The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been successful at converting standard-alert subscribers to donors using SMS.

The ASPCA offers free cat and dog tips to mobile users by sending a text message with keywords CAT or DOG to short code 27722. At the bottom of the ASPCA's SMS alerts, it asks subscribers to reply with the keyword GIVE to make a $5 donation.

"The ASPCA is widely recognized as a forward-thinking nonprofit, in that they've embraced technology faster than many in the space with their online strategies, building email lists and they have donor management databases in place," said Tony Aiello, cofounder and senior vice president of mGive, Denver, CO.

"The next big wave from a direct marketing perspective will come from the mobile space, as it's the most effective way to manage donor and constituent contacts, so it was fairly logical for the ASPCA to develop another permission-based channel to communicate with their supporters," he said.

"All the communication is wrapped up into what donors -- animal lovers that are pet owners -- have an affinity for, taking those lessons and moving them into mobile."

The ASPCA's donors are organized in silos, one for dog fanatics and another for cat fanatics.

"SMS helps nonprofits engage with people in the mobile channel," Mr. Aiello said. "They can sign up at live events or via our Web site to receive the mobile alerts that include tips from the organization, which can start building its mobile list and start reaching out to potential donors.

"They can say, ?We've been communicating with you for a while now, we need to support these animals and help place them in homes,'" he said. "?Please respond with a donation.'"

The ASPCA's text messages read as follows:

"Examine Fido's ears weekly. Tell a vet if there is redness/inflammation/waxy buildup or unusual smell. Reply GIVE to donate $5 to animals in need! Text DOG to 27722"

"Keep cats away from liquid potpourri. If ingested, it can cause drooling/vomiting/difficult breathing. Reply GIVE to donate $5 to animals in need! Text CAT to 27722. Text GIVE to 27722"

"Thanks for your donation to ASPCA. $5 will be deducted from your phone bill. Text GIVE and give up to 5 times."

By placing a call-to-action in these mobile alerts, nonprofits not only can use mobile alerts as a communication channel, but as a fundraising tool as well.

On average, 5 percent of ASPCA's subscribers respond per call-to-action, with 86 percent completing the donation, resulting in thousands of dollars in donations for the organization so far, Mr. Aiello claims.

"The ASPCA had the luxury of building a list before the giving part, but you can also do that simultaneously by sending them a WAP link to get more data from them," Mr. Aiello said. "Organizations can then ask for money from them each month, as well as tagging a lot of their outbounds with an ask."

The latest version of the Web site mGive.com helps nonprofits to create, launch and track mobile donation campaigns, providing mobile subscriptions and mobile donation services for nonprofit organizations.

The site is full of information regarding the entire mobile giving channel, including a PowerPoint overview of mGive with costs, capabilities and clients, videos of mobile donation campaigns and recent case studies.

In early 2008, mGive launched mobile giving nationwide, giving nonprofits the ability to use the mobile channel for purposes other than messaging.

Since then, many major charities such as Children's Miracle Network, Cure International, Keep A Child Alive and more than 100 others have integrated mobile donations into their fundraising efforts.

As the mobile donation channel expands, nonprofits are exploring various ways to raise donations through mobile giving.

Prior to mobile donations, many organizations used standard-rate subscription campaigns to communicate directly with consumers on their mobile phones.

During the mGive sign-up process, nonprofits are prompted to download a Mobile Giving Foundation Application Packet.

The Mobile Giving Foundation is a separate 501c3 created to oversee the mobile giving standards and best practices for the U.S. mobile industry, certify nonprofits wishing to participate in the mobile giving channel and to facilitate the flow of funds from carriers directly to participating nonprofits.

As such, organizations are required to complete and sign a separate application and service agreement with the Mobile Giving Foundation.

The lifespan of the mobile giving channel depends upon strict compliance with carrier agreements. The language in the Mobile Giving Foundation agreement is, in most cases, a direct mirror of those carrier contracts.

To register with mGive, organizations must meet these requirements as set forth by the wireless industry and the Mobile Giving Foundation.

To qualify, the organization must be a U.S. nonprofit organization registered as a 501c3 with at least $500,000 in annual revenues and Patriot Act compliant. The 501c3 must be in good standing for at least one year. And the organization must provide 990, Letter of Determination (Form 1045) and other documents as required.

"We provide a turnkey platform through which organizations can launch and manage mobile campaigns," Mr. Aiello said. "Our site at mGive.com is the client boarding portal, which allows them to take data and mix it in with their larger CRM database and to actually create the messages that are going out, as well as schedule and send them.

"They can segment donor information by campaign, either through keyword, timing, ZIP code or state," he said. "Our system also includes social networking tools to augment their online presence.

"This allows nonprofits to use the mobile phone as a separate billing mechanism for donations by taking mobile and integrating into their existing online strategy."