Nonprofits support millions of causes across the United States, but the most successful organizations all have one thing in common: they use text message marketing. With a nonprofit SMS strategy, your nonprofit gets a unique communication channel for engaging supporters, increasing donations, and furthering its mission.
But that’s not all—the possibilities for using nonprofit SMS as a communication channel are endless. In this post, we’ll explore several ways you can leverage texting to support your organization’s goals. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Can Nonprofits Send Text Messages?
- Why You Should Tap Into SMS for Nonprofits
- 13 Ways to Use Nonprofit SMS
- Getting Started with Nonprofit SMS
Text messages aren’t just for fundraising. We’ve seen the wide-ranging benefits nonprofits can achieve when they branch out, so we encourage every organization to develop texting strategies that meet all kinds of needs. Let’s explore a few ideas you can use as a starting point.
Can Nonprofits Send Text Messages?
Absolutely! Nonprofit organizations can send text messages to supporters who opt in.
In fact, many already send text messages regularly—just take a look at the research findings from our 2024 Texting Insights Report, which analyzed over 200 million text messages sent by 15 nonprofits:
- As of 2023, four out of five nonprofits reported that they already have or plan to create a texting strategy.
- The average nonprofit sends about 3.8 texts per month.
- Nonprofits raised 4.5% of online revenue from text messages.
- Organizations that sent cultivation texts before a fundraising text saw a 54% increase in average gifts.
- Of the texts sent by surveyed nonprofits, 58% included multimedia (pictures, videos, GIFs).
Nonprofits must follow TPCA regulations, which mandate that they receive express consent from supporters before texting them. While guidelines aren’t as strict for nonprofits (you don’t need written consent like businesses do), you should still ask your supporters to opt in to receive texts before you send them any.
Do you already have a text list?
The answer is probably yes! Texting donors is easy when you already have a seed list of contacts. If you’ve collected mobile numbers as part of a business transaction with a supporter, then you may text them because you already have their express consent.
Moving forward, you must add specific text opt-in language to your donation forms. Reach out to your existing supporters and let them know about opt-in options, include an SMS opt-in checkbox on your donation form, and explain how donors will benefit from receiving your nonprofit’s texts. Once supporters sign up, don’t forget to explain how to opt out, too.
Why You Should Tap Into SMS for Nonprofits
Well-designed nonprofit SMS strategies come with several benefits for your organization, especially when compared with more traditional channels like email. This channel naturally drives engagement and results because of its:
- 99% open rates. Texts have extremely high open rates that no other communication channel can match. Your supporters will open texts 99% of the time and read them quickly—90% of messages get read within just three minutes.
- Speed. There’s no faster way to get your donors’ attention than sending a text. Recipients get a notification instantly and can read your message in seconds. They won’t be deterred by long paragraphs or slow-loading images. They’ll read your urgent message and decide whether to take action immediately.
- Memorability. Texts feel much more personal than emails, and their brief, attention-grabbing content sticks in recipients’ minds. This is especially true when you use MMS to send multimedia content like images and short videos.
- Audience targeting. With nonprofit SMS software, you can segment and target supporters to maximize each message’s relevance. Use automation to personalize texts with donors’ names, gift amounts, interests, and more.
- Accessibility. 98% of Americans own a cell phone, making text communications widely available and accessible.
Text messages are extremely versatile. No matter what your organization’s goals are, texts enable you to engage audiences, raise money, share vital information, and more in just a few hundred characters.
13 Ways to Use Nonprofit SMS
1. Fundraising Campaigns
Many people jump straight to fundraising when they think of nonprofit text marketing. There’s a good reason for that—according to the latest M+R Benchmarks, mobile fundraising messages averaged 2.8% click-through rates (CTR) in 2024, a 25% increase from the year before. Plus, nonprofits saw an average 37% increase in mobile revenue from 2023 to 2024.
Clearly, text messages work well for fundraising. This is largely due to how easy it is for supporters to give via text. With a text fundraising platform, the donation process only takes a few steps:
- Your nonprofit sends a text fundraising appeal, or supporters text a keyword like “DONATE” when they’re ready to give.
- Donors immediately receive a link to your mobile-optimized donation page.
- Donors click the link and give directly from their phones!
Donors can drive the text fundraising process by texting in whenever they want to give, but you’ll see better results if you actively incorporate text messages into your fundraising campaigns. Don’t ask for a donation right away—remember to send a few engaging messages first to prime new contacts for an appeal.
2. Urgent Appeals
Because of their speed, nonprofit SMS messages work especially well for urgent communications and time-sensitive appeals. Whether you’re trying to reach your fundraising goal by midnight on GivingTuesday or alert donors to an emergency need for funds, texts will grab supporters’ attention immediately.
Urgent messages can extend beyond fundraising. For example, you might send a text asking recipients to sign a petition, reminding them of an approaching event registration deadline, or letting volunteers know about a location change.
To see what urgent appeals look like in practice, check out these example fundraising messages or dive deeper into one nonprofit’s success story below.
3. Pledge Reminders
If you’ve ever run a pledge fundraising campaign, you know that reminding donors to follow through with their pledges can be a major headache.
Instead of relying on emails that get lost in supporters’ inboxes, send them a text message that you know they’ll read. A short text reminder feels like a gentle nudge to donors with unfulfilled pledges. Plus, if you include personalized links, they can make their donations in just a few seconds.
4. Thank-You Messages
It’s easy to automate donor thank-you messages with the right texting platform. While you should still send email donation receipts with more detailed information, donors will see texts faster and appreciate the immediate thanks. You can even include graphics or short thank-you videos to make your messages stand out.
