Best Text-To-Give Platforms For Nonprofits
Did you know that text messages have an open rate of 98%? Find out how to best utilize text-to-give for your non-profit organization and increase donations like never before.
What is Text-to-Give? A Guide for Nonprofits
Text-to-give is a modern fundraising method that allows donors to contribute to your nonprofit by simply sending a keyword via text message. It's fast, mobile-first, and frictionless—an ideal way to reach donors in real time, especially as mobile engagement skyrockets.
Over 97% of Americans text daily, and a growing majority now prefer mobile donation options over cash, checks, or even desktop forms.
Text-to-give brings donations into the same space where your audience already spends hours each day: their phone.
How Does Text-to-Give Work?
Here’s how a typical text-to-give workflow looks:
- You choose a platform (e.g. Tithely, Qgiv, Donorbox).
- Your organization receives a custom keyword and phone number.
- You promote: "Text GIVE to 30303 to donate!"
- Donors receive an instant response with a secure donation link.
- They complete the donation in under a minute—no app required.
It’s fast, intuitive, and works at events, online, or anywhere donors are emotionally engaged.
5 Key Benefits of Text-to-Give Fundraising for Nonprofits
Text-to-give fundraising makes giving faster, easier, and more attractive. When a comprehensive platform for giving is offered, even better. More donation capabilities mean that donors (and recipients) can benefit from a more customized, capable platform with more options for giving and receiving.
1. It’s Ridiculously Convenient
Text-to-give fundraising means that giving can be done anywhere, anytime. Donors can use their mobile phones as a donation platform, and organizations can make a donation appeal directly to potential donors via outbound texts. Donors can give entirely within their text-messaging application, or they can access the platform on a short link sent directly to their phones.
Donors can give:
- While watching your livestream
- During a live call-to-action
- After reading your newsletter
- From their car or couch
They don’t need to log in, download anything, or even open a browser.
2. It's Built for Simplicity and Speed
This mobile fundraising method is fast and simple. Donors don't have to download anything special to make a gift, and they can respond to giving appeals quickly and efficiently with a couple of outbound text messages, and a custom keyword.
- Text open rate: 98%
- 90% of texts are read within 3 minutes
- Donation completed in under 60 seconds
- Setup time: Minutes, not hours
3. Great for All Ages
Texting isn't just for Gen Z anymore. 76% of people aged 65+ own a smartphone, and adults between the ages of 50-69 are more likely to text than they are to email. Even first-time donors will find it intuitive to make one-time gifts (or recurring gifts) on their mobile phones. and older donors are increasingly comfortable with digital giving.
Making a financial gift via text is intuitive, even for older donors who may be less tech-savvy than younger generations.
4. Boosts Impulse Giving
Text-to-give thrives on emotional momentum. When donors feel moved—at an event or after a story—they can give right then.
5. Easily Shareable
One donor can text your keyword to a friend or share it on social. This creates a viral effect that email and forms struggle to match.
Best Practices to Launch a Successful Text-to-Give Campaign
Creating a text-to-donate campaign doesn't have to be complicated. But it does require a few best practices to make giving by phone an attractive option.
1. Keep It Simple
Use a clear, memorable keyword (like GIVE or HOPE), shortcodes (e.g., 30303), and minimal steps. Avoid adding complexity.
2. Shout It From the Rooftops aka Promote Everywhere
Find ways to share your text-to-give campaign from all your channels. You can use social media posts, your website, and even a blog post to talk about your new text-to-give option. Effectively marketing your text-to-give option can expand your donor database, and increase the likelihood of future donations.
Add your text-to-give info to:
- Website hero sections
- Event signage
- Email footers
- Instagram bios
- Speaker slides
3. Make It Mobile-Optimized
Ensure your donation page is clean, fast, and designed for thumbs and scrolls, not desktops.
4. Remember to Follow Up
Send a personalized thank-you via text or email. Offer recurring gift options and impact updates to increase long-term retention.
Text-to-Give Fundraising Statistics
The impact of mobile giving continues to climb; recent data shows the average text-to-give donation is now $107, with high-engagement campaigns seeing gifts average as high as $167 per pledge.
The immediacy of the medium is its greatest asset, as 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes, and the average response time is a staggering 90 seconds.
This speed aligns perfectly with the habits of younger donors: adults under 45 now send and receive an average of 75 to 128 texts per day, making it their primary mode of communication. Furthermore, text messages boast a 45% response rate, dwarfing the 6% response rate typically seen with email.
The stats speak for themselves: A text-to-donate campaign is no longer just an 'add-on'—it is an essential, high-conversion engine for increasing donor revenue.
Common Questions About Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits:
How Does Text-to-Give Fundraising Work?
To begin running text-to-give campaigns for your non-profit, you'll want to first choose a text-to-give platform that meets your non-profit's needs. Pay close attention to the key features for the different platforms you discover, and make sure the software you choose has mobile giving that will work for your specific needs. Some excellent choices are Tithely Text Giving, Donorbox, and OneCause.
Once you choose your software, your organization will receive a unique text number to distribute. All donors will need to do is message this number a keyword and dollar amount, and the automatic response will be a clickable link for the donor to give directly to the non-profit. The whole process takes only a few seconds and is incredibly easy to teach.
What Kind of Organizations Use Text-to-Give Fundraising?
Non-profits organizations–including churches, foundations, and other charitable organizations–use text-to-give fundraising. While churches may use text-to-give fundraising as a part of a digital discipleship plan, secular non-profits may use text-to-give fundraising as a simple strategy for increasing fundraising revenue.
What types of payments does text-to-give accept?
