Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The Rising Popularity Of Text Donations

By Grace Daniels


Text donations are means of doing charity work. They usually involve having money deducted from the credit of a subscriber with his permission. It is however normally done after the consent of the prospective donor.

These charity contributions are usually done through a mobile company. The organization wishing to carry out donations may approach one of the mobile service providers. They then agree on a number to which a standardized text should be sent. On sending the message, the sender is deducted the stated amount of money. The mobile service provider then deducts its fees and gives the rest of the money to the organization interested in the contributions .

Another method that may be used is that of subscription. Here, the customers using a certain communication network may receive texts requesting them to channel their donations in the form of airtime. They are informed on what the call for charity is about, and then it is up to the owner of the phone to decide. Options of the amounts the subscriber can donate are provided. He then selects the amount he is comfortable with and then that amount is deducted from his airtime on daily basis, or after every agreed on period.

This form of sourcing for funds from the public is so far the most effective especially when targeting a large audience. It can be used for a whole country or even a series of countries. It is also a very secure method of collecting funds on the part of the done, because all funds are channeled towards central locations where they can then be easily retrieved from.

However, this mode of donation also has its own shortcomings. The most common is manipulation by fraudsters. After people notice that some contributions are ongoing, they may tamper with technology and use it to their advantage. They may not manage to deceive all customers, but at least ignorant mobile users must fall victim. As a result, even genuine calls for help may be ignored with the fear of loses.

Apart from participating in charitable ventures, the subscribers who receive the texts are also informed on matters arising in their country, plans that are underway for their country as well as notifications on what is happening in various part of the country. In this, it is beneficial even to those who may finally refuse to give their money contributions.

For the service providers who usually serve as mediators, this may be an extra source of income. Even better, it may be an opportunity to get more customers, since some people may be prompted to join the involved network so as to channel their donations through it. Therefore, these institutions also normally look forward to such opportunities.

The use of text donations has gained prominence throughout the world. Given the risks involved though, precaution has to be taken by mobile subscribers intending to give their contributions . One must verify who really needs the help by calling the common number of his or her mobile service provider and enquiring whether such an activity is ongoing.




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