Three Ways to Recruit Donors for a Mobile Campaign

By Jenifer Snyder, Esq.  Executive Director at the mGive Foundation

You think of mobile and text donations and probably one of the next things to pop into your mind are hurricanes or earthquakes.  After all, mobile has made powerful impact in raising money quickly in the aftermath of horrific natural disasters.

Good news:  you don’t need a hurricane to do mobile.

But you do need a way to get started – and it fortunately doesn’t involve going to weather.com and searching for meteorological opportunities or for the ground to go all Carole King on you (“I feel the Earth move, under my feet…”). 

First, though, just in case you’re wondering “why mobile” let me share just one fact with you:  Text messages are read 97 percent of the time.  So if you want your messages to be heard, you need mobile. 

Here are three proven methods for recruiting mobile donors.

Mobile Website Recruiting

Ask for a mobile number on the form on your website where you collect all of your supporter’s information (name, address, etc.), as in these two examples:

While that may sound like it’s from the Dept. of Duh!, asking for a mobile number on your website is 1) effective and 2) not done as often as you might think.  During a recent webinar hosted by mGive, we asked nonprofit participants if they collected mobile numbers on their websites.   Only 38 percent said yes, 38 percent said no and the rest didn’t know.  Yet our data show that collecting a mobile number on your website is the most successful way you can collect mobile numbers and begin building a strong mobile community.

You can also put a widget right on your home page to collect mobile numbers, to give more prominence to your recruitment efforts. 

Mobile Email Recruiting

Mobile has the power to raise the dead.  At least that’s what Eastern Washington University found when they sent an email to a previously unresponsive list of long-dormant alumni.  They had all but given up on getting a response from anyone on this list -- until they emailed it and asked the missing alumni to opt-in to their mobile network.  Four-hundred signed up.  And this from a list of donors who hadn’t responded to telemarketing or any previous email appeal.  Mobile recruitment by email works. 

One advantage of email recruitment is that you can send the email to targeted segments and tailor your message accordingly.  For example, if you are focusing on an older demographic you may want to focus some of your messaging to address privacy and security issues that may be more of concern for this age group.    If you’re recruiting members based on a specific issue within your overall mission you can build messages around that topic.

Here’s more information about how to use email to recruit for mobile.

Event Recruiting

There are several methods you can use to recruit donors into your mobile network at events.   You can ask attendees to use their mobile phones to respond to a polling question (or questions) by announcing this throughout the event (and then go back later and ask respondents to opt-in to your mobile network).  Perhaps you could offer a sweepstakes contest for all those who participate.  Or be more straightforward – have mobile signup forms at event registration tables.  You can also have volunteers serve as mobile network brand ambassadors walking through the event to get signups, as well as promote opt-ins through signage and announcements from the stage or dais.

Once you’ve collected a mobile number you need to ask supporters to opt-in to your mobile network.  Provide a link to your terms and conditions and let them know how many text messages they can expect per month from you and how to stop (opt-out) if they wish.  These are wireless carrier requirements – and good manners.

These mobile recruitment tactics work.  The Defenders of Wildlife, for example, added a request for mobile numbers to one its advocacy campaigns (in a drive fro online petitions) and 84 percent of those who joined Defenders’ mobile network in this way went on to make a mobile donation (with 40 percent donating more than once).

Don’t wait for a crisis like a hurricane or earthquake to start recruiting for mobile.  Take advantage of these recruitment methods and you’ll be well on your way.

For more information about the basics of mobile fundraising and engagement, check out our mobile FAQs.    Or just ask!

Register here to join us June 4 at 10AM for a webinar on mobile giving with mGive.  

About the author: As Executive Director of The mGive Foundation, Jenifer is dedicated to expanding the scope and reach of the mobile channel for social good. She brings years of leadership experience in the mobile industry to the position. Previously, Jenifer was a founder and General Counsel for 9 Squared, Inc., a mobile content and services company subsequently acquired by the Zed Group. She left Zed in 2007 and started building the mobile channel for social and charitable effort, later forming The mGive Foundation.