Following the earthquake in Haiti, mobile fundraising via texting exploded; with over $40 million raised via text messaging alone. With the massive success of the Haiti campaign, mobile donations are now being used to raise funds for the victims of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that shook Chile over the past weekend.
Mobile giving is fairly simple; you text a keyword to a code on your phone and a micro-donation is made to a given charity. The donation is billed via your carrier. Similar to the Haiti campaign, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile are waiving text-messaging fees for the donations. According to the Mobile Giving Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, The Salvation Army, The American Red Cross and World Vision are all accepting SMS donations for the Chile earthquake.
Mobile Accord, which ran Haiti mobile fundraising efforts for the Red Cross, is also coordinating SMS fundraising on behalf of several philanthropic foundations raising money for Chile. Via the company’s mGive program, you can make $10 donations to Friends of the World Food Program, Operation USA, and Convoy of Hope.
It’s unclear whether the fundraising campaign for the Chile earthquake will see the impressive results of the Haiti initiative, but the model did prove to be successful.
Photo Credit/Flickr/curiouslee