Questions to Ask Before Choosing A Mass Text Messaging System for Non-Profits

Sustainability has always been an issue for non-profits. To their credit, they managed to still push for their advocacy despite the starvation of support. However, by force of circumstance, they need to manage a slim operation. It means working with a skeleton staff to reduce their overhead.

Questions to Ask Before Choosing A Mass Text Messaging System for Non-Profits
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To sustain their operations, they need to always ask for funding support or raise an army of volunteers. One tool that can help them is a non-profit mass text system to help them reach out to their intended audience with the speed that an email could not. The best part is that you do not need an Internet connection to perform the task.

Here are some of the questions you need to consider for a mass text messaging platform:

1. How Much Can I Afford?

Except for a few, non-profits are typically hounded by funding problems. Although they are tax-exempt, they still have to pay for overhead on top of the costs to launch and maintain their pet projects. For example, according to estimates, 3 in 10 non-profits would close shop within 10 years. So, when choosing a non-profit mass text system, price is an issue. 

Although there are free platforms, the number of texts you can send is severely limited. But you do not have to settle since you can find a service provider that is very affordable. For instance, you can opt for a “pay-as-you-go” subscription, where each credit will cost between five cents and nine cents. A monthly subscription rate can also start at $7.50, which would not strain your overhead budget. Each credit is equivalent to 160-character outbound text or a 30-second voice message.

2. Who Is Your Target Market?

You do need to determine who will ultimately receive your messages. If you are a small operation, you can start with the free plan, which allows you to send 25 messages without cost. If you need to send out more, you can assign a staff to handle the task. You scale up your plan as your organization grows.

3. What Is The Information You Need To Send?

As already mentioned, the free plan for a mass text system is limited. However, they do not allow you to send other types of media like photos, video clips, infographics, and graphs. 

For instance, if you need to send a product demo or a PowerPoint presentation about your organization,  your text message plan should be able to support it. The best tip is to subscribe to a plan that will allow you a lot of elbow room for adjustments, but you should always be cognizant of your budget. 

At the end of the day, the non-profit tax message system should make your job easier without destroying your budget. Some plans will allow you to schedule the time when the message could be sent. So, even if you are already sleeping, the platform is still working overtime for you. 

However, you do need to know your target audience for this. As a rule of thumb, however, it is recommended that you send the text message during midday, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. or from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., setting a schedule will make sure you never forget even if the day’s tasks hijack you.