Text-to-give fundraising makes it easy to make a tax-deductible donation via credit or debit card, and in some cases, direct bank payments or even cryptocurrency. This increases fundraising potential by providing more options for donors.
Is there a cap on text-to-give donation amounts?
There is no cap on text-to-give donation amounts! In some cases, there may be a fee for donation processing.
Is there a way to keep track of mobile donor data?
Depending on the platform you use, you can keep track of mobile donor data for future outreach to donors. A mobile-friendly online donation form will make it simple to collect information such as email addresses, average donation size, and more.
Can Text-to-Give Donors Set Up Recurring Donations?
Yes! A reputable text-to-give application will prompt the donor to select the frequency of their donation right from their phone, whether it be one time, or recurring. This will often result in an increase in mobile donations because donors simply have to select the amount and frequency once, reflect that amount in their personal budget, and the giving is automated from then on.
How Can Nonprofits Incorporate Mobile Fundraising?
Some primary benefits of text-to-give for fundraising efforts include:
- Easily schedule recurring giving, or give one simple time
- Streamline tax season for your organization with a modern tool like Tithe.ly Giving
- Make fundraising easier by allowing donors to use their mobile phone, debit card/credit card, and receive electronic receipts per transaction
- Easier for them and for your organization during tax season
How to Choose the Best Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits:
- Who will be using the program?
Donors, organization administrators, and any staff or volunteer that would ever like to help with fundraising events or donor engagement.
- What features do you really need?
Having a fundraising platform that makes the donation process easy for the donor is what's most important. Usually this means a unique phone number for text-to-give messages, and a simple donation option so users can text their donation amount and give in real time.
- Will it actually save you time and money?
Yes, absolutely. Fundraising success has so much to do with an organization's fundraising tools. If your non-profit's fundraising campaigns limit donors to giving with cash or check, then expect to be limited to fewer people who have quick access to those limited payment methods. Giving generously is easier for donors when there are less mental blocks and hurdles to overcome, and text-to-give will likely increase the average donation size.
Not to mention, the best online fundraising tools will boast a suite of resources for accounting and tax purposes, making tax season much easier for you and your organization. Digitally track your fundraising progress with easy accounting tools instead of using a cumbersome donation form that you fill out by hand.
- How will we make donations in five to ten years?
Did you know that 98% of Americans own a cellphone of some kind, and there are more mobile subscriptions than there are people on Earth?
Looking into the future will be helpful for your non-profit. Technology is progressing rapidly, and preparing now to make donations easy in five to ten years will save you a world of headaches. Eventually, online giving may be the only safe way there is for potential donors to consider donating.
Here are the Best Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits in 2026
Jump to review:
Tithely
With Tithely, giving to your favorite non-profit is as easy as sending a text.
With Tithely, you'll get 30 days for free, during which time your organization will receive a unique giving number that your donors can text. In order to begin giving, your donor will simply need to text the word "give".
Once the automated response replies, the donor will have a clickable link to navigate to a mobile-friendly donation page, where they will fill out their card information in real time. They will also be able to choose how to categorize this giving, and whether to make it a one-time donation or an automatically recurring donation.
If your donor wants the application to remember their card information, this will make it easier in the future to give with a simple one-word text. But no pressure, they can choose to type it in manually each time also. Both ways are safe and secure.
If the donor chooses to have their card remembered, then all future donations are as simple as texting a donation amount to the unique giving number.
Made a mistake? All you have to do is text "refund" and the amount your donor gave will be refunded.
When you sign up for Tithely Text Giving, Tithely will instantly generate a text giving number for you, and you’re done! You can locate your text giving number by clicking on "Text Giving" on your Tithely admin site. Your text giving number will be instantly created and ready to accept donations. Text “Give” to your new text giving number to see how it works!
After a 30 day free trial period, your text giving subscription will cost $19.00 per month.
Please use the below graphic and video to demonstrate to your non-profit how easy text giving is with Tithely.
Give By Cell
Give By Cell has the option to use a fundraising thermometer, which is a pretty cool way to show your donors how far away from the goal the fundraiser still is. Peer fundraising is also easier with a thermometer (or any type of meter, really) because you can share with your close friends and family to to help reach the overall goal.
Donorbox
Donorbox supports text-to-give campaigns that fit naturally into live events, church giving, and ongoing fundraising.
The Mobile Fund
The Mobile Fund is a way for mobile donors to tack on a tax-deductible donation directly to their phone bill. This is a good application to use if you prefer that your donors not give with a separate debit card, but instead give directly through their cell phone carrier.
Pledge
Pledge allows a connection between a fundraiser and a giving page (sort of like GoFundMe). Instead of donors giving in a text message chat box, the donor will be redirected in the text message to the specific mobile-friendly fundraiser page, where they can see the progress of the fundraiser and then choose how much to give.
Qgiv
QGiv has two texting options, one tacks on a bill directly to your cell phone carrier, and the other allows the donor to give directly through a mobile-friendly online donation form.
Double the Donation
With Double the Donation's suite of tools, you can track match-giving, analyze fundraising progress, and automate outreach to donors via simple application "triggers".
Donr
Donr allows customizable messaging and unlimited keywords, making it another good solution for real time text-to-give fundraising and progress reporting.
Final Thoughts
Text-to-give is no longer a “nice to have,” it’s essential. In a world where attention spans are short and mobile use is constant, giving your donors the ability to support your cause in under 60 seconds is a game-changer.
If your nonprofit wants to raise more, faster, and more efficiently, now is the time to invest in a reliable text-to-give platform like Tithely
Sign Up for Product Updates
Tithely provides the tools you need to engage with your church online, stay connected, increase generosity, and simplify the lives of your staff.
