OpenMarket has revealed that the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), the umbrella organisation for 14 UK humanitarian aid agencies, is using its Mobile Engagement platform to drive mobile fundraising for its Philippines Typhoon Appeal. The platform is is powering the appeal’s mobile donation channel, which has already raised over £1m in mobile donations since the campaign launched on 12 November.

The DEC launched its Philippines Typhoon Appeal to raise money to help the millions of people affected or left homeless by the devastating Typhoon Haiyan that struck the country on 8 November.

The OpenMarket platform processes incoming donations made using Premium SMS (PSMS). Donations are made by texting DONATE to 70000, a designated DEC shortcode. Donors then receive a PSMS confirming their donation. DEC also uses OpenMarket to engage with donors on an ongoing basis with opt-in SMS appeal updates and invitations to make further donations.

In addition, DEC uses SMS to invite donors to register for Gift Aid, which increases the value of donations by 25 per cent. OpenMarket is currently the only provider that enables donors to register for Gift Aid using SMS.

Donors are invited to register for Gift Aid by texting back their name, first line of address and postcode. The Mobile Engagement Platform checks that the format of the details is accurate and then sends a confirmation message. Using SMS for Gift Aid converts around two-thirds of donors.

OpenMarket has been DEC’s partner of choice for mobile engagement since its Pakistan Floods Appeal in August 2010. The company also worked with the DEC to deliver the mobile campaign for its East Africa Crisis Appeal in July 2011 and the Syria Crisis Appeal in 2013.

“OpenMarket is one of our longest-standing fundraising partners and…has consistently proven their ability to handle our sudden and highly demanding needs,” said Adil Husseini, head of fundraising at the DEC. “We had less than 48 hours to launch a massive media campaign and once again OpenMarket did not fail to seamlessly deliver our mobile fundraising needs.”

To support the DEC Philippines Typhoon Appeal with a £5 donation text DONATE to 70000.