Saturday, April 2, 2011

With the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, you've no doubt seen or heard calls to text a word to a short code (such as "Text JAPAN to 50555"), and a donation will automatically be added to your cell phone bill. To date, over $2 million has been raised via this single mobile giving campaign.

Because CallFire is always looking for ways to add value for our customers (not to mention we like being able to do good deeds), we're taking names for religious organizations or 501(c)3 non-profits to join our exclusive text-to-donate beta. At this time, only these kinds of groups qualify for mobile donation programs.

If you're a church, alumni organization, or caused-based group, mobile giving is an effective way to encourage small donations. It's fast and simple for both your organization and the donor—no writing checks, filling out forms, sending back an envelope, or the like. But speaking of forms, fill out this simple one below and someone from CallFire will contact you shortly.

There will be more exciting updates to CallFire in the coming weeks, and we can't wait to share them with all of you. Our team has been hard at work adding more features and reporting tools, all the while making CallFire simpler to use. Stay tuned.

UPDATE, 4/28/2011:

Close to 100 CallFire customers expressed interest in using Text-To-Donate via CallFire.
A few updates:
a) We are currently evaluating how many CallFire customers will adopt the service.
b) Text-To-Donate, if released, will be capped at $10/text, max 4 texts per donor, per month.
c) Carriers require good 501(c)3 standing with the IRS for over 1 year.
d) Carriers require a minimum of $500,000/year in income on your last Form 990.