Text to Donate

This article explains the Text to Donate feature in Kindful. Learn how it works and how to configure it, and see an example.

Overview

Expand your fundraising abilities with Text to Donate. Inspire your supporters to donate easily from their mobile devices, wherever they are. Quickly engage potential donors when an urgent need arises.

Set up Text to Donate with just a few steps, and manage unlimited keywords and call-to-action messages. Share a keyword with your supporters at events, on social media, and through other channels. Supporters text the keyword to your Text to Donate phone number, receive your custom response, and click a link to donate.

How It Works

Configure a few Text to Donate settings, and then you’re ready to accept donations from mobile supporters:

• Phone number: A standard 10-digit US phone number. When you enter an area code in Kindful, you see a list of available phone numbers. The number you choose becomes your dedicated Text to Donate phone number. International SMS rates might apply to donors outside of the United States. Vanity numbers are not available. 
• Keyword: A word that you share with potential donors. Make it simple, memorable, easy to spell, and easy to pronounce. Keywords aren’t case sensitive, which means donors can use any capitalization of your keyword.
• Response Message: What supporters see when they text the keyword to your phone number. In the message, include a brief, compelling call to action (CTA) and a link to a fundraising form. For example, include a link to a donation page or plugin, a crowdfunding team campaign, a registration form, an event signup, or any web page. Donors click the link to interact with your organization.

You can enter an unlimited number of keywords and response messages. For example, you might enter different keywords and messages for different types of events or situations.

Before You Begin

Before you configure Text to Donate, set up one or more fundraising forms. We recommend the donation plugin, which creates a streamlined donation page that works well for mobile customers. See Creating a Donation Plugin.

To process Text to Donate payments through Kindful forms, connect one of these payment gateways:

• Bloomerang Payments
• Authorize.net
• Stripe

To set up a payment gateway, go to Settings > Fundraising Settings > Payment Gateways. Or, click here. For more information, see Connect a Payment Gateway.

After you set up one of those payment gateways, you can also connect to the PayPal payment gateway. See Connect PayPal as a Payment Gateway.

Set Up Text to Donate

1. Click Fundraising.
2. Click Text to Donate.
3. Click Get Started.
   
4. Enter an area code. A list appears that includes 12 phone numbers in that area code.
   
5. Select a phone number. You cannot change this phone number later or add more phone numbers.
6. Click Verify. The Text to Donate configuration page opens.
   
7. In the text box below the phone number, search for the name of your fundraising page.
8. Select the name of the fundraising page.
   
9. Click Copy URL. In Step 11, you paste this URL into the response message that donors see.
10. In the Keyword text box, enter the word that donors should text to the phone number. You can add more than one keyword. For example, you can add keywords for each campaign.
    Tip: Keywords are not case sensitive. 
11. In the Response Message text box:
    1. Enter the message that donors see when they text the phone number.
    2. Paste the URL that you copied.
       
12. To discard all changes that you made on this page, click Discard Changes.
13. To save all changes that you made on this page, click Save.
14. To add another keyword, click Add Keyword.
15. To delete a keyword, click Delete.

Edit Text to Donate Settings

After you configure Text to Donate, you can later update your list of keywords. You can add or delete keywords and edit response messages.

To edit your Text to Donate settings:

1. Click Fundraising > Text to Donate.
2. Click Edit.
   
   
3. Follow Steps 7–15 from the previous section on this page.

Example

At your annual gala, speakers ask attendees to text the word “DONATE” to your Text to Donate phone number. Your website, social media accounts, and printed event materials also mention the keyword. Attendees use their smartphones to text the keyword to your phone number.

Attendees receive your response message:

Attendees click the link and see your donation page:

Attendees can donate quickly and easily at the gala, later at home, or from another location.

After donating, donors receive the same automatic email receipt you designated for normal donations to that campaign. 

Track Donations

To track donations you receive through Text to Donate, we recommend one of these options:

• Create a donation plugin. Include the donation plugin URL in the Text to Donate response message. After you receive Text to Donate donations, filter "By Plugin: 'plugin_name'" to find donations. See Creating a Donation Plugin. 
• Create a campaign. You can create unique campaigns for Text to Donate. See Manage, Create, or Edit a Campaign.

Tip: After you track donations received through Text to Donate, you can use the Bulk Edit tool to move these donations to a single campaign. See Bulk Edit Activities. 

Still have questions?

Email our support team or click Help in Kindful to chat with us.