Picture this: Your nonprofit is crafting its annual fundraising plan. You have some tried-and-true tools in your pocket, but your team is searching for a new strategy that delivers quicker, more profitable results. The good news is that you don’t have to look much further than the cell phone in your pocket.
Text-to-donate is a convenient way for donors to give right from their smartphones. All they have to do is opt into your messages, click the link to your mobile-friendly donation page, and submit their donation. However, you need a text-to-give platform before you can start leveraging this powerful fundraising strategy. To streamline your research, we’ll discuss the following:
- What Is Text-to-Donate?
- Comparing the Top 12 Text-to-Give Platforms
- Why Use Text-to-Donate?
- How to Choose the Right Text-to-Give Platform
With a comprehensive text-to-donate platform, you’ll secure more gifts and strengthen relationships with donors. Let’s start by making sure your team is aligned on the basics of a solid text-to-give strategy.
What Is Text-to-Donate?
Text-to-donate is a fundraising method that allows people to donate to your nonprofit directly from their smartphone or tablet. The process is short and straightforward:
- Your nonprofit chooses a text-to-give platform and receives a 5-digit short code.
- Your nonprofit comes up with a relevant keyword, such as “DOLLARS4DINNERS.”
- Supporters text the keyword to your short code.
- Supporters receive a link to your online donation page and submit a gift.
- Your nonprofit automatically sends a thank-you text to each donor.
With text-to-donate, you can unlock funds faster by providing donors with the opportunity to give whenever they feel inspired. Plus, once people opt into receiving text communications from your organization, you can engage them year-round with campaign updates, impact reports, and surveys.
Comparing the Top 12 Text-to-Give Platforms
To tap into the full benefits of text-to-donate, you must find a platform that streamlines the process for both your team and donors. Check out these top text-to-give platform options and why they stand out:
1. Tatango – Best Text-to-Donate Platform Overall
Tatango is the leading text-to-give provider for nonprofits who want to establish a predictable donation pipeline and reach new fundraising heights. Since its founding in 2007, Tatango has helped organizations raise over $500 million to give back to their communities.
Tatango simplifies all aspects of text fundraising with a full suite of intuitive features:
- Automation: Reduce your administrative burden and streamline tasks by automating welcome messages for new subscribers, thank-you messages right after donors give, and event reminders to generate excitement.
- Segmentation: Divide your contact list into multiple groups to create highly personalized communications. For example, you can segment your audience by recency of opting into your campaign, donation ARF (amount, recency, and frequency), location, philanthropic interests, involvement history, and any other relevant characteristics.
- Fast messaging speeds: With Tatango, you can send up to 2,000 messages per second (or about 7 million messages per hour)! Since other text-to-give platforms usually have a maximum messaging speed of 6,000 messages per minute, Tatango is the best platform for reaching hundreds, thousands, or millions of subscribers in the blink of an eye!
- Security: Tatango is both Type 1 and Type 2 SOC-2 compliant, which means it adheres to the highest standards of data security, trust, and confidentiality. The platform also uses two-factor authentication, secure sending, and automated logout to safeguard your text messaging campaigns from unauthorized users and activity.
- Data reporting and analytics: With a 360-degree view of each text message’s performance, you’ll know exactly how many people opened a message, clicked on a link, and donated. Plus, you can see the number of donations earned, the total amount raised, and the average donation amount.
- Integrations: To ensure seamless data flow between your text fundraising software and your other tools, Tatango offers dozens of no-code integrations with popular CRMs, marketing platforms, and more.
- AI-enhanced message composer: Use this cutting-edge tool to adapt your messages’ tone to fit the right occasion, rephrase existing copy to be more precise or emotionally compelling, and develop ideas to enhance your communications.
For a closer look at Tatango’s text-to-give platform and how it can revolutionize your fundraising strategy, check out this brief video overview:
Pricing
Contact Tatango’s team to learn more about pricing.
2. Double the Donation – Best for Matching Gifts
Double the Donation is a premier matching gift tool that helps nonprofits increase their fundraising potential without asking donors to give more. Over 26 million people work for companies that offer matching gifts, and chances are, your nonprofit has plenty of donors whose gifts could be doubled (or tripled!) by their employer.
With Double the Donation’s comprehensive matching gift database, 360MatchPro, you can allow donors to look up their eligibility right on your mobile-friendly donation page. Plus, you’ll have access to other key features such as:
- Auto-submission: Traditionally, donors must fill out time-consuming forms to submit a match request. Double the Donation’s auto-submission allows them to complete a request by entering just a few pieces of information, such as their work email address. Then, the software will send it on their behalf, significantly speeding up the process.
