3 Ways to Take Advantage of Texting for Your Nonprofit

It’s no secret that people are constantly on their phones. However, did you know that the average person spends 4 hours and 37 minutes on their phone each day and checks it about 58 times per day?

When you understand just how often people are on their phones, it becomes clear that texting is an extremely effective way to reach your supporters and build long-lasting relationships with them. From the comfort of their homes, your supporters can receive updates on your mission and give their support with just a few taps.

Whether you’ve used text fundraising efforts in the past or are just now reviewing this option, there are multiple ways your nonprofit can take advantage of texting, including:

1. Supplement year-round fundraising efforts.
2. Incorporate it in peer-to-peer campaigns
3. Use it for #GivingTuesday or your own appeal day.

Text fundraising efforts are only as good as the tool that you use. Equip yourself with a comprehensive fundraising solution that offers text-to-give or text-to-donate capabilities.

1. Supplement year-round fundraising efforts.

Text fundraising and mobile giving are popular because of their convenience. Your supporters likely use their phones for many daily tasks, making it easy for them to contribute to your nonprofit via their phones as well.

That’s why text fundraising is a great way to supplement your nonprofit’s year-round efforts. To get started, Bloomerang’s text-to-donate guide recommends following these steps:

• Select a text-to-give provider. Research different text-to-give providers to find the best one for your nonprofit. The ideal platform will have features like a user-friendly interface, secure donation processing, automation, and integrations with your other fundraising tools.

• Choose a keyword. Your keyword is what donors will text to your text-to-give phone number to jumpstart the mobile giving process. Use a keyword that’s short, easy to spell, and relevant to your campaign. For example, if you’re raising money to support cancer research, you may select the keyword “Beat Cancer” or “Fund the Cure.”

• Create a simple donation form. While you can direct text-to-give donors to your main donation page, consider creating an even simpler version that streamlines the process. Only include necessary fields such as name, payment information, billing address, and contact information, and ensure your form is mobile-friendly.
• Send automated reminders. Continue using your text-to-give platform to communicate with donors by sending automated reminders about upcoming giving opportunities or fundraising events.

To advertise your text fundraising phone number, include it on your website, social media account bios, direct mail appeals, and email announcements. That way, those who are interested can easily contribute via text-to-give without having to consult a member of your team.

2. Incorporate it into peer-to-peer campaigns.

Existing almost entirely online, a peer-to-peer campaign can help you raise money and increase awareness of your cause. According to Qgiv, organizations can recruit 300 new donors on average using peer-to-peer campaigns, demonstrating the effectiveness of this fundraising strategy.

To facilitate this type of campaign, you’ll need to recruit a group of volunteer fundraisers and equip them with their own online campaign pages. Invest in a dedicated peer-to-peer platform that allows volunteers to customize their campaign pages with images, text, and videos describing their connection to your organization. Then, they can promote their unique pages to their friends and families. 

Incorporating text messaging into your peer-to-peer campaign is a convenient way to increase donations while also mobilizing and motivating participants. To do this, create a specific text fundraising keyword and phone number for your peer-to-peer campaign.

Your participants can even add their own sub-keywords, which will attribute text gifts to their own fundraising appeals. For example, if your keyword is “Walk for the Cure,” a participant could add the sub-keyword “Jarvis” (or whatever they choose). When a donor uses the keyword, “Walk for the Cure Jarvis,” their donation will count toward that participant’s goal.

Your text tool can also engage your supporters and volunteers! Consider these other ways texting can benefit your campaign:

• Advertise your upcoming peer-to-peer campaign. To get some early recruits on board, send a mass text to your supporters to gain an initial sense of who might want to participate in your peer-to-peer campaign.
• Share fundraising resources and peer-to-peer tips. During the campaign, send helpful resources to participants and inspire your volunteers to raise more funds.
• Update them on your goal progress. Motivate your volunteers to continue fundraising and your supporters to give by letting them know how close you are to your goal. For a visual representation of your goal progress, use a fundraising thermometer.
• Spark friendly competition. Consider sending out texts letting your participants know how other fundraisers are doing. You can say something like “X is in the lead for the top fundraiser! Catch up to them before the campaign ends.”
• Send out reminders and deadlines. As the campaign nears its end, send out reminders to your volunteers! These messages can push them to fundraise harder as you get closer and closer to the conclusion of your campaign.

Peer-to-peer campaigns often raise a lot of money in a short amount of time due to social media amplifying their reach. When one volunteer posts their peer-to-peer page, their whole network of family and friends can access it. When two volunteers post, that number doubles, and so on. Combined with the convenience and ease of texting, your peer-to-peer campaign is sure to generate some much-needed revenue.

3. Use it for #GivingTuesday or your own appeal day.

One of the biggest fundraising days for nonprofits across the board is #GivingTuesday. Taking place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, this charitable day encourages people everywhere to give back to their favorite causes in the spirit of the holiday season. In 2023, nonprofits in the United States raised $3.1 billion on #GivingTuesday, engaging 34 million adults in the process.

Texting has increased the reach and influence of #GivingTuesday in the past, and these insights can also apply to your own awareness or giving day. For example, Red Cross Giving Day occurs in March and encourages people to donate to support families affected by home fires or other disasters. Similarly, Rutgers University runs Rutgers Giving Days, a 48-hour campaign designed to fund student experiences and medical research.

Whether you’re incorporating texting into your #GivingTuesday campaign or your organization’s individual giving day, follow these steps:

1. Before the big day, build your text-to-give list. Make it easy for your supporters to opt into text updates by providing sign-up links and forms in your email newsletters, social media outreach efforts, and your main website.
2. On the day of your appeal, send a text reminder to your supporters about the campaign and how donations will help those you serve. Include simple instructions on how to participate to facilitate the process.
3. Once the day ends, use your texting tool to thank donors who contributed. Showing donor appreciation is one of the most important parts of any giving process. Send a quick thank-you text to everyone who contributed, and follow up later on with more individualized appreciation messages.

To further encourage donors to contribute, accompany your texts with storytelling elements that inspire them to lend their support. While it’s important to keep your texts short and sweet, you may incorporate a few lines about a beneficiary you’ve helped and how donors’ funds will make a similar impact.

Additionally, emphasize a sense of urgency in your texts. Since your campaign is likely only 24 hours, let donors know why they need to contribute today, and send them reminders throughout the day telling them how many hours are left for them to participate.

Incorporating texting into your digital fundraising strategy is an easy way to supplement your existing efforts and boost revenue for your cause. Just remember to respect supporters’ communication preferences and allow them to opt out of texts so you’re only contacting those who want to participate.

Looking for SMS numbers? Care2 can provide them! 

We can now recruit new supporters to sign up for your broadcast SMS or peer-to-peer texting programs (and you still get the email addresses). 

Get in touch to learn how we deliver SMS numbers for broadcast and peer-to-peer messaging.

We all know texting is taking on increasing importance as a cost effective, highly engaging, channel, and it works particularly well in tandem with email. By combining these channels, many charities are boosting engagement, raising more money, and increasing donor retention.