5. Donor Stewardship
Retaining donors long-term takes more than just thank-you messages. Use texts to boost donor stewardship by sending:
- Invitations to involvement opportunities they might like.
- Brief updates on the campaigns they’ve participated in.
- Celebratory announcements when you reach important goals.
- Links to new blog posts, news stories, or videos about your work.
- Quick check-ins or survey links to show you value their opinions.
Get creative with your stewardship texts, and monitor which ones get responses or clicks from donors. If any donors opt out of your texts after receiving one of these messages, consider sending stewardship texts less frequently or implementing different content strategies.
6. Impact Updates
Sharing details about your nonprofit’s impact is a crucial part of fundraising, retention, and maintaining donor trust. And even though text messages are short, they can be a powerful way to highlight important metrics while promoting other impact updates.
For instance, take our example text message above. In this text, an animal rescue nonprofit shares a brief story of a dog named Benji along with his picture. Recipients get the gist of the nonprofit’s impact from the text (providing life-saving veterinary care and a foster family), but they can also click on a link to learn more about Benji’s story.
7. Advocacy
Texts are also highly impactful for advocacy campaigns—many nonprofits use SMS marketing to encourage supporters to sign petitions, attend protests, etc. For instance, organizations ranging from The Humane Society and PETA to Conservation International regularly send text messages informing subscribers about petitions that need support. Subscribers can tap a link in the text to quickly and easily add their signatures.
8. Volunteer Management
When your organization hosts a major event such as a rally, gala, or phone bank, you can text your list of past volunteers to see who’s available to help. Text message marketing allows you to segment volunteers based on specific zip codes, cities, or states, making it easy to reach the right people at the right time to boost recruitment.
Once volunteers have signed up, texts make communicating with them easier than ever. Text volunteers assignments, updates, logistical details, and any other important information you want them to receive urgently.
9. Nonprofit Marketing
Your nonprofit does plenty of important work in your community, so why not use SMS marketing to share inspiring photos, achievements, and updates about your work?
People naturally want to share important causes with friends and family, and word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways to build trust. Any time you send a text promoting your nonprofit, recipients can increase awareness on your behalf by showing it to friends or sharing the message on other platforms.
10. Event Promotion
Supporters may not see your email or direct mail event invitation for days, but they’ll read a text message just minutes after you send it. Use texts in combination with other channels to invite donors to attend, remind them to register, tease exciting activities or auction items, and thank them for attending.
11. Awareness Campaigns
Text messages are a great addition to your nonprofit’s cause awareness campaigns. Spread the word about important issues by texting supporters:
- Statistical graphics that grab recipients’ attention.
- Short informational videos about your cause.
- Social media sharing links and requests to spread the word.
- Invitations to virtual events and webinars where supporters can learn more.
- Stories of community members impacted by the issue.
If you run awareness campaigns entirely on social media, you’ll be at the whim of each platform’s algorithm. By sending direct SMS messages and encouraging supporters to engage with your social media posts, you can guarantee that the right people see your content.
12. Feedback Requests
Asking for feedback can help you collect valuable information from donors and event guests while making them feel valued. If you use a platform that supports two-way messaging (like Tatango!), supporters can respond directly and provide feedback via text. Or, you can share links to surveys where they can answer multiple targeted questions and give more details about their opinions.
13. Holiday Messages
Everyone appreciates a holiday message, whether it’s a quick “Happy Birthday!” or well wishes for the holiday season. When you send these messages via SMS, you’ll quickly remind donors of their connection to your nonprofit and put a smile on their faces.
Plus, you can get creative. Take a look at our example message above—it includes a photo, a short Thanksgiving message, and a link to a longer holiday video for supporters to watch.
Getting Started with Nonprofit SMS
Excited to tap into the speed, versatility, and power of nonprofit text messages? Take the following steps to get started:
- Invest in a nonprofit texting platform. You’ll need a solution or service provider that makes it easy to send compliant text messages to large audiences. With Tatango, you’ll be able to send texts securely and leverage impactful features like automation, A/B testing, and donor segmentation.
- Collect opt-ins. Next, use your existing contacts as a seed list for collecting opt-ins. Add a quick opt-in form to your website, and explain the benefits of opting in to receive text messages from your organization.
- Create your nonprofit SMS strategy. Determine your most important goals for SMS, whether that’s improving donor stewardship, boosting fundraising results, or engaging more volunteers. Then, choose the types of messages you’ll send from our list above and start planning thoughtful message cadences.
- Track results and adjust accordingly. Once you start texting, use your platform to monitor metrics like open rate, CTR, conversion rate, and opt-outs. Shift gears based on which messages engage your audience best, and experiment with new strategies as needed.
At Tatango, we know what nonprofit SMS strategies work and how to empower organizations to achieve their best results. Nonprofits have raised over $600 million in donations through our platform and reported an average 500% ROI. If you’re looking for the best texting solution, request a demo to learn more.
Transforming Your ROI with Texts
These are just a few ways that today’s most well-known nonprofits use text message marketing. Ultimately, the possibilities are endless. For more insider tips on how to use text message marketing to raise money, collect signatures, grow awareness, and increase volunteers, check out these resources:
- Nonprofit Text Messaging: How to Reach Your Audience. Learn more about the basics of nonprofit texting and how to create a successful strategy in our complete guide.
- 21 Text Donation Messages: Examples + Easy Templates. Looking for more examples? Check out this list of sample nonprofit text messages and free templates you can use.
- Texting Service for Nonprofits | Tatango. Ready to start texting supporters? Explore our nonprofit SMS platform and how we drive results for organizations like yours.
