Getting started with mobile giving is easier than you think

Yesterday charityhowto.com offered a free webinar on mobile giving hosted by Artez Interactive. I was excited to learn more about this emerging technology, how it is being used, and what the future holds.

In general, we know that mobile tech is growing fast – smartphone sales surpassed PC sales in February, smartphones are anticipated to soon account for half the mobile market, and you can’t throw a stick without hitting an article about the growing popularity of tablets.

So, has the emergence of mobile technology created opportunities for nonprofits to engage supporters and raise funds? Indeed – and there are three main areas to pay attention to:

Text to donate: We’ve all seen this technology come into play in the face of natural disasters across the globe. The Red Cross received over 4.1 million texts to donate $10 in response to the Haitian earthquake last year. While this technology can generate a lot of money in a short period of time with little work on the part of a development professional, it doesn’t give much access to donor information or allow for growing a relationship. In the future, look for text message campaigns to be used to drive traffic to nonprofit websites, provide mobile reminders, or send day-of details for fundraising events. You can plan ahead for mobile campaigns by collecting mobile numbers from your constituents, and asking their permission to contact them via text message.

Mobile web: With widespread use of smartphones and tablets comes internet browsing via mobile device, and it’s estimated that the mobile web will exceed traditional web in size by 2013. This means that it’s important to ensure that websites and e-newsletters are viewable on small screens as well as large, and that having a mobile version of your site will soon be a must. Luckily, web platforms like Wordpress include plug-ins to easily create a mobile version of a website (perhaps with less video or images in order to decrease load time). It’s the same URL, but the device recognizes the need to display the mobile version. The benes of mobile web over text to donate are numerous: there’s no limit on donation amount or the gateway through which funds are collected and you can gather more donor data via a fully branded site.

Mobile apps: Apps are basically software programs developed for mobile devices. The most common example would be the over 200,000 apps available in the iTunes App Store for use on iPhones, iPods, and iPads. Because apps store data on the native device (translation: the gadget it’s loaded on), they generally run faster than browsing via mobile web, and also integrate easily with contacts, calendars, and mapping apps on the device. As of right now, Apple does not allow donations to nonprofits via apps (what gives, Apple?!) but Google’s Android phones do.

Implications for Nonprofits
There you have it. Now what should you do with all this information? Keep it in mind as you plan for the future. Consider these action steps:

1. Start testing your website and electronic communications with smartphones in mind (try viewing things across the variety of devices that your co-workers and friends are using).
2. Start collecting mobile numbers from your constituents and start asking your supporters how they prefer to be communicated with.
3. Most of all, remember that no one channel of communication is a magic bullet for fundraising success. Try integrating mobile strategies as one piece of your multi-channel communications, marketing, and fundraising strategies.

For the slides from this presentation, click here. You can also download Artez Interactive's Mobile Giving White Paper here.

- Mandi Moshay