Not far from U.S. shores, the unspeakable tragedy still unfolding from Haiti’s recent 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 2010, sends us one message – help Haiti now. This morning, the Haitian people experienced yet another aftershock, at 6.1 magnitude near Port-au-Prince. Before the January 12 earthquake struck, Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, and most Haitians live on $2 a day or less. The greatest need in Haiti right now is money.
Even with the dragging economy, Americans have opened their hearts, wallets and cell phones. We have come together as a nation and responded with the latest trend in fundraising: mobile micro-donations. Disaster response organizations, as well as Haitian native and artist Wyclef Jean, have made it easy for mobile users to give money via text message. While it may be difficult to imagine the past and current struggles of the Haitian people, and the long road to recovery that this neighboring country faces, we CAN imagine another $5 or $10 added to our phone bills.
The Mobile Giving Foundation, the leading third-party fundraising network to cell phone carriers, reported to CRSwire that mobile donations increased by $6 million dollars last weekend, surpassing a total of $16 million on Sunday, January 17. As of yesterday, Tuesday, January 19, MSNBC reported that U.S. mobile giving to help Haiti has exceeded $27 million dollars.
Despite the costs of sending a text message, the immediate accessibility of giving $5 or $10 via text has been changing fundraising outreach dramatically for several years. Some wireless carriers are even waiving the costs and sending the donation right away. Although checks, cash and other online donation methods have seen larger sums from individual gifts, the sheer abundance of micro-donors are keeping mobile donations pouring in for Haiti.
Creating a mobile donation campaign of your own can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks, and may only be done through the Mobile Giving Foundation or mGive. These organizations serve as the official intermediary between the wireless industry and 250 million wireless users in the U.S. The marketing success of mobile donations is excellent for emotional and spontaneous giving. Imagine the impact that lies in your hands – your text message donation could bandage a wound, feed a child, or help a family find shelter. Mobile technology has truly revolutionized our ability to show compassion and reach out to people all over the world.
The struggle to recover and heal from this human disaster in Haiti still needs your help. View a list of organizations you can send your text RIGHT NOW. Please give. I just did.
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