- Automated emails: Send automated emails to donors to remind them of potential matching gift opportunities and inform them about the process.
- Data reporting: Generate automated reports on how many of your donors are match-eligible, which donors have submitted a match request, and where your most promising opportunities are to maximize giving.
Text-to-give is a lucrative opportunity on its own, but pairing it with a matching gift database can maximize the fundraising dollars you receive.
Pricing
Double the Donation has two main pricing plans depending on your organization’s size and how much you’re raising per year: the 360MatchPro Standard plan ($2,500+/year) and the 360MatchPro Enterprise plan (custom pricing).
3. Trumpia – Best Text-to-Give Platform for Automation
Trumpia is a text-to-give platform that allows your nonprofit to set up customized workflows that send the right communications at the right time. For instance, Trumpia helps your nonprofit generate SMS drip campaigns to welcome new supporters and create auto-responses, saving your team time and energy.
Some of this platform’s top features include:
- Autopilot mode: Trumpia uses data insights about your audience to send messages when your supporters are most likely to act on them.
- Data capturing: With Trumpia, you can send messages to supporters and gather more information about them. Then, use their responses to craft relevant messaging that resonates with their personal interests and priorities.
- Automated workflows: Develop different pathways for your subscribers based on how they respond to your messages. Set up specific triggers or conditions, such as whether donors act on your next donation request or not.
You can also use Trumpia to send important reminders to your staff or volunteers, such as sharing their shift times so everyone is on the same page.
Pricing
Trumpia’s smallest plan costs $49/month to send 1,000 SMS messages, while the largest plan costs $2,799/month to send 225,000 SMS messages.
4. SlickText – Best Built-In Workflows for Text-to-Donate
SlickText is an SMS marketing service that comes with flexible workflows to meet your nonprofit’s messaging needs. Your nonprofit’s team can simply drag and drop objects onto a canvas to create your workflows—no coding necessary.
This text-to-donate platform stands out due to its:
- Lead nurture tools: Cultivate relationships with prospective donors by sending personalized, relevant communications at various stages of the donor journey using fully mapped-out workflows.
- Segment filters: Design drip campaigns with segment filters, sending messages only if certain triggers are met or your supporters match specific characteristics.
- Integrations: SlickText has a large library of integrations, creating a two-way data flow between your text fundraising campaigns and your other software tools.
SlickText also allows nonprofits to create SMS surveys and collect feedback from their supporters. This can provide helpful insight into donors’ interests and preferences, which you can use to inspire more giving.
Pricing
SlickText has plans starting at $29/month for 500 texts in the U.S. and 400 texts in Canada.
5. Twilio – Best for Multichannel Engagement
Twilio is an engagement platform that allows nonprofits to manage communications across multiple channels with ease, including text messaging, email, and phone calls.
The platform comes with the following key features and capabilities:
- APIs: Twilio offers several APIs that integrate with platforms like SMS, MMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Google’s Business Messages, so you can meet supporters on their preferred channels.
- AI insights: Twilio automatically collects information about your supporters through your conversations. Then, the platform’s AI tools use these insights to suggest tailored interactions for each donor.
- Fraud protection: The text-to-give platform comes with built-in fraud detection tools to stop unauthorized activity and protect your organization’s sensitive data. Plus, Twilio validates users using phone number verification with a single API endpoint.
If your nonprofit wants to pair SMS marketing with other digital channels, Twilio can help you maximize your reach.
Pricing
Twilio uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model for its SMS texting options.
6. BurstSMS – Best for Managing Contacts
BurstSMS serves as an SMS command center, helping nonprofits organize their text messaging campaigns all from one central location. Specifically, this text-to-donate platform makes it simple to manage large contact lists so you can boost retention and send relevant messaging to different subgroups.
BurstSMS makes it easy to organize your nonprofit’s contacts with the following capabilities:
- Multiple list uploading options: Import contact lists from diverse sources, including your CRM, email marketing platform, or other fundraising software.
- Opt-out list: Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), organizations must enable users to opt-out and honor their decision. BurstSMS automatically adds all subscribers who opt-out to a global opt-out list, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally sending them messages.
- Segmentation: Your nonprofit can divide its contacts into multiple groups based on factors like demographics or interests, increasing the likelihood that your messages resonate with each recipient.
BurstSMS also comes with hundreds of marketing resources and templates to educate team leaders and ensure your campaigns adhere to best practices.
Pricing
BurstSMS uses flexible pre-pay options depending on the number of SMS messages you send out.
