e.politics: online advocacy tools & tactics

How Do Advocacy Organizations Build their Mobile Support?

Hint: most often, it’s not by cell phone. M&R Strategic Services updated their mobile benchmarks report today, and the results are interesting in a couple of areas. First, the rate of growth of nonprofit mobile acquisition has slowed somewhat since 2010, which the survey authors attribut to the organizations having picked the low-hanging fruit on the existing supporter lists — i.e., the people on their email lists who WOULD sign up to be contacted via cell phone HAVE signed up.

Which leads us to the second point: groups are still gaining the bulk of their mobile following NOT by getting people to sign up via their phones. Instead, roughly two-thirds of their new mobile activists are converts from email lists, as the graphic below shows:

One of these days, cell phones will be the main channel through which political and advocacy groups contact their supporters. But that day has yet to come, and it’s been on the horizon for a long, long time now.

– cpd

1 comment August 16th, 2012 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us

Now that the FEC Approves, Will Text-Based Mobile Political Donations Take Off?

The Federal Election Commission decided yesterday to go ahead and allow campaigns to raise money via text message. The final sticking point? The phone companies won’t have to verify that people who give money are actually legally eligible to do so. So, will text-donations take off? Here’s one hint:

The FEC’s plan will limit donations to a maximum of $10 per text, $50 per month and $200 per election cycle. The contribution method will not be open to corporations, foreign nationals or people younger than 18 years old.

Hmmm, not the most convenient way for people to give money in quantity to a campaign, particularly since the phone providers will take a cut. But, still useful for taking donations at live events and for getting people on a list — i.e., they make their first donation via text, and the campaign then has a hook to get them on its other channels as well. Considering email’s power as a fundraising tool, getting mobile supporters’ addresses fast is likely to be a priority.

– cpd

Add comment August 16th, 2012 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us