This summer, the Pew Research Centre released a study called Mobile Access 2010, highlighting the rapid growth in mobile usage. Here are some numbers that caught our eye:

• Eight in ten American adults (82%) currently own a cell phone.
• Young adults are heavily invested in the mobile web, although 30-49 year olds are gaining ground.
• 18-29 year old cell phone owners are significantly more likely than those in other age groups to engage in all of the mobile data applications asked about in the survey; 95% send or receive text messages; 81% send photos or videos to others; 65% access the internet on their mobile device.

What’s very clear is that more people are sharing a lot of information across cell phones, and the number is growing. Are you incorporating mobile in your fundraising strategies. Make it easier for someone to support your organization and give via cell phone. Here are some tips:

Mobile Text campaigns

• Keep your text messages to fewer than 140 characters.
• Ensure proper timing of SMS delivery. Don’t wake anyone up in the middle of the night.
• Don’t overdo it. Don’t text too often.

Mobile Website

• Create a mobile website. Simplicity is key here.
• Highlight the subscribe functions on your mobile website (text alerts, email correspondence, newsletters). Make it easy for people to keep connected with your organization.
• Ensure your DONATE function works on your mobile website.

Mobile Apps

• Cater to various age groups/donors and create a cool app. What about an information app or a related game? (see our write-up on social gaming)
• Promote your app in app stores and via online and direct mail.

Is email part of your strategy and how big a role does it play? Are your emails relevant? Does your audience find them engaging or are they losing interest and tuning out?

Here are four tips for your email campaigns:

Personalize your Hello:

Use the recipient’s name. Addressing a recipient personally is a simple touch that is more likely to get him/her to read and respond to your email.

Focus your Message:

Keep it short and keep it focused. A concise subject line increases the likelihood of your email being opened. If it’s an e-blast, have one clear message. If it’s an e-newsletter, keep your blurbs to the point. Include your focus in the first few lines of the email/blurbs with links to more information.

The recipient goes through a ton of emails in a day. A focused email makes it easier to grasp the message for those who skim-read.

Call to Action:

Make your call to action stand out. Make links and directions noticeable.

Monitor your Campaign Statistics:

Analyze stats provided by your email marketing service to assess your success and tweak your campaign accordingly.

Also, check your Sender Score, a measurement used by ISPs to determine whether your email makes it into an inbox, junk mail, or not at all. A ReturnPath study determined that 83% of the time sender reputation determines whether an email reaches an inbox. Find your Sender Score at www.SenderScore.org.

Highlights from the Fidelity study that we found particularly interesting include:

•    The vast majority of men surveyed (92%) say their wives have an influence on decision-making for charitable giving.

•    While both spouses agree that giving has been a family tradition, women respondents appear more eager to create a family charitable legacy.

•    High-income women (annual household earnings of $150,000 or more) are more willing to donate publicly, rather than anonymously.

•    And finally, women are more likely to donate additional money during difficult economic times.

That last finding was new to us and we think it is especially worth the fundraiser’s attention.

What does this mean for your organization?

We recommend that your organization really take this to heart and consider special appeals targeting women.   Test sending direct mail addressed to women (and not their spouses), alter your promotional material so that it is especially appealing to women, consider stewardship events that will appeal to women, etc.   Don’t just add a few pictures or phrases to already existing materials and proposals; be much bolder about this as the evidence is really overwhelming – target this philanthropic, decision-making population specifically and strategically.

For more information about the role of women in philanthropy, please see:

• Accelerating Change for Women and Girls: The Role of Women’s Funds

• Why focus on Women’s Philanthropy?

The University of Nebraska at Omaha, the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, released a new study on the impact of giving circles.   For more information about the study, visit: www.givingforum.org/givingcircles.

Highlights from the report:

•    Giving circle members say they give more and give in more strategic ways than other donors.

•    Giving circle members are highly engaged in their communities.  Participation increases members’ knowledge about philanthropy, nonprofits, and community needs and increases community volunteering and involvement in changing government policies.

•    Giving circle members say they give to a greater number of organizations, compared to other donors.

•    Giving circle members are more likely than other donors to give to areas less often funded by organized philanthropy, such as to organizations serving women and girls, ethnic and minority groups, and for arts, culture and ethnic awareness.

•    Giving circles can have a greater impact in these difficult economic times because members pool their donations and are able to make larger grants to nonprofits then they could have individually, and they are providing creative opportunities for new ways to give.

What does this mean for you and your organization?

Three ideas that came to us:

1.    If  you are representing a smaller organization serving the populations noted above, you should ask the giving circles in you community how you approach them for support.  Ask to make a presentation at one of their future meetings about a unique aspect of your organization.

2.    If you are representing a larger organization, perhaps you should consider joining a giving circle in your community to bring your expertise into the giving circle’s conversations and to better understand how the community is thinking about philanthropy.

3.    And finally, perhaps your organization should consider forming its own giving circle and allow members to target their philanthropy to projects within your organization.  Seek an annual membership fee, just like the giving circles do, and in addition to funds raised, reap the benefits of giving circles noted above for your organization.