7. Qgiv – Best Text-to-Donate Platform for Continued Engagement
Qgiv is a text-to-give platform that creates a modern giving experience for your nonprofit’s team and donors. Once donors feel inspired to give, Qgiv ensures that you receive donations in your bank account less than 24 hours after they’re made.
Some of Qgiv’s top features include:
- FundHub Live: Supporters can watch your text fundraising progress in real time with a live fundraising thermometer and an activity feed with incoming donations and messages from donors.
- Automated reminders: Qgiv sends automated reminders about the purpose of your fundraiser and why donors should give now. The platform also delivers automated pledge reminders to encourage donors to fulfill their promise to give.
- Data reports: Access reports to compare the success rate of your text fundraising campaigns to see what’s working and what’s not.
If you have any questions about how to maximize the use of Qgiv, their team offers around-the-clock live support by email or text.
Pricing
Qgiv has several monthly or quarterly plans depending on the extent of the text fundraising and alternative features you’ll need, like peer-to-peer capabilities or auction management.
8. SecureGive – Best for Secure Giving
SecureGive is a text-to-donate platform and mobile giving app that focuses on building trust between donors and your organization. The software provides a high level of self-service to your supporters, allowing them to track their donation history and repeat any donation with the tap of a button.
SecureGive comes with the following features to increase your mobile fundraising potential:
- Donor account management: Using the SecureGive Mobile App, supporters can access a dashboard that shows all their past activity in your nonprofit’s text fundraising campaigns, including the dates of their last transactions and the amounts they gave.
- Simple recurring giving sign-up: If your donors are interested in making repeat donations, they can easily do so by navigating to a past donation and hitting the “Repeat Donation” button.
- Pledge tracking: Supporters can view pledges they’ve made to your organization and easily fulfill them, all from their phones.
SecureGive also offers flexible ways to give so your supporters can donate using the method that works best for them.
Pricing
SecureGive has a Basic plan ($149/month), a Premium plan ($299/month), and an Enterprise plan (custom pricing).
9. Flocknote – Best for Online Giving
Flocknote is a church text fundraising platform that amplifies messaging and facilitates a rewarding online giving experience. Flocknote comes equipped with tools for managing donor data and powering event sign-ups. It empowers you to reach supporters at any time with inspiring appeals, updates, thank-you notes, and more.
Some of Flocknote’s key features and capabilities include:
- Unlimited emails and texts: Reach supporters with key communications year-round without worrying about how many messages you have left to send.
- Donor management and reporting: Track your fundraising progress and view individual donor behaviors and giving histories. Use these insights to tailor your text-to-give communications to resonate with different donor types and increase conversions.
- User-friendly interface: Flocknote is an intuitive platform that makes it simple to organize and manage your text donation campaigns.
Flocknote also allows you to create two-way conversations with supporters over text to ensure everyone feels valued and seen.
Pricing
Flocknote has a Starter plan, Complete plan, and Enterprise plan.
10. Aplos – Best for Recurring Giving
Aplos is a text-to-give platform designed to encourage recurring giving and establish a reliable flow of donations year-round. All the text-to-give donations you earn flow right through your Aplos accounting software, so you always have a full picture of your fundraising progress.
This platform is a top choice for nonprofits due to capabilities such as:
- Option to give monthly: Set up a recurring giving option right on your mobile-friendly donation page to expand your loyal donor pool and maximize contributions over time.
- Option to cover transaction fees: Provide an option for donors to cover their donation transaction fees so you can receive 100% of their one-time or recurring gift.
- Automated receipts: Donors automatically receive an emailed receipt within 30 minutes of making a text-to-donate contribution.
Doubling as a fund accounting solution, Aplos enables you to track your text-to-donate campaign progress and make informed budgeting decisions to support your overall fundraising strategy.
Pricing
Aplos has a Lite plan ($79/month) with basic tools like donation tracking and financial reporting, a Core plan ($99/month) with extra capabilities like pledge tracking and partner integrations, and an Advanced plan with its full range of text-to-donate capabilities.
11. GivingFuel – Best Text-to-Give Platform for Efficiency
GivingFuel is a high-speed text-to-give platform that allows you to reap the benefits of text fundraising quickly. Donors simply text the amount they want to donate to a predetermined giving number and receive a convenient mobile form to submit their personal details. Then, the platform processes the donation and transfers the funds right to your nonprofit’s bank account.
GivingFuel facilitates the text donation process with the following features:
- Rapid giving: After texting your organization’s giving number and specifying how much they want to donate, donors automatically receive a mobile donation form.
- Simple recurring giving option: Donors can easily repeat their gifts with the press of a button, providing your nonprofit with more contributions over the long term.
