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mCommons messagingCase study · Advocacy and fundraising · Washington, DC

How the Human Rights Campaign found mobile subscribers are 250% more likely to donate

The Human Rights Campaign built its mobile list over two years, then asked a simple question of its own fundraising data: are supporters who get texts better donors? The answer was yes, by a wide margin.

Published by the Mobile Commons Strategy and Insights team

250%more likely to donate than email-only supporters
22.1%of donations came from 8% of the list
309%higher value per mobile subscriber

01The question

The question: does SMS make supporters better donors?

Does being on the text list change how people give?

Gifts made through mobile web forms were not a large share of donations, so the Human Rights Campaign wanted to know whether its text program affected giving at all.

Nearly everyone on the mobile list was also on the email list, so the comparison is fair: mobile subscribers get email plus text, everyone else gets email only.

More likely to donate
250%

Mobile subscribers compared with email-only subscribers.

02What the data showed

The data: mobile subscribers gave 22.1% of donations from 8% of the list

A small share of the list gave a large share of the money.

In the first year, mobile subscribers made up 8% of the list but gave 22.1% of all donations. In the second year, they were 9% of the list and gave 21% of donations.

Put together, mobile subscribers were 250% more likely to donate than supporters who received email only.

Share of the list compared with share of donations
Share of the listShare of donations
Year 1
8%
22.1%
Year 2
9%
21%

Mobile subscribers as a share of the whole list and of all donations.

03The result

The result: each mobile subscriber was worth up to 309% more

Each mobile subscriber was worth two to three times more.

Dividing total donations by the number of subscribers on each list, the value of an email plus mobile subscriber was 309% higher than an email-only subscriber in the first year, and 236% higher in the second.

Text messaging creates supporters who read the messages, and those supporters give more.

Higher value per mobile subscriber
Year 1+309%
Year 2+236%

Value of an email plus mobile subscriber compared with an email-only subscriber.

Human Rights Campaign results at a glance

The Human Rights Campaign is a national advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Multichannel fundraising analysis, comparing donors who receive text messages with those who receive email only, is the clearest way to value a nonprofit SMS program.

Human Rights Campaign results at a glance
MeasureBeforeResult
Mobile subscribers as a share of the list8% (Year 1)9% (Year 2)
Share of all donations from mobile subscribers22.1% (Year 1)21% (Year 2)
Likelihood to donate versus email only—250% higher
Value per subscriber versus email only+309% (Year 1)+236% (Year 2)

How to run a program like Human Rights Campaign’s

  1. Grow the mobile list alongside emailInvite email supporters to opt in to text messages too.
  2. Compare like with likeCompare email plus mobile supporters with email-only supporters.
  3. Measure share of givingCompare each group's share of donations with its share of the list.
  4. Measure value per subscriberDivide total donations by the number of subscribers in each group.

The advocacy and fundraising program on mCommons covers every step, with SMS, MMS, RCS, and WhatsApp on one platform.

Powered by mCommons

What they use

What Human Rights Campaign ran on mCommons.

SMS, MMS, RCS, and WhatsApp on one platform, with mobile strategists who help plan, write, and run each campaign alongside your team.

See the programCompare the channels
  • Mobile list growth
  • Text and email together
  • Donation analysis

Take it with you

Get the Human Rights Campaign case study as a two-page PDF.

The results, the charts, and how they did it, in a format you can forward to your team or bring to a budget meeting.

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Want results like Human Rights Campaign’s?

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