Top 7 Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits [2022]

Text-to-give is one of the quickest and easiest ways for your supporters to give. It’s literally at their fingertips, all the time. It takes just a few clicks for donors to access your donation form, fill out their information, and make a generous donation, all within minutes. This fast and convenient mobile fundraising method should…

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Top 7 Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits [2022]

text-to-give platforms

Text-to-give is one of the quickest and easiest ways for your supporters to give. It’s literally at their fingertips, all the time. It takes just a few clicks for donors to access your donation form, fill out their information, and make a generous donation, all within minutes.

This fast and convenient mobile fundraising method should be in every nonprofit’s fundraising wheelhouse. But how do you choose the best text-to-give platform for your nonprofit?

To help you get started, we’ve put together our top 7 choices for text-to-give services in 2022:

  1. Donorbox
  2. Qgiv
  3. Snowball
  4. OneCause
  5. Pledge
  6. Handbid
  7. Tithe.ly

What is Text-to-Give?

Also known as mobile giving or text giving, text-to-give is exactly what it sounds like – a way for supporters to donate to your mission through text messages on their mobile phones. Text-to-give works for all nonprofits and has emerged to be a really popular and effective fundraising method.

You may have also heard the term text-to-donate. Although now often used interchangeably, there are differences between text-to-give and text-to-donate services.

With text-to-give campaigns, donors simply text a keyword to a specified number, and their service provider charges them a predetermined amount on their next phone bill. The phone carrier then passes on the text-to-give donations to the nonprofit at a later time, sometimes with an additional fee attached.

Text-to-donate campaigns involve a campaign ID that a donor texts to a specified number. From there, they receive a link to a mobile giving page, where they can select the amount they want to donate, fill out their info, and make a donation directly to the nonprofit.

Note: Many of our recommended mobile giving tools technically use the text-to-donate method as it allows for larger donations as well as for the gift to go directly into the nonprofit’s bank account, but most utilize the term text-to-give more frequently.

Text giving can be an excellent option for your virtual events as well. This mobile giving method will help improve your fundraising efforts in more ways than one. Let’s see how in the next section.


Why Your Organization Should be Using Text-to-Give

text-to-give platforms for nonprofits

There are several reasons your organization should include text-to-give/text-to-donate in your mobile fundraising strategy.

  • It’s fast and convenient. For both the donor and the nonprofit. Donors receive a link to your mobile-friendly donation page directly on their phone, and it only takes you a few minutes to set up a text-to-give campaign.
  • It reaches your donors where they are. 91% of American adults have a cell phone and many spend hours each day using them. Use this familiarity to your advantage in your fundraising campaign. Let it entice more donors and improve your donor engagement!
  • It’s easy to remember and share. Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to promote your mission. It’s easy for you or a donor to share (and remember) a fun campaign ID and phone number.
  • There’s no need for cash or checks. These days, it’s rare for people to carry around a significant amount of cash – and even fewer carry checks! With text-to-give, donors can quickly use their credit cards to give online via the dedicated link, without the need for a card swiping device.
  • It’s effective. If you think that mobile giving brings in smaller, one-time gifts, you’ll be surprised to learn that the average donation amount for text-to-donate fundraisers is $107. Some tools even allow for easy repeat gifts!
  • The options are endless. Just about any organization can find a way to work text-to-give into their campaigns. It is especially ideal for urgent campaigns as well as for fundraising events. Faith-based organizations have been experiencing much success with using text-to-give as an option for offerings.

All these reasons have made modern nonprofits add text-to-give campaigns to their online giving strategy to collect donations and reach their fundraising goals.


How to Choose a Text-to-Give Tool that Works for You

There are many great text-to-donate and text-to-give software for nonprofits. But how do you select the right platform for your organization?

