How much does text-to-donate cost?

The cost varies per platform, but typically, it’s based on a flat fee amount in addition to a fixed processing rate for credit cards. For the most cost-effective investment, choose a platform that gives you unlimited text and text-to-give keywords and bypasses mobile carrier fees (like Snowball!)

What’s the standard gift size?

According to Nonprofit Source, the average donation size for text-to-donate campaigns is $107. Not only can these donations be substantial, but text-to-give enables easy setup for future recurring donations. In other words, you may encourage ongoing support and gifts from donors without making additional donation appeals.

Is text-to-give secure? 

With a PCI-compliant text-to-give provider like Snowball, your mobile gifts will be in safe hands. We use authentication and tokenization to protect your donors’ sensitive information, such as billing information and addresses.

What types of nonprofits host these fundraisers?

Countless nonprofits use mobile fundraising and text-to-give to drive support for their causes, including: 

• Faith-based organizations: Most religious organizations also encourage their members to take out their phones and use text-to-tithe in addition to traditional collection plates.

• Health and wellness organizations: Healthcare organizations can use mobile fundraising as part of their grateful patient programs and annual funds.

• Animal rights organizations: Animal rights charities inspire supporters to give via their mobile devices by sending out cute pictures, GIFs, and videos of animals.

• Educational advocacy organizations: With the increase in popularity of text-to-donate and mobile giving software, one of the best ways teachers can improve their classrooms is to launch their own online fundraisers. It’s also a great resource for PTAs looking to launch a new school fundraiser. 

• Environmental awareness organizations: Text-to-give is a paper-free giving method, meaning environmental awareness and advocacy groups are increasingly imploring donors to use their mobile devices.

• Arts and cultural organizations: Museums, theaters, zoos, and galleries tend to use methods like ticket sales and membership programs to raise money. A growing trend toward using mobile donation software provides more convenient solutions to interested donors. 

Any type of nonprofit can benefit from mobile fundraising and any type of supporter can leverage the convenience of donating from their cell phones. 

What are the pros and cons of hosting a text-to-give fundraiser?

When someone tells you there’s good news and bad news, which would you rather hear first? Since the list of text-to-give cons is so short, we’ll get the disadvantages out of the way first:

• Donation amount cap: Some providers (not Snowball!) may put a limit on how much donors can give via text-to-donate. 
• Engagement limitations: The simplicity of text-to-give also means donors provide minimal information and spend less time interacting with your nonprofit.

However, the pros vastly outweigh the cons of text-to-give fundraising.

As one of the most effective donation methods, text-to-give empowers nonprofits of all sizes to reach new fundraising heights. Since so many of your supporters own mobile devices, incorporating text-to-give into your fundraising strategy allows your nonprofit to tap into the growing influence of mobile usage:

1. 97% of Americans own a cell phone, making it the preferred method of communication. Because text-to-give uses technology that most donors and fundraisers already use on a daily basis, they’ll be more inclined to take the time to send a quick donation to their favorite organization.
    
2. 57% of nonprofit website traffic came from mobile devices last year, meaning mobile giving aligns with the way potential supporters are already engaging with your nonprofit’s information. In fact, 1 in 4 donors use mobile devices to discover nonprofits they were previously unaware of.

    

3. Since 91% of Americans look at their cell phones around 80 times a day, mobile giving is an easy way to keep donors involved and excited without slowing them down. Plus, donors are more likely to pay attention to mobile giving requests because 90% of text message reminders are read in 3 minutes.

Mobile fundraising is one of the easiest ways donors can contribute to your organization. It completely streamlines the donation process by eliminating the need to use a desktop, a laptop, or even direct mail. Donors can even opt to set up recurring donations and continue showing their support. 

The simplicity of text-to-give also makes it a great way to run concurrent fundraising initiatives. For example, you can promote and accept text donations at your in-person auction to maximize fundraising revenue and awareness of your nonprofit’s programs. This fast, easy, and engaging donation process lays the groundwork for stronger donor relationships.