Getting Started With Mobile Fundraising - Top Strategies & Tips

Mobile fundraising is a must-have strategy for any nonprofit organization that wants to stay relevant in 2021 and beyond. In fact, according to statistics, mobile fundraising already accounted for more than 20% of donations that were made online in 2017, and this was three years ago. 

More recent findings tell us that the number of transactions completed via mobile has increased by 50% year on year. And, half of all website traffic to non-profit pages came from mobiles and tablets. But, at the same time, desktop-based traffic decreased by 9% over the previous year.

The key takeaway here is that there is a need to develop fundraising strategies for mobile specifically. 

Top Strategies and Tips for Mobile Fundraising in 2021 and Beyond

Here are a few things to bear in mind when your nonprofit or charity organization considers its mobile approach in the year to come. 

Texting Is A Great Way to Rope in New Donors 

People want donating to be simple. As soon as the process becomes too complicated, they are likely to change their minds. This is why text-to-donate campaigns are so effective at roping in new donors. 

Granted, many of these contributions may be once-off. But, in the end, a donation is a donation and every drop serves to fill the metaphorical bucket. 

A few benefits of text-to-donate campaigns include: 

It’s easy to set up

Much like virtual auctions, text-to-donate campaigns are very simple to set up thanks to the technology available to the nonprofit sector these days. You simply need to set up a donation page that is mobile responsive, find suitable promotional avenues, and collect donations. 

Pledge texting works by means of a phone number that prospective donors can text with a given keyword. So, it's important that the platform is bug-free. Otherwise, they may bounce due to an error message when they make the effort. 

Funds are available more quickly 

Because you don't need to receive funds from wireless carriers when you use this type of donation platform, the funds process a lot faster. This means that they become available to your nonprofit or charity organization much quicker. 

As such, this approach is ideal when there is an emergency that requires on-the-fly fundraising outside of your normal year-on-year strategy. 

TOP TIP: 

Combine a text-to-donate campaign with radio exposure for best results. First-time donors often respond to a call to action of this kind while they are sitting in traffic or elsewhere engaged with the radio on in the background. 

Keep the following in mind when rolling out a text-to-donate campaign: 

1. Your short code should be simple and easy to remember. 
2. Forms should be short and simple to fill out. 
3. Instructions on how to donate should be clear and concise. 
4. There should ideally be alternative donation options available if donors are not mobile savvy or don't have access to a smartphone. 
5. Remember to thank your mobile benefactors!
6. Keep track of your metrics to see whether your approach was successful and implement findings in your next campaign. 

Your Website and Social Pages Have To Be Responsive

When it comes to the IoT (internet of things), the term ‘responsive’ refers to platforms that adapt to be perfectly legible when viewed on different devices, i.e. desktop, tablet, and/or mobile. For instance, when you scroll through a site on your phone, you don’t want to battle to find text in between huge pictures that were meant to be viewed on a desktop computer. 

Fortunately, even the most affordable website templates are responsive these days. But, it does help to rope in a talented web designer and UX (user experience) professional when you consider the useability of your website and social pages. 

Here are a few important things that should be in place: 

1. Your site should load quickly no matter which platform is being used. Slow sites lead to high bounce rates. 
2. Your call to action should be front and center. When people come to your site, they should be able to figure out how they can donate quickly and effortlessly. 
3. The content on your site should be in a font that is clear and easy to read. While pretty fonts look great on printed materials, fonts that work well on websites are normally very simple and not too frilly. 
4. Choose your images with care to enhance your messaging. Pictures add to the loading time of a website, so every image you add should have a very clear purpose. Invest in professional pictures or high-res stock imagery rather than using blurry cell phone snaps whenever possible. 

TOP TIP: 

If you really want to get a feel for what users experience when they visit your online platforms, try it out yourself. Open your nonprofit’s site on desktop, mobile, and tablet to see how well it reads, whether you can donate with ease, etc. It’s all well and good to get the UX expert in, but sometimes you just have to take it for a ‘test drive’ yourself to see where potential hiccups could arise. 

Consider an App for Optimal Conversion

Mobile apps make it easier for prospective and repeat benefactors to donate to your cause from their mobiles. Nonprofits like the Salvation Army have used this to their benefit with great effect. 

There are various ways to get in on the app action. You can either sign up your charity to be listed on an aggregator platform.

Alternatively, you can develop your own app. There are app builder platforms with cost-effective templates available or you can partner with an app development company to create your own from scratch. 

Conclusion

Mobile fundraising is a very effective strategy that can help charities of all shapes and sizes to grow their donor base to generate more funds.

Consider a text-to-donate campaign to uncover new benefactor avenues. Check that your website and social media platforms are responsive for use on mobile, and look into the option of leveraging the useability of an app. This will ensure that your donors can reach you from all angles and you will be able to get the most out of your fundraising efforts.