Update January 2021 Donorbox’s text-to-give beta has concluded and the feature is now live! Please visit our knowledge base for more details.
Donorbox’s Text-to-Give public beta went live this month!
Any organization that is interested in using text-to-give and participate in the trial are welcome – simply send an email to jimmy at donorbox.org with the following information:
- Your Donorbox account email
- Your organization’s website address
- The link to your campaign page that is hosted on Donorbox
- The name of the person and their contact information who will be responsible for handling the Donorbox text-to-give trial for your organization
It’s very easy and quick to get started and you can start collecting donations from donors via their phones. And, there’s no additional fee to participate in the trial!
Text-to-give is one of the most requested features by nonprofits. We’re very excited to finally see it in fruition!
What is Donorbox’s text-to-give?
Text-to-give is a fundraising method that empowers donors and supporters to give to organizations and nonprofits via their smartphones. Using their phones’ texting applications, donors can donate to their favorite nonprofits.
How does it work?
Here we will outline the general flow of how your donors and supporters will use text-to-give:
- Send a text that contains the campaign ID of your campaign to 1 855 575 7888.
- Receive a reply that contains a link to your campaign page that is hosted on Donorbox.
- Fill out the donation form and complete the donation
- Subsequent donations can be done instantly using quick-donate, no filling out forms, or opening web pages required.
Step 1
Your donor will send a text that contains the campaign ID of your campaign to 1 855 575 7888. And, they will receive a reply that contains a link to your campaign page that is hosted on Donorbox.
Step 2
Your donor will simply fill out the donation form and complete the donation
Step 3
Once the donation is completed, your donor will receive a thank you message.
Quick-donate
This is one of the key features of Donorbox’s text-to-give. Quick-donate will allow your donors to repeat their last donation without filling out the form or opening any web pages. It’s great for recurring events or gatherings, and in situations where one-time donations are preferred. Here is how to will appear as text messages for your donors:
Note: This feature (quick-donate) will only work for donations made via credit card/Stripe payment method. Other payments such as PayPal will not support the quick-donate function for the donors. (But they can still donate via Paypal using SMS/Text-to-Give)
FAQs
1. Why is the text-to-give number so long?
Shortcodes are very expensive to set up and maintain. The cost can run into hundreds or thousands of dollars. Using a toll-free number, not only does it save a significant amount of money, but it is also quick to set up and start collecting donations via text-to-give.
2. My organization is based outside the US – can I use text-to-give?
The current number, trial, and Donorbox’s text-to-give are based in the United States and Canada. Any supporters or donors based in the States or Canada would be able to take advantage of this. If a supporter is texting from outside the US, they could be susceptible to additional carrier charges.
For an organization, there is no difference as everything is processed the same way as it is on websites, and the donation form.
3. Can we use this on real campaigns during this trial period or is everything just testing?
Text-to-give is ready and working for your actual campaigns. All donations made through text-to-give during the trial are processed. We encourage you to use it at real events or campaigns!
4. How long is this trial?
The initial trial will last until December. After this, we will evaluate which features and functions to add to make our text-to-give more robust. We have no problems extending the time-period of the trials for your organization if you need more time. Just drop us a line at .
5. Are there any fees to join this trial or use text-to-give?
No. There are zero additional fees for participating in the trial or to use text-to-give during the trial.
Over To You
Text giving is a fast and convenient way for people to make a donation that can help save the day for people in need.
We hope you make the most out of text-to-give, we look forward to hearing your feedback and responses.
You can learn everything about text-to-give fundraising here. And, for more nonprofit tips and resources visit our nonprofit-blog, Happy fundraising!