3 Step Mobile Fundraising Strategy

Stepping into the world of mobile fundraising may seem like parachuting into the middle of a wild jungle with nothing but a canteen and backpack.  You look around; it’s unfamiliar. There are no roads, and you have no map. You could literally venture anywhere and not know if you’re going the right way or walking into a dark cave of tarantulas, á la Indiana Jones.

Nobody likes a dark cave of tarantulas, so let’s build some parameters around your mobile strategy.  You’ll find that it’s really not too different from what you’re doing (or should be doing) with email.

And just like with your email strategy, the base camp of your mobile strategy is your website. Before you take the first step toward mobile fundraising, make sure you are welcoming them with a mobile-optimized website, email design and donation page that make their donation journey easy. Once you’ve reached this checkpoint, here’s the path to move onward and upward.

1. Build Your Audience
Have you ever had a fundraising luncheon or event and not one person showed up? The food is cooked. The silverware is laid out. The speakers are lined up, but yet, the room is empty.  It’s hard to raise money that way. Similarly, your mobile fundraising won’t work unless you have an audience.  This audience of mobile donors can be built in several ways:

• Text-to-Give – One of the most common tactics to capture an audience has been during disasters, in which potential donors are engaged in an event that has garnished local, national or international attention. Sure, you can raise trucks full of money this way, but it’s not a sustainable model because you’re at the mercy of disasters. Also, the amount of donor information you acquire is very limited, which minimizes ongoing mobile fundraising efforts with these donors.

• Website Captures – You should already have a form on your website set up to obtain email addresses. This form can also be used to acquire mobile phone numbers. The field should be clearly marked as “mobile phone number” as opposed to just “phone number.” Also, make sure that this page includes some type of disclaimer letting users know that they are opting in to receive ongoing email and mobile communication.

• Mobile Append (mAppend) – This type of service can match your existing database of constituents with mobile numbers that are contained within the service’s records. It allows you to find individuals who have a mobile number and begin communicating with them. This is a quick way to build your mobile audience from a group of people that already have an affinity toward your organization.

2. Communicate With Your Audience
Now that your audience is built, platforms exist that will allow you to communicate via SMS messages with your audience. The impact of SMS communication ties to several behaviors, mainly the 97%+ open rate of text messages, and the ability to instantly reach people on the go in a way that email cannot.

An SMS messaging strategy is important to have documented before you begin sending messages. Ensure that communication is relevant to your audience. A general rule of thumb is to send two to three cultivation messages for every solicitation message; however, you will have to determine what mix works best for your organization. Again, doesn’t this sound similar to email? The following is a quick list of cultivation message types to get you started:

• Event announcements

• Organizational updates: Share goals reached, lives impacted or links to press releases

• Videos: Include a link to YouTube videos

• Exclusives: Send breaking news messages exclusive to mobile subscribers

• Inspiration: Send inspirational messages around campaigns or holidays

3. Raise Funds
Once you’ve warmed up your audience by providing relevant messaging, it’s time to utilize this channel to raise funds that will advance your mission. Keep in mind that mobile fundraising should not only function as its own independent channel: It should also integrate with your direct mail, email, media and other fundraising efforts. I would expect the most impact with mobile fundraising would occur when a mobile campaign is simply one puzzle piece for a larger existing campaign. For example, if your campaign is a matching gift campaign that you are promoting in direct mail and email, then you should also send out a fundraising SMS message about the match campaign that includes a link to a mobile-optimized donation page.

Mobile pledging campaigns can be set up as an alternative to text-to-give. Since text-to-give does not allow the flexibility of giving any amount, mobile pledging will generate a much higher average gift AND you obtain the donor’s information. In addition, pledges can be fulfilled via mobile-optimized donation page or telephone, thus reducing friction in obtaining pledged gifts.

Summary
Establishing a simplified mobile strategy is as simple as 1-2-3: 1) build your audience; 2) communicate with your audience; and 3) raise funds. Sounds easy, right?

At a minimum, you now have a starting point within the jungle of mobile fundraising, and a machete-chopped path through the brush that will point you toward success. The jungle still exists, but now you have a compass and survival tools. Go out and adventure, my friends!