With tools like text and email messaging, custom church apps and websites, church management software, digital giving, and so much more… it’s no wonder why over 37,000 churches in 50 countries trust Tithely to help run their church.
What is Text-to-Give? A Guide for Nonprofits
Text-to-give is a modern fundraising method that allows donors to contribute to your nonprofit by simply sending a keyword via text message. It's fast, mobile-first, and frictionless—an ideal way to reach donors in real time, especially as mobile engagement skyrockets.
Over 97% of Americans text daily, and a growing majority now prefer mobile donation options over cash, checks, or even desktop forms.
Text-to-give brings donations into the same space where your audience already spends hours each day: their phone.
How Does Text-to-Give Work?
Here’s how a typical text-to-give workflow looks:
- You choose a platform (e.g. Tithely, Qgiv, Donorbox).
- Your organization receives a custom keyword and phone number.
- You promote: "Text GIVE to 30303 to donate!"
- Donors receive an instant response with a secure donation link.
- They complete the donation in under a minute—no app required.
It’s fast, intuitive, and works at events, online, or anywhere donors are emotionally engaged.
5 Key Benefits of Text-to-Give Fundraising for Nonprofits
Text-to-give fundraising makes giving faster, easier, and more attractive. When a comprehensive platform for giving is offered, even better. More donation capabilities mean that donors (and recipients) can benefit from a more customized, capable platform with more options for giving and receiving.
1. It’s Ridiculously Convenient
Text-to-give fundraising means that giving can be done anywhere, anytime. Donors can use their mobile phones as a donation platform, and organizations can make a donation appeal directly to potential donors via outbound texts. Donors can give entirely within their text-messaging application, or they can access the platform on a short link sent directly to their phones.
Donors can give:
- While watching your livestream
- During a live call-to-action
- After reading your newsletter
- From their car or couch
They don’t need to log in, download anything, or even open a browser.
2. It's Built for Simplicity and Speed
This mobile fundraising method is fast and simple. Donors don't have to download anything special to make a gift, and they can respond to giving appeals quickly and efficiently with a couple of outbound text messages, and a custom keyword.
- Text open rate: 98%
- 90% of texts are read within 3 minutes
- Donation completed in under 60 seconds
- Setup time: Minutes, not hours
3. Great for All Ages
Texting isn't just for Gen Z anymore. 76% of people aged 65+ own a smartphone, and adults between the ages of 50-69 are more likely to text than they are to email. Even first-time donors will find it intuitive to make one-time gifts (or recurring gifts) on their mobile phones. and older donors are increasingly comfortable with digital giving.
Making a financial gift via text is intuitive, even for older donors who may be less tech-savvy than younger generations.
4. Boosts Impulse Giving
Text-to-give thrives on emotional momentum. When donors feel moved—at an event or after a story—they can give right then.
5. Easily Shareable
One donor can text your keyword to a friend or share it on social. This creates a viral effect that email and forms struggle to match.
Best Practices to Launch a Successful Text-to-Give Campaign
Creating a text-to-donate campaign doesn't have to be complicated. But it does require a few best practices to make giving by phone an attractive option.
1. Keep It Simple
Use a clear, memorable keyword (like GIVE or HOPE), shortcodes (e.g., 30303), and minimal steps. Avoid adding complexity.
2. Shout It From the Rooftops aka Promote Everywhere
Find ways to share your text-to-give campaign from all your channels. You can use social media posts, your website, and even a blog post to talk about your new text-to-give option. Effectively marketing your text-to-give option can expand your donor database, and increase the likelihood of future donations.
Add your text-to-give info to:
- Website hero sections
- Event signage
- Email footers
- Instagram bios
- Speaker slides
3. Make It Mobile-Optimized
Ensure your donation page is clean, fast, and designed for thumbs and scrolls, not desktops.
4. Remember to Follow Up
Send a personalized thank-you via text or email. Offer recurring gift options and impact updates to increase long-term retention.
Text-to-Give Fundraising Statistics
The impact of mobile giving continues to climb; recent data shows the average text-to-give donation is now $107, with high-engagement campaigns seeing gifts average as high as $167 per pledge.
The immediacy of the medium is its greatest asset, as 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes, and the average response time is a staggering 90 seconds.
This speed aligns perfectly with the habits of younger donors: adults under 45 now send and receive an average of 75 to 128 texts per day, making it their primary mode of communication. Furthermore, text messages boast a 45% response rate, dwarfing the 6% response rate typically seen with email.
The stats speak for themselves: A text-to-donate campaign is no longer just an 'add-on'—it is an essential, high-conversion engine for increasing donor revenue.
Common Questions About Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits:
How Does Text-to-Give Fundraising Work?
To begin running text-to-give campaigns for your non-profit, you'll want to first choose a text-to-give platform that meets your non-profit's needs. Pay close attention to the key features for the different platforms you discover, and make sure the software you choose has mobile giving that will work for your specific needs. Some excellent choices are Tithely Text Giving, Donorbox, and OneCause.
Once you choose your software, your organization will receive a unique text number to distribute. All donors will need to do is message this number a keyword and dollar amount, and the automatic response will be a clickable link for the donor to give directly to the non-profit. The whole process takes only a few seconds and is incredibly easy to teach.
What Kind of Organizations Use Text-to-Give Fundraising?
Non-profits organizations–including churches, foundations, and other charitable organizations–use text-to-give fundraising. While churches may use text-to-give fundraising as a part of a digital discipleship plan, secular non-profits may use text-to-give fundraising as a simple strategy for increasing fundraising revenue.
