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The almost universal presence of the mobile phone is making it a powerful tool for the nonprofits looking for innovative ways to reach out to potential donors. The power of the mobile phone for an organization lies in the fact that it enables a direct reach to the individual, unlike a website or a banner advertisement.

Interestingly, MIT has launched a new graduate level seminar on the use of “Mobile Phone technologies for social change.” The blog MobileActive.org says this is the first ever course with a dedicated focus on the use of mobile phone for social causes.

Fund-raising tool
Text Messaging for fund-raising attained a new dimension recently with Red Cross managing to raise over $30 million via text donations, representing over 10% of the total funds raised. That has made text messaging the new buzzword in the nonprofit circles, and created new and exciting possibilities to mobilize funds. Several nonprofits are upgrading their existing database of donors’ mobile phones to reach out to them more personally.

Communicating the situation in real time
Large donors have a tendency to wait for the reports from the aid agencies for any kind of community requirements or even emergencies. With text messaging, the nonprofit is able to keep the donors regularly informed of the needs and the current situation. In conditions of emergency, the mobile phone acts like a hotline between the donor and the nonprofit.

Improved Accountability
The donors have the right to know how their funds are being utilized. Till now, most donors have had to remain content with the reporting from the nonprofit only, and with no direct access to the actual beneficiaries. This is changing with the extensive availability of mobile phones. Almost 75 percent of the world’s mobile phones belong to the developing world, which makes this a viable proposition. For instance, an international nonprofit Global Giving has allowed the beneficiaries of a project to text message directly to the donors regarding any issues or feedback.

Value addition to the nonprofit
Many nonprofits communicate with their donors through middlemen for raising funds. That takes away a percentage of the funds to cover the costs of the middleman. The mobile phone text messaging has the potential to remove the intermediaries and establish a direct connection between the donor and the nonprofit.

Donors’ feedback
Listening to the donors is a crucial part of a nonprofit’s responsibilities. Text messaging makes it easy for the potential and existing donors to reach out to the nonprofit directly with their queries, concerns and feedback on the nonprofit’s activities. The simplicity of the procedure induces more frequent communication, and strengthens the connection between the donor and the nonprofit.