SMS set to overtake direct mail in developing fundraising markets

Fundraising | Gemma Ware | 3 Apr 2008

Mobile phone fundraising is poised to become the main fundraising mechanism in many developing fundraising markets around the world and could soon be the “key new media acquisition tool in Europe”, according to a report from THINK Consulting Solutions.

Charities looking to expand their overseas fundraising are also guilty of a form of “me-tooism” by following the lead of pioneering international NGOs rather than thinking strategically about where to fundraise, it says.

THINK World Fundraising Markets Report 2007 reports that mobile phones are now owned by 38 per cent of the world’s population and are having a dramatic effect on fundraising in countries without the traditional infrastructure for direct mail fundraising.

The report said mobile giving is “taking off” in many European countries and provided issues over operator fees and cross-network compatibility are addressed, further growth is predicted.

“The combination of mobile phone penetration and tsunami giving means many markets that were way off the traditional fundraising radar are suddenly emerging as high potential markets,” said Jason Potts, THINK’s director of digital activities.

However, Margaret Bennett, director of THINK who co-authored the report, said some medium-sized charities looking to expand their fundraising operations overseas had been taking the “easy option” by following the lead of large NGOs such as UNICEF and Greenpeace rather than investing in strategic analysis of the best fundraising markets for their cause.

Bennett said: “If you simply have a look at what someone else is doing, you may find you’re choosing markets these other organisations have gone into for a whole set of quite unique reasons of the their own, or maybe a long time ago and conditions have changed.”

The report said fundraising was “accelerating” in Eastern Europe and showing “strong growth” in Asia and the Pacific, while countries such as Argentina, Brazil and South Africa were seeing a recovery in fundraising.

However, the report also highlighted that a lack of fundraising infrastructure could be a big barrier to global development. It cited unsophisticated or legally-restricted banking systems and high levels of corruption as potential problems fundraisers might face when expanding overseas.

Who's Who: Gemma Ware

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