What types of payments does text-to-give accept?
Text-to-give fundraising makes it easy to make a tax-deductible donation via credit or debit card, and in some cases, direct bank payments or even cryptocurrency. This increases fundraising potential by providing more options for donors.
Is there a cap on text-to-give donation amounts?
There is no cap on text-to-give donation amounts! In some cases, there may be a fee for donation processing.
Is there a way to keep track of mobile donor data?
Depending on the platform you use, you can keep track of mobile donor data for future outreach to donors. A mobile-friendly online donation form will make it simple to collect information such as email addresses, average donation size, and more.
Can Text-to-Give Donors Set Up Recurring Donations?
Yes! A reputable text-to-give application will prompt the donor to select the frequency of their donation right from their phone, whether it be one time, or recurring. This will often result in an increase in mobile donations because donors simply have to select the amount and frequency once, reflect that amount in their personal budget, and the giving is automated from then on.
How Can Nonprofits Incorporate Mobile Fundraising?
Some primary benefits of text-to-give for fundraising efforts include:
- Easily schedule recurring giving, or give one simple time
- Streamline tax season for your organization with a modern tool like Tithe.ly Giving
- Make fundraising easier by allowing donors to use their mobile phone, debit card/credit card, and receive electronic receipts per transaction
- Easier for them and for your organization during tax season
How to Choose the Best Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits:
- Who will be using the program?
Donors, organization administrators, and any staff or volunteer that would ever like to help with fundraising events or donor engagement.
- What features do you really need?
Having a fundraising platform that makes the donation process easy for the donor is what's most important. Usually this means a unique phone number for text-to-give messages, and a simple donation option so users can text their donation amount and give in real time.
- Will it actually save you time and money?
Yes, absolutely. Fundraising success has so much to do with an organization's fundraising tools. If your non-profit's fundraising campaigns limit donors to giving with cash or check, then expect to be limited to fewer people who have quick access to those limited payment methods. Giving generously is easier for donors when there are less mental blocks and hurdles to overcome, and text-to-give will likely increase the average donation size.
Not to mention, the best online fundraising tools will boast a suite of resources for accounting and tax purposes, making tax season much easier for you and your organization. Digitally track your fundraising progress with easy accounting tools instead of using a cumbersome donation form that you fill out by hand.
- How will we make donations in five to ten years?
Did you know that 98% of Americans own a cellphone of some kind, and there are more mobile subscriptions than there are people on Earth?
Looking into the future will be helpful for your non-profit. Technology is progressing rapidly, and preparing now to make donations easy in five to ten years will save you a world of headaches. Eventually, online giving may be the only safe way there is for potential donors to consider donating.
Here are the Best Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits in 2026
Jump to review:
Tithely
With Tithely, giving to your favorite non-profit is as easy as sending a text.
With Tithely, you'll get 30 days for free, during which time your organization will receive a unique giving number that your donors can text. In order to begin giving, your donor will simply need to text the word "give".
Once the automated response replies, the donor will have a clickable link to navigate to a mobile-friendly donation page, where they will fill out their card information in real time. They will also be able to choose how to categorize this giving, and whether to make it a one-time donation or an automatically recurring donation.
If your donor wants the application to remember their card information, this will make it easier in the future to give with a simple one-word text. But no pressure, they can choose to type it in manually each time also. Both ways are safe and secure.
If the donor chooses to have their card remembered, then all future donations are as simple as texting a donation amount to the unique giving number.
Made a mistake? All you have to do is text "refund" and the amount your donor gave will be refunded.
When you sign up for Tithely Text Giving, Tithely will instantly generate a text giving number for you, and you’re done! You can locate your text giving number by clicking on "Text Giving" on your Tithely admin site. Your text giving number will be instantly created and ready to accept donations. Text “Give” to your new text giving number to see how it works!
After a 30 day free trial period, your text giving subscription will cost $19.00 per month.
Please use the below graphic and video to demonstrate to your non-profit how easy text giving is with Tithely.
Give By Cell
Give By Cell has the option to use a fundraising thermometer, which is a pretty cool way to show your donors how far away from the goal the fundraiser still is. Peer fundraising is also easier with a thermometer (or any type of meter, really) because you can share with your close friends and family to to help reach the overall goal.
Donorbox
Donorbox supports text-to-give campaigns that fit naturally into live events, church giving, and ongoing fundraising.
The Mobile Fund
The Mobile Fund is a way for mobile donors to tack on a tax-deductible donation directly to their phone bill. This is a good application to use if you prefer that your donors not give with a separate debit card, but instead give directly through their cell phone carrier.
Pledge
Pledge allows a connection between a fundraiser and a giving page (sort of like GoFundMe). Instead of donors giving in a text message chat box, the donor will be redirected in the text message to the specific mobile-friendly fundraiser page, where they can see the progress of the fundraiser and then choose how much to give.
Qgiv
QGiv has two texting options, one tacks on a bill directly to your cell phone carrier, and the other allows the donor to give directly through a mobile-friendly online donation form.
Double the Donation
With Double the Donation's suite of tools, you can track match-giving, analyze fundraising progress, and automate outreach to donors via simple application "triggers".
Donr
Donr allows customizable messaging and unlimited keywords, making it another good solution for real time text-to-give fundraising and progress reporting.
Final Thoughts
Text-to-give is no longer a “nice to have,” it’s essential. In a world where attention spans are short and mobile use is constant, giving your donors the ability to support your cause in under 60 seconds is a game-changer.
If your nonprofit wants to raise more, faster, and more efficiently, now is the time to invest in a reliable text-to-give platform like Tithely
podcast transcript
Tithely provides the tools you need to engage with your church online, stay connected, increase generosity, and simplify the lives of your staff.
