Home » Consumer Electronics Articles » OpenMarket Drives SMS Donations for the Disasters Emergency Committee's East Africa Drought Appeal
OpenMarket Drives SMS Donations for the Disasters Emergency Committee's East Africa Drought Appeal
OpenMarket's payments gateway and CMX2 platform gets mobile donations up and running within 24 hours, creating powerful addition to DEC multi-platform approach to emergency fundraising
LONDON, ENGLAND, July 16, 2011 /Consumer Electronics PR News/ -- OpenMarket, a leading global mobile transaction hub, today announced its support for the East Africa drought appeal, launched last week across the UK by the Disasters Emergency Committee, by enabling SMS donations via its mobile payments and campaign management platform. Anyone can donate GBP5 directly to the appeal by texting 'HELP', 'CRISIS', 'AID', 'DONATE', 'HELP', 'SUPPORT' or 'AFRICA' to 70000. The appeal launched on Friday 8th July and has already generated almost GBP400,000 from SMS donations alone.
OpenMarket guarantees that 100% of the money raised via text goes to the DEC appeal - and it's even possible to opt in for Gift Aid, increasing the amount by a further 25%. The appeal has been prompted because of the unprecedented drought in East Africa which has left over 10 million people in East Africa desperately needing humanitarian aid.
Donations via text message are an immediate and effective way for the public to respond to appeals. OpenMarket also assisted DEC with its appeal for flood victims in Pakistan in 2010 and through its agency partner network, works with a number of other high profile charitable organizations. The 70000 short code has been developed specifically for the DEC charity appeals and can be rapidly launched across all networks in less than 24 hours, allowing charities to reach the 50 million mobile users in the UK.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella organisation of 14 UK and International charity agencies which deliver effective and timely help to people affected by major disasters such as floods, earthquakes or drought. The agencies will be working through local partners to access remote and difficult to reach areas across East Africa with food, water, therapeutic feeding for malnourished children and medical treatment. A support network of television and radio broadcasters, banks, the Post Office, BT, regional and national press is helping DEC to publicise the appeal. As well as by SMS, donations can be made online, by post and in any high street bank. Adverts featuring the 70000 short code will be appearing in newspapers, posters, TV, online and across the London Underground. Each media partner will feature a different keyword attached to the 70000 short code, including 'AFRICA', 'WATER', 'GIVE' and "DEC'.
"In any disaster situation speed is always of the essence, which is why OpenMarket set out to create a way for the public to donate in an instant, getting the funds to where they can make the most difference", said Alex Moir, General Manager for Europe, OpenMarket. "We are immensely proud to be able to use our mobile know-how to help charities and organisations like the Disasters Emergency Committee."
"Millions of lives are threatened by this drought, with large parts of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan already suffering the loss of crops and livestock on a huge scale," said Polly Gilchrist, Fundraising Manager, DEC. "By giving people the ability to donate by simply texting means that thousands of people without credit cards or unable to donate in person can, with a single SMS, help us help others."
In addition to the rapid roll-out of charity appeals, OpenMarket's CMX2 platform is able to add a Gift Aid response mechanism to the donation, meaning that individuals can increase their donation by 25% if they opt in to the HMRC gift aid scheme. Once a donation is received the CMX2 platform automatically sends a message thanking them for their donation and asking if they would like to add gift aid by simply replying with their name and post code. The platform can also recognise if a donor has already opted in to Gift Aid in which case they receive a message of thanks, confirming their Gift Aid status. When the Gift Aid feature was used for the Pakistan floods appeal, more than 60% of people responded, making a significant difference to the amount donated via mobile.
OpenMarket will be demonstrating its CMX2 platform at September's Interactive Tech for Charities (http://www.aimelink.org/events/next_seminar.aspx) event, showcasing how mobile is a powerful fund raising tool alongside DEC.
About OpenMarket
OpenMarket, a division of Amdocs, is a leading global mobile transaction hub. OpenMarket provides a comprehensive set of payments, messaging and emerging services to enterprises, merchants and developers. From the largest consumer brands to the smallest business ventures, OpenMarket empowers companies to monetize their services, expand their marketing initiatives and strengthen customer relationships by leveraging the mobile channel. OpenMarket provides the most reliable cross-channel, cross-network platform with extensive mobile operator connections globally. For more information, please visit www.openmarket.com.
For further information, interviews or photography please contact:
John Ozimek
Peppermobi for OpenMarket
Tel: +44 70332 660
john@peppermobi.com
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