August 2026: Why now is the time for texting
Happy sweaty sticky sandy August!
If you've been here long, you know I've been talking a lot about text messaging. I launched the Text For Good course with Amanda Speer this spring and just presented about it for Nonprofit Apps + CharityHowTo on Tuesday.
I felt a little loony over the last couple of years, singing and dancing about the importance of texting for nonprofits. It felt like everyone was walking by with their eyes cast down, pretending not to see or hear.
I empathize with the people running nonprofit texting platforms because they've been singing and dancing too, with big signs that read:
4-5x Average Return on Investment for Nonprofits!!!
And still, only something like 15% of nonprofits are trying it.
Last week, I put out a LinkedIn poll to understand WHY adoption is so dang slow. Results:
Granted, this is a very small sample size of only 13 people, it's still interesting. Typically, when I put out a “what's stopping you” poll, cost is the #1 issue.
Here, people are more worried about:
Starting with a very small list of phone numbers
Making people feel spammed
This is actually music to my ears because these are problems we can solve, y'all.
What do you do if you have a tiny email list? Water it, babe! (Can you tell I've been listening to Amy Poehler's podcast every day?)
The same goes for a texting list. I've got lots of tips to grow your list of phone numbers. Reply to this email if you want a few ideas!
The concern about “spamming” people is the one I hear most often from clients. Some say, “I get all of these political texts and I hate them!”
Luckily, that's not what I'm suggesting you send. Not even close.
The way I see it, there's a gaping hole in 75% of nonprofits' donor journeys that can only be filled with texting.
I believe this strongly enough to make it a headline.
Here's one example from a recent fundraising campaign I designed for BRAC USA. They sent something like a dozen emails during the campaign, and I wrote just three texts for them to send at key moments.
Here are donations from that campaign broken out by source:
The giant blue spike is donations from one text. 8 gifts from that one text message, including one $5,000 gift. The $5k came from an existing donor who clearly didn't feel spammed. In fact, without the text, they may have accidentally skipped over the ads and emails and never sent this major gift!
When done well, texting helps busy people connect with you and see your most important calls to action. Finally, it feels like more nonprofits are warming up to the idea.
One of my favorite nonprofit leaders took the Text For Good course and said, let's do this.
Meghan Walsh, Board Chair of Roots Ethiopia, is a gem of a human being. She's also the first person to say, “Let's try it!” and that attitude continues to grow her fundraising program.
Over the next five months, I'm helping Meghan build a texting program from the ground up. This is my dream project right now. After years of singing and dancing about the importance of texting, I finally have the opportunity to create the donor experience I've never received as a donor myself.
We're building automated text journeys timed to complement her existing email journeys.
We're planning update texts to her monthly donors that feel exclusive.
We're leaving room for live texts to her full list that are timely and personal.
There's a learning curve, and we're adding to a pretty complex system of existing automations. There may be hiccups, and we'll make adjustments as we go. I'm confident these texts will directly raise money and lift revenue from Meghan's other channels.
To follow along, text ROOTS to 658-56.
And if you want to explore the possibility of texting, Text For Good is the best place to start.
Summer and early fall are nonprofit prime time.
Here's an oldie but a goodie, revamped for The Purpose Collective blog. If you're wondering what your content strategy should be during this “dead zone” before fundraising season, I broke down how I think about it and included great examples.
Lastly, have you explored my free resources?
Now is the perfect time to use the campaign planning workbook, DIY audit guide, and donor journey scorecard in preparation for year-end. You can download them all here. If you use any, let me know how it goes; I love the feedback.
Hope you enjoy the end of summer and, if you have kiddos, have a smooth transition back to school!
-Caroline
