SMS Donations and Volunteering to Boom in 2012

2012 is set to see a boom in charitable giving and volunteering using mobile phones, with young people leading innovation in giving. So says PhonepayPlus, the UK regulator of premium rate telephone services that oversees charity text donation in the UK.

PhonepayPlus says it saw a huge increase in interest in charity text donation in 2011, and that this looks set to continue in 2012.

Over 200 charities registered with PhonepayPlus in 2011, enabling them to set up shortcode numbers to allow donors to give up to £10 to the charity via their mobile. Latest end-of-year figures from nfpSynergy’s Charity Awareness Monitor show that the monthly average for people donating to charity using text donations increased by 40 per cent between 2010 and 2011.

This confirms earlier figures in a report by nfpSynergy supported by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) that the proportion of people likely to donate by text, rose from 1 in 10 in 2010, to close to 1 in 4 in 2011. These early indications, says PhonepayPlus, show that the estimate that text donations will be worth £96m annually by 2014 is easily achievable.

In particular, over 70 per cent of charities see the potential of mobile phones to engage with a younger generation of donors. While the ability for people to give money by mobile is welcomed by charities, this is not just about giving money. As CAF’s recent World Giving Index shows, although globally, 1 per cent fewer people have given money to charity this year, there has been an overall rise in people giving their time and volunteering.

Young people’s interest in using mobile technology to give in innovative ways is reflected in a 330 per cent increase in entries to PhonepayPlus’ PhoneBrain competition this year. The competition challenges 11 – 19 year olds to come up with a service that has a community or social benefit. Finalists, from across the UK, will present their ideas in January to a panel of judges in London. The finalists will battle it out for awards of up to £1,500 to help make their idea a reality, provided by the young social entrepreneurship support organisation, Live UnLtd.

Finalist Siobhan Giles, 13, from Avonbourne School in Bournemouth, is hoping to cross the generational tech divide with her e-Tips service. Siobhan leads an after school club for older ‘Silver Surfers’ who want to engage with digital and mobile technology. Her service would allow older people to text any questions they may have outside of the club to young advisors who would step in to offer advice and support via their mobiles.

She says: “We’re really keen to support local elderly residents and ensure they do not have to fight digital exclusion alone. e-Tips will help us do that.” Other finalists include iSport, a mobile app that encourages young people to walk and cycle to school, as well as making donations to charity during their commute; Safe Streets, an app that advises people on their local neighbourhoods and any areas that they should avoid, particularly at night; and a social network for 16-24 year olds thats focused on pointing young adults in the direction of jobs and getting them in to work. 

“All of these innovative, socially useful ideas from young people point to charity text donation being the tip of the iceberg of what smartphones and micropayments, such as premium rate, can offer to volunteers, community groups, charities and social entrepreneurs,” says PhonepayPlus chief executive, Paul Whiteing. “We are working hard with charities and the wider premium rate industry to ensure that this growth area of giving retains the confidence of potential donors, and is a space where innovation can flourish.”