Expand your fundraising abilities with Text to Donate. Inspire your supporters to donate easily from their mobile devices, wherever they are. Quickly engage potential donors when an urgent need arises.
Set up Text to Donate and manage unlimited keywords and call-to-action messages. Share a keyword with your supporters at events, on social media, and through other channels. Supporters text the keyword to your Text to Donate phone number, receive your custom response, and click a link to donate.
Note: If you are a Bloomerang customer with the Kindful Fundraising add-on, see the Bloomerang Text to Donate article.
FCC Verification Requirements
Before you can use Text to Donate, you must complete an FCC-required verification process and select a phone number. We’ll walk you through the process in Kindful.
As part of the verification process, we'll prompt you to enter your business information:
Business name
Physical address — Must match IRS (U.S.) or CRA (Canada) records, even if your business has since moved
Employer Identification Number (EIN) for U.S. businesses
Business Number (BN) for Canadian businesses
Website URL
Phone number
Job position and title — Must be a business owner or executive staff member
This information must exactly match your business information on record with the IRS (U.S.) or CRA (Canada). Double-check all information carefully, especially the EIN or BN.
Twilio, our phone number provider, passes your business information to your phone carrier for verification. The carrier verifies that the business information you entered matches IRS or CRA records.
If the carrier approves your registration, the carrier activates your phone number. It might take up to seven days for the carrier to activate the number. When the number is active, you can use Text to Donate.
If the carrier rejects your registration, you must resubmit your business information in Kindful. If the carrier rejects your registration because the EIN or BN does not match IRS or CRA records, you must email [email protected] so we can submit an appeal on your behalf. You’ll need one of the following documents:
990 form or IRS nonprofit determination letter (U.S.)
T1044-19e form or CRA nonprofit determination letter (Canada)
Verification can take up to four weeks, so make sure to begin well before your campaign starts.
Before You Begin
Before you configure Text to Donate:
Set up one or more fundraising forms. We recommend the donation plugin, which creates a streamlined donation page that works well for mobile customers. If you use the donation plugin, individuals and organizations can donate. If you use a donation page, only individuals can donate.
Gather your business information registered with the IRS (United States) or CRA (Canada).
Set Up Text to Donate
Text to Donate setup happens in these phases:
Set up Text to Donate.
Resubmit corrected business information if the carrier rejects your registration.
To set up Text to Donate:
Click Fundraising.
Click Text to Donate.
Click Get Started.
On the Business Information form, enter the exact information registered with the IRA or CRA.
Important: Make sure to enter the correct EIN or BN number. If the carrier rejects your registration because your EIN or BN doesn’t match IRS or CRA records, you must complete an extra step later.
Click Continue.
Click Continue Setup.
To select a phone number, enter an area code. A list appears that includes 12 phone numbers in that area code.
Click a phone number.
The number you choose becomes your dedicated Text to Donate phone number. International SMS rates might apply to donors outside of the United States. Vanity numbers are not available. You cannot change this phone number later or add more phone numbers.
Click Verify.
Our phone number provider, Twilio, passes your business information to your phone carrier for verification. To know whether your registration is approved or rejected, check the verification status.
Check the Verification Status
After you submit your business information for verification, the status is Pending Approval. If the verification status changes to Approved or Rejected, we’ll email the account owner. You can also check the verification status in Kindful.
To check the verification status:
Click Fundraising.
Click Text to Donate.
In the Status column, find the status.
This table explains each status and what you should do.
Status | Description | What to Do |
Pending Approval | You submitted business information and selected a phone number. | Wait for the carrier to approve or reject your registration. |
Setup Incomplete | You submitted business information, or resubmitted corrected business information, but didn’t select a phone number. | In the Text to Donate settings, click Continue Setup and select a phone number. The status changes to Pending Approval. |
Carrier Rejected | The carrier rejected your registration. | In the Text to Donate settings, click Update Information and enter corrected information. View Resubmit Corrected Business Information. |
Approved | The carrier approved your registration and will activate your phone number. After the number is active, you can use Text to Donate. | Wait for the carrier to activate your phone number, which can take up to seven days. |
Resubmit Corrected Business Information
If the carrier rejects your registration, you can resubmit corrected information. This might happen if the business information you enter in Kindful does not match IRS or CRA records.
Click Fundraising.
Click Text to Donate.
On the Business Information form, click Update Information. The form shows which information the carrier rejected and the reason.
Enter the corrected information.
Click Continue.
If you haven’t selected a phone number, click Continue Setup.
To select a phone number, enter an area code. A list appears that includes 12 phone numbers in that area code.
Click a phone number.
The number you choose becomes your dedicated Text to Donate phone number. International SMS rates might apply to donors outside of the United States. Vanity numbers are not available. You cannot change this phone number later or add more phone numbers.Click Verify.
Note: If the carrier rejects your registration because the EIN or BN does not match IRS or CRA records, you must email [email protected] so we can submit an appeal on your behalf. You’ll need one of the following documents: 990 form (United States), T1044-19e form (Canada), or your nonprofit determination letter.
Create Keywords and Response Messages
If your registration is approved, you can create keywords and response messages:
Keyword: A word that you share with potential donors. Make it simple, memorable, easy to spell, and easy to pronounce. Keywords aren’t case sensitive, which means donors can use any capitalization of your keyword.
Response Message: What supporters see when they text the keyword to your phone number. In the message, include a brief, compelling call to action and a link to a fundraising form. For example, include a link to a donation page or plugin, a crowdfunding cause, a registration form, an event signup, or any web page. Donors click the link to interact with your organization.
You can enter an unlimited number of keywords and response messages. For example, you might enter different keywords and messages for different types of events or situations.
To create keywords and response messages:
Click Fundraising.
Click Text to Donate.
Click your phone number
In the text box below the phone number, search for the name of your fundraising page.
Select the name of the fundraising page.
Click Copy URL.
In the Keyword text box, enter the word that donors should text to the phone number. You can add more than one keyword. For example, you can add keywords for each campaign.
Tip: Keywords are not case sensitive.In the Response Message text box:
Enter the message that donors see when they text the phone number.
Paste the URL that you copied.
To discard all changes that you made on this page, click Discard Changes.
To save all changes that you made on this page, click Save.
To add another keyword, click Add Keyword.
To delete a keyword, click Delete.
Edit Keywords and Response Messages
After you configure Text to Donate, you can later update your list of keywords. You can add or delete keywords and edit response messages.
To edit your Text to Donate settings:
Click Fundraising.
Click Text to Donate.
Click Edit.
Example
At your annual gala, speakers ask attendees to text the word “DONATE” to your Text to Donate phone number. Your website, social media accounts, and printed event materials also mention the keyword. Attendees use their smartphones to text the keyword to your phone number.
Attendees receive your response message:
Attendees click the link and see your donation page:
Attendees can donate quickly and easily at the gala, later at home, or from another location.
After donating, donors receive the same automatic email receipt you designated for normal donations to that campaign.
Track Donations
To track donations you receive through Text to Donate, we recommend one of these options:
Create a donation plugin. Include the donation plugin URL in the Text to Donate response message. After you receive Text to Donate donations, filter "By Plugin: 'plugin_name'" to find donations. See Creating a Donation Plugin.
Create a campaign. You can create unique campaigns for Text to Donate. See Manage, Create, or Edit a Campaign.
Tip: After you track donations received through Text to Donate, you can use the Bulk Edit tool to move these donations to a single campaign. See Bulk Edit Activities.
Still have questions?
Email [email protected] or click the chat icon to chat with us.