The American Red Cross is launching applications for several smartphone devices in an effort to extend mobile relief efforts for the earthquake recovery in Haiti.

Consumers can follow the Red Cross?s Haiti relief efforts, learn about other programs the nonprofit is involved in and make donations. The applications are for Research In Motion?s BlackBerry, Microsoft?s Windows Mobile and Google?s Android devices and they are powered by Whoop and its Web-based mobile publishing platform.

?We recognize that donors want to quickly and frequently see how their generosity is helping,? said Peggy Dyer, chief marketing officer of the American Red Cross, Washington. ?Individuals that did not make a donation are also interested in the work of the Red Cross. 

?Apps help the Red Cross fulfill this need, and provide another avenue to show the resiliency of earthquake survivors and the work of Red Cross volunteers, through stories from the Red Cross Web site, rich multimedia content and on our social media networks,? she said.

?This space is new to the Red Cross, and the organization is continuing to learn how its supporters want to interact with it in the mobile environment.?

The Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides support to victims of disasters as a charitable organization, not a government agency.

Whoop has a Web-based studio environment that gives clients complete mobile channel control.

Mobile money at work
These free mobile applications feature the ability to donate, live Red Cross news updates, Twitter posts, the official Web site and 1-800 numbers and the ability to register for email, Facebook and Twitter updates.

Consumers can download the Red Cross application at http://redcross.whoopapp.mobi/.

Because the Red Cross has launched applications across a variety of devices and the concern for Haiti spans age groups, the nonprofit is reaching a broad demographic of consumers from young professionals to the senior business class.

The Red Cross is promoting the applications via online ads and in newsletters with more advertising initiatives being worked on.

The applications are not monetized in any way. The access to the Whoop platform and the creation of the applications were provided to the Red Cross as a donation.

Ms. Dyer said the Red Cross applications provide the Red Cross with the ability to demonstrate to the public that the organization is using the donations efficiently and effectively. 

?We also understand that there are many wonderful non-profit and charitable organizations that people can support with their hard earned dollar, so our goal is to provide the individuals that donate to the Red Cross, or people that may not have donated, but are interested in our work, with additional insight on why they should support our mission,? Ms. Dyer said.

?We feel the apps are another way to illustrate this,? she said.

SMS lifesaver
Several organizations have launched SMS campaigns after the earthquake that clocked in a 7.0 on the Richter scale devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

According to mGive, the provider of the Red Cross? text message donation capability, more than $30 million has been donated via mobile.

?The number and amount of donations via mobile through our text HAITI to 90999 program has been unprecedented,? Ms. Dyer said. ?The immediacy, affordability and accessibility of text donations has enabled more people than ever before to quickly transform their compassion into action, bringing help to the people and families affected by this terrible tragedy.?

The Red Cross is under contract with Clearwave Mobile for an iPhone application.

The iPhone application, Haiti Relief and Development Fund, features a real-time newsfeed, social media integration and donation capabilities via text phone and Web.

Doug Busk, executive vice president of mobile strategy and business development at Whoop, Atlanta, said the key to the Red Cross Haiti relief mobile strategy is to keep the disaster and the attendant Red Cross relief efforts in the hearts and minds of concerned individuals across the country. 

?The success of the Red Cross text donation campaign ? text HAITI to 90999 ? showed clearly and convincingly that concerned individuals will reach for their mobile devices when help is most needed,? Mr. Busk said.

?To extend and enrich that conversation, the Red Cross determined that developing rich mobile apps for different smartphone platforms such as Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and iPhone was the next logical move,? he said.