With tools like text and email messaging, custom church apps and websites, church management software, digital giving, and so much more… it’s no wonder why over 37,000 churches in 50 countries trust Tithely to help run their church.
What is Text-to-Give? A Guide for Nonprofits
Text-to-give is a modern fundraising method that allows donors to contribute to your nonprofit by simply sending a keyword via text message. It's fast, mobile-first, and frictionless—an ideal way to reach donors in real time, especially as mobile engagement skyrockets.
Over 97% of Americans text daily, and a growing majority now prefer mobile donation options over cash, checks, or even desktop forms.
Text-to-give brings donations into the same space where your audience already spends hours each day: their phone.
How Does Text-to-Give Work?
Here’s how a typical text-to-give workflow looks:
- You choose a platform (e.g. Tithely, Qgiv, Donorbox).
- Your organization receives a custom keyword and phone number.
- You promote: "Text GIVE to 30303 to donate!"
- Donors receive an instant response with a secure donation link.
- They complete the donation in under a minute—no app required.
It’s fast, intuitive, and works at events, online, or anywhere donors are emotionally engaged.
5 Key Benefits of Text-to-Give Fundraising for Nonprofits
Text-to-give fundraising makes giving faster, easier, and more attractive. When a comprehensive platform for giving is offered, even better. More donation capabilities mean that donors (and recipients) can benefit from a more customized, capable platform with more options for giving and receiving.
1. It’s Ridiculously Convenient
Text-to-give fundraising means that giving can be done anywhere, anytime. Donors can use their mobile phones as a donation platform, and organizations can make a donation appeal directly to potential donors via outbound texts. Donors can give entirely within their text-messaging application, or they can access the platform on a short link sent directly to their phones.
Donors can give:
- While watching your livestream
- During a live call-to-action
- After reading your newsletter
- From their car or couch
They don’t need to log in, download anything, or even open a browser.
2. It's Built for Simplicity and Speed
This mobile fundraising method is fast and simple. Donors don't have to download anything special to make a gift, and they can respond to giving appeals quickly and efficiently with a couple of outbound text messages, and a custom keyword.
- Text open rate: 98%
- 90% of texts are read within 3 minutes
- Donation completed in under 60 seconds
- Setup time: Minutes, not hours
3. Great for All Ages
Texting isn't just for Gen Z anymore. 76% of people aged 65+ own a smartphone, and adults between the ages of 50-69 are more likely to text than they are to email. Even first-time donors will find it intuitive to make one-time gifts (or recurring gifts) on their mobile phones. and older donors are increasingly comfortable with digital giving.
Making a financial gift via text is intuitive, even for older donors who may be less tech-savvy than younger generations.
4. Boosts Impulse Giving
Text-to-give thrives on emotional momentum. When donors feel moved—at an event or after a story—they can give right then.
5. Easily Shareable
One donor can text your keyword to a friend or share it on social. This creates a viral effect that email and forms struggle to match.
Best Practices to Launch a Successful Text-to-Give Campaign
Creating a text-to-donate campaign doesn't have to be complicated. But it does require a few best practices to make giving by phone an attractive option.
1. Keep It Simple
Use a clear, memorable keyword (like GIVE or HOPE), shortcodes (e.g., 30303), and minimal steps. Avoid adding complexity.
2. Shout It From the Rooftops aka Promote Everywhere
Find ways to share your text-to-give campaign from all your channels. You can use social media posts, your website, and even a blog post to talk about your new text-to-give option. Effectively marketing your text-to-give option can expand your donor database, and increase the likelihood of future donations.
Add your text-to-give info to:
- Website hero sections
- Event signage
- Email footers
- Instagram bios
- Speaker slides
3. Make It Mobile-Optimized
Ensure your donation page is clean, fast, and designed for thumbs and scrolls, not desktops.
4. Remember to Follow Up
Send a personalized thank-you via text or email. Offer recurring gift options and impact updates to increase long-term retention.
Text-to-Give Fundraising Statistics
The impact of mobile giving continues to climb; recent data shows the average text-to-give donation is now $107, with high-engagement campaigns seeing gifts average as high as $167 per pledge.
The immediacy of the medium is its greatest asset, as 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes, and the average response time is a staggering 90 seconds.
This speed aligns perfectly with the habits of younger donors: adults under 45 now send and receive an average of 75 to 128 texts per day, making it their primary mode of communication. Furthermore, text messages boast a 45% response rate, dwarfing the 6% response rate typically seen with email.
The stats speak for themselves: A text-to-donate campaign is no longer just an 'add-on'—it is an essential, high-conversion engine for increasing donor revenue.
Common Questions About Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits:
How Does Text-to-Give Fundraising Work?
To begin running text-to-give campaigns for your non-profit, you'll want to first choose a text-to-give platform that meets your non-profit's needs. Pay close attention to the key features for the different platforms you discover, and make sure the software you choose has mobile giving that will work for your specific needs. Some excellent choices are Tithely Text Giving, Donorbox, and OneCause.
Once you choose your software, your organization will receive a unique text number to distribute. All donors will need to do is message this number a keyword and dollar amount, and the automatic response will be a clickable link for the donor to give directly to the non-profit. The whole process takes only a few seconds and is incredibly easy to teach.
What Kind of Organizations Use Text-to-Give Fundraising?
Non-profits organizations–including churches, foundations, and other charitable organizations–use text-to-give fundraising. While churches may use text-to-give fundraising as a part of a digital discipleship plan, secular non-profits may use text-to-give fundraising as a simple strategy for increasing fundraising revenue.
