November 28, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
This holiday season two charities are conducting fund-raising campaigns to test whether donors are willing to make $25 contributions via text messages.
One of the chief criticisms of cellphone fund raising has been the small size of donations charities could solicit. When donors give via text message, the contribution appears on their cellphone bill and the cell-service carrier then forwards the money to the charity, usually through a nonprofit that serves as a middleman.
With gifts of $5 and $10, wireless carriers have received relatively few requests for refunds or instances in which customers failed to pay their bill after the company advanced a donation to a charity, says Jenifer Snyder, executive director of the mGive Foundation, which is organizing the test. She says the trial will help the companies determine whether the higher gift amount will push up the number of problems.
