Using SMS for raising funds

Dina Mehta highlights the efforts in Bangladesh using simple SMS to get people to donate for the victims.

Bangla blogging platform Somewherein, in association with Save the Children, has launched an innovative SMS based campaign “Jagoron” (which literally means ‘the awakening’) to enable those living in Bangladesh to do their bit in aid of Sidr victims. The campaign works as follows:

A mobile phone user types SAVE and sends SMS to a given number. Each SMS costs Bangladeshi Taka (BDT)2. Then Somewherein and other sponsors add a certain monetary figure, currently standing at 15BDT (this is a dynamic figure which will go up as more corporate sponsors join the campaign) for every BDT2 generated through the SMS and the total amount is deposited in the Save the Children Cyclone Relief fund.

For those living outside Bangladesh, Somewherein requests them to send their donations directly to the Save the Children Cyclone Relief fund as this SMS facility is available for local residents only.

She wonders whether an application like Twitter can enable donations like this on a larger global scale!

So far more than 6000 sms has been sent and 100,000 BD Taka has been raised.

Dina also notes the Bangla Blogging Platforms use of sms blogging tool:

well its very simple…the blog gives directions @bba eg., @bba curfew relaxed from 8am to 10pm. send to 5455. and it gets posted on the blog, that’s it. and the right hand bar of the blog reflects the comments. since its sms generally comments are short. but people are now using it even to wish happy birthday or send general messages :). its useful and fun! and taps the Asian’s love for texting