What types of payments does text-to-give accept?
Text-to-give fundraising makes it easy to make a tax-deductible donation via credit or debit card, and in some cases, direct bank payments or even cryptocurrency. This increases fundraising potential by providing more options for donors.
Is there a cap on text-to-give donation amounts?
There is no cap on text-to-give donation amounts! In some cases, there may be a fee for donation processing.
Is there a way to keep track of mobile donor data?
Depending on the platform you use, you can keep track of mobile donor data for future outreach to donors. A mobile-friendly online donation form will make it simple to collect information such as email addresses, average donation size, and more.
Can Text-to-Give Donors Set Up Recurring Donations?
Yes! A reputable text-to-give application will prompt the donor to select the frequency of their donation right from their phone, whether it be one time, or recurring. This will often result in an increase in mobile donations because donors simply have to select the amount and frequency once, reflect that amount in their personal budget, and the giving is automated from then on.
How Can Nonprofits Incorporate Mobile Fundraising?
Some primary benefits of text-to-give for fundraising efforts include:
- Easily schedule recurring giving, or give one simple time
- Streamline tax season for your organization with a modern tool like Tithe.ly Giving
- Make fundraising easier by allowing donors to use their mobile phone, debit card/credit card, and receive electronic receipts per transaction
- Easier for them and for your organization during tax season
How to Choose the Best Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits:
- Who will be using the program?
Donors, organization administrators, and any staff or volunteer that would ever like to help with fundraising events or donor engagement.
- What features do you really need?
Having a fundraising platform that makes the donation process easy for the donor is what's most important. Usually this means a unique phone number for text-to-give messages, and a simple donation option so users can text their donation amount and give in real time.
- Will it actually save you time and money?
Yes, absolutely. Fundraising success has so much to do with an organization's fundraising tools. If your non-profit's fundraising campaigns limit donors to giving with cash or check, then expect to be limited to fewer people who have quick access to those limited payment methods. Giving generously is easier for donors when there are less mental blocks and hurdles to overcome, and text-to-give will likely increase the average donation size.
Not to mention, the best online fundraising tools will boast a suite of resources for accounting and tax purposes, making tax season much easier for you and your organization. Digitally track your fundraising progress with easy accounting tools instead of using a cumbersome donation form that you fill out by hand.
- How will we make donations in five to ten years?
Did you know that 98% of Americans own a cellphone of some kind, and there are more mobile subscriptions than there are people on Earth?
Looking into the future will be helpful for your non-profit. Technology is progressing rapidly, and preparing now to make donations easy in five to ten years will save you a world of headaches. Eventually, online giving may be the only safe way there is for potential donors to consider donating.
Here are the Best Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits in 2026
Jump to review:
Tithely
With Tithely, giving to your favorite non-profit is as easy as sending a text.
With Tithely, you'll get 30 days for free, during which time your organization will receive a unique giving number that your donors can text. In order to begin giving, your donor will simply need to text the word "give".
Once the automated response replies, the donor will have a clickable link to navigate to a mobile-friendly donation page, where they will fill out their card information in real time. They will also be able to choose how to categorize this giving, and whether to make it a one-time donation or an automatically recurring donation.
If your donor wants the application to remember their card information, this will make it easier in the future to give with a simple one-word text. But no pressure, they can choose to type it in manually each time also. Both ways are safe and secure.
If the donor chooses to have their card remembered, then all future donations are as simple as texting a donation amount to the unique giving number.
Made a mistake? All you have to do is text "refund" and the amount your donor gave will be refunded.
When you sign up for Tithely Text Giving, Tithely will instantly generate a text giving number for you, and you’re done! You can locate your text giving number by clicking on "Text Giving" on your Tithely admin site. Your text giving number will be instantly created and ready to accept donations. Text “Give” to your new text giving number to see how it works!
After a 30 day free trial period, your text giving subscription will cost $19.00 per month.
Please use the below graphic and video to demonstrate to your non-profit how easy text giving is with Tithely.
Give By Cell
Give By Cell has the option to use a fundraising thermometer, which is a pretty cool way to show your donors how far away from the goal the fundraiser still is. Peer fundraising is also easier with a thermometer (or any type of meter, really) because you can share with your close friends and family to to help reach the overall goal.
Donorbox
Donorbox supports text-to-give campaigns that fit naturally into live events, church giving, and ongoing fundraising.
The Mobile Fund
The Mobile Fund is a way for mobile donors to tack on a tax-deductible donation directly to their phone bill. This is a good application to use if you prefer that your donors not give with a separate debit card, but instead give directly through their cell phone carrier.
Pledge
Pledge allows a connection between a fundraiser and a giving page (sort of like GoFundMe). Instead of donors giving in a text message chat box, the donor will be redirected in the text message to the specific mobile-friendly fundraiser page, where they can see the progress of the fundraiser and then choose how much to give.
Qgiv
QGiv has two texting options, one tacks on a bill directly to your cell phone carrier, and the other allows the donor to give directly through a mobile-friendly online donation form.
Double the Donation
With Double the Donation's suite of tools, you can track match-giving, analyze fundraising progress, and automate outreach to donors via simple application "triggers".
Donr
Donr allows customizable messaging and unlimited keywords, making it another good solution for real time text-to-give fundraising and progress reporting.
Final Thoughts
Text-to-give is no longer a “nice to have,” it’s essential. In a world where attention spans are short and mobile use is constant, giving your donors the ability to support your cause in under 60 seconds is a game-changer.
