Nonprofit Text Fundraising Lessons: What 2023 Taught Us

How MMS texts transformed nonprofit fundraising in 2023

In recent years, the nonprofit sector has witnessed remarkable advancements in digital fundraising, particularly in the realm of text messaging. MMS texts — with their rich content including video, GIFs, audio, images, and emojis — have revolutionized the way nonprofits connect with their audiences.

This post examines 2023's most significant text fundraising trends, highlights real campaign results, and explains what nonprofits can learn to build stronger programs going forward.

The rising trend of MMS texts in fundraising

In 2023, MMS texts emerged as a powerful tool for nonprofits, demonstrating an unparalleled capacity to evoke emotion and prompt action. By analyzing 100 high-ROI MMS text campaigns, we've seen how these messages effectively reach diverse demographics and interest groups — from higher education alumni to faith-based congregations.

The flexibility of MMS texting, whether for event promotions or donor engagement, has proven invaluable across various nonprofit sectors. Organizations that embraced rich media in their text programs consistently outperformed those relying on SMS alone.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: MMS messages with a compelling image and a short narrative outperform plain SMS by 15-25% in click-through rate. Video MMS performs even higher in engagement but can be limited by carrier delivery and file-size constraints. For most nonprofits, a high-quality static image paired with 2-3 sentences of copy is the optimal format — it combines the emotional impact of visual storytelling with the reliability of near-universal delivery.

What high-ROI text campaigns have in common

Our analysis of 100 top-performing MMS campaigns reveals several key characteristics that separate strong results from average ones.

Broad reach

Campaigns reached up to 4,000 individuals per send, demonstrating the expansive reach of texting as a channel. Unlike email, where open rates continue to decline, text messages are read by the vast majority of recipients within minutes of delivery.

Impressive donations and ROI

These campaigns garnered substantial donations, with some individual sends generating up to $5,976. ROI ranged from 331% to an impressive 7,746% — numbers that are difficult to match with any other fundraising channel. The cost-per-dollar-raised for well-executed MMS campaigns consistently outperforms direct mail, paid social, and even email.

Crafting the right message

The data suggests a clear shift toward personalized, concise, and timely messages with a single, direct call to action. Campaigns that tried to accomplish too much in a single text — multiple links, competing asks, lengthy copy — performed significantly worse than those with a focused message and one clear next step.

Organizations leading the way in text fundraising

Several nonprofits stood out in 2023 for their innovative and effective use of text messaging. Their approaches offer practical lessons for any organization building or refining a text program.

Holt International

Holt International's innovative use of MMS texting for storytelling and donor updates significantly boosted engagement and donations. By pairing compelling images of the children they serve with short, emotionally resonant narratives, they turned text messages into a direct window into their impact.

The tactical detail that made Holt's approach work: they used a consistent content rhythm — alternating between impact stories (no ask) and donation appeals (clear ask) on a bi-weekly cadence. This meant donors received value from the text program even when they weren't being asked to give, which kept opt-out rates low and engagement high. Their storytelling texts had open rates above 95% and click-through rates 3-4x higher than their email counterparts.

International Medical Corps

International Medical Corps leveraged text messaging for emergency appeals, demonstrating the effectiveness of timely, urgent communication. When a disaster struck, they could mobilize their text subscriber list within hours — far faster than email or direct mail — and the immediacy of the channel matched the urgency of the need.

Their disaster response text formula was sharply focused: one sentence describing the crisis, one image from the field (when available), one sentence on how the donor's gift helps, and one link. No preamble, no multi-paragraph backstory. Emergency appeals sent within 24 hours of a major event generated 4-6x the ROI of appeals sent 48+ hours later — confirming that in disaster fundraising, speed of deployment is the single biggest variable.

March of Dimes

March of Dimes utilized text messaging to connect with their community, particularly for event promotions and updates. The result was increased participation and fundraising for signature events like March for Babies, where text reminders drove both registration and day-of donations.

Alzheimer's Association

The Alzheimer's Association successfully employed segmented texting campaigns to target specific donor groups. By tailoring messages based on past giving history, event participation, and engagement level, they achieved higher donation rates and deeper engagement than broadcast-style sends.

Sandy Hook Promise

Sandy Hook Promise used text messaging strategically for awareness campaigns and calls to action, greatly amplifying their reach and impact. Their approach demonstrated that text messaging is not just a fundraising channel — it's an advocacy and mobilization tool that can drive petition signatures, event attendance, and legislative action alongside donations.

Sandy Hook Promise's multi-action text strategy is worth studying: they sent a mix of fundraising asks, advocacy alerts ("text your representative"), and educational content. The advocacy and educational messages kept subscribers engaged between fundraising windows and positioned Sandy Hook Promise as a source of value, not just an ask. When the fundraising message arrived, subscribers were more receptive because the relationship wasn't purely transactional.

Structuring effective MMS messages

The 2023 data showed that simplicity in structure was key. The highest-performing messages shared several structural traits:

• Clear links: One prominent link or button, not buried in a wall of text
• Direct calls to action: "Donate now," "Register today," or "Sign the petition" — specific and action-oriented
• Minimal distractions: Surprisingly, avoiding emojis and subject lines tended to result in more effective messaging, keeping the focus on the core message

The best MMS messages paired a single compelling image with 2-3 sentences of copy and one link. That formula outperformed longer, more complex messages nearly every time. For more on how SMS and MMS drive donations, see our detailed breakdown.

