donations

Text-to-donate raises over £6.8m in mobile donations for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Fonix logo in blue

 

Fonix has been the mobile donation partner for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

More than £6.8m has been raised by the UK public via text-to-donate so far, to support the aid effort in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries.

Since the beginning of March text-to-donate has been promoted across the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky, Radiocentre, BT Sport and Co-op to name a few.

Concert for Ukraine, which took place in the UK on 29 March, raised more than £4.9m in mobile donations, helping contribute to the £13.4m raised on the night of the Appeal.

The two-hour show brought together names from the world of music for a unique event spreading a message of hope and support, and most importantly, raising funds for the ongoing DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The live show was broadcast across ITV, STV, ITV Hub and STV Player.

The show promoted text-to-donate, allowing donors to donate via text at one of four price points: £10, £20, £30 and £40. Donations were charged to a donor’s mobile phone bill.

Rob Weisz, CEO of Fonix, said: “We are so very proud to be able to work with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to help the humanitarian effort to support those affected by the crisis in Ukraine.”

Simon Beresford, Director of Fundraising and Marketing of DEC, added: “We’re thankful to Fonix for enabling mobile donations so quickly and to the generous UK public whose donations will go on to make such a difference. As humanitarian needs continue to grow, the money raised will help to provide vital support to families caught up in this devastating conflict.”

mGage and Oxfam successfully launch world-first RCS mobile payment campaign

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

In an exciting milestone for the charities sector, mGage, in partnership with Oxfam GB, has deployed its next-generation Rich Communication Services (RCS) mobile payment solution, to encourage more donations and higher levels of engagement.

At a time when charities are struggling amidst the pandemic, this world-first campaign is supporting Oxfam with its vital work worldwide, fighting poverty and assisting victims of humanitarian crises. With positive results when compared to a standard Premium SMS send , this channel is proving to be more popular than traditional card payments, offering a unique opportunity for charities to boost revenue, whilst deepening the relationship with supporters.

“With a simplified payment flow, a donation amount can be selected at the click of a button and added to the mobile bill, providing a truly seamless experience. This solution really is a gamechanger, especially at a time when so many charities need our support,” said Nick Millward, Vice President Europe at mGage. “RCS payments provide the ultimate convenience and an appealing experience for customers, who increasingly want organisations to contact them via mobile messaging. With more than 1.31 billion mobile payment users expected by 2023, it is a service that is soaring in popularity.”

Additionally, the service’s Verified Sender feature offers absolute peace of mind and builds trust between both charities and supporters. Accompanied by branding, users can be assured that a message sent to them is legitimate, protecting against fraud and the reputation of the sender.

“We are engaging with our supporters in a completely new way thanks to this innovative rich messaging channel, which allows for more choice and tailored, flexible content embedded directly into mobile messages,” said Drew Hickling, Supplier Relationship Manager, at Oxfam GB. “Working with mGage we have created an RCS and Mobile Billing flow that provides a simple and seamless experience for our supporters with increased levels of potential engagement.” 

Watch the video interview with Oxfam and mGage on YouTube – “Oxfam GB & mGage Successfully Launch World First RCS & Mobile Payments Campaign“

Charity online giving has risen during Covid 19

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

During this time with the country at home, and unable to shop the usual way, a survey by nfpSynergy has found that online charitable giving has doubled from 2019.  It found that those charities that were set up to accept online giving had benefited during this time, highlighting the importance of having an online presence and the ability to react quickly to changes. Online donations were collected via charities websites and Direct Debits but also saw an increase in text giving.

“It’s about making it as easy as possible for the public to give so that charities can achieve more.” Simon Baines MD of the Access Group

It was also reported that while donation levels were down generally, the average donation amount had increased by approx £10 per person from January.

 

Quote taken from: https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/number-of-people-giving-to-charity-during-lockdown-lowest-in-a-decade-poll-finds.html

Fonix’s innovation processes £12.9m for BBC Children in Need’s 2018 Appeal via text donations

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

12th December 2018, London – Fonix, the mobile payments and messaging specialist, has announced today that it processed £12.9 million in mobile donations for BBC Children in Need.

BBC Children in Need is the BBC’s UK charity, raising money for disadvantaged children and young people around the country. Fonix has worked with the charity since 2014, providing a mobile payment mechanic which allows the public to donate via SMS, seamlessly charging the costs to their mobile phone bills.

This year, Fonix and BBC Children in Need collaborated to introduce the first ever £30 price point (alongside the traditional price points of £20, £10 and £5). This was introduced for the Children in Need Rocks concert with great success, and implemented on the live annual Appeal Show which aired on 16th November.

BBC Children in Need also ran multiple text-to-donate competitions for the first time, including the chance to see Bruce Springsteen on Broadway which featured on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show. A one-off voluntary donation of £10 was made to BBC Children in Need, but the public were able to opt out by replying CANCEL to their entry confirmation text within 60 minutes.

Clare Charles, Director of Media and Charity for Fonix, commented “We’re proud to have worked with BBC Children in Need this year. Since 2014 we’ve worked with the charity to refine and improve the mobile donation process.

“It’s clear that the public are willing to donate larger amounts via text-to-donate, and allowing them to do this by introducing the £30 price point has been great for raising money for such a good cause.”

Karen Bass, Chief Operating Officer at BBC Children in Need said “Mobile is such an important channel for maximising donations, helping us to raise as much money as possible to support disadvantaged children and young people around the UK. Donating by text is a quick and simple way for people to help change young lives. We’re grateful to Fonix for enabling this and to all of our generous supporters whose donations will go on to make such a difference.”

Over £12.9m raised for BBC Children in Need appeal through SMS donations

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Mobile payment specialist Fonix has announced that it processed over £12.9m worth of text donations for this year’s BBC Children in Need fundraiser.

Fonix said that the £12.9m that its payment platform processed surpassed the 2016 total of £7.64m and contributed to an overall total of £50.1m raised for BBC Children in Need on the night of the 2017 Appeal show.

Across a number of campaigns such as the Countryfile Ramble and the Rickshaw Challenge, as well as through a specially created fundraising campaign on the night of the show (Friday 17 November), mobile donations were gathered using a choice of three charity donation price points: £5, £10 and £20.

Karen Bass, Chief Operating Officer at BBC Children in Need said:

“We’ve been delighted by the response to this year’s Appeal and are grateful to everyone who has helped raise this amazing sum to support disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.  We want to make it as straightforward as possible for our supporters to make a donation and our ongoing relationship with Fonix has enabled us to achieve this through text-to-donate.”

Rob Weisz, Chief Executive of Fonix commented:

“When it comes to donating to charity, SMS has proven itself to be an ever-growing donation channel. Our solid working relationship over the last 3 years has really focused upon increasing the money raised from mobile, whilst making it as easy as possible for consumers to donate to this fantastic cause.

“For this year’s campaign, text-to-donate was promoted throughout the whole night to cater to growing demand.”

Children in Need is the BBC’s UK corporate charity, which raises money for disadvantaged children and young people around the country.

 

BBC Children in Need’s vision is that every child in the UK has a safe, happy and secure childhood and the chance to reach their potential.  The charity will realise this vision by supporting, promoting and publicising work that addresses the challenges that children and young people face and work that builds their skills and resilience.

 

BBC Children in Need is currently supporting over 2,600 projects in communities across the UK that are helping children and young people facing a range of disadvantages such as living in poverty, being disabled or ill, or experiencing distress, neglect or trauma.

 

Further information about BBC Children in Need can be found at bbc.co.uk/Pudsey