SMS continues to be the most popular way for charities to encourage mobile giving, with text donation use growing from 33 per cent in 2012 to 49 per cent this year.

The annual Survey of the Not-for-profit Industry found that 35 per cent of the of 592 charities surveyed now has a mobile site, with another 48 per cent keen to create one soon. Mobile-optimised email has grown from 20 per cent last year to 36 per cent in 2013. Another 41 per cent see it as a priority for the future.

While use of QR codes grew 15 per cent from 2012 to 2013, from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, the number of organisations that are keen to use them in the future is dropping.

Just 12 per cent of charities in 2012 and 2013 opted to use mobile during street fundraising campaigns, although 26 per cent said they plan to do this in the future.

The Survey of the Not-for-profit Industry has been conducted every year since 2004 by Blackbaud, a tech provider for the charities and education sectors. Martin Campbell, Blackbaud Europe’s director of strategy and innovation, emphasised that the majority of income still comes through traditional means. “Mobile works best as part of an overall multi-channel strategy, with not-for-profits engaging with people using the medium that donors and supporters feel most comfortable with,” he said.

See the full report here.