NEW YORK – March 8, 2010 – In the aftermath of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile, nonprofit organizations raced to mobilize aid and plan recovery efforts, while also raising resources and funds to support their humanitarian programs in Chile. Mobile Communications and Mobile Fundraising have become critical components to nonprofit outreach programs.

In response, AmeriCares, Catholic Relief Services and Habitat for Humanity have expanded their use of SMS and mobile marketing beyond just text-to-give to include critical, informational updates on their relief efforts to donors, as well as to bring new supporters into their organizations.

The following organizations are running Chile Earthquake Relief programs, powered by Mobile Commons:

• Text LIVE to 25383 to donate $10 to AmeriCares
• Text QUAKE to 25383 to donate $10 to Catholic Relief Services
• Text CHILE to 25383 to donate $10 to Habitat for Humanity

To complete your mobile donation, simply reply YES to confirm a one-time donation. Your donation
will appear on your mobile phone bill. All donations are tax-deductible.

“Our ability to have a dialogue with our supporters via mobile messaging allows us to have an ongoing relationship with them, beyond just making a text donation. This is especially important to organizations like Habitat as our supporters really want to be connected to our efforts,” said Tim Daugherty, senior director, Direct Marketing for Habitat for Humanity.

“The recent Haiti Relief efforts were breathtaking. Dozens of organizations were able to immediately launch a response using their mobile programs. For Chile, organizations further advanced their use of mobile SMS messaging to a highly-effective communications medium that also includes immediate fundraising,” added Anthony Risicato, CEO of Mobile Commons. “We’re extremely fortunate to work with non-profits who can have such a direct, positive impact and who continue to innovate – driving the entire industry forward.”

About AmeriCares
AmeriCares is a nonprofit international disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, which delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in crisis around the world. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $9.0 billion in humanitarian aid to 137 countries. For more information, log onto www.AmeriCares.org.

About Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency provides assistance to people in more than 100 countries and territories based on need, regardless of race, nationality or creed. For more information, please visit http://www.crs.org or http://www.crsespanol.org.

About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built, rehabilitated, repaired or improved more than 350,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.75 million people. For more information, or to donate or volunteer, visit www.habitat.org.

About Mobile Commons
Mobile Commons pioneers easy-to-use technology for scalable mobile marketing campaign management. The company’s award-winning mobile messaging platform helps non-profits, brands and agencies quickly launch and manage mobile marketing campaigns from one Web-based user interface coupled with powerful analytics and reporting. The platform’s user interface and APIs seamlessly integrate SMS, voice and Web applications with CRMs and databases, as well as Twitter, Facebook applications, flash widgets, and geo-location features.
Mobile Commons’ technology has powered hundreds of successful mobile campaigns in the brand advertising, agency, advocacy, political and charitable giving sectors, including Credo Mobile, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Oxfam International, Andre Agassi Foundation, ASPCA, NYC Department of Public Health, Care USA, National Association of Realtors, National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) Sacramento Kings, DoSomething.org, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and more. Mobile Commons is also an approved provider of Mobile Giving programs, and a member of the Mobile Giving Foundation (http://mobilegiving.org/). For more information, please visit: http://MobileCommons.com or text MCOM to 30644.

Press Contact:
press@mobilecommons.com
+1.212.537.5175

Download a pdf of the full release.

The massive earthquake was centered just off the Pacific coast, causing a Tsunami that will strike various spots across the Pacific, including Hawaii.

Relief organizations, already under pressure and fatigued by the enormous response to the Haiti earthquake, will need all of our help to provide help for yet another disaster.

Many of these organizations will be launching Mobile Giving (or text-to-give) campaigns to fund their efforts. Mobile Commons will keep a running list of them (see below). Please be generous.

Chile Relief Programs – mobile giving:

• Text CHILE to 25383 to donate $10 to Habitat for Humanity
• Text QUAKE to 25383 to donate $10 to Catholic Relief Services
• Text LIVE to 25383 to donate $10 to AmeriCares

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.