If your nonprofit wants to raise more, faster, and more efficiently, now is the time to invest in a reliable text-to-give platform like Tithely
VIDEO transcript
What is Text-to-Give? A Guide for Nonprofits
Text-to-give is a modern fundraising method that allows donors to contribute to your nonprofit by simply sending a keyword via text message. It's fast, mobile-first, and frictionless—an ideal way to reach donors in real time, especially as mobile engagement skyrockets.
Over 97% of Americans text daily, and a growing majority now prefer mobile donation options over cash, checks, or even desktop forms.
Text-to-give brings donations into the same space where your audience already spends hours each day: their phone.
How Does Text-to-Give Work?
Here’s how a typical text-to-give workflow looks:
- You choose a platform (e.g. Tithely, Qgiv, Donorbox).
- Your organization receives a custom keyword and phone number.
- You promote: "Text GIVE to 30303 to donate!"
- Donors receive an instant response with a secure donation link.
- They complete the donation in under a minute—no app required.
It’s fast, intuitive, and works at events, online, or anywhere donors are emotionally engaged.
5 Key Benefits of Text-to-Give Fundraising for Nonprofits
Text-to-give fundraising makes giving faster, easier, and more attractive. When a comprehensive platform for giving is offered, even better. More donation capabilities mean that donors (and recipients) can benefit from a more customized, capable platform with more options for giving and receiving.
1. It’s Ridiculously Convenient
Text-to-give fundraising means that giving can be done anywhere, anytime. Donors can use their mobile phones as a donation platform, and organizations can make a donation appeal directly to potential donors via outbound texts. Donors can give entirely within their text-messaging application, or they can access the platform on a short link sent directly to their phones.
Donors can give:
- While watching your livestream
- During a live call-to-action
- After reading your newsletter
- From their car or couch
They don’t need to log in, download anything, or even open a browser.
2. It's Built for Simplicity and Speed
This mobile fundraising method is fast and simple. Donors don't have to download anything special to make a gift, and they can respond to giving appeals quickly and efficiently with a couple of outbound text messages, and a custom keyword.
- Text open rate: 98%
- 90% of texts are read within 3 minutes
- Donation completed in under 60 seconds
- Setup time: Minutes, not hours
3. Great for All Ages
Texting isn't just for Gen Z anymore. 76% of people aged 65+ own a smartphone, and adults between the ages of 50-69 are more likely to text than they are to email. Even first-time donors will find it intuitive to make one-time gifts (or recurring gifts) on their mobile phones. and older donors are increasingly comfortable with digital giving.
Making a financial gift via text is intuitive, even for older donors who may be less tech-savvy than younger generations.
4. Boosts Impulse Giving
Text-to-give thrives on emotional momentum. When donors feel moved—at an event or after a story—they can give right then.
5. Easily Shareable
One donor can text your keyword to a friend or share it on social. This creates a viral effect that email and forms struggle to match.
Best Practices to Launch a Successful Text-to-Give Campaign
Creating a text-to-donate campaign doesn't have to be complicated. But it does require a few best practices to make giving by phone an attractive option.
1. Keep It Simple
Use a clear, memorable keyword (like GIVE or HOPE), shortcodes (e.g., 30303), and minimal steps. Avoid adding complexity.
2. Shout It From the Rooftops aka Promote Everywhere
Find ways to share your text-to-give campaign from all your channels. You can use social media posts, your website, and even a blog post to talk about your new text-to-give option. Effectively marketing your text-to-give option can expand your donor database, and increase the likelihood of future donations.
Add your text-to-give info to:
- Website hero sections
- Event signage
- Email footers
- Instagram bios
- Speaker slides
3. Make It Mobile-Optimized
Ensure your donation page is clean, fast, and designed for thumbs and scrolls, not desktops.
4. Remember to Follow Up
Send a personalized thank-you via text or email. Offer recurring gift options and impact updates to increase long-term retention.
Text-to-Give Fundraising Statistics
The impact of mobile giving continues to climb; recent data shows the average text-to-give donation is now $107, with high-engagement campaigns seeing gifts average as high as $167 per pledge.
The immediacy of the medium is its greatest asset, as 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes, and the average response time is a staggering 90 seconds.
This speed aligns perfectly with the habits of younger donors: adults under 45 now send and receive an average of 75 to 128 texts per day, making it their primary mode of communication. Furthermore, text messages boast a 45% response rate, dwarfing the 6% response rate typically seen with email.
The stats speak for themselves: A text-to-donate campaign is no longer just an 'add-on'—it is an essential, high-conversion engine for increasing donor revenue.
Common Questions About Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits:
How Does Text-to-Give Fundraising Work?
To begin running text-to-give campaigns for your non-profit, you'll want to first choose a text-to-give platform that meets your non-profit's needs. Pay close attention to the key features for the different platforms you discover, and make sure the software you choose has mobile giving that will work for your specific needs. Some excellent choices are Tithely Text Giving, Donorbox, and OneCause.
Once you choose your software, your organization will receive a unique text number to distribute. All donors will need to do is message this number a keyword and dollar amount, and the automatic response will be a clickable link for the donor to give directly to the non-profit. The whole process takes only a few seconds and is incredibly easy to teach.
What Kind of Organizations Use Text-to-Give Fundraising?
Non-profits organizations–including churches, foundations, and other charitable organizations–use text-to-give fundraising. While churches may use text-to-give fundraising as a part of a digital discipleship plan, secular non-profits may use text-to-give fundraising as a simple strategy for increasing fundraising revenue.
What types of payments does text-to-give accept?
Text-to-give fundraising makes it easy to make a tax-deductible donation via credit or debit card, and in some cases, direct bank payments or even cryptocurrency. This increases fundraising potential by providing more options for donors.
