Lovely infographic based on some of the findings from our latest report on mobile giving and the Haiti Earthquake relief campaign.
Some highlights:
- Individual donors contributed an estimated $43 million to the assistance and reconstruction efforts of the Haiti Earthquake using the text messaging feature on their cell phones
- 1 in 10 U.S. adults have made charitable contributions using their phone’s text message function
- 89% of the Haiti text donors found out about the Haiti text effort on TV
“There’s power in urgency, whether you’re spending money on a Slap Chop or on something a little more meaningful.”
Bonus points to Atlantic writer Megan Garber for including a SlapChop video in her story on our new mobile giving report (pewinternet.org/mobilegiving).
Why mobile phone users texted $ millions in aid to the Haiti earthquake relief and how they got their friends to do the same
On January 12, 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the nation of Haiti near the capital of Port-au-Prince. Up to three million people were killed, injured or displaced.
In the months following the earthquake, Americans contributed more than $43 million in aid via cell phone text message donations. Our new report explores why these text donors contributed, and how they got their friends to join.
Some key findings:
- 64% of American adults now use text messaging, and 9% have texted a charitable donation from their mobile phone
- The ability to send small donations using mobile phones facilitates “impulse giving” in response to moving images or events
- 74% of Haiti text donors in this survey were first time mobile givers, meaning that their contribution to earthquake relief was the first time they had used the text messaging function on their phone to make a charitable contribution
- 43% of the Haiti text donors we surveyed encouraged their friends or family members to make a similar contribution using their mobile phones
(Source: pewinternet.org)
