The Institute of Fundraising (IoF) has invited its outgoing chair, Joe Saxton, to forge a coalition of all parties keen to reduce what it sees as the current prohibitive fees the telecoms industry charges charities who seek donations via SMS.
The coalition is likely to include fundraising charities and infrastructure bodies, as well as fundraising agencies and other supplier stakeholders, plus media organisations, celebrities and any other relevant interested parties. Participants will be expected to commit to bring something of use to the coalitions table, be it time, money, expertise or other resources.
The coalition will undertake research into SMS fundraising as the basis for a campaign. This will involve detailed desk and original research to establish the current, relatively unknown, situation vis–vis text messaging, ascertaining the attitudes both of mobile phone users and of the fundraising community.
The campaign will involve opening discussions with mobile providers and other key industry stakeholders, including regulators. This process is likely to start in earnest toward the end of 2008 or early 2009, once the coalition is formed and the research is complete.
The Institute of Fundraising is delighted that Joe Saxton has accepted our challenge of working to reduce the cost of making a donation by SMS text message to the point at which it becomes cost-effective for this form of fundraising to flourish, says Paul Amadi, Group Director of Fundraising at RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People), who takes on the role of Chair of the Institute of Fundraising tomorrow. This is a very real issue, not least as charities seek to engage with younger donors. We look forward to opening up a whole new way of giving to brand new audiences.
Saxton, who is Driver of Ideas at the not-for-profit sector think tank and research consultancy, nfpSynergy, notes that many charities find the current charges made by phone providers simply for collecting donations via SMS, prohibitive.
HMRC has thankfully been re-examining the broader VAT issue on charity phone bills, says Saxton. We now invite the telecoms industry itself to address its charge structures, specifically in relation to text-donations. The fundraising potential could well be substantial, not least amongst the young. By striking the right balance, mobile phone operators, charities and donors can all benefit.
Those seeking further information, or keen to explore the possibility of joining the coalition, should email: [email protected] 