Is there a cap on text-to-give donation amounts?
There is no cap on text-to-give donation amounts! In some cases, there may be a fee for donation processing.
Is there a way to keep track of mobile donor data?
Depending on the platform you use, you can keep track of mobile donor data for future outreach to donors. A mobile-friendly online donation form will make it simple to collect information such as email addresses, average donation size, and more.
Can Text-to-Give Donors Set Up Recurring Donations?
Yes! A reputable text-to-give application will prompt the donor to select the frequency of their donation right from their phone, whether it be one time, or recurring. This will often result in an increase in mobile donations because donors simply have to select the amount and frequency once, reflect that amount in their personal budget, and the giving is automated from then on.
How Can Nonprofits Incorporate Mobile Fundraising?
Some primary benefits of text-to-give for fundraising efforts include:
- Easily schedule recurring giving, or give one simple time
- Streamline tax season for your organization with a modern tool like Tithe.ly Giving
- Make fundraising easier by allowing donors to use their mobile phone, debit card/credit card, and receive electronic receipts per transaction
- Easier for them and for your organization during tax season
How to Choose the Best Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits:
- Who will be using the program?
Donors, organization administrators, and any staff or volunteer that would ever like to help with fundraising events or donor engagement.
- What features do you really need?
Having a fundraising platform that makes the donation process easy for the donor is what's most important. Usually this means a unique phone number for text-to-give messages, and a simple donation option so users can text their donation amount and give in real time.
- Will it actually save you time and money?
Yes, absolutely. Fundraising success has so much to do with an organization's fundraising tools. If your non-profit's fundraising campaigns limit donors to giving with cash or check, then expect to be limited to fewer people who have quick access to those limited payment methods. Giving generously is easier for donors when there are less mental blocks and hurdles to overcome, and text-to-give will likely increase the average donation size.
Not to mention, the best online fundraising tools will boast a suite of resources for accounting and tax purposes, making tax season much easier for you and your organization. Digitally track your fundraising progress with easy accounting tools instead of using a cumbersome donation form that you fill out by hand.
- How will we make donations in five to ten years?
Did you know that 98% of Americans own a cellphone of some kind, and there are more mobile subscriptions than there are people on Earth?
Looking into the future will be helpful for your non-profit. Technology is progressing rapidly, and preparing now to make donations easy in five to ten years will save you a world of headaches. Eventually, online giving may be the only safe way there is for potential donors to consider donating.
Here are the Best Text-to-Give Platforms for Nonprofits in 2026
Jump to review:
Tithely
With Tithely, giving to your favorite non-profit is as easy as sending a text.
With Tithely, you'll get 30 days for free, during which time your organization will receive a unique giving number that your donors can text. In order to begin giving, your donor will simply need to text the word "give".
Once the automated response replies, the donor will have a clickable link to navigate to a mobile-friendly donation page, where they will fill out their card information in real time. They will also be able to choose how to categorize this giving, and whether to make it a one-time donation or an automatically recurring donation.
If your donor wants the application to remember their card information, this will make it easier in the future to give with a simple one-word text. But no pressure, they can choose to type it in manually each time also. Both ways are safe and secure.
If the donor chooses to have their card remembered, then all future donations are as simple as texting a donation amount to the unique giving number.
Made a mistake? All you have to do is text "refund" and the amount your donor gave will be refunded.
When you sign up for Tithely Text Giving, Tithely will instantly generate a text giving number for you, and you’re done! You can locate your text giving number by clicking on "Text Giving" on your Tithely admin site. Your text giving number will be instantly created and ready to accept donations. Text “Give” to your new text giving number to see how it works!
After a 30 day free trial period, your text giving subscription will cost $19.00 per month.
Please use the below graphic and video to demonstrate to your non-profit how easy text giving is with Tithely.
Give By Cell
Give By Cell has the option to use a fundraising thermometer, which is a pretty cool way to show your donors how far away from the goal the fundraiser still is. Peer fundraising is also easier with a thermometer (or any type of meter, really) because you can share with your close friends and family to to help reach the overall goal.
Donorbox
Donorbox supports text-to-give campaigns that fit naturally into live events, church giving, and ongoing fundraising.
The Mobile Fund
The Mobile Fund is a way for mobile donors to tack on a tax-deductible donation directly to their phone bill. This is a good application to use if you prefer that your donors not give with a separate debit card, but instead give directly through their cell phone carrier.
Pledge
Pledge allows a connection between a fundraiser and a giving page (sort of like GoFundMe). Instead of donors giving in a text message chat box, the donor will be redirected in the text message to the specific mobile-friendly fundraiser page, where they can see the progress of the fundraiser and then choose how much to give.
Qgiv
QGiv has two texting options, one tacks on a bill directly to your cell phone carrier, and the other allows the donor to give directly through a mobile-friendly online donation form.
Double the Donation
With Double the Donation's suite of tools, you can track match-giving, analyze fundraising progress, and automate outreach to donors via simple application "triggers".
Donr
Donr allows customizable messaging and unlimited keywords, making it another good solution for real time text-to-give fundraising and progress reporting.
Final Thoughts
Text-to-give is no longer a “nice to have,” it’s essential. In a world where attention spans are short and mobile use is constant, giving your donors the ability to support your cause in under 60 seconds is a game-changer.
If your nonprofit wants to raise more, faster, and more efficiently, now is the time to invest in a reliable text-to-give platform like Tithely
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With tools like text and email messaging, custom church apps and websites, church management software, digital giving, and so much more… it’s no wonder why over 37,000 churches in 50 countries trust Tithely to help run their church.
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