About Mobile Giving
Overview
Mobile Giving is a charitable donation process where an individual can make a contribution to a non-profit organization via text message. The donation shows up at the end of the month as an addition to their phone bill
Some of the first cases of Mobile Giving were based around natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, where calls to raise funds could be broadcast by mass media. Those initial programs were done in partnership between the telecom carriers and the Red Cross.
In 2008, the Mobile Giving Foundation was formed to open the donation process to a wider range of nonprofits. The Mobile Giving Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was founded by Jim Manis and Jenifer Snyder. Jim’s interested was sparked by his involvement in previous giving campaigns he’d been involved with as one of the founders of the text-messaging aggregator, m-Qube.
How it Works
Currently, Mobile Giving is a form of microdonation as donors can only donate $5 at a time. The donations are collected by users texting into a shortcode and completing a simple two part message (see example) or by triggering a webservice from other applications. The Mobile Giving Foundation is currently trying to push for larger donations and recurring donations.
For an organization to raise funds via Mobile Giving, they need to work with a technology partner of the Mobile Giving Foundation. There are currently five approved partners: Mobile Commons, Mobile Accord/mGive, Distributive Networks, Mobile Cause, and Wireless Factory. Once the organization chooses a technology vendor, they jointly submit an application to the Mobile Giving Foundation. This process is only open to 501(c)3 nonprofit donations.
Why Open Up the Mobile Giving Channel?
Mobile Giving has two major strengths: the extreme simplicity of completing a donation and the amazing ubiquity of mobile phones. Because mobile giving doesn’t require a credit card, it’s much more suited to immediate responses to a call to action.
For more information, see our Resources page, read our FAQ, or contact us at info@mobilegivinginsider.com.
