PR drives mobile donations

A new study on mobile giving reveals that of respondents who have made a text-to-give donation, 68 percent were inspired to donate by a television or radio news mention.

"Perhaps the most important observation based on these numbers, charities must support their text‑to‑give campaigns with cross-channel marketing activities that include television, radio, print media, events, and viral, word-of-mouth promotions," says the article on Nonprofit Technology Network's website here. "These activities drive greater response to a charity's call to action to donate."

While the rules applying to text-to-give campaigns are prohibitive for smaller organizations, there are still several ways to implement mobile strategies, according to our colleagues at Mobile Matters, a firm specializing in mobile fundraising for health and animal protection nonprofits. If your organization cannot receive texted donations, you can still create a mobile campaign, build a database of supporters' mobile phone numbers, send action alerts, send petitions and polls, and ask for phoned-in credit card pledges.

We look forward to any opportunity to work on projects that combine media/PR outreach with mobile campaigns. People are receptive to mobile giving, and forward-thinking nonprofits need to consider how they can combine it with their current PR strategies.