GUEST POST // How Text-to-Give Can Help You Meet Your Fundraising Goals
By John Killoran of Snowball Fundraising
Looking for a new, effective way to increase your organization’s funding? Enter text-to-give for nonprofits. This method of donation is one of the easiest ways for your constituents to give to your cause. With mobile giving, they can give from anywhere in the world, on their own digital devices.
Updating your routes of giving is essential for nonprofit organizations to meet donors where they are. Text-to-give takes the guesswork out of donors navigating a physical donation form or finding your website on their own.
To get started with text-to-give, your team will need to understand how and when to implement this tool, as well as how to look for an excellent provider for optimal results. Here are a few best steps to get started:
Understand how and when to use text-to-give
Use an effective text-to-give software
Pair text-to-give with an event
Let’s jump into the best ways to use text-to-give capabilities.
Understand how and when to use text-to-give
Knowing the ins and outs of mobile giving is crucial to making the most out of this effective way of receiving donations. Whether you’re a nonprofit, religious organization, school, or any other fundraising organization, this tool works to increase your funding and create a positive experience for your donors. If your team is looking for a safe chance to take on updating your giving process, this is the best option for you. Let’s go over the basics!
What is text-to-give?
Text-to-give is the donation process that lets your donors easily initiate the giving process by simply texting a designated keyword to your organization’s phone number, directly from their own mobile devices. This process is also commonly referred to as:
Mobile Giving
Text-to-Donate
Text-to-Tithe (specifically for churches)
No matter the name, the process and types of tools used are the same. Your donors are still able to give to your cause with the push of a send button on their mobile devices. Let’s get into how it can work for your organization’s endeavors.
How does text-to-give work for nonprofits?
To get started with text-to-give, your organization will need to follow these three core steps:
Choose a software provider. Pick a text-to-give platform that can suit your organization’s unique needs. We’ll get into the details of this step later on.
Connect to a unique phone number. The provider your team chooses will assign your organization to a unique phone number that donors can text. You’ll also pick a unique keyword that donors can use that is specific to your text-to-give campaign.
Promote your campaign across your platforms. Now that your donors can give via text message, make sure they know how to do so! All you need to do is communicate your phone number and keyword.
After you take these simple steps, you’re all set to start fundraising with your text-to-give campaign. Let’s unpack the donor journey of your mobile giving campaign.
How does text-to-give work for your donors?
For your donors, the text-to-give process is very straightforward. They’ll follow these steps:
Text the keyword to your nonprofit’s designated phone number. Your donors will begin the process of texting a message with your unique keyword. If you use intuitive software, it’ll still work with a minor typo.
Follow the link in the reply message. Donors will instantly receive a confirmation message with an attached link to a mobile-optimized donation form. They’ll then enter the required information for their gift. Keep in mind, if they’re repeat donors, it’ll have their information autosaved, making the process even faster.
Confirm your donation. When the user clicks donate, then they’ll have submitted their donation to your cause. It’s really that easy.
Today, streamlined donation processes and seamless user experience are standard donor expectations. Text-to-give is an excellent option to offer them for this very reason. You’ll just need to clearly explain this process in your communications to your donors, so that they can understand how easy the process is to give to your cause using text-to-give.
Use an effective text-to-give software
It’s understood that the success of your text-to-give campaign depends on your ability to choose an appropriate software package for your needs. There are a few key features that you and your team should evaluate before selecting a package. When deciding on your mobile giving software, consider the following aspects:
High-security measures. When giving to your cause, your donors are inputting sensitive personal and financial information. Your text-to-give provider should be vigilant, reliable, and PCI-compliant, meaning it adheres to strict security standards to keep everyone’s data safe.
Straightforward user experience. Be sure that the software you pick keeps the steps mentioned above as simple as possible. Your donors don’t want to suffer through a ton of steps to complete a donation, and you may risk losing their gift altogether as a result.
Price. This is a crucial point to consider. What’s your current budget for new tech and fundraising tools? Research the fee structures, support, and additional paid features before committing to any new vendor.
Integrations. Your text-to-give software should ideally be an integrated part of your existing tech stack. To make sure donation data flows seamlessly from your tool to your CRM, make sure your text-to-give software can integrate with your existing database and other platforms.
If you’re looking for ideas for text-to-give platforms, check out this list of a few helpful options. Just be sure to keep your unique needs in mind when looking for the best choice. There’s an option that’s best for each organization’s budget and user journey. Pick the one that’s best for you for optimal fundraising results.
Pair text-to-give with an event
Finally, now that you understand text-to-give and its benefits, use it to your advantage by pairing it with a fundraising event. By implementing it into your event, your organization can multiply the funds raised just by offering mobile giving as an additional, easy option.
Your team has options to incorporate text-to-give into your fundraising event whether it’s before, during, and after it occurs. Whether you’re using mobile giving for your walk-a-thon, or your silent auction, ensure your attendees are on the same page with how to use it. To make the most of this method, here are a few things to consider:
Communicate with your donors. When your organization remains open and communicative to donors about new software implementations, they’re more likely to hop on board and start using your new technology. To make sure everyone understands the process, provide assistance before and during your event addressing how to use mobile giving. This can be communicated via email, on your website, or on the invitation.
Post your information around your event. Be sure to include your keyword and number on posters at the actual event, as well as on any event-related communications. When it comes to giving, your donors will be encouraged to participate by seeing your information everywhere and how easy it is to contribute. For virtual events, make sure your social posts and website clearly explain the text-to-give process.
Offer options for mobile pledging. Not all supporters can give on the spot, but want to. Be sure to provide the opportunity to your attendees to pledge via text-to-give if they are unable to donate on the spot. If you opt to do so, ensure that your software is equipped to deliver automated reminders so that your supporters complete their gift at a later time. For more information, refer to Snowball’s guide to pledge fundraising.
Thank your donors. Importantly, your organization should thank those who give to your mission at your event. Send this in the form of an email or letter, or perhaps an automated text sent out after they’ve donated.
When paired with a fundraising event, text-to-give is an excellent option for anything from pledge fundraisers like a 5K to relief efforts to annual galas. This method of giving is quick for raising money on the spot, and can really add up.
Your organization can implement text-to-give functionalities into your overall fundraising strategy to create an easy, new revenue stream. If your team has remaining questions about how to settle on a mobile giving platform, be sure to refer to Snowball’s roundup of frequently asked questions about mobile giving.
Text-to-give is valuable because it’s an extremely flexible tool. You can use it as a general donation alternative to meet your donors where they are, or you can use it in conjunction with a fundraising event. Either way, it’s a new, ready-made revenue stream for whatever new undertakings your nonprofit rolls out.
This guest post was written by John Killoran.
John Killoran is an inventor, entrepreneur, and the Chairman of Clover Leaf Solutions, a national lab services company. He currently leads Clover Leaf’s investment in Snowball Fundraising, an online fundraising platform for nonprofit organizations.
Snowball was one of John’s first public innovations; it’s a fundraising platform that offers text-to-give, online giving, events, and peer-to-peer fundraising tools for nonprofits. By making giving simple, Snowball increases the donations that these organizations can raise online. The Snowball effect is real! John founded Snowball in 2011. Now, it serves over 7,000 nonprofits and is the #1 nonprofit fundraising platform.