- Secure donation processing: GivingFuel is PCI-compliant and uses 128-bit encryption to protect your sensitive donor information and keep your nonprofit’s reputation intact.
Since Giving Fuel also serves as a donor management platform and CRM, you can store and use mobile donor data to inform your relationship-building efforts in the future.
Pricing
GivingFuel offers a Starter, Pro, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus pricing plan, depending on your organization’s size and the fundraising support you need.
12. CharityEngine – Best for Mass Texting
CharityEngine is a text-to-donate platform that helps your nonprofit reach hundreds to thousands of supporters at once. Automate messages to reach your entire donor base and encourage them to register for events, sign up to volunteer, or donate.
This software comes with the following key features:
- Automation: Schedule texts and automate them to be sent to everyone or just a portion of your audience using segmentation.
- User-friendly donation experience: Once donors opt into your messages and you “wow” them with compelling mass texts, simply send over a user-friendly mobile donation page to capture their gifts and grow your revenue.
- Mobile bidding: If you’re planning to host an auction, you can reach all of your supporters at once with event reminders and encourage them to submit bids right from their phones.
Beyond its text-to-donate capabilities, CharityEngine is a comprehensive CRM that simplifies recording and storing important donor information. This way, you can unlock insights into all of your donors and deepen your connections over time.
Pricing
CharityEngine has a Standard, Professional, and Enterprise pricing plan. Each package adds more advanced features, such as the number of contacts you can store.
Why Use Text-to-Donate?
It takes some time and effort to research platforms and incorporate text-to-donate into your fundraising strategy. However, these benefits make it well worth the investment:
- Convenience. On average, Americans spend nearly five hours a day on their phone. A text-to-give platform ensures that they don’t have to put their phone away and log onto a laptop or computer in order to donate to your nonprofit.
- Speed. The average American checks their phone 144 times a day. Because of this, they’re much more likely to see your text fundraising appeal and make a gift directly from their mobile device.
- Expanded reach. 95.9% of the world’s internet users use a mobile phone to go online at least some of the time, with mobile phones accounting for 56.9% of people’s online time. Enabling text-to-donate increases the likelihood that people encounter your fundraising appeals and follow through with a donation.
- Flexibility. You can pair a text-to-donate campaign with any fundraising event, from a silent auction to a virtual talent show, to provide more opportunities for people to contribute and generate more revenue for your mission.
Beyond raising funds, your nonprofit can use text messaging to thank donors, share updates, invite them to events, and more to nurture strong, lasting relationships that you can rely on for years to come.
How to Choose the Right Text-to-Give Platform
Now you understand the game-changing benefits of text-to-donate, as well as the top platforms to support your text fundraising. But which solution is best for your nonprofit? Use these tips to guide your decision-making:
- Consider your needs and goals: Consider the size of your donor base, how often you’ll want to host text fundraising campaigns, and any specific requirements or features you need—such as integration with existing software systems or customization options.
- Determine your budget: Decide how much you can reasonably invest in a text-to-give platform. Account for upfront costs and ongoing expenses such as monthly subscription charges. The right platform will help you earn all of this initial investment back and more.
- Research your options: Explore each platform’s website, customer reviews, case studies, and testimonials to assess user satisfaction and see if similar nonprofits have found success with the tools.
- Request a demo: Get a demo to see the platform firsthand. Pay attention to the user experience, ease of navigation, and extent of features available.
The ideal text-to-donate platform comes with an all-star team to support your organization, ensuring your fundraising campaigns are well-designed and legally compliant.
Tatango meets all of these requirements (and more)! As the leading text-to-give platform for nonprofits of all types and sizes, Tatango has helped organizations earn an average return of 500% on their investment. If you’re looking for the best text-to-donate software to scale your organization’s fundraising strategy, Tatango has you covered!
Transforming Your Fundraising Strategy with Text-to-Donate
A comprehensive text-to-donate platform will provide your nonprofit with the support and features it needs to lead a successful text fundraising campaign. Consider your specific needs and choose a solution that will not only provide value to your organization now, but for years to come.
If you want to learn more about text-to-donate and how you can boost your fundraising potential, check out these additional resources:
- Nonprofit Text Messaging: How to Reach Your Audience: Check out our ultimate guide to creating a successful nonprofit text messaging campaign so you can gather inspiration and get up to speed on best practices.
- Text-to-Give: A Complete Guide to Revolutionizing Your ROI: Explore essential text-to-donate tips to get your next mobile fundraiser off the ground and generate revenue in no time.
- An Ultimate Guide to SMS Short Codes: How to Get Started: To get started with text-to-give, you’ll need to get an SMS short code. Learn how with this article.
