Launching an SMS Fundraising Strategy: A Nonprofit FAQ Guide

Your nonprofit’s donors are busy people. They may be passionate about your mission, but lose sight of it in the hustle and bustle of their daily lives. That’s why providing a smooth and hassle-free donation process is so important.

If giving to your nonprofit takes only a few minutes and clicks, more people will likely find the time and motivation to do so. More and more organizations are turning to SMS (text messaging) precisely due to its simplicity and convenience. After all, with the average American spending over five hours a day on their phone, why not make donating as easy as a text?

If your nonprofit is new to text fundraising, you may be wondering how it can fit into your fundraising strategy. Let’s walk through some frequently asked questions to help you set your SMS strategy up for success.

While the term “SMS fundraising” seems relatively self-explanatory, it involves more than simply asking donors to text your nonprofit and send some funds over.

The technical details can vary depending on the provider you choose, but the basic text fundraising process generally involves these key steps:

1. Set-up: Launching your SMS fundraising program begins with choosing the right platform, securing a short code, and building your subscriber list through opt-in strategies that comply with regulations.
2. Marketing: Once your SMS program is live, it’s time to spread the word. Promote your text messages across email, social media, events, and your website to grow your list and build awareness.
3. Engagement: With subscribers on board, keep them engaged through timely, personalized messages—updates, stories, and impact-driven content that strengthen their connection to your cause.
4. Donation: When trust and interest are high, send a compelling text donation appeal with a clear call to action. Your donors might be ready to give before you even realize they are. Make it easy by linking directly to a mobile-optimized donation form in your texts.

SMS is flexible enough to enhance almost any fundraising idea, from charity runs to peer-to-peer campaigns. Once your team understands how mobile giving works, you can start brainstorming how it can help support your nonprofit’s specific goals.

Text messaging is a powerful way to engage your audience, strengthen their connection to your nonprofit, and secure more donations for your mission. However, before you can tap into the full potential of this channel, you must build a text contact list. To do so, share your nonprofit’s short code and encourage people to get in touch.

Growing your SMS text subscriber list starts with making it easy—and enticing—for supporters to opt in. Try these three proven strategies to build a strong mobile audience:

1. Use multichannel marketing: Maximize your campaign’s reach by promoting your SMS program across all your channels—from your website and social media to email newsletters and in-person events. At live events, include a QR code on printed materials so supporters can scan and subscribe in seconds.
2. Add text opt-in options to online forms: Make opting in as natural to a supporter as signing up for emails. Whether it’s a donation form, event registration, or volunteer sign-up, embed an SMS opt-in checkbox to capture interest at key engagement points when supporters are most motivated.
3. Provide incentives for signing up: Give supporters a reason to subscribe. Offer exclusive updates, early access to event tickets, or even a small giveaway to make joining your text list feel rewarding and valuable.

Since text messaging is a highly personal form of communication, your organization must follow some rules when using this channel. Specifically, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) protects phone users from receiving unwanted texts or calls.

While these regulations are less restrictive for nonprofits than businesses, they still apply. To avoid fines or penalties, only contact individuals who have explicitly opted in and provide subscribers with an easy way to opt out of your nonprofit’s messages (such as a “STOP2END” instruction at the end of every text).

To manage a smooth and streamlined mobile giving process, find a nonprofit text messaging service with dedicated tools for engaging text subscribers and securing mobile donations.

Get the most out of your SMS fundraising efforts by choosing a platform that offers robust features designed to drive efficiency, engagement, and results. Make sure you look for these essential capabilities:

• Automation: Save time and scale your impact with automated message flows. From welcome texts to donation reminders and thank-you messages, automation ensures timely outreach without manual work.
• Personalization: Send highly tailored messages by segmenting your contact list based on characteristics like subscription date, average gift amount, location, or interests. Personalized texts make supporters feel seen and appreciated—boosting response rates, recurring giving, and overall generosity.
• Integrations: Ensure your SMS platform integrates seamlessly with your CRM, donation tools, and email system. The more connected your systems are, the easier it is to create cohesive campaigns and track supporter activity in one place.
• Reporting: Data is key to refining your strategy. Look for detailed reporting on open rates, click-throughs, conversions, and donation outcomes so you can measure impact, optimize future messages, and prove ROI.

Additionally, some advanced texting platforms have more innovative features, such as AI-enhanced messaging composers and A/B testing, to refine your communication strategy over time.

When donors share information with your nonprofit, you must take dedicated steps to protect their data from breaches and unauthorized access. Doing so is crucial for building their trust, strengthening your reputation, and maintaining the support your organization needs to fulfill its mission.

Many text fundraising tools have built-in security features that safeguard subscriber privacy, such as:

• Two-factor authentication
• Secure sending
• Automated logout

Request demos of your top platform options and take the opportunity to ask security questions during each of your demos. For instance, you should ask whether the software meets SOC 2 Type II compliance requirements. Plus, according to Double the Donation, nonprofits that handle protected health information must use tools that adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). If this applies to you, verify that your platform is HIPAA compliant.

SMS fundraising is about more than simply collecting mobile donations from your community. With a thoughtful strategy, your nonprofit can turn text messaging into a powerful channel for fundraising, marketing, and donor stewardship. Be sure to follow up with your text donors by expressing your gratitude and sharing the impact of their support.

By taking advantage of the sincere and personal nature of text messaging, your nonprofit can build the connections it needs to make its mission a reality.

Mike Snusz brings 19 years of digital fundraising experience to his role as Director of Nonprofit Customer Experience at Tatango, a text messaging platform for nonprofits and political campaigns. Prior to Tatango, Mike spent 15 years at Blackbaud leading a team of digital consultants that helped nonprofits improve their online fundraising, monthly giving, email marketing and peer-to-peer fundraising programs. Mike started his nonprofit career managing the Ride For Roswell from 2003 to 2005 in his hometown of Buffalo, NY.