Heads up - This feature is currently under construction and not available for use at this time. We will update this once it is ready to rock again!
Text-to-Give is proven to increase the effectiveness of your giving. It's easy to set up and easy to give.
Note: This feature is not available on Starter. It's $0.10/text on PRO and $0.02/text on ENTERPRISE. These fees will be added to your monthly invoice.
Watch the video below to get set up and see Text-to Give in action!
Text-To-Give FAQ & Troubleshooting
How can we test our Text-to-Give number?
It’s always important to test your giving number to ensure the flow is working correctly for your donors. Here are the best ways to test:
Test on a live page on a live gateway. A donation page in test mode or on a test gateway cant process a donation. So use the real published page you plan on using for text giving.
Test with a minimum of $5.00 on a real, working credit card. Payment gateways are often suspect of repeated transactions under $5 and they may flag the donation thinking it is someone testing stolen credit cards. Feel free to donate to your own organization a few times or you can easily refund the donation by texting REFUND after it’s completed.
I'm not getting a response from our Text-To-Give number. What's going on?
The Text to Give process runs through mobile carriers and requires an adequate signal. Even if there is strong WiFi, for a Text-to-Give donation to be completed, the user has to have a signal from their mobile carrier.
Furthermore, all major mobile carriers use algorithms to detect and prevent fraud and spam via mobile devices. T-Mobile and Sprint appear to be the most aggressive in spam blocking. If you hear reports of donors unable to complete donation, it is highly likely they are on T-Mobile or Sprint networks. AT&T and Verizon are the two major carriers with over 70% of marketshare and there haven't been any reported problems with those carriers.
We are constantly working with mobile carriers to ensure our messages are delivered but it is possible certain donors may have complications. See the answers on Short Codes below for options to guarantee message delivery.
Can I have a short-code with a keyword instead of the 10 digit number?
Included with the monthly cost of GivingFuel Pro and Enterprise are unlimited and free 10 digit phone numbers for your giving pages. We do not offer short codes or the ability to text in custom phrases at this time.
However, short codes with custom phases are available through platforms outside of GivingFuel. You can lease a pre-determined short code through platforms like MoboMix and link your GivingFuel donation page into the text message for donors to give. Pricing is outside of GivingFuel and varies from $10 - $200 per month.
Custom short codes owned by your organization are also available but they are expensive and take time to set up and verify. On average, to reserve and lease a custom short-code owned by your organization takes 6-8 weeks of verification and costs over $10,000 annually.
Custom Short-codes are effective but best used by organizations doing significant Text-to-Give volume. Feel free to reach out to justin@givingfuel.com if you’d like to discuss the short-code option.
How is the GivingFuel Text to Give system different than Short Codes I can get elsewhere?
Because the GivingFuel 10 digit Text-To-Give system is built into our platform, it enables donors to give follow up donations, change funds, and manage their account from the Text-To-Give system. Most short code platforms don't offer this level of donor experience and are best used for one time donations at an event or gathering. However, short codes can be more reliable in bypassing mobile spam and fraud filters.
Can I use phone numbers outside of the USA for Text-To-Give?
At this time you can only select US phone numbers as the donation number for your giving page. However, you can receive texts from international numbers.
Can I link my dedicated giving number to other fundraising pages?
In our system, you can have one giving number connected to one GivingFuel page. So if you're accepting funds through multiple pages, you will need multiple giving numbers if you want to utilize Text to Give.
However, you can also use Fund Tracking on your giving page, enabling Text-to-Give donors to select the fund they want to support for their donation. They’ll also be able to change the fund directly from the Text to Give service.
Can I send outbound custom texts with the GivingFuel Text-To-Give system?
At the moment, no, the GivingFuel Tex-To-Give platform can only receive donations and text back pre-written responses. However, our new Communication Center will have this feature and is coming soon.
Why does Text-to-Give force our donors to input all their personal information along with a credit card? Is there a way to have it just quickly charged to their phone bill without gathering the other data?
Our system is built on the idea that organizations want to gather as much donor information as possible to further the relationship with their supporters. Text-to-Give is like any donation through GivingFuel, where you’ll be able to manage, track, and further communicate with the donor because of the information collected.
Can a Text-to-Give donor update their card information from the Text-to-Give service? How does a donor get a refund or stop Text-to-Give?
Here is the full list of keyword commands your donors can use to interact with the Text-to-Give platform.
Reply NEWCARD to replace your existing card on file with a new one.
Reply RESET to clear out your existing text to give account and start over. You'll need to text in a new amount to start a new account.
Reply VOID to stop a transaction
Reply REFUND to refund a recent donation you've made. This will only apply to the last transaction texted in. To edit past donations, they will need to contact the organization.
Reply STOP to never be texted from this number again.
Reply START if you accidentally replied STOP and want to resume text messages from this number.
Reply HELP for information on the commands that control the delivery of messages.