If you are looking for new ways to fundraise for your cause but are still trying to make the case to your board or higher-ups to embrace new technologies like text-to-donate, you have come to the right place!
Getting approval from your board or management doesn’t have to be complicated or awkward. Here are some great answers to commonly asked questions and ways to educate and influence your leadership team to try text-to-donate and see why it’s worth the investment.
- What is text-to-donate, and how does it work?
- What are the benefits for charities?
- What are some examples or statistics that prove the value?
- How does text-to-donate compare cost-wise to other fundraising methods or platforms?
- Is this worth it for smaller or regional organizations?
- Is text-to-donate a competitor of other fundraising channels?
- Can it help us with recurring giving and monthly donations?
- Do we have to sign a contract or subscribe for a certain period?
- In what languages can I communicate using text-to-donate?
- What are the benefits for donors?
- How do we get started?
#1. What is text-to-donate, and how does it work?
Text-to-donate is a platform that makes it easy for people to give money to their favourite charities by text. Donors don’t need a credit card or to download an app; they can just add a donation to their monthly phone bill. With this platform, donations between $5 and $25 can be added to the donor’s phone bill. MGFC has set up this platform in partnership with Canada’s wireless service providers and the Canadian Telecommunications Association. It’s easier for donors to give, and it saves money for the charities.
The donor’s wireless service provider will charge the donation amount (tax-free and without any additional transaction or service fees) to their next monthly phone bill instead of having to provide credit card details or personal information. MGFC collects funds from its wireless service provider partners each month and remits 100% of those funds back to the beneficiary charity.
#2. What are the benefits for charities?
There are many reasons why text-to-donate is beneficial to charitable organizations. Here are our top 5. Text-to-donate can help you…
- Reach new donors
- Increase monthly giving
- Improve and complement existing fundraising strategies
- Streamline tax receipt administration
- Launch net-new fundraising campaigns quickly
#3. What are some examples or statistics that prove the value?
Consider these data points as demonstrating the value of our text-to-donate solution:
- Record holder for most funds raised in 24 hours $1.1 million
- 100% of funds are remit back to the charity
- Over 800 Canadian charities have used MGFC’s text-to-donate platform
Food Banks Canada and MGFC joined forces to help Canadians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The broadcast special “Stronger Together | Tous Ensemble” raised money using several donation channels. They collected over 200,000 individual donations and raised $1.1 million in one day via text-to-donate.
MGFC doesn’t charge charities a transaction fee like other fundraising tools, which diverts precious funds and can add up quickly. Most fundraising tools charge a 5% transition fee. In the example above, Food Banks Canada would have paid close to $55,000 if they raised 1.1 million dollars with technology like “Tap2Donate.”
More than 800 charities have used our text-to-donate platform to raise money. Charities like the Canadian Red Cross, Janeway Children’s Hospital, and the Nova Scotia SPCA have teamed up with MGFC to make donating easier.
#4. How does text-to-donate compare cost-wise to other fundraising methods or platforms?
MGFC’s product costs are similar to other fundraising tools for events. Unlike other tools, MGFC does not take a transaction fee from charities. This means more funds are being funnelled directly back to the charity. Why donors and charities choose MGFC.
MGFC’s fee structure is simple:
- One-time-only fee: $350 certification fee
- Monthly hosting fee: Flat rate based on campaign components (can be as low as $100/month)
- Transaction and processing fees: $0
#5. Is this worth it for smaller or regional organizations?
Text-to-donate can benefit charities of all shapes, sizes, and causes. If your campaign strategy and promotion are well thought out, you can succeed.
In 2019, the Janeway Children’s Hospital Foundation, based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, raised $20k in two days. Read the Janeway Children’s Hospital case study here.
#6. Is text-to-donate a competitor of other fundraising channels?
Text-to-donate is a powerful tool that can enhance your fundraising strategy and increase your donations without adding extra friction for you or your donors.
As a stand-alone tool, text-to-donate is an easy way to ask your supporters for donations in an easy, contactless way. For example, asking radio listeners to text a keyword to a 5-digit number is much easier to retain than a long, convoluted URL.
Text-to-donate is also a fantastic addition to existing fundraising strategies, like tele-fundraising, direct mail, online, and in-person events. People love choice, and offering donors multiple ways to give and support your organization will help you reach your fundraising goals faster.
