Company profile

The Foundation, established in 1955, facilitates collaborative philanthropy by making powerful connections between donors and community organizations for the long term benefit of Calgary and surrounding area. To identify needs and address community issues, The Calgary Foundation develops networks that transcend special interests, providing knowledgeable and effective grants in the areas of Arts & Heritage, Human Services, Education, Environment, Health and Neighbourhoods.

The Calgary Foundation’s Text-to-Donate Programs

The Calgary Foundation reacted fast when disaster struck Alberta this summer. Calgary and surrounding cities were devastated by floods caused by torrential rain in late June 2013.

Two text-to-donate campaigns were launched in August 2013, in conjunction with two relief concerts, one for Alberta Flood Aid (keyword ‘ABFLOOD’) and one for Halo High Water (keyword ‘HHW’), to help Albertans rebuild after the floods. Both concerts aired in August and had a combined live audience of more than 30,000 people, not including all of those who tuned in from home on TV and online through live streaming.

The call-to-action encouraging viewers to text ABFLOOD or HHW to 20222 to donate $10 was displayed at the concert, was promoted live by the supportive guests, artists, and performers that took part in the benefit show, and of course on social media.

By promoting the call-to-action on television and live online, at home concert viewers were also able to see how easy it was for them to help out fellow Canadians in need. The Flood Aid concert has been, and will continue to be rebroadcasted until December 2013, while keeping the text-to-donate call-to-action prominently displayed across the screen for much needed continuing support from viewers.

The Calgary Foundation also opted to take advantage of the ‘flexible message’ option which allows them to send users an additional text message with a link to learn more about the charity.

The Flood Aid concert featured performances and appearances by popular Canadian artists such as Nickelback, Jann Arden, Matthew Good, and Tom Cochrane, to name a few. With so many talented artists showing Alberta their support, The Calgary Foundation was hopeful for a successful event, and Canadians across the country did not disappoint.

Results

Success in any charitable event does not come easy, but the hard work and dedication that went into organizing the Flood Aid relief concerts paid off. Collectively, both concerts raised more than $34,000 from mobile donations alone! These funds could not have been raised without the amazing 1,460 donors who texted the keyword HHW and 1,802 donors who texted the keyword ABFLOOD to 20222 to donate $10 to support Alberta families in need. Not only was there a total of 3,262 unique mobile donors across both keywords, but 143 donors gave twice and 40 donors gave 3 times!

Impact & Feedback

The success of The Calgary Foundation’s text-to-donate campaigns, in combination with the benefit concerts, can not only be measured by the thousands of dollars raised to help Alberta rebuild after the floods, but also in the number of users who donated in and outside of Alberta. By televising the concerts from coast to coast, and allowing supporters to view the concert live online, more than10% of the total mobile donors were from outside the province of Alberta; a total of 342 unique donations were made.

The Calgary Foundation is proud to report that their stakeholders and continuing supporters welcome mobile giving with open arms as a great modern way to make donating easier and more accessible, and to expose the Foundation to a younger generation.

Case Study Prepared by:

Caitlin O’Neill, Client Services Team, Mobile Giving Foundation Canada

With Credit to:

Taylor Barrie, Communications Coordinator, The Calgary Foundation

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