Make It Right NOLA
The Super Bowl is one of America’s biggest marketing events (a record 150 million viewers in 2009). This year’s matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts will likely break that record. Leading up to the game, Americans will be spending $175M on potato chips and buying nearly 50M cases of beer. Wow…
For the people of New Orleans, the Saints march to the Super Bowl has helped soothe some of the pain that persists from Hurricane Katrina. Still, entire neighborhoods remain devastated, houses unclaimed and residents displaced – especially in the Lower 9th Ward.
One amazing organization, Make it Right NOLA (http://www.makeitrightnola.org/) is making an enormous difference. Founded by Brad Pitt, Make It Right’s mission is to rebuild the Lower 9th with affordable, green, storm-resistant housing for families wanting to return home.
Now, with the Saints in the Super Bowl, Make It Right is launching a mobile fundraising program to help drive donations and awareness of their efforts. Text SAINTS to 25383 to donate $10 and help families come home.
Text SAINTS to 25383 to donate $10 to Make it Right
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Make It Right will be featured on the CBS Evening News, and throughout the game-day telecast on CBS. Mobile Commons is proud to support Make It Right’s mobile fundraising program.
When those Saints come marching in, we hope everyone will take a minute to make a difference with a donation. Who DAT?!!
Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 by anthony
As disaster relief organizations across the country set out to raise funds for supplies and aid to Haiti, they turned to mobile phones and text messaging as a quick and easy way for people to give money.
The response of generous donors across the country was a watershed moment for mobile fund raising with millions of dollars raised by a ton of great organizations.
Update: Over $27 million dollars raised via mobile so far!
Mobile Giving Insider did a nice job cataloging and summarizing the many campaigns that sprung up in the first 24 hours after the earthquake, and we are continuing to update the list as new relief campaigns launch:
And a bunch of international mobile giving campaigns:
We are continuing to update this list as we learn about more organizations and their efforts. Please email info@mobilecommons.com if you know of a mobile fund raising campaign that should be on this list. Thanks!
This is a phenomenal list of organizations and we’re thrilled to see the national response to the call to action and how much money they’ve been able to raise in such a short time.
In case you are concerned or suspicious about donation money with a text message, don’t worry; mobile fund raising is a completely legitimate way of donation money to a non-profit. The donation shows up on your phone bill at the end of the month, is tax-deductible, and most importantly, the carriers do not take a percentage of the donation. Mobile giving is made possible through cooperation between the mobile carriers, the Mobile Giving Foundation (an independent 3rd party that vets non-profits to prevent fraud), and companies like Mobile Commons. At this time, mobile giving is available to 501(c)3 organizations in the United States and Canada.
Your Organization Can Collect Mobile Donations Too!
Text donations work best when they act as a complement to your existing online fundraising efforts and also to you larger mobile strategy. We’ve worked incredibly hard to build a fully featured suite of products for organizations to leverage the power of mobile while not disrupting their workflow or creating a separate silo of data.
In addition to enabling organizations to collect text donations, Mobile Commons automatically integrates with your existing online CRM and donor management database. Our core platform is used for mobile list building & list management, enabling you to establish a direct and personal connection to your constituents and communicate with them when you need their support the most. Our mobile advocacy tools including district matching and automatic routing to legislators are unmatched in the industry.
If you’d like to learn more about how your organization can start collecting donations via text message and also incorporate it into your larger online and offline fundraising strategy, please contact us today.
We’d love to help you get started!
Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2010 by ben
MOBILE COMMONS’ MOBILE MESSAGING PLATFORM PROVIDES ADDITIONAL LINE OF DEFENSE THIS FLU SEASON
Text FLU and your address to 30644 to find the closest H1N1 vaccine in California
Mobile Commons, Inc., a pioneer of easy-to-use technology for mobile messaging, today announced its partnership with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to power a unique, California-based flu vaccination awareness program. Through Mobile Commons’ mobile messaging platform allows users to text in their zip code and receive vital flu related information including alerts when the vaccination is available, the nearest vaccination location and critical messaging regarding treatment and other information. The ubiquity of mobile phones, combined with the high projected demand for vaccinations, makes this an ideal solution to help Californians from all communities obtain vaccinations and receive necessary information on a timely basis.
“We strongly expect this program to result in high levels of participation, given the ease-of-use,” said Edgar Ednacot, Ed D. M.P.H. Health Education Supervisor at the CDPH. “Mobile Commons’ technology provides an extremely efficient system for Californians to learn where to get vaccinated and stay informed during the flu season.”
Californians will learn of the campaign through a variety of media, including out door advertising, broadcast public service announcement, social media and PR. Users will text in the word “FLU” and their zip code to the short code 30644. Once a zip code is received by Mobile Commons’ technology platform, users will receive a text message with the nearest vaccination center or other valuable information about the flu in that area or throughout the state. Additionally, all of the functionality is automatically made available on a Facebook application, Twitter and web widgets which will allow for the program to be easily shared.
“We are thrilled and honored to have been entrusted by the CDPH to help them provide Californians with an easy, cost-effective way to receive such vital information about the flu and vaccinations this year,” said Jed Alpert, Founder of Mobile Commons. “California is truly on the cutting edge of integrating communication technologies to make sure people receive the information they need in a way that is most useful to them.”
For more information about the flu vaccination campaign or Mobile Common’s technology, please visit http://www.MobileCommons.com or http://www.cdph.ca.gov.
Posted on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 by ben
A recent article from ClickZ asks, “Will 2010 Be the Real Year of Mobile?”
Yes, we all agree that the Year of Mobile is… ahem… somewhat overdue. The article goes on to list the factors that the author believes makes mobile difficult for marketers. Surprisingly, the article misses the boat on how effective mobile really is as a tool for the savvy marketer.
Marketing is a discipline, not a medium. “Mobile Marketing” is, in fact, a bit of a misnomer as it leads people to think of mobile in a silo – the least effective place for any marketing tactic to reside.
More importantly, the messaging side of mobile (SMS) has the scale, reach and standardization to allow marketers to effectively ply their marvelous trade. If we think of marketing as a dialogue or conversation between a brand and consumer, where a fair value exchange takes place, mobile messaging clearly delivers.
Brands and their agencies use mobile messaging for exactly that purpose: as a mechanism for connecting and deeply engaging with their consumers. It is extraordinarily effective, has huge reach, relatively low cost, easy to measure and immediate in impact. There is no more trusted device than your cell phone.
BTW, mobile display advertising is *not* marketing (sorry Google/Admob!), it is simply one tactic in the constellation of efforts required to successfully market a product.
The Mobile Conversation reminds me a bit of the PPC Search versus Online Display debate years back. Everyone was initially ambivalent about Search because it wasn’t “engaging”. Hm.
In my experience with marketers, *results* are engaging. *ROI* is engaging. SMS provides both results and ROI. Engaging, indeed.
Posted on Friday, December 11, 2009 by anthony
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