Statistical data

Not available. There are no in depth quantitative nor qualitatuive reports concerning SMS/mobile giving in Poland, so unfortunately we are not able to say, how many Polish NGOs use these fundraising methods and with what results. 

Case study

• #SOSNepal 

• Akcja SMS „Zielone drzwi” (SMS Action ‘Green Doors”)

Q&A

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• What to do, if my organisation wants to start a charity SMS campaign?

Follow this step by step guide http://poradnik.ngo.pl/smsy-charytatywne.

Statistical data

Case study

Title: Give the Gift of Life

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Short Description: the campaign is meant to ensure funding for building a Paediatric Hospital in Bucharest, for children with cancer.

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Financial Target: 1 million euro

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Amount Raised: 560,000 euro so far (50,000 euro/month)

No.1 Learning Outcome: Monthly SMS donations as a fundraising method is a good tool to raise money for a capital campaign, provided that the organization has an outstanding reputation and an excellent media coverage.

Organization

Name: Daruieste Viata

Web: www.bursadefericire.ro

E-mail: camelia@arcromania.ro

Focus / mission: To increase the chances to survive for the Romanian cancer patients.

Campaign description

• Daruieste Viata (Give the Gift of Life) had a very good experience in 3 fundraising campaigns, using one off SMS donations. After SMS pledge became an option to fundraise in Romania, they decided to start an on-going campaign to raise money for the Paediatric Hospital.

• They make an excellent use of their reputation, making an outstanding PR campaign, involving public figures (actors, singers, media stars) that took the campaign’s message and made it public in creative ways.

• The media coverage includes: interviews in prime time TV shows, TV news, Facebook ads.

• They involve volunteers in donor care. The donors receive a welcome call after the firs donation and e-mails about the progress of the campaign. There is constant communication via Facebook about the progress of the campaign.

Target group

Romanian people with a mobile phone subscription (about 10 million people)

Campaign goals (financial and non-financial)

• raising 1 million euro for the hospital construction;

• building relationships with at least 20000

Campaign outcomes (financial and non-financial)

• 560,000 euro, so far

• a donor database, containing the contact details for more than 30,000  donors

• 43% retention rate after 12 months

• 12:1 ROI 

Milestones, turning points, key decisions

One of the milestones of the campaign was the PR push, when the campaign message was broadcasted several times in prime time TV shows.

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 In the beginning, the organization didn’t have the human resources to manage the donor database, and they decided to train volunteers to contact the donors via telephone. The volunteers are still on board and they make the difference between 43% retention rate and 36% for the NGOs that don’t do donor care.

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Learnings and takeaways

• An emotional cause (children with cancer) helps a lot in raising funds via SMS donations;

• The ambassadors help the campaign, with the proper organizational support;

• Prime time TV shows bring more donors than any other type of promotion;

• Donor care is essential for a good retention rate;

• Constant public communication about the campaign helps keeping the donors interested and committed.

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Closing notes

SMS pledge donation is a simple and effective fundraising method with an extraordinary ROI.

It is a method that works best for NGOs with excellent media relations and an emotional cause.

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Q&A

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1. What are the first steps in preparing an SMS pledge campaign?
   There are 3 very important steps when preparing an SMS pledge campaign: make sure you will have unpaid media coverage for your cause, make sure you have an emotional fundraising message and make sure you have the resources for the donor care (at least one person to deal with questions and complaints from the donors)

2. Should I pay for the media coverage?
   No. The ROI of SMS donations campaign is excellent only if you can get unpaid media coverage. Otherwise, the campaign gets too expensive.

3. Do the ambassadors help?
   Yes, if you are very specific in the actions you want them to do and in the message you want them to send out.

4. Should I invest in an on-line campaign?
   Our recommendation is to use only the organic reach of your social media pages. This doesn’t mean not to use social media for your campaign. You should often post relevant information and you should engage your friends and supporters all the time.