How can nonprofits use SMS? Uncover the basics of a text-to-give campaign for non-profit organizations that will make getting donations more seamless.
In this blog post we’ll walk through the basics of a text to give campaign for non-profit organizations. We’ll discuss what it is, why you should be using it and how to get it setup (without having to give away a percentage of your donations).
Fundraising is the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations. Without the donations of your supporters, you cannot continue to support your cause. According to Charity Navigator, in 2017 over $410.02 billion was donated in the United States, with 70% of that coming from individual donors.
As people increase their use of mobile phones, there is a decrease in the use of desktop computers and email.
According to recent studies, text messages are opened in less than 90 seconds, and opened 5 times more frequently than email. Because of this, it’s important for non-profit organizations to create a contribution source like a text to donate campaign.
In this tutorial, we’ll walk through how to create a Text to Give campaign using the bulk text messaging software from Sakari.
Create your Sakari Account. If you don’t already have one, you can sign up for free here: https://sakari.io/signup/
When creating your message, you have the choice of either send each contact the same message without any personalization, or you can personalize each message using wildcard fields.
Using the wildcard option, your contacts data is automatically inserted in to each message based on a message template that has been predefined.
Here is an example message template of each type:
“Hello thank you for supporting the Northwest Animal Fund last year. It would be great if you continue your support this year, please click here to donate: [www.website.com]“
“Hi [FirstName] thank you for supporting the Northwest Animal Fund with your donation in [DonationMonth] last year. It would be great if you continue your support this year, please click here to donate: [www.website.com]“
Messages are sent using a campaign. When creating a new campaign, you have three different options to select when your message will be sent. We recommend using one of the first two options.
Your message can be sent instantly using the “Manual” method, or scheduled for future delivery using the “Schedule” option.
On the settings page of both Manual and Scheduled campaigns you’ll be able to filter who will receive the message, what message is sent and if you want an emailed report with delivery statistics of your distribution.
Click “Save” and your campaign is setup. When the messages are triggered for delivery, thousands of text messages will be sent to your selected contacts, wherever they are.
After your messages have been sent you can track responses and respond in real-time in the Sakari conversation tracker. Overall message statistics can also be tracked to see what has been delivered.
That’s it! Your text messages will go out instantly directly to your contacts.
Ready to transform the way you communicate with your customers? Start your 14-day free trial with Sakari today and experience the power of seamless SMS messaging at your fingertips.
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