Fundraising for charities by text – just a click away

Vodafone have launched a scheme along with the online donation charity JustGiving which gives mobile phone users the option to give money to charity by text message. The service, JustTextGiving, was launched in May 2011.

Donations can go straight to the charity chosen by the donor and the money would be either added to the donor’s mobile phone bill or deducted from their credit balance. Around 10,000 registered charities have signed up to this new service, which shows how well this new initiative has been received.

It is appealing to donate by text message because of the easy and quick nature of texting. It is something most people do every day (some people do it all day every day!), so a text message that donates to charity would be just as quick and simple as a text to a friend. This new initiative would appeal more to younger generations, as their donation is just a text message away.

As online giving is becoming more and more popular, this is another great way of using technology to engage more people in fundraising for charities of their choice. The best thing about this new way of donating is that people can make donations on the spot, which is great for busy people and phone-fanatics.