Over the years we’ve seen many new users come into the Txt2Give family and we’ve been excited to have every one of them. There have been some that required very little assistance from our support team and quickly received a LOT of donations. On the other hand, there have been users that have asked all of the right questions, put in the time with our support team to make sure that their account was optimized, and then… honestly, had disappointing results (by their standards, not ours). So, why is it that one organization can put seemingly no effort into their account and see huge results while other organizations really work at it and hardly see any results at all? Well, here are a few things to consider…

Knowing Your Audience (Donor base)

From the outside looking in, it’s easy to assume that because someone is new to a system, that they are new to “the game”. An organization might be completely unknown to Txt2Give, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t already spent months or years cultivating a strong donor base. That, honestly, is a big part of it. Those organizations that are successful at using Txt2Give, many times already have a very responsive group of donors – so adding Txt2Give into the mix isn’t a very big undertaking. They largely already know whether or not their donors will respond well to their new text giving option before they even sign-up.

Now, that’s not to say that brand new non-profit organizations haven’t kicked off their fundraising efforts with their handy Txt2Give account ready to go! We’ve heard those success stories as well. However, like those more established organizations, these superstars have put in the time and done the research. They understand that certain geographical, generational, and behavioral factors are at play, in regards to their fundraising efforts and have tailored their approach with consideration to those factors.

Branding

It’s great to have an easy way for your donors to contribute to your fundraising efforts and it doesn’t get much easier than Txt2Give! As easy as Txt2Give is to set up (as a user) and to use (as a donor), it doesn’t matter if no one is out there spreading the word. Advertising is a “bad word” to some, but it is 100% necessary! When you’re out there pounding the pavement, letting the world know about your noble cause, you have to include your Txt2Give info EVERY.SINGLE.TIME! The only thing that should be mentioned more than your Txt2Give keyword and giving number is the cause itself. We believe so much in the power of advertising, that one of the first messages you receive from Txt2Give after signing up – lets you know how to request a couple of custom images that we offer for the exact purpose of helping you get the word out. The images show, very simply, how your donors will use the system. We want you to post them, print them, Tweet them, plaster them all over your town’s water towers. You know, just put them anywhere and everywhere that you can for that added boost in exposure. When someone finds out about your organization and what you’re raising funds for, there should be no question about how to donate.

Excitement

If you’re reading this, it’s probably safe to assume that you are likely either the head of a fundraising team or at the very least a member of the fundraising team. This means, at some point, you will be discussing your cause with others. Right? You will have a captive audience that wants to hear about what you’re raising money for and how they can help. When that time comes, if you’re not excited about your text giving option – they won’t be either. If you mention that you can receive donations through text message with only casual interest – your donors won’t believe that it is the marvel of modern technology that it is. Never mind that they don’t have any cash on them and they haven’t seen their checkbook in years. You know what they do have on them…their phone; they 100% have their phone with them. Guaranteed! So, get excited about it and let your donors know that you’re excited about it! Excitement is contagious!

At the end of the day, there isn’t a full-proof checklist that guarantees that you’ll have success when using Txt2Give. But, if you put in the work and give your cause the attention and respect that you’ve already decided that it deserves and you share your text giving info EVERY.SINGLE.TIME – I’ve got a feeling your organization and Txt2Give can make a pretty solid team.