.//A.
Anthony Risicato
CEO – Mobile Commons

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.

…

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?!!

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:

• Text HAITI to 25383 to donate $5 to International Rescue Committee
• Text CARE to 25383 to donate $10 to CARE
• Text OXFAM to 25383 to donate $10 to Oxfam International
• Text AJWS to 25383 to donate $10 to American Jewish World Service
• Text HABITAT to 25383 to donate $10 to Habitat for Humanity
• Text BABY to 20222 to donate $5 to March of Dimes
• TextGIVEto 25383 to donate $10 to Partners in Health
• Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross
• Text YELE to 501501 to donation $5 to Yele
• Text HAITI to 864833 to donate $5 to The United Way
• Text CERF to 90999 to donate $5 to The United Nations Foundation
• Text DISASTER to 90999 to donate $10 to Compassion International
• Text HAITI to 20222 to donate $10 to The Clinton Foundation
• Text HAITI to 85944 to donate $10 to International Medical Corps
• Text BEST to 501501 to donate $5 to Project Medishare
• Text FRIENDS to 90999 to donate $5 to World Food Program
• Text HEART to 85944 to donate $5 to Happy Hearts Fund
• Text HAITI to 52000 to donate $10 to Salvation Army
• Text UNICEF to 20222 to donate $10 to UNICEF
• Text HAITI to 40579 to donate $10 to National Religious Broadcasters
• Text SAVE to 20222 to donate $10 to Save the Children
• Text WORLD to 20222 to donate $10 to World Vision
• Text QUAKE to 20222 to donate $10 to The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
• TextRELIEFto 25383 to donate $10 to Catholic Relief Services
• Text RELIEF to 30644 to get automatically connected to Catholic Relief Services by phone and donate money with your credit card.

And a bunch of international mobile giving campaigns:

• Canada: Text HAITI to 45678 to donate $5 to the Salvation Army
• Canada: Text HELP to 1291 to donate $5 to the Partners in Health (Rogers and Fido only)
• UK: Text GIVE to 70077 to donate £5 to Disasters Emergency Committee
• Germany: Text HAITI to 81190 to donate 5 Euro to Aktion Deutschland Hilft
• Denmark: Text KATASTROFE to 1231 to donate 100kr to Røde Kors
• Mexico: Text a donation amount to 8888 to donate 100,200,300, or 500 pesos to Fundación Telmex

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!

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.

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.

Wikipedia is one of the best known websites on the Internet, but did you know it’s actually run by a non-profit called the Wikimedia Foundation? Thanks to the generous support of donors over the years, Wikipedia has been able to keep their invaluable service running for us all to use. Wikipedia also runs a fantastic mobile version of their web site, optimized for small phone screens and mini web browsers.

Mobile Commons is thrilled to announce that we’re working with Wikimedia Foundation to power their new text-to-give mobile fundraising campaign. By simply texting the word WIKI to 25383, Wikipedia users can immediately give $10 to the foundation. U.S. visitors to the mobile version of Wikipedia will see a small call-to-action asking them to support Wikipedia just by sending a text.

How Does it Work?
Through a special partnership with the mobile carriers and the Mobile Giving Foundation, Mobile Commons is able to collect charitable donations via text message without the carriers taking a percentage of the transaction. Typically, when users pay for a ringtone or wallpaper with their mobile phone, the carriers take a fee, which isn’t ideal for non-profits trying to raise money.

The end-user experience is incredibly simple. First, users send a text message to a special 5-digit short code that has been approved by the carriers for charitable donations. They then receive a text message back asking to confirm their donation. At the end of the month, a $5 or $10 charge shows up on their phone bill and the organization gets the donation.

Mobile Commons would like to congratulate Presente.org and the BastaDobbs.com campaign. Supporters can text the word BASTA to 30644 to join the BastaDobbs.com campaign.

