Vodafone charity sector drives new text donation service

Vodafone charity sector research drives new text donation service

• 90% of Vodafone customers are expected to have a smartphone by 2015

• The public are confident in using their mobile for payments (in 2013 worldwide mobile payment transaction values was estimated to reach over $235 billion)

• 96% of New Zealand charities surveyed see text donation as a key opportunity for future campaigns

• More than 50% of New Zealand charities surveyed see cost as a barrier to adopting text donation services

Kiwis are some of the most generous people in the world, and now, making donations to their favourite New Zealand charities via a simple text is easier, thanks to a service launched today by the Vodafone New Zealand Foundation in partnership with FundraiseOnline – TXT2Give.

TXT2Give will enable New Zealand charities to incorporate text donations into their fundraising campaigns to easily and cost-effectively receive donations via text message.

Vodafone Research* into text fundraising shows 96 per cent of New Zealand charities surveyed see text donations as a key opportunity – but until now, many have seen the set-up cost as a major barrier.

Vodafone CEO, Russell Stanners says Vodafone has worked closely with the charity sector to develop an affordable service to support New Zealand charities.

“TXT2Give is the only low cost text donation service on the market, and will make fundraising easier. We understand that fundraising is hard work, and believe technology such as text can simplify the process.”

Vodafone has produced a white paper, Text Fundraising in New Zealand, pulling together learnings from the UK and New Zealand markets. The study shows text fundraising can open the door to a new set of donors. It works best when integrated into an overall fundraising plan, and is most useful when there is a sense of urgency in the campaign.

The New Zealand launch of TXT2Give follows Vodafone UK’s successful launch of JustTextGiving in 2011, which has since helped more than 18,000 UK charities raise more than $20 million. Vodafone has used this experience and its knowledge of both markets to refine and develop a service to address local needs.

New Zealand charities will now be able to reap the same benefits. “While traditional methods of fundraising, such as events and annual appeals, still prove effective, we found mobile phones are having a huge impact for charities globally,” Stanners adds.

Patrick Cummings, General Manager of Fundraising at the New Zealand Red Cross says they’re excited by the new service.

“We have already used text successfully for our Red Alert appeal to support people affected by the Christchurch earthquakes. Vodafone customers donated a total of $740,000 after the 2010 and 2011 quakes – and we see huge potential for this new low cost option.”

New Zealand charities register with FundraiseOnline for a monthly fee, and pay a 5% transaction fee per text. Vodafone receives no payment or commission for the service.

For more information, visit www.vodafone.co.nz/txt2give.

Download a copy of Text Fundraising in New Zealand from the Vodafone Foundation website – www.foundation.vodafone.co.nz/ – to learn more about text donation and other fundraising trends.

ENDS

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