February 4, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Sunday’s Super Bowl not only marked one of the biggest upsets in football history, but also marked the unveiling of a major United Way fund-raising campaign using cell-phone text messaging.
In a television advertisement that appeared during the game, the United Way appealed to viewers to send a text message that would generate a $5 contribution (or at least $4.50, excluding administrative costs) to help American kids stay physically fit.
In Europe and other areas of the world, using text messages to make a donation is commonplace. Lucy Bernholz, a nonprofit consultant, wonders if the United Way effort will help it catch on in the United States.
“Texting votes to American Idol is old hat — will it work for giving?” she asks on her blog, Philanthropy 2173.
(See a Chronicle of Philanthropy article about the obstacles to text messages for fund raising.)
What do you think? Does text messaging present an opportunity for fund raisers? Do you think the United Way campaign will be a success? Click on “comments” below this post to share your thoughts.
