This last Sunday, I attended a church I had never visited before. Besides a great worship service and an awesome kids program, one of the things I noticed was they just launched an easy way to give to their church. All I had to do was text with the amount I wanted to give to their secure giving number 615-zzz-zzzz. Since it was my first time giving, I received a link on my iPhone to register my credit or debit card on a secure browser. This only took a minute to complete and only happens the first time. Once I completed the short registration, my donation was on its way. In the future, I can give with a single text and even set up recurring and designated gifts. I contacted the folks at Kindred, the mobile service provider used by this church, and they said their service works for any non-profit, not just churches. Their pricing is very affordable ranging from $45 to $120 a month. If you’re ready for a more robust, yet still easy to use, mobile provider that empowers giving, event registration and ticketing, volunteer recruiting, social media donations, surveys, membership sign-ups, etc. – all via smartphone, tablets, or desktop, then consider MobileCause. Our experience with them on behalf of our clients has been fabulous, but they are definitely pricier. Their all-in fees range from $2,500 – $15,000 for a year contract. Neither of these services require IT involvement to set-up or manage and are up and going in no time (Kindred in 10 minutes, MobileCause in a couple of days). While I’ve focused on the mobile-only channel, there are also CRM’s that manage your donor base and provide mobile services as an add-on like Kindful, eTapestry, and Salesforce for Non-Profits. Finally, there are crowd funding solutions that provide mobile giving integrated into their programs such as Razoo, Crowdrise, Causes, and Kickstarter. A larger list is found at CrowdCrux. With two thirds of all U.S. adults carrying smartphones with them at all times and with new inexpensive mobile providers coming online everyday, there is no excuse for not integrating the mobile channel into your fundraising mix. Comment about how you’re using mobile in your fundraising mix. MobileCause Infographic (free with registration) Some mobile giving service providers to check out: Textify Mobile PushPay Qgiv