Here are a few things to consider:

  • How do you plan to use text-to-give? Think through your strategy. Do you plan to use text-to-give as an everyday tool to raise funds, or on a case-by-case basis during fundraising events or in times of greater need?
  • What features do you need to be successful? Once you establish how you will use mobile fundraising, make a list of the features you need in order to be successful. If you are planning to use text-to-give for multiple events or fundraising campaigns throughout the year, for example, you may need a platform that offers unlimited text keywords. And if donors will give using this method on a regular basis, you will want to look for a service that allows for quick and easy repeat donations.
  • What is your budget? As a nonprofit, cost is always important. Look for low fees as well as platforms that offer the option for donors to cover these fees.
  • What is your existing skillset and capacity? Look at your staff members and volunteers – what skill sets do they already have? And how much time does your team have to take on another project? If you have limited text-to-give knowledge and/or your team doesn’t have much capacity, you’ll need to find a tool that can do it all for you.

Pro tip: Look for a platform that allows for repeat donations via text-to-give/text-to-donate. When donors can easily give again by texting the same number and without having to fill out a form again, you are likely to collect more funds, like how it looks here –

top text giving platforms


Top 7 Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits


1. Donorbox

best text to give services

Donorbox Text-to-Give is an ideal text-to-give tool for any nonprofit, no matter your goal, size, or mission. Donors simply send the Campaign ID to a toll-free phone number to receive a link directly to your donation form. For a small additional fee, organizations can instead use a shortcode and a custom keyword for their campaign – donors text GIVE to the shortcode before being asked for the campaign ID. The shortcode is easier to remember for donors and type in and the custom keyword adds a sense of branding to your campaign.

best text to give platforms

Your Donorbox recurring donation form is mobile-friendly, making it easy for supporters to donate wherever, whenever. And all donor information is easily accessible on the backend so that you can properly thank and build relationships with each and every one.

What truly sets Donorbox Text-to-Give apart? The ability to easily repeat donations. After giving, each donor’s information is saved so that all they have to do to repeat their donation is text “YES” to the same number. Plus, Donorbox’s simple form includes the option to set up recurring donations.

These simple to set up and easy-to-use (and remember) features will give your text-to-give fundraising campaign a boost. Check out this short video to learn more about Donorbox Text-to-Give

Pricing:

With no set-up fees and no contracts, Donorbox’s Text-to-Give add-on feature is available starting at just $19 a month. The shortcode plan comes at $50 per month. Know more about our Text-to-Give plans here. Additionally, there’s a nominal 1.5% processing fee, plus a payment processing fee of 2.2% + $0.30 (for Stripe/PayPal) for registered nonprofits. You can also ask donors to cover these processing fees.

Ideal for:

Nonprofits looking for a low-cost, easy-to-use, and effective Text-to-Give solution that offers repeat donations as well as several other tools available with this fundraising software.


2. Qgiv

Qgiv’s Text Fundraising platform has several unique features that make them stand out. For one, donors can include the amount they’d like to donate in their initial text message, and that amount will be automatically filled into their online form!

This text-to-give tool also offers outbound texts that allow you to connect with supporters in a new way, sharing news and impact stories as well as sending appeals during times of crisis. You can even send automated giving or event reminders!

And, with Qgiv’s FundHub Live, you can create a campaign thermometer to be shared and updated live on the screen at your fundraising events, including a real-time activity feed with messages and gifts from supporters.

Pricing:

With Qgiv, you start at a $25 per month fee for the basics, adding products as needed. The Text Fundraising product is an additional $129 per month, which includes text donations, outbound messages and reminders, screencast, and training, plus a 3.95% + $0.30 fee per transaction. Know about their pricing here.

Ideal for:

Organizations looking to send outbound messages to their supporters to alert and remind them of appeals, events, and more.


3. Snowball

best text to give platforms

Snowball‘s text-to-give tool recognizes that every nonprofit is different, so they offer local phone numbers, national toll-free numbers, and shortcode numbers, each coming with its own set of benefits and price ranges.

Depending on the selected plan, nonprofits using Snowball may have access to an unlimited number of keywords as well as a unique number to capture donations. Snowball also has options available for outbound text messaging, customized response messages, and more.

This tool is also a great option for auctions and events. Snowball users can utilize mobile bidding for everything from online auctions to both silent and live auctions during live and virtual events. Text-to-Ticket allows ticket buyers to receive a ticketing link via text.

