Texting One, Two, Three

Fundraising via text has become an acceptable practice in development programs, and for good reason: it works. Any nonprofit considering a texting program should understand the tools and ground rules for texting contacts and donors and should remember the principal goal: make it expedient for you to reach hundreds of supporters and prospects in a way that feels personal, drives gifts, and keeps your nonprofit on the right side of the law.

 

What Are the Types of Texting?

There are three general categories of texts:

1. Peer-to-peer (P2P) texting. Here, a nonprofit uploads its contact list, and the tool sets up each message to be sent one at a time, in sequence, with a click. The virtue of this type of texting is that it feels personal, supports back-and-forth dialogue, and avoids some of the “autodialer” pitfalls that apply to true mass text blasts. P2P is usually the sweet spot for donor and relationship outreach to a few hundred people.
2. Broadcast/mass SMS. One message goes to the nonprofit’s entire list at once. This method is fast and cheap for announcements and reminders, but it is less personal, and it is subject to stricter consent rules (more on these below).
3. Text-to-give. In this process, a supporter texts a keyword and gets a link to donate. This is a giving mechanic that layers on top of the two types above—but it is not a substitute for them. You can still text a link to your donation page via P2P or broadcast, but this method removes some of the friction by auto-populating fields.

 

What Are the Best Practices for Texting?

Texting is governed by a 1991 federal law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This law affords charities a few narrow exemptions to the rules governing marketers, but the following practical rules below still apply to fundraising texts. Be advised: the penalties for violating rules are steep:

Get Consent. Text only people who have agreed to be texted via a donation form, event sign-up, or a keyword ("Text WORD to 12345"). Prior express written consent is the safest standard, but in 2020 the FCC ruled that P2P texting systems are not subject to the cell phone call ban and do not need prior express consent.

Honor Opt-Outs. Every message must let people reply STOP, and opt-outs must be honored immediately and permanently.

Identify the Sender. State who the message is from (Organization Name) and how to reach the organization.

Respect “Quiet Hours.” Only send between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time zone.

Keep Records. Log consent dates, phone numbers, and opt-out requests. Fines run into the thousands of dollars per non-compliant text, so documentation matters.

 

Some Guides for Drafting Compelling Texts

This may seem obvious, and it is: You should write texts (never essays!) that recipients might actually respond to. Here are some tested tips:

Keep Your Text Short and Authentic. Your text should be one or two sentences, conversational, and signed by a real person at your organization.

Personalize. Your text should use the recipient’s first name and, where you can, reference how they’re connected to the mission.

One Clear Ask, One Link. Your text should point to a single, mobile-friendly donation page. Do not bury the link in a paragraph.

“Segment” Your List. A text appeal to a lapsed donor should read differently than one sent to a recent giver or to someone who has just attended an organization event.

When to Send (and Not Send). Texts sent mid-morning to early evening on weekdays tend to perform well. And please: always send inside the 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. window. (Think about it: do you want your text’s vibration to waken a sleeping donor at midnight?!)

 

Texts Aren’t Lone Wolves

Text messaging and appeals work best as one thread in an integrated push, not a stand-alone blast. When you run a fundraising campaign, the related letter, email, and text should carry the same message, the same timeline, and the same call to action so supporters see a consistent story across channels. Texting is especially effective for time-sensitive nudges such as a match deadline, a giving-day reminder, or a thank you. This helps reinforce what people are already seeing in their inbox and mailbox.

It’s worth repeating: Texting should be an integrated part of multichannel major donor outreach, prospecting, and meeting requests.

 

Don’t Be Bashful

Here is a curious irony: the people who stand to gain the most from texting are often the ones most reluctant to try it. Major gift officers and nonprofit executives frequently don’t think to text their donors at all.  When the idea does occur to them, they flinch and cry that it would be too presumptuous. The relationship feels too formal, too weighty, too dignified for something as casual as a text.

Reconsider. A well-placed text is not an intrusion on a major-donor relationship; it is a sign of one. Pepper your communications with the occasional text—a quick note ahead of a meeting, a thank you the morning a gift clears, a “thinking of you” when the news touches on something they care about—and you demonstrate that the donor is on your mind, you care, and that you regard the relationship as a close one. Given what your donor has already invested in your mission, assuming that closeness is an entirely safe assumption. So, make the assumption.

 

A Word of Caution

The very low friction that makes sending texts attractive correlates with higher lapse rates. Supporters acquired through these low-barrier channels tend to fall off faster than those who come in through traditional mail. For this reason, I still prefer direct mail for acquisition and to use the texting channel with existing donor bases, but it depends on the organization and the cause. The more targeted and specific the ask with texting, the better it tends to do, but you still need a plan to build a relationship that sticks. Strategize accordingly: Be prompt with the thank yous, the warm “second touch,” and the offering of a path into recurring giving. That way, first-time text donors will be retained, rather than lost.

 

A Program Worth Watching

For a picture of what texting can do when an organization truly commits to it, consider LifeWise Academy. LifeWise has built real revenue and a solid grassroots network on the strength of a healthy text-to-give program paired with a steady rhythm of YouTube live streams and videos. They are a great example of the payoff that awaits a nonprofit willing to treat texting as a serious, sustained part of its donor engagement. Frankly, most organizations don’t have a text-messaging program anywhere near this healthy and thus are passing on a promising opportunity.

If you’d like more advice, reach out to me at wathayde@amphil.com.

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