Rehoming text alert service raises donations for Battersea
Melanie May | 31 July 2019 | News
Battersea is trialling a text alert service that tells subscribers every time an animal is rehomed by the charity and automatically collects a 25p donation for each message.
Battersea’s rehoming alerts service went live on Monday 22 July, and will roll out permanently if the trial is successful.
When donors sign up for rehoming alerts, they will receive a text whenever one of the charity’s dogs or cats goes home. Every time they receive a text, they automatically donate 25p to Battersea through their phone bill. 21p of this goes directly to Battersea, with 4p spent on the costs of the SMS donation platform.
Donors signing up to the service can select the centre they want to hear from, London, Windsor or Brands Hatch in Kent, and whether they want to hear about cats or dogs.
When they sign up, donors select their donation cap, which is the maximum amount they are willing to donate each week. Once they have reached their cap for the week, Battersea will pause texts until the following week, and supporters can pause or cancel their donations at any time.
Currently, supporters can set their cap from 50p to a maximum of £2.50 a week.
Head of Public Fundraising Jo Stone said:
“We introduced this service as it’s a great mechanism for supporters to give to us in a new way, through their mobile phones.
“The rehoming alerts are an immediate way for people to see something tangible come from their donation. Every time they receive a text, they will get a reminder of how their donation is helping Battersea animals. The great thing about this way of giving is that anyone can do it, as long as they have a mobile phone – smart or non-smart.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.