Solving the Mobile Giving Puzzle

If you're like most people working at a nonprofit, you probably had a "Holy Mobile!" moment in January 2010, when an outpouring of donations followed the devastating Haiti earthquake. This, you expected.

But what you might not have anticipated was that $41 million flowed through mobile phones via "premium text messages." The Red Cross received 4.1 million messages valued at $10 each, 95 percent of which were from first-time donors.

You breathed in … hard. Did you miss mobile? Where did all of those donors come from? Did a fantastic fundraising opportunity pass you by? How do you jump on the bandwagon?

If any of these thoughts raced through your head last January — or if any are racing now — don't worry. Mobile giving is just about five years young. There's plenty of time to put together a thoughtful mobile-fundraising strategy.

Best of all, many of the kinks have been worked out. There's never been a better time to start a mobile campaign.

As it turns out, the Red Cross used but one of several common methods to generate revenue from mobile phone owners:

• Text-message donations
• Text-to-voice donations
• Text-message warmers
• Mobile website donations
• App sales
• In-app sales
• Sponsored apps

Here's a look at how they work.

Text-message donations

Using this simple method, your nonprofit advertises the availability of your designated fundraising phone number to potential donors. A donor sends a text message to this number indicating that he would like to donate. Voila! Your nonprofit receives a check in the mail 30 to 90 days later.

This is precisely the kind of mobile-fundraising campaign run by the Red Cross in support of Haiti. Hundreds of nonprofits in the U.S. — and around the world — are running and have run similar campaigns with great success.