From BastaDobbs.com – BastaDobbs.com Announces Victory: Lou Dobbs to Leave CNN

NEW YORK – Responding to the news Wednesday that Lou Dobbs will leave his post as a longtime anchor on CNN, the leaders of BastaDobbs.com – a national Latino-led coalition that had been advocating for his ouster – released the following statement:

“Our contention all along was that Lou Dobbs – who has a long record of spreading lies and conspiracy theories about immigrants and Latinos – does not belong on the ‘Most Trusted Name in News,’” said Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org, a national online advocacy organization coordinating the BastaDobbs.com campaign in conjunction with more than 40 local and regional Latino organizations from across the country. “We are thrilled that Dobbs no longer has this legitimate platform from which to incite fear and hate.”

The BastaDobbs.com campaign launched in mid-September, and included online petitions, a viral YouTube video, text-message campaign, radio PSAs and a series of events in 18 cities – organized in conjunction with the CNN special Latino in America. The message to CNN was that courting Latino viewers while keeping Dobbs on the network would not with them favor with the fastest-growing demographic in the country. Since then, more than 100,000 people have joined the effort. The events and the campaign garnered significant press coverage in both Spanish-language and mainstream media.

Lovato said the BastaDobbs.com victory marks a key turning point for the Latino community, as it moved from marching in the streets in 2006 to mounting a successful, high-tech campaign against one of the biggest and strongest media voices against common-sense immigration reform.

“The community is newly empowered and energized, and we are ready to fight for a respectful and civil media discourse when it comes to immigration coverage on mainstream news,” Lovato said. “This is only the beginning of a much longer-term effort.”

Working with one of our partners, M+R Strategic Services, AARP developed a strategic plan to build their group of mobile activists over the last month.  They were able to get them immediately engaged through Mobile Commons’ SMS-to-Voice application.  From endorsement to engagement in less than a day.

There is simply no better or more cost effective way to convert an organizations position into actionable advocacy then engaging supporters on their mobile phone.  It does not escape our notice that AARP understand that its members are using mobile messaging to make their voices heard and knows that every demographic actively uses mobile.

Additionally,  AFSCME, working with the Watershed Company, used a combination of paid online media, email, and text messages to drive thousands of calls to congress this week through our voice advocacy applications to give a voice to their supporters and help pass the health care bill.  As did the Communications Workers of America, Planned Parenthood, Working America (AFL-CIO) and others.

Of course, we are excited to be selected, but we are even more excited for our customers whose programs drove the nominations.

Best Messaging Program Award
“Text to Remember” – National September 11th Memorial & Museum

and

Best Social Impact Award
Center for Community Change

•••

The National September 11th Memorial & Museum created a SMS program that allowed mobile users to donate money directly to the memorial from their cellphones, as well as enable everyone to raise their mobile phone and participate in the 9/11 Honor Roll. “Text to Remember” was launched in conjunction with a NASCAR race in Richmond, VA on Sept 11th and featured a commemorative car driven by Benny Gordon.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is the not-for-profit created to oversee the design, raise the funds, and program and operate the Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site. The Memorial & Museum will be located on eight of the 16 acres of the site.

•••

The Center for Community Change was founded in 1968 to honor the life and values of Robert F.Kennedy. The Center is one of the longest-standing champions for low-income people and communities of color.  Their expert staff and dynamic partners confront the vital issues of today and build the social movements of tomorrow.

The Center for Community Change strengthens, connects and mobilizes grassroots groups to enhance their leadership, voice and power.  We believe that vibrant community-based organizations, led by the people most affected by social and economic injustice, are key to putting an end to the failed “on your own” mentality of the right and building a new politics based on community values.

The use of SMS messaging for engagement marketing, brand awareness, customer retention and user activation continues to grow quickly as more and more organizations realize the power of SMS: it’s the killer app for EVERY phone…

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