How Influential is Mobile Fundraising?

People like to donate money around the holidays, and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, year-end fundraising is about to begin. How big of a role will mobile fundraising play? We'll have to wait until the end of year but until then, I wanted to share the Donor Survey Report by mGive Foundation that delved into who mobile donors are, whether people are more likely to donate via texting and if they are comfortable giving a high dollar amount, and what entices donors to give via mobile donation. The targets of this survey were the donors to nonprofit organizations that utilize text-to-give platforms so it’s important to note that this survey does not take into account donors across other channels.

Check out the data:

• The donors who participate in mobile giving don't limit their funds to one cause--62% give to 2 or more organizations and 12% give to 4 or more.
• Interestingly the majority (73%) of mobile donors indicated that $25 is the maximum amount they would consider giving via text message. That’s pretty low considering that the average one time online donation is about $60.
• More than half of respondents rated their experience with giving via text as positive.
• What types of call to action are most effective in motivating donors to give via text? Email, attend public events, and watch something on TV.
• Mobile text donors appear to have the highest representation in the South and the West, with the lowest presence in the Midwest.
• 86% of the respondents who give via text stated that they are willing to consider giving larger amounts of money through other channels. That’s great news since the median revenue per donor for multichannel supporters was $339 compared to $88 for offline last year.
• 37% of people said they invite ongoing monthly text communication with nonprofits.

It's no shock that most respondents who identified as text donors were highly educated and mostly comprised of Millenials (35%), followed by Generation X (24%). And, as we have seen women dominating social media in earlier studies, women are the predominant users of text-to-give platforms: a whopping 64% of respondents were women. It is very simple to donate via text, and more often than not a safe endeavor if you know the organization that you are giving to. If you're nonprofit is interested in exploring mobile, make sure that your organization has a text-to-give platform implemented so that donors and supporters are able to make a donation as a gift during the holiday season or to support your cause. The more accessible the ability to give, the more funds you will raise. Also, don’t forget to make your website mobile friendly. J

Comments

[Elaine Fogel]

Hey, Allyson! It doesn't surprise me that Millennials represent a larger percentage in text giving. I wonder if the reluctance to give more than $25 (on average) is the result of apprehension of the new channel. If they're willing to give more in other channels, perhaps it has to do with mobile security. Would be interesting to know. Thanks for the data.

[Ian Hayes]

I wonder how many people would still give via text messaging if they knew the mobile carriers take up to 40% of the donation as a transaction fee. On a $5 donation, the charity only gets $3 and they only get it after you pay your bill. It's no wonder the carriers love mobile giving...it's highly profitable for them. I encourage anyone to avoid text giving and look for the new mobile barcodes (QR codes) instead .