Spanish Donor Acquisition Programme Sees 50% Annual Income Rise

The Spanish Fundraising Association’s SMS acquisition service, provided in partnership with Altiria, has seen donations rise by 50 per cent from 2014 to 2015, bringing in more than €670,000 for nonprofits last year (up from €454,210 in 2014 and €500,000 in 2013).

Used by 92 nonprofits in Spain, the two step donor acquisition service enables charities to fundraise for text donations and gives those charities access to the mobile phone numbers of their supporters, enabling them to conduct follow up telephone calls and convert donors to regular givers.

The programme was introduced in 2013, after the Asociación Española de Fundraising (AEFr) and the nation’s nonprofits came together, led by Unicef, to lobby Government and mobile phone companies for better text donation services.  Together, they secured a deal that would see the introduction of two unique donation numbers, which would allow supporters to give quickly and easily to registered charities.

While any charity can apply to access the charge-free donation numbers themselves, it can be a lengthy process. AEFr enables its members to bypass that process.

AEFr’s two-step acquisition model is available to all its member charities, enabling charities to integrate SMS donation numbers into their fundraising programme. On receipt of text donations, charities can then contact their supporters by mobile to convert those supporters to regular givers through a telemarketing programme. Typically, four to nine per cent of donors become regular supporters.

Speaking about the service, Javier Ruiz, President of the Asociación Española de Fundraising, says:

“Over the past three years, the SMS service alone has generated 1.2 million text donations, raised €1.6 million and, even more significantly, generating a databank of supporters which can be converted into regular givers.”

“New technologies, including mobile phone, are rapidly evolving and always offer NGOs new ways to recruit and to engage donors. But we believe that SMS will continue to be a key channel for giving in the years ahead, particularly when integrated effectively with other mass media channels.”

The Spanish Government has now approved a new number that will allow donors to use SMS to make regular gifts and this service will shortly be introduced to AEFr’s existing text giving platform, serviced through technology provider Altiria.

For more information, see Fundraising Europe’s interview with Javier Ruiz.