Text donations for Haiti a big success

Donations texted by mobile phones to charities working in Haiti likely represent a "watershed" moment in fundraising, according to a charity spokesman — although it isn't without glitches.

The Salvation Army Canada has raised $120,000 via mobile texts since Thursday, accounting for nearly 10 per cent of the charity's total amount raised for its Haiti campaign since last Tuesday's devastating earthquake, said national spokesman Andrew Burditt.

Plan Canada has raised about $3,000 via text messaging, while World Vision Canada has raised $1,600, since launching the service on the weekend.

"It's been a watershed moment in fundraising," said T.J. Grant, the youth marketing manager for World Vision Canada.

"The immediacy of mobile giving [is because] people can just pull out their cellphone," said Grant, contrasting it with other donation methods that may involve more steps. With those, he said, "every extra step, there's an opportunity to change your mind [and not donate.]"

"This is just literally in its infancy in Canada," said Plan Canada spokesman Steven Theobald. "For us, it's a great way to engage younger people. They get intimidated by seeing ads in newspapers asking you to check off boxes to donate $100."

With so many Canadians using cellphones to make donations, the system has bogged down, bringing about some unexpected problems. Chiefly, some people are forgetting to complete the second part of the mobile donation process, said the Salvation Army's Burditt.

A mobile donation takes two steps. The customer texts in the code to make a donation. They then receive an email asking them to confirm their donation. They must reply to the email to confirm the donation.

Normally, the confirmation email comes within seconds of the initial text but these days it's taking so long that people are closing their cellphones and forgetting about the confirmation.

"The system is a little slow. They just have to wait for that text and reply, 'Yes,'" said Burditt. He couldn't say exactly how many mobile donations are incomplete, just that the charity can see many texts have been initiated but not finished.

Burditt called the issue a "good problem," since it shows "there are so many people trying to donate."

The Salvation Army only began using mobile fundraising during its Christmas campaign.

"We're very happy. This is something that is very new. We didn't know how it would go," said Burditt. "I'd like to think we're reaching a generation that's younger."

Through a system set up by the Mobile Giving Foundation — which was created by Canada's largest wireless companies in September — cellphone users can send donations of $5 to:

* Salvation Army Canada by texting the word "Haiti" to 45678.
* Plan Canada by texting "Haiti" to 30333.
* World Vision by texting the word "world" to 45678.

Donations may be delayed by up to 30 days

There can also be a delay between the time a mobile donation is made and the time it reaches the charity.

According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, texted donations may not reach the intended charity for up to 30 days because of the normal billing cycles of Bell, Rogers and other wireless carriers.

But that's no reason not to donate by cellphone, said association spokesman Marc Choma.

"Charities are going to need that money and it doesn't matter whether [the delay] is 30 days or 60 days because it's going to be years that these charities are going to be depending on the generosity of Canadians," said Choma.

"I don't want anyone to think that, 'well, my money's not going to get there tomorrow so it's not going to do any good.' That simply is not true."

Choma suspects many of the texted donations would likely never have been sent but for the fact that people could do it so easily.

"A lot of people, they're not going to drop into a charitable organization's office, they're not going to make a trip to a bank to make a donation of $5 if that's all that they have, but they are going to do it through their phone because it's easy and it is a small amount that they can give," he said.

The Salvation Army said the average mobile donation is $5.

On the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported some texted donations in the U.S. may not reach charities for up to three months because many wireless firms won't advance the money until the bill has been paid.

In Canada, the situation is a little different, said Choma.

Texted donations are not sent on an individual basis once they've been paid for. Instead, texted donations are remitted to the charity once a month en mass through the Mobile Giving Foundation.

saw this on PBS

the donation is delayed until the customer pays the bill but most of the phone carriers have pledged to advance the money to Haiti immediately

I imagine it's a matter of hours before the scammers get in on it so if you do text a donation to Haiti make sure its a reputable charity

The Chronicle of Philanthropy estimates that donations to earthquake-ravaged Haiti now exceed a record-breaking $150 million, more than 4 times the amount given to tsunami relief efforts in 2004.

Social networking sites like Facebook and mobile phone technology have made it easier for charities like the American Red Cross -- which has raised $12 million via text message alone -- to raise these needed funds.

However, The Chronicle raises the concern that donor fatigue may soon be around the corner: "Now that people have donated so much so fast, the slow rescue and recovery process may discourage them from future giving. The danger is that today's donors will turn back to their own financial woes rather than sustain a long-term commitment to the efforts in Haiti."

-USA TODAY

I'm texting my donation. My child is using their own money to do it too.