Haiti mobile giving may spark surge in SMS contributions

Mobile giving isn’t a new application, but in the last week the industry has watched it emerge from the shadows to become a multi-million force.

Since an earthquake devastated Haiti, US mobile subscribers have pledged more than $25 million in relief to the American Red Cross and other non-profit aid organizations—all from their mobile phones. Now that the idea of SMS charitable giving is firmly planted in the American mind, Mobile Giving Foundation CEO Jim Manis believes that it is here to stay.

“In three days we’ve raised more than we have in our entire history,” Manis said. “I think what you’re witnessing this week is the changing face of philanthropy.”

Using short codes for charitable contributions is not a new concept. The technology and the infrastructure have been in place at least since the 2004 Asian tsunami devastated coastal regions throughout Southeast Asia. Millions in donations flowed from American wallets after that crisis, but few came via text message: only $200,000. Eighteen months later, a disaster closer to home saw a dramatic increase in mobile-driven charity, doubling the number to $400,000, but those levels are still nothing compared to what Mobile Giving has seen this week.

Manis, a former senior vice president at premium SMS aggregator m-Qube who left after it was acquired by VeriSign, said the huge spike in mobile giving after the Haiti earthquake represents a confluence of multiple factors. First off, a mature mobile giving infrastructure is finally in place. Organizations such as the Mobile Giving Foundation and mGive have integrated directly with all of the US mobile operators and signed up charities across the board, allowing them to not only receive contributions by text, but to set up immediate short code accounts to channel money to specific efforts. Within hours of the earthquake disaster, multiple charities were able to accept mobile donations directly for Haiti relief efforts.

Consumers also are now far more comfortable with the mobile phone as a means for initiating and completing a monetary transaction, and other venues such as reality TV shows have accustomed a whole generation of Americans to person-to-application text messaging through short code voting. All of these have served to raise awareness among Americans about the possibilities for mobile charitable giving, Manis said.

“Consumers know they have a new channel available to them to help immediately after a disaster occurs, one that allows to them to act on their immediate emotion,” Manis said.

Though Haiti triggered the first big boom in mobile giving, Manis said the repercussions will be felt long afterwards. The same emotional draw that led millions of Americans to immediately pledge their support to Haiti support could be tapped in non-disaster situations. TV Public service announcements and outdoor advertisements can point people directly to short codes rather than have them call hotlines or enter a URL in a Web browser. The simplicity and ease of the transaction could promote a huge spike in charitable giving overall, Manis said.