The Mobile Fundraising Field Guide

Looking for a way to boost your fundraising efforts? Mobile fundraising uses multiple communication channels to help make donating easier, no matter where your donors are. Because of the rise in cellphone use over the past decade, allowing your supporters to give via their phones ensures that donating to your cause is accessible for different donor groups! 

For more in-depth information about mobile giving, check out the Mobile Fundraising Field Guide. You’ll get insights into the importance of mobile fundraising, learn how to tackle different types of mobile giving, and discover tried-and-true tips to help your next mobile fundraising campaign succeed! 

What is mobile giving?  

Mobile giving is a fundraising method that provides your supporters with a way to donate using their mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile fundraising utilizes apps, text messaging, mobile-optimized websites, and other technology to streamline the giving process for your supporters. 

Mobile fundraising benefits 

If you’re deciding whether mobile giving is right for your organization, check out these benefits: 

• It’s convenient. Mobile fundraising is an accessible way for your donors to contribute anytime, anywhere with just a few taps on their cellphones. 
• It helps increase donor engagement. Mobile giving helps you connect with your donors on a personal level by providing direct and interactive communication.  
• It can reach a wider audience. With the time people spend on their phones every day, you can tap into new demographics and engage with supporters who prefer mobile communication over traditional channels. 
• It promotes spontaneous giving. Mobile fundraising provides an avenue for impulsive donations, so your donors can instantly give in response to a timely appeal or during an event. 
• It works through multiple channels. You can provide mobile giving options through multiple outreach channels including social media, email, text, and more! 

By embracing mobile fundraising, your organization can leverage the increase in cellphone use to enhance donor experiences, expand your reach, and increase the impact of your fundraising efforts.  

Mobile-friendly websites  

Mobile-friendly websites are an essential tool for your mobile fundraising efforts. Your website should be responsive, simple, and easy for your donors to use! Mobile-friendly websites tend to have minimal navigation and clear donation calls to action to make it easier to find your donation page. By optimizing for mobile, you can enhance your donors’ experience when they want to make a quick and spontaneous donation away from their computer. 

You can maximize your donation page’s convenience by including simple payment processes, such as digital wallets. Using a responsive design, your website can adapt to different screen sizes to accommodate the diverse range of mobile devices. This accommodation increases accessibility, which can help expand your potential donor base by reaching supporters who prefer mobile giving.  

Learn the ins and outs of creating a mobile-friendly website in the Mobile Fundraising Field Guide! 

Mobile-optimized emails  

Mobile-optimized emails help you enhance your donors’ mobile fundraising experience. A responsive design provides a more visually appealing and user-friendly experience on cell phones and tablets, helping your donors engage with your email content anytime, anywhere. To make your design more mobile-friendly, include the important information at the top of the email. This way, your donors won’t have to scroll down to find what they need. 

Mobile-optimized emails also have higher open and click-through rates because donors are more likely to interact with well-formatted and easily digestible content that has minimal load times. To take advantage of this higher visibility, include links to your donation pages in your mobile-optimized emails to boost your mobile giving efforts. 

Check out the Mobile Fundraising Field Guide for more information on mobile-optimized emails! 

Social media  

Social media offers a plethora of advantages for mobile fundraising. Social platforms provide powerful channels to reach audiences around the globe, enabling you to connect with more potential donors. With real-time updates, engaging images and videos, and compelling storytelling, you can connect with your supporters as they’re scrolling through their social media feeds.  

Furthermore, you can also share your donation page on social media, allowing your donors to immediately give when they see a post that inspires them. Integrating social media into your mobile giving plan can help you boost your campaigns, reach, engagement, and overall success in mobile fundraising. 

Learn more about how social media can help your mobile giving campaign in the Mobile Fundraising Field Guide!

Text giving 

Text giving is a key aspect of mobile fundraising as it streamlines the donation process by allowing your supporters to contribute through text messages. This fundraising strategy makes it easy for your donors to give instantly using their mobile phones which helps you maximize spontaneous giving. Using a memorable keyword can help ensure your supporters remember what to text to make their donation or share with a friend.   

Because text fundraising is focused on making donating more accessible, it’s important to make it easy to finish the donation process with a mobile-friendly donation page and easy payment options. You can even use text giving in combination with another campaign to further boost your fundraising efforts.  

For more information on text giving, take a look at the Mobile Fundraising Field Guide!

Kiosks   

Donation kiosks play a role in mobile giving by providing a mobile donation option at in-person events. Many people don’t carry cash or checks with them anymore, so these interactive terminals offer a solution for on-site donations to make the giving process quick and accessible, even if your donors don’t have their phones on them.  

By placing your kiosks in prominent areas of your fundraising event, the kiosks can accommodate various giving preferences, increasing the convenience of giving for your donors. This fosters an interactive and engaging experience for many different donors by providing flexible fundraising options. 

Check out the Mobile Fundraising Field Guide for more information on using kiosks. 

Mobile apps 

Mobile apps for fundraising offer your organization a unique solution to mobile giving. These apps provide a user-friendly and convenient platform for your supporters to donate from their cell phones without having to go through your donation page every time. By making a donor account through a mobile giving app, your donors can manage their gifts to your organization with the click of a button.  

These mobile fundraising apps are also perfect for your recurring donors, as they can see their donation history and donation schedule all in one place! Using a mobile giving app can help you tailor your donors’ experiences to help you raise more! 

Learn more about mobile giving apps with the Mobile Fundraising Field Guide!

Final thoughts  

With technology rapidly evolving, mobile fundraising is crucial for your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts. Using the Mobile Fundraising Field Guide, your organization can take advantage of all the outreach channels available in mobile giving to expand your donor reach and engage with new and old supporters. Mobile giving simplifies the donation process while continuously fostering connections between you and your donors.