are going to charity.

Check with the local Board of Health to see if you need any permits or licenses to sell a food product. Get some free publicity by writing a press release to your local paper announcing your fundraising efforts.

Read how one family used this idea to sell cheesecakes to sponsor a trip to China.

• Teams of 2 sign up to participate. Set the registration fee in line with your fundraising goals for the event.
• Plan a race course throughout your community that will take between 4 and 6 hours.
• Enlist the help of local businesses to sponsor a stop along the race.
• Plan a party at the finish line to celebrate all who participate and support your charity.

Bollinger Canyon Elementary recently held their 2nd annual Amazing Race to benefit their school. Read more about their event here.

Hire a professional square dance caller.

Decorate the property or room by stringing white lights, cover tables with red & white checked table clothes, set out lanterns , or if outside – start a campfire.

Start by having the caller teach a couple simple steps to the dancers. As the night progresses you can add in a few additional steps.

Serve chili, hot beef or pork sandwiches, or stew.

Set out a couple buckets for people to throw in there contribution for the charity.

Check out this link to see how one group in Georgia pulled this all together for a very successful fundraiser.

The premise is you invite yourself over to someone’s house for dinner in exchange for making a donation to a charity of their choice. The fun of it is that the only thing you reveal is your name. The person you are asking to have dinner with is a total stranger.

Read more from the dinner host here.