News
Archive for January, 2010
SMS charity donations: Red Cross raise $20m for Haiti Disaster
As the tragedy from last week’s earthquake in Haiti continues to unfold, the Red Cross and other relief organizations have now raised more than $20 million via text message donations. The text donations have been accelerating at a rapid rate, from $5 million last week to more than $20 million today. A huge number of people are picking up their phones to text “HAITI” to 90999, with many making mobile SMS payments for the first time.
Txtlocal.co.uk the UK’s leading supplier of mobile marketing services, have worked with numerous charities across the UK to raise thousands for good causes. SMS can work in a variety of ways for charitable organisations, whether it’s to receive text donations, obtain bids for auctions or just keep fundraisers informed of the latest information; text represents the easiest way to fulfil these for both the charity and the fundraisers.
Alastair Shortland (Txtlocal, technical director) comments “For charities it’s all about reducing the barrier to donating, making it as easy as possible for people to give and then reducing the administration once the money is collected. Text is by far the easiest, fastest and most convenient way to raise multiple small donations. It can be done from wherever donors are, whenever they wish and requires no cash handling/counting and banking, plus donors do not need to input their bank details, write a cheque or visit a bank. It’s all so simple and straightforward”
Alastair continues “It also represents an extremely safe and secure way for fundraisers to raise money. There are none of the associated security risks of collecting cash, no money handling/counting plus the donor can be sure the donation goes directly to their intended charity.”
The recent Comic Relief Kilimanjaro Climb 2009, relied heavily on donors texting CLIMB to 88808 to raise money for the celebrity Kilimanjaro climb. A massive £1.5 million was raised in support of the cause with the vast majority coming from text donations.
Worcester based charity St Richard’s Hospice, recently used Txtlocals SMS Short Code service to raise over £1000 for a charity event. The fundraising event involved a St Richards employee having her hair shaved off in front of a rugby crowd. Spectators were encouraged to make a text donation of £3.00 directly from their mobile phones to contribute to the cause.
Tricia Cavell, fundraising manager at St Richards described the results from their SMS campaigns as excellent “The text service provides the best option for collecting funds on the day. The service makes it easy for people to make an instant donation by simply sending a text message.”
Cavell continues “We have had excellent results from our SMS campaigns.”
How can SMS help your Charity?
Donations – Supporters can text donations directly from their mobile, paid via their phone bill or credit stored on the phone.
Raise Money Interactively – text can be used for potential donors to bid on auctions/reverse auctions or register their interest for forthcoming events
News and Notifications – SMS is easily used to thank attendees for coming to charity events and let them know how much was raised. It can also be used to remind fundraisers of collection dates for pledged/outstanding donations and remind them of entry dates for forthcoming events.
If you’re a charity and wish to get started with an SMS campaign you can do so instantly. Simply sign up at www.txtlocal.co.uk now. Our simple, user-friendly dashboard guides you through the whole process and we’ll even give you 10 FREE credits.
Text to the Rescue in Snowy Conditions
Online SMS text services have provided a vital communication tool for thousands of Schools and Businesses forced to close with little warning during the treacherous snow conditions this week. SMS services such as www.txtlocal.co.uk proved crucial in keeping parents and workers notified of closures in advance.
Morpeth Newminster School in Northumbria was forced to close due to the bad weather. Head Teacher Paul Lawrence, needed to contact over 600 parents to notify them that the School was closed and text proved vital in helping reach parents quickly.
‘Txtlocal provide a vital service for sending emergency messages. I’m about to send another 600 texts to staff and parents to let them know that we are closed for the rest of the week!’
Jo Kavakeb, of Squirrel Day Nurseries, also found text useful in notifying parents and staff about nursery opening and closing times.
‘We have used Txtlocal’s SMS service this week with great success. Text is the ideal way to quickly and efficiently inform parents and staff about opening and closing times during this period of adverse weather conditions.’
Recent findings from an independent survey conducted by Populus (2008) found that more than two thirds (68%) of parents wanted their Childs school to use SMS text communication more frequently to inform them about important issues relating to the School.
Txtlocal provide a FREE inbound text system, which enables parents to opt-in to receive text alerts from their Child’s School about matters such as parent’s evening dates, dinner money reminders and even personal texts about good or bad behaviour. Parents can also use the inbound text service to inform the School about their Child’s absence.
The snowy conditions also lead to an influx of small businesses, clubs and community centres signing up to use their service to notify staff about closures and meeting cancellations.
Slimming World, Stockport, use text to contact members and tell them about class cancellations. Consultant Steve Mosby says ‘Sending a text is very personal and this is important. Most of our members have now opted in for text communication about news, events and class cancellations; it’s perfect for instant communication.’
SMS messaging has been used for many years by organisations to send instant SMS marketing promotions and alerts. However, recently it has been used more frequently in emergency situations, as businesses recognise its value in reaching large audiences quickly and efficiently.
Txtlocal MD Darren Daws, describes SMS as the perfect tool for emergency alerts stating “We have had great feedback from customers who use our service for emergency alerts.”
Daws continues ‘We work with golf clubs notifying members that the course is closed due to rain, Schools notifying parents about snow and swine flu closures as well as travel companies notifying passengers about flight cancellations. Text is simply the ideal instant messaging tool, it’s so easy to reach thousands of people instantly with a quick text.’