Pricing:

Snowball’s unlimited Text-to-Give is built into several of their plans, starting with the Premium tier. This tier is $549 a year, plus a 2.5% + $0.30 fee per transaction, which donors can choose to cover. To utilize outbound text messaging and Text-to-Bid, the Professional plan is $849 per year. Know more.

Ideal for:

Organizations looking for varied phone number options as well as the option to manage bidding and ticket purchasing via text message.


4. OneCause

best text to give services

Text2Give by OneCause is another viable option for your nonprofit’s next text-to-give campaign. As with other options, all donors need to do is text a keyword to a given number to receive a link to your donation page for a fully mobile-optimized experience.

And the interactive Text2Give Scoreboard gives donors a look at the campaign’s progress in real-time, including acknowledgment of donor names and a fundraising thermometer.

Pricing:

With the standard plan, which costs $495 a year, your organization will get one keyword as well as one Scoreboard. Plans can be customized to fit your needs. Learn more.

Ideal for:

Nonprofits looking to combine text-to-give or text-to-donate with event ticketing needs as well as those looking for an interactive scoreboard they can share on their website, at events, and on social media.


5. Pledge

best text to give platforms

 

Pledge touts the ease of its platform, saying donors can complete their mobile giving in “just two clicks.” All your donors need to do is text your chosen keyword to an easy-to-remember number and then click on the link they receive in response.

From there, donors can give using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or via credit card, and each conversion is tracked in a detailed reporting tool available on your dashboard.

Pricing:

Pledge has an optional tip model and no additional processing fees are required. Standard credit card fees of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction do still apply. All Pledge organizations receive one free text-to-donate keyword.

Ideal for:

Nonprofits looking for a no-frills solution that will get them started with text-to-donate services.


6. Handbid

Planning to use text-to-give/text-to-donate at your events or in conjunction with an auction? Handbid may be the way to go! They offer a mobile app as well as mobile and online giving and bidding options.

Handbid focuses on user experience to make virtual bidding as easy on your event attendees as it is on you. You can also stream live video through this text-to-give platform as well as display live stats so those tuning in know how close you are to meeting your goals.

Pricing:

Using Handbid for one event starts at $792 per year and using the platform for multiple events starts at $2,496 per year, plus processing fees for donations. Know in detail here.

Ideal for:

Nonprofits who plan to utilize text-to-give or text-to-donate as part of an event strategy, especially if those events have opportunities for mobile bidding.


7. Tithe.ly

Tithe.ly offers its text-to-give tool for churches and ministries. The platform stores your donors’ information so that, after signing up, all they have to do is text a designated number with their gift amount to donate, time and time again.

You, as the organization, will receive a dedicated 10-digit phone number. All your donors need to do is text “GIVE” to this number, fill out their contact information and payment details, and make their first gift. From there, donors can give again by simply texting an amount (for example, “100”) to that same phone number.

Pricing:

Tithe.ly starts at $19 per month after a free trial (no contract required), plus a 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee per transaction.

Ideal for:

Faith-based organizations looking to add a text-to-give or text-to-donate option to their offering time during worship, as well as during other events and campaigns.


Final Thoughts

text-to-give platforms for nonprofits

Text-to-give and text-to-donate really can be an easy donation process for both you and your donors – with the right platform, it is simple to accept donations, and giving is as quick as sending a text message to a friend. Add this option to your fundraising campaigns and watch your donations rise through the roof.

Don’t forget to first form a plan and determine your needs and budget before selecting the ideal mobile giving tool for you.

Donorbox, along with offering Text-to-Give, also helps nonprofits with simple-to-use, affordable fundraising features including Peer-to-Peer fundraising, Crowdfunding, Events, Memberships, Recurring Donation Forms, Customizable Donation Pages, and more. Donorbox Premium, on the other hand, enables nonprofits to reach their full fundraising potential with expert coaching services and high-performance tools.

Get more Text-to-Give resources and other fundraising and nonprofit management tips on our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to the Donorbox newsletter and receive a curated list of our best resources in your inbox every month.

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Kara has several years of experience in communications and marketing for nonprofit organizations. She specializes in writing and enjoys sharing her experiences and knowledge with others.

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