Charities: Want More Donations? Try Mobile Payments
It’s an odd fact of life that, when we hold cash in our hands, many of us are more careful about it than we are when we hold a payment card or a mobile payments system.
Some use this tendency as a budgeting tool, limiting the amount of cash on hand and, by extension, the amount that can be spent.
Meanwhile, others have realized the state of digital profligacy to be a means to drive sales…and donations.
Mobile payments therefore can give charities a leg up when it comes to donation counts.
Using mobile payments technology allows donors to use technology that’s already familiar.
A comfortable, familiar environment increases the chances of a generous donation, and charities are taking advantage of the increasing move to mobile devices by bringing mobile payments technology to special events, providing an opportunity for use.
Better yet, offering a mobile payment options provides faster action with email donation requests as well.
Reports suggest that email fundraising accounts for about a third of nonprofit donations, and since over half—55 percent—of all emails are read on a mobile device, having a mobile payment element built into the email takes advantage of a shorter lag in response.
Using a mobile payments option can also improve organizational credibility; having access to that system makes the charity be perceived as up to date and on top of current issues.
That makes even small charities look like bigger ones, and the more a small charity looks big, the more it can take advantage of that halo effect.
Mobile payments can eliminate bottlenecks in the process by taking some middlemen points out of the equation, and also take advantage of that phenomenon where cash isn’t in hand, so spending hurts less to draw in more donations. Plus, the average donation actually goes up, based on some reports.
Allowing users to make donations more quickly on the strength of an emotional appeal, letting users turn to familiar and more comfortable platforms, and taking advantage of the concept that cash not in hand spends more freely are all good points to consider.
Charities are having a particularly tough time of things given the overall economic climate, so taking every advantage possible is essentially a survival mechanism at this point.
Charities that want to keep operating should consider adding mobile payments to their lineup.