Text to Donate for Non-Profits

Text to Donate for Non-Profits

Nonprofits tend to find one of the biggest benefits of mass texting. The reason being that it is affordable and easy to reach out to the audience. The message is clear, direct, and works for a high-intent audience. One of the ways you can use text messages is through text-to-donate. Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is text to donate?

Text to donate is a way for nonprofits to interact with their donors and through text messaging. The clear communication and high open rate in texts allow more transparency. Moreover, you can also increase the donation with this method of communication.

However, it is to be remembered that many carriers do not support asking for donations directly on messages. This is to ensure that there is no spamming or identity theft risk.

So, how does text to donate work?

How does text to donate work?

While there is a level of restriction in text to donate, there are still several ways you can use this feature. The limit is to directly raise funds through texting. However, you can make strategies to increase communication between donors. Here is how you can make your organization more vivid through texting.

1. Choose a number
   
   The first thing you need to do is acquire a number. ExpertTexting allows you to get plenty of different kinds of source numbers for your texting needs. However, for this purpose, we suggest you acquire a vanity number. ExpertTexting gives you the option to get a vanity number for your cause. Vanity numbers are the most effective in this regard. They are easy to remember. However, the biggest advantage is that people know that vanity numbers make companies and causes more reliable and add credibility.
   
   
2. Choose a keyword
   
   Once you have your number, you can add retention with keywords. You can pick the keyword of your choice to allow people to subscribe to your list and receive messages. Moreover, the keyword can be anything of your choice. With ExpertTexting you can pick the keyword of your choice. The keyword can be a set of alphanumeric characters between 4 to 11 characters. So, if your cause is ending hunger, you can pick ENDHUNGER.
   
   The keyword does multiple things apart from allowing people to sign up to a particular list. The first thing it will do is brief your audience about the cause. The simple one-word keyword can retain in their mind and remind them about the basic reason why they should donate. Choosing a unique keyword makes it more memorable.
   
   
3. Market your new number
   
   Now that you have your new number and keyword, you can simply market your number for text to donate. There are plenty of ways you can do this. Use traditional methods of advertising like social media and newspapers to spread the word. Additionally, you can use our QR code feature so that signing up becomes even easier for your audience. Remember, you cannot directly ask for donations on text messages. Moreover, you cannot add links that redirect them to a payment page. When you have your list, use it as a support and informative medium to up your cause.

How to set it up?

We know that we cannot ask for donations directly and we cannot redirect them to a payment page. However, we need a way to use text messages to give support to the cause. Here is how you can set up your messages.

1. Awareness
   
   There are so many causes all around the world! Some may be real, some may not support the same idea as you, or some may just not suit you. Hence, if you need donations, you should start with awareness. Text messages are one of the best ways to provide information and awareness in this regard.  For all those who are interested in your cause and subscribe to your list, you can send them awareness. Moreover, you can send up to 800-character messages through ExpertTexting. These concatenate in smartphones as one long message. Or you can add links with the link shortening feature and redirect the audience towards a blog or a post.
   
   ExpertTexting allows you to have multiple keywords on one number. This feature allows making a group of only the people that signed up to your list for the particular cause. When you have a group, you can then simply send out the campaign to the interested people.
   
   If you have a theme of running facts and figures that you want to send, then ExpertTexting is the way to go. You can simply schedule text messages. This way, while you focus on different aspects of your cause, the messages are sent out automatically on the set date.
   
   
2. Collect data
   
   After you send out a couple of messages to cover awareness, you should collect data. Collecting data does not been becoming nosey and asking for random information. The best thing to do is ask for their email address. This is personal information and gets ready to hear a lot of news. This is why doing this requires clarity.
   
   A simple message like; ‘reply with your email to help us end hunger’ can be a good way to collect email addresses. To receive a reply against mass texts, you can use ExpertTexting. ExpertTexting gives you the option of two-way communication. This way, your audience can reply to you and you can manage the data.
   
   
3. Send emails
   
   Now that you have email addresses, you can use them to send donation pages and links. Emails do not have this restriction. Hence, you can simply send out an email with the payment page. You can send a message against this payment by setting up the ExpertTexting API. Your donors will get a transparent invoice through the API. Moreover, you can customize this message and add a thank you. This is a transactional type message that works against an action taken by the user.
   
   
4. Follow up on donors
   
   For your NGO or your cause, donors are the most important part. They help up and run your whole organization and help you help the world. It is always a good idea to follow up with your donors. The best way to do it is to thank them for their donation and tell them how it came in handy. Some nonprofits also honor donors with small incentives, giveaways, or invite them as special guests.
   
   Text messaging allows nonprofits to give transparency on the usage of the donation. This is the best approach to retain donors and maybe even have new ones. Simply send a mass text to all those who gave you donations.

Begin with ExpertTexting

ExpertTexting is a mass texting service that helps you strategize for text to donate. Our Nonprofit clients find their communication stronger than ever with mass texting and even with our API. Signup today so you do not miss out.