8 Ways to Run a Successful Text-to-Give Campaign

Posted on July 13, 2021

We are living in the era of smartphones where we prefer to do almost all our transactions on our mobiles. Most businesses had no option but to create mobile-friendly websites and apps so that they can cater to their audience. Nonprofits also needed to adapt to the smartphone era and introduce mobile-friendly techniques to connect to their audience. Text-to-give was a concept introduced to make it easier for donors to contribute to charities with their smartphones.

What is text giving?

Text-to-give or text to donate is a technique where donors text a specific keyword and an amount they wish to donate to a predetermined number. Donors can contribute to a fundraising campaign of a charity to the annual fund.

Let’s now understand how the text giving process works:

• The nonprofit will need to choose a text-giving platform to set up the text-to-give.
• Once the text-to-give system is set up, the nonprofit will need to raise awareness towards it using different promotional strategies.
• Donors will need to type in a keyword specified by the nonprofit and the amount they wish to donate and send the text to a number specified by the nonprofit.
• Once the donor texts, he will receive an acknowledgment and be guided to a responsive donation form. He can fill in the details in the form to donate.
• The nonprofit will send an acknowledgment of receipt of donation to the donor.

It is a straightforward donation process for both, the donors and the nonprofit. Mobile giving has become a popular method of donating because of the rising number of mobile users worldwide.

Besides this there are several other reasons why nonprofits use text giving:

• Text giving has emerged as the simplest method to donate in current times when the pandemic has made it difficult for nonprofits to hold fundraisers.
• It is one of the fastest methods to donate because of the simplicity of the process. The simplicity and speed of the process make it a popular choice among donors.
• Text giving makes it easier for donors to donate on the move. They can donate from anywhere at a time of their convenience. This helps attract more donors.
• This method helps nonprofits build a better relationship with donors because it offers a method of direct communication. The donors can donate directly and receive an acknowledgment instantly for their donations. This builds trust and confidence in the minds of the donors for the nonprofit.
• Nonprofits that offer mobile giving as a method for donating can reach a larger audience because the number of mobile users is large and is constantly growing.
• With effective promotional strategies, nonprofits can reach a wide audience across different age groups and ethnicity.
• Donors who may be hesitant to donate in case they want to donate small amounts find this method a great option.
• Mobile giving also encourages donors to make multiple donations because of the simplicity of the process.
• Text giving is a cost-effective method of donation. This method reduces the costs involved in setting up the donation process. The major cost involved is that of investing in a text-giving platform. Choosing a platform that works in a hassle-free manner and is easy to set up streamlines the mobile giving process for the nonprofit and the donors. iConnectX is one of the best text-to-give platforms that covers all aspects of mobile giving.

It is because of these reasons that text giving is being offered by most nonprofits extensively as a method to make donations. Since it is widely used by several nonprofits, you will need to make special efforts to stand out in the crowd!

You will need to put on your thinking caps and create text-giving campaigns that reach a wide audience and engage them.

Here are some best text giving practices that help you create successful campaigns:

1. Establish your Fundraising Goals

Determine what you wish to achieve through the text to give the campaign. Establish clear fundraising goals and the metrics against which you can measure your goals.

2. Keep Short Code Simple

Shortcode is the alphanumeric code that donors will need to type while donating.

Each text-giving platform has certain specifications to be adhered to while creating the shortcode. Make sure that you find out these specifications before creating your code.

These are details like the number of characters in the code, if the code is case-sensitive, etc.

Creating the shortcode will require some out-of-the-box thinking.

The code must indicate the type of charity it is being used for. For instance, if the charity works for environmental protection, it can have words like GREEN or ENVIRO, etc.

Make sure that you keep the code simple so that is easy to type and remember. Avoid using such a combination of letters which can lead to typographical errors. Complex codes may even discourage donors.

3. Make Forms Straightforward

After the donor texts the shortcode, he will be directed to a donor form. These forms must be simple and straightforward. It is recommended that you do not ask donors for too many details. Create a simple form that does not take too long to fill. However, the form must be designed such that it provides you all the essential information about the donors.

4. Promote Text Giving Campaign

To reach a wider audience across different demographics you must use multichannel marketing strategies.

You will need to create promotional strategies that reach a wide audience. Digital marketing techniques like social media marketing, email marketing, etc. can help you spread the word about your campaign. You could consider using promotional tee-shirts, etc.

Your website is a great platform where you can communicate to your audience details about your campaign. You can promote your campaign with print and online advertising.

It is best to allocate a fixed marketing budget and strategize according to the funds in your kitty. Based on your budget you can choose the right mix of promotional strategies to increase the visibility of your campaign.

5. Instruct Supporters

Once you have promoted your campaign, you will have many supporters who will want to participate in your fundraiser.

It is recommended that you help your supporters by instructing them on how to use mobile giving. Although some of these donors may know how it works, it might be a new concept for others. So, make the process easy for your donors by guiding them.

You can do this by sharing step-wise instructions of how it works in the form of infographics, videos, pictures, etc. These can be shared on your website, social media, and other channels. You can also share it in your newsletters with your email subscribers.

In addition to this, you could consider sharing this information in flyers that can be distributed. Another effective method is holding live sessions where you can explain the process to your attendees.

6. Offer Multiple Donation Option

It is recommended that you do not indicate a preset amount for donation. The reason is that this could discourage many donors who may not be able to donate that amount.

Even if you include options of specific amounts to be donated in the form, ensure that you add a custom field where donors can donate an amount of their choice. This approach encourages more donors to contribute.

In addition to this, you can offer an option for recurring donations wherein the donors contribute a fixed amount to the charity monthly. Recurring donations are especially popular among small donors. A recurring donor is also beneficial for the nonprofit.

Hence, it is a good strategy to offer flexible donation options to your donors.

7. Thank you Donors

The best way to build a long-term relationship with your donors is through clear communication. One of the starting points of building a communication channel is by sending personal thank you messages to your donors. Personal communication with your donors helps build trust and confidence. So, make sure that you acknowledge the contributions of your donors by thanking them for their donations. You can thank your donors by sending emails with thank you messages.

8. Review Donors

Once the campaign is over, you will need to check its efficacy based on the funds raised. You can assess your performance based on the data collected.

You can compare the results of your current campaign with your previous fundraisers. You can also check the success of different marketing strategies used, etc.

You can also check whether you have reached the desired goals.

In addition to this, you can conduct an online survey to get feedback from your donors on their experience.

These insights will help you create your future campaigns.

In Conclusion

Nonprofits need to change their online fundraising strategies from time to time based on the changing needs of their audience. With the rising number of smartphone users across the globe, mobile giving is no longer an option but a must for nonprofits.