Aug 15, 2019

6 Tips for Texting Your Donors

givesmart_04052019_event_-1000

Text messaging is a proven way to engage with donors. Looking for a fundraising management platform that includes text-to-donate and mobile messaging? Connect with GiveSmart today.  

Text messaging is a great way to reach your donors where they are most active – on their phones. Here are stats that prove this is a fundraising strategy your nonprofit or school should be using to engage your support network.  

Looking for ways to get started? Here are tips on how to utilize text messaging during your fundraising event to increase donations: 

Keep it short and simple

You don’t want donors to take their attention away from your carefully planned program to read your text message; make it short and easy to read so that your donor can spend just a few seconds reading and your message will be properly conveyed.

Create inspiring calls-to-action

In your messaging, tell your donors what you want them to do and make it easy for them to complete that action by including a link. Most of your donors will have cell phones, so accessing a link on their phone will be simple and lead them to your pre-prepared web material.

Use urgency and FOMO

Compel your donors to do what you are asking them to do by utilizing the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) technique. Giving something an expiration date, or additional time to increase a sense of urgency to get in their final bids or donations. 

Perfect timing

Create a communications plan for the event and dedicate a volunteer or staff member to execute this plan. No matter the amount of planning behind an event, the timing will deviate so having a person send the messages instead of using an automated program will ensure the messages are delivered at the right time!

Create meaningful content

You don’t want your donors to think that your messages are spam and want to unsubscribe because they are annoyed. Make sure that you are sending content that is relevant and useful to them. For example, it matters to each attendee that the silent auctionis closing at 10:30 pm, but it may not matter to everyone that Gail GiveSmart is the winner of the rock climbing package item. 

Make it easy

If you are using text messaging to reach donors, donors should be able to give using their phones. Whether you use text-to-give, a mobile-friendly donation site, or an app, the ultimate call to action of each message should be for the donor to make a donation to your organization. The easier you make it to give, the more likely you will receive donations!

Text messaging is a proven way to engage with donors. Looking for a fundraising management platform that includes text-to-donate and mobile messaging? Connect with GiveSmart today.  

Related

GiveSmart accepts digital payments
March 28, 2024

How Accepting Digital Wallet Payments Benefits Your Nonprofit

Digital wallets, also known as e-wallets, are a secure and convenient way to allow donors...

Read More
GiveSmart 2023 Impact Report
March 20, 2024

GiveSmart 2023 Impact Report

Last year was an important one for GiveSmart customers, and we want to share the…

Read More
Fundraising event
March 15, 2024

Event Fundraising Ideas from the Experts

Feeling the pressure of the upcoming fundraising event season? You’re not alone!   Two out of…

Read More
clients-B

What our clients say

We needed a platform to make sales online and to track and display ads for our sponsors. GiveSmart was perfect. We ended up making close to $15,000 more than we had hoped for. Definite better ROI than we anticipated. The interface is easy to use and provides plenty of options to get help if needed.

Michelle M.

The Rotary Club of South Whidbey Island

Using GS has created ease in auction bookkeeping, payments, and generating post-event thank you/tax letters. While we were online during COVID, our interactions with our GiveSmart via phone, email, and zoom were seamless. A representative always got back to us within the day. I would recommend GiveSmart to anyone doing a large online event.

Julie G.

MicroFinancing Partners in Africa

GiveSmart is highly flexible - you can use it for [a] simple registration and check-in, to full-scale galas with complex order forms, onsite upsells, live auctions, seating management, and more.

Jamie F.

Hope Chest for Breast Cancer

GiveSmart is easy to use and ideal for virtual events and can be used for in-person events to manage the silent auction, seating charts, and check-in to the event. Being able to use the platform for unlimited events within the contract year is very useful and being able to add other users and volunteers for different levels of access is helpful as well.

Dawn L.

Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County