We’ve all witnessed the horror of the earthquake in Haiti. We’ve also seen an interesting phenomena rise out of this natural disaster. SMS text messaging has given people the power to quickly and easily donate to help organizations responding to the catastrophe.

As of January 25th, “...more than $30 million has been raised for Haiti disaster relief efforts through SMS calls to action, with the American Red Cross leading the pack of charities and non-governmental organizations working to send food, water and supplies to the ravaged Caribbean island,” wrote Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Mobile Marketer Daily. “The extraordinary numbers seen by the Red Cross’ SMS campaign to raise funds for Haiti disaster relief has caused many to realize how instrumental mobile can be in getting a message out.”

Khan pointed out that though Americans are typically generous in times of calamity, what made this event different was the “official sanction given to SMS from quarters as high as the White House to the Red Cross and Hollywood. These influencers got what is so obvious about mobile giving: speed and ease.”

The Pew Research Center noted the unprecedented use of cell phone giving, saying that of those Americans who have donated money to help Haiti, 14 percent said they gave money via text message, compared to 12 percent by telephone. Nearly 23 percent said they donated via the Web, and 5 percent did so by email. Donating in-person is still the leading way people help, with about 39 percent giving in-person, for example, through their churches.

The relief effort in Haiti has changed mobile giving, and is the largest charitable effort supported by texting by far. Jeffrey Nelson of Verizon Wireless stated, “In all of 2009, all mobile giving (via texting) to all charities totaled just under $4 million for the year.” Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, for example text message efforts raised $400,000.

Agencies with nonprofit clients should recognize the shift that is occurring following the earthquake in Haiti, and realize that mobile, particularly SMS, is a medium that makes donating easy, convenient, spontaneous and immediate. What could be a simpler way to give than texting a message to a particular number and donating $10 dollars in a matter of seconds, with the charge appearing on your next wireless bill?

The Red Cross and other organizations worked closely with wireless carriers to ensure that the campaigns were executed seamlessly and effectively. Many carriers agreed to open their networks for free to mobile giving, transferring 100 percent of the donated amounts to the Red Cross and other organizations, a truly charitable gesture that made the program more successful.

For nonprofits, the power and effectiveness of SMS goes beyond disasters to their ongoing fundraising campaigns: the possibilities are endless. Imagine your client is a college or university. What if you could set up an SMS giving program where alumni can text a code and make a donation to the annual fund? In addition, prospects can also opt-in to receive alumni and campus news sent directly to their phone.

Beyond Direct Mail?
For many non-profits, consumer and business-to-business brands alike, direct mail has long been a reliable marketing tactic. But paper, printing and postage costs make direct mail campaigns relatively expensive compared to online, email and SMS. Add that to the fact that consumers are increasingly moving to digital methods of interacting, shopping, purchasing and donating, either online, email, mobile or a combination thereof. Agencies should help their clients be where consumers are, and consumers are increasingly going wireless.

In addition, there is an immediacy to SMS that makes it different from direct mail or other traditional advertising. When consumers see an ad on TV or on a billboard, or they receive something in the mail, there is a delay in the response they can take. Perhaps they can call a phone number or send a postcard response to answer a call to action. SMS allows consumers to respond instantly, within a few minutes of seeing an advertising message. After texting a response and opting-in to the promotion, consumers can continue to interact with the brand through additional SMS messages and calls to action. This digital relationship creates brand value well beyond what a traditional direct mail campaign can deliver.

Of course, there is no denying that the SMS Haiti campaign would not have been a success without traditional marketing support, namely television and radio. Any digital campaign should be supported with cross-channel efforts.

Once you and your clients have strategic plans in place, visit the Common Short Code Registry site, and apply for a regular five- or six-digit short code for $500 per month or a vanity number for double that cost. There are 897,000 short codes available out of the total 900,000 available. In addition, a resource for nonprofit clients is the Mobile Giving Foundation, an organization that can help with mobile giving best practices.