| Various relief organizations across America have used | | | | $30 million within one month of launching its Haiti |
| SMS marketing techniques of late to solicit funds for | | | | drive. Of interest to marketers, it should be noted |
| disaster aid in the wake of man-made and natural | | | | that some 95% of the 3 million unique SMS donors |
| disasters including the BP oil spill and Haiti's | | | | were first-time donors to the American Red Cross, |
| devastating earthquake. The Mobile Giving Foundation | | | | as reported by |
| (MGF), founded in 2007, is an organization formed to | | | | Monthly donations to the National Wildlife Federation |
| "give the 250 million American wireless users a single | | | | (NWF) have also increased by approximately fifty |
| ‘Mobile Giving Channel' over which they could | | | | percent year-on-year. The mobile marketing campaign |
| receive and respond to appeals from worthy causes." | | | | used to fundraise to help Gulf wildlife impacted by |
| Once MGF has vetted a nonprofit organization, it | | | | the oil spill was again quite simple: users were |
| develops a fundraising campaign using the same | | | | instructed to text in a keyword and then a numeric |
| principles as in text marketing – a short SMS | | | | code to make a donation. |
| message to opt-in users with instructions on how to | | | | Even politicians are texting for donations. John |
| donate to the cause. Any expenses incurred are billed | | | | Edwards successfully used SMS marketing techniques |
| to the non-profits on a post-donation basis; in other | | | | back in 2007 when fundraising and with U.S. elections |
| words, the full amount of the user's donation is | | | | a billion dollar business, text marketing campaigns |
| delivered to the nonprofit organization when made. | | | | during elections should become far more |
| With or without the MGF, some very big name | | | | commonplace. After all, current online donations tend |
| charities have embraced text-to-give mobile | | | | to be three times the amount of those solicited by |
| marketing campaigns, including the United Way, | | | | direct mail and at a much larger ROI – so it tends |
| American Cancer Society and the American Red | | | | to make sense that fundraisers of every ilk will solicit |
| Cross. In fact, the American Red Cross raised over | | | | their supporters by text messages. |