The Rise In Mobile Giving

Note: This is a summary of a past NPTtv story about the rise of mobile giving campaigns.

In the world we find ourselves in today, fundraising in the charitable sector is changing as the technological landscape evolves. Mobile giving is becoming as much of a mainstream tool for making donations as email is for communicating. More and more people are putting their cell phones to use for this purpose. In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, mobile giving rapidly increased in popularity. A national survey of charitable donors in the United States revealed that mobile giving is growing among young people. As many as 6.5 million people made donations via cell phones in the days following the Haiti earthquake, resulting in more than $50 million being raised.



The mobile giving tipping point is reached

According to Jill Ward, the senior marketing manager at Conveo, the Haiti tragedy has become the tipping point as it relates to mobile giving. She states that the mobile medium is a legitimate and efficient channel for giving due to its convenience and rapid impact. Another reason for the rise in its use may be the fact that it’s striking a chord with donors who otherwise might not have been involved in the fundraising process. The research revealed that 28% of respondents who owned a cell phone that made use of the Facebook application texted a gift to Haiti, 36% were willing to donate via text, and 31% were willing to make use of a text message if a friend was engaged in the fundraising process.