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SMS giving is the simple way for supporters to donate to your cause by texting the keyword of your choice to a shortcode. That’s it, there’s no forms or fuss. It’s not just supporters it’s easy for, it takes just minutes to set up your campaign and start raising money. But how can you make sure you are setting your campaign up for success?

1. Make your keyword memorable, relevant and short. You want to make sure it’s something that is easy for supporters to remember, quick to type when they see the advert, and won’t get autocorrected to a different word.
2. Offer different donation amounts to broaden your supporter pool and let them donate what is possible for them. The instaGiv platform let’s you set donation amounts of up to £30.
3. Promote your keyword and shortcode clearly. Limit the amount of text to make your call to action clear, for example “Text CHARITY to 70660 to donate £10”. If you’re making an appeal on the radio state that you’re about to give them the word and phone number so people don’t miss it.
4. Customise your response message to build your relationship with supporters. There’s lots you can do within this message to increase engagement, such as thanking them, directing them to your website or social media pages, or requesting they upgrade to a monthly donation.
5. Collect Gift Aid declarations easily with instaGiv. You can choose to collect declarations via webform or SMS response, and all responses are verified before being marked as ready to download.
6. Collect consent at the point of donation so that you can reach out to supporters at a later date. Whilst you might not be considering an outbound campaign currently, it’s a good idea to start building this up just in case you do in the future. Outbound emergency appeals and regular giving upgrade campaigns have been very successful for a lot of charities.
7. Don’t forget to say thank you. You can do this as part of the response message, or by sending a separate outbound SMS notifying supporters of how their money helps. This helps supporters feel engaged and like they are making a difference, and increases the likelihood that they will donate again or spread your message.

To speak to a member of our team about getting started email help@instagiv.com