Text-to-donate should be viewed as a complement to existing fundraising channels, not a competitor. We strive to help charities reach a new pool of donors by offering a seamless text donation option.
#7. Can it help us with recurring giving and monthly donations?
We know how valuable monthly donors are to charities. Having a regular stream of income helps to make a more significant impact. We also know that monthly donors are more likely to give more than those who make one-time gifts.
MGFC offers a recurring gift option, where donors are presented with the opportunity to opt-in to give monthly after having completed a one-time donation. Approximately 9% of one-time donors opt-in to become monthly donors. Monthly donors also remain opted-in to give for an average of 55 months!
#8. Do we have to sign a contract or subscribe for a certain period?
All charities that use the text-to-donate channel are required to go through a certification process and sign a Charitable Program Agreement. This ensures the channel’s continued trust of charities, donors, and wireless service providers. MGFC takes its responsibility to host and maintain a compliant platform, with reputable partners, very seriously.
MGFC bills its campaign fees on a calendar basis, so a minimum of one month is required, making it a low-commitment option to try for the first time.
#9. In what languages can I communicate using text-to-donate?
Expanding your charity’s reach is essential to maximizing its impact. Adopting a multilingual text-to-donate campaign is a strategic way to reach a diverse community. Often times, national organizations are required to promote in both English and French and so we are proud to offer campaigns in:
- English
- French
- Bilingual
- Emojis (the universal language 😉)
#10. What are the benefits for donors?
There are many reasons why text-to-donate is beneficial to donors. Here are our top 5 reasons donors love making text donations:
- Accessible & convenient
- Quick
- Charged automatically to their cellphone bill
- Safer and can be anonymous
- Tax receipts can be claimed easily and immediately
#11. How do we get started?
A charity must be registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to activate a text-to-donate campaign. It must also meet specific standards to qualify:
MGFC’s Mandatory Standards:
- At least 1 year of operations.
- Meet Canadian Disbursement Quotas
- Be in good standing with the CRA.
- Make only truthful statements to the public.
- Have a donor privacy policy that allows them to opt-out.
MGFC’s Preferred Standards:
- Have an elected and volunteer board of at least five members.
- Measure their effectiveness every two years.
- Publish a well-defined mission statement.
- Report expenses accurately.
- Make information available to the public.
Charities are required to complete an application form and sign a Charitable Program Agreement before their campaign can be activated.
We strive to get interested charities up and running with their campaigns as quickly as possible, and so as long as we have 2-weeks’ notice, you’ll be good to go!
TL;DR:
- In a world where charities compete for attention, text-to-donate technology offers a powerful tool to stand out and make a difference.
- A compelling campaign can maximize your reach, and with a quick set-up, no app required, and a low monthly commitment, the design is straightforward.
- You can reach a broader audience and make a more significant impact by leveraging various features to make your campaign unique, such as emojis, recurring giving, and multilingual capabilities.
- Whether you are a small grassroots organization or a large national organization, text-to-donate can help you achieve your fundraising goals.
- Don’t wait any longer. Take advantage of this game-changing tool and watch your impact grow. As the saying goes, “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can change the world.”
Did we miss any questions or curiosities you might have? Leave a comment, and we will answer in our future blog post.
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A Special Thank You to MGFC’s Amazing Partners
MGFC can provide only Canada’s only carrier-billed Text-to-donate platform due to its incredible partner network—a special thanks to all our delivery, technology, and strategic partners that make what we do possible.
Carrier Partners: BCE Inc. (Bell Mobility, Bell MTS, PC Mobile, Virgin Plus, Lucky Mobile), Eastlink, Shaw Communications (Freedom Mobile, Shaw Mobile), Rogers (Chatr, Fido), Tbaytel, TELUS (Koodo), Videotron (Fizz).
Technology Partners: ICF Next, Bandsintown, AWS, and Dirox.
Executive Partner: The Canadian Telecommunications Association.
U.S. Partner: The Mobile Giving Foundation is the sister organization to MGFC and shares technology resources.
Strategy Partners: designACE This blog was written in partnership with Andrew Edwards and Christine Reynolds, designACE.