Image selection for MMS

The image you choose matters as much as the copy. The 2023 data showed clear preferences among high-performing campaigns:

• Authentic photos outperform designed graphics. A candid photo of a real program participant (with consent) consistently drove higher click-through rates than branded infographics or polished creative assets. Donors respond to authenticity, not production value.
• Faces outperform scenes. Images with a clearly visible human face generated 20-35% higher engagement than landscape shots, group photos, or object-focused images.
• Bright, well-lit images outperform dark or busy ones. On a small phone screen, clarity matters. A simple, well-lit image with a clear subject reads better than a detailed scene that requires zooming.
• File size affects delivery. MMS images should be under 600KB for reliable delivery across all carriers. Larger files may be compressed or fail to deliver entirely on some networks.

Timing and frequency: optimizing message impact

Determining the best time to send texts emerged as a crucial factor in 2023. The data revealed clear patterns:

• Mid-week sends win: Tuesday through Thursday consistently showed the highest engagement rates
• Time of day matters: Late morning (10-11am) and early evening (6-7pm) outperformed other windows
• Consistent cadence builds trust: Organizations that sent on a regular schedule — rather than only when they needed money — saw lower opt-out rates and higher lifetime value per subscriber

Developing a consistent yet responsive sending cadence, aligned with a well-planned content strategy, has been pivotal for success. During Giving Tuesday and year-end giving season, successful organizations increased frequency to 5-7 messages per month without seeing a spike in unsubscribes — because they had built trust through consistent engagement throughout the year.

The power of segmentation

Segmentation emerged as one of the single biggest differentiators between average and exceptional text fundraising programs in 2023. By segmenting audiences based on factors like past donations, engagement levels, or specific interests, nonprofits achieved dramatically better results:

• Lower unsubscribe rates: Relevant messages keep subscribers engaged instead of driving them away
• Higher donation amounts: Tailored asks based on giving history yield larger average gifts
• Better ROI: Sending the right message to the right segment means fewer wasted sends and more revenue per message

Even basic segmentation — active donors vs. new subscribers vs. lapsed donors — outperforms sending the same message to everyone. AI-driven segmentation takes this further by scoring supporters automatically based on real behavior, removing the guesswork from list management.

Practical segmentation examples from 2023

The most impactful segmentation strategies we observed in the top-performing campaigns:

• Recency-based segments: Donors who gave in the last 90 days received thank-you-first messages before any new ask. Donors who hadn't given in 6+ months received re-engagement messages that led with impact, not an immediate ask. This single segmentation produced 15-20% higher conversion than unsegmented sends.
• Gift-size segments: Donors with an average gift above $100 received messages with higher suggested amounts and more detailed impact descriptions. Donors with average gifts under $25 received messages emphasizing that "every dollar matters" with lower anchored amounts. Matching the ask to the donor's giving capacity improves both conversion rate and average gift size.
• Channel-preference segments: Subscribers who consistently opened MMS but didn't click received a follow-up SMS-only message with a direct link — removing the visual element that may have been slowing load times or distracting from the action. This simple A/B approach recovered 5-8% of otherwise lost conversions.
• Event-based segments: Subscribers who attended or registered for events received text appeals tied to the event's mission. The shared experience created a stronger emotional hook than a generic appeal.

Applying these lessons to your text program

The year 2023 was a landmark year for nonprofit text fundraising, marked by technological innovation, creative strategies, and impactful campaigns. The lessons are clear:

1. Invest in MMS: Rich media messages connect and resonate more deeply with donors than plain text
2. Keep messages simple: One image, a few sentences, one clear call to action
3. Segment your audience: Even basic segmentation delivers outsized returns
4. Be consistent: Build trust with regular engagement messages, not just donation asks
5. Time it right: Mid-week, strategic timing, and increased year-end frequency all drive better results
6. Build your list year-round: The best text fundraising programs don't start with a campaign — they start with list growth. Add text opt-in to every donation page, event registration, and volunteer signup. A larger, engaged list is the foundation of every lesson above.
7. Track cost-per-dollar-raised: Compare your text channel's cost-per-dollar-raised against email, direct mail, and paid social. In 2023, well-run MMS programs consistently delivered the lowest cost-per-dollar-raised of any direct fundraising channel, making the case for investment straightforward.

Building on 2023: what's changed since

While the 2023 lessons remain foundational, the text fundraising landscape continues to evolve. Since this analysis, several trends have accelerated:

• AI-powered message composition: Tools that draft message copy based on campaign goals, donor segments, and historical performance data are moving from experimental to mainstream. They don't replace human judgment — but they accelerate the drafting process and surface patterns human writers might miss.
• Send-time optimization: Rather than picking a single send window for the entire list, platforms now deliver each message at the time each individual subscriber is most likely to engage, based on their historical behavior.
• Deeper integration with giving platforms: The gap between "reading a text" and "completing a gift" is shrinking. Mobile-optimized donation pages that load in under 2 seconds and pre-fill donor information reduce abandonment at the critical moment.
• 10DLC and short code compliance: Carrier requirements for sender registration and throughput have tightened. Organizations that haven't registered their sending numbers may see delivery rates decline. Compliance is no longer optional — it's a deliverability prerequisite.

These lessons provide a strong foundation for building a text fundraising program that delivers real, measurable results. momoGood Messaging gives you the tools to apply every one of them — MMS and SMS support, AI-powered segmentation, send-time optimization, and analytics that show what's working in real time.

Talk to our team to build a text program based on what the data actually shows.