Using text messages to make donations isn’t a new concept, but few could have predicted the way this simple, innovative use of technology would explode in response to the earthquake in Haiti.
An historic $27 million had already been raised for disaster relief via text as of Monday (1/18), six days after the earthquake. Compare that to less than $500,000 total in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, or $190,000 raised by the American Red Cross Text 2HELP campaign from September to December, 2008.
The contrast with Katrina is even more startling when considering that total Katrina donations were more than double total Haiti donations over the first six days for each. Texting has accounted for more than 10% of Haiti donations. The American Red Cross has been the biggest recipient; of $112 million total raised through Monday, a staggering 15-20% came via text, with two-thirds donated online.
The effectiveness of the text campaign when combined with major media outreach was proven on a stunning level last weekend during the NFL playoffs. Frequent PSAs aired throughout all four games. The result: text donations poured in at a rate of $500,000 an hour during that time.
While the sheer amount of money raised may be a surprise, text donations reaching its tipping point is not. Consider the factors:
- A disaster of tremendous proportions commanding the world’s attention
- The ever-increasing use of texts not only for communication, but for companies to offer services
- Ease of use: Anytime, anywhere, text a short code to add the donation to your bill, no sign-in, forms or credit cards required
- Social media like Twitter and Facebook spreading the word to the same demographic most likely to adopt this technology in the first place
As with any new technology, expanding so quickly has not been without growing pains. News broke that donations could experience delays of 60-90 days in reaching its destination, as mobile carriers waited for donors to pay their bills. Almost immediately, providers announced they would fast-track the money, pledging to advance 80-100% right away.
As Haiti earthquake relief brings text donations to the mainstream, it will be exciting to see how organizations and grassroots campaigns harness this new power in the very immediate future. Also fascinating to track: How this may empower the demographic most likely to use it – the young generation who knows texting as a way of life, but may never have participated in a campaign like this before.
There’s a large, new generation ready to step up, and a whole new way for them to do so in the most simple, effective way possible.
