Your Donors Are Texting. Why Aren’t You?

Mindy Sherfy
SVP of Partnership Development & Marketing

This fall, I’m doing something I never thought I would do.

I’m taking my first cruise.

For years, I’ve said cruises weren’t for me. They’re too crowded. Too scheduled. Too much time on a boat. But then I realized something: my opinions were based on assumptions, not experience (a.k.a. data).

Organizations that don’t include texting in their annual communications strategy often cite these hesitations: “Our donors won’t like it.” “It feels too intrusive.” “We don’t want to bother people.” “That’s not really our audience.”

Here’s the problem: donors are already texting. Your staff is already texting. Your board is texting. Your volunteers are texting. Your teenage children are definitely texting.

So why is texting still missing from so many nonprofit communications plans?  If we want to reach people where they are, we have to be honest about what that means.

• You text.
  
  Yet many nonprofits still build annual communications strategies around channels donors check less often and respond to less immediately. Email matters. Direct mail matters. Social media matters. But texting belongs in that mix too because it reflects how people live.
  
  There is also a disconnect we need to acknowledge. Many organizations say they want to attract younger donors, but they resist using the communication channels younger donors prefer. We cannot keep asking Millennials and Gen Z to engage with our missions while insisting they do it only through our preferred methods. That is not donor-focused communication. That is organizational comfort dressed up as strategy.

• Texting also creates room for two-way communication. Some donors may reply with a question. Some may ask for prayer. Some may simply appreciate being acknowledged in a way that feels immediate and human.
  
  And isn’t that what we say we want? Relationships, not transactions
  
  We saw this missed opportunity in the Douglas Shaw & Associates 2026 Donor Experience Scorecard. In our study of 141 nonprofits, only 9 organizations used texting to communicate within the first 60 days after receiving a first online gift—leaving a highly personal, near-instant channel out of their new donor relationship-building strategy.

Compliance is not a reason to avoid texting. It is a reason to do texting well.

But Won’t We Annoy People?
It is possible—this is a risk that applies to all the communications your organization sends. However, you can reduce the likelihood by making sure you don’t send too often, send irrelevant messages, or treat the channel like a megaphone. The best texting strategy is not loud. It is timely, clear, warm, and respectful.

The goal is to use texting at the right moments, with the right audiences, for the right reasons. Start small. Add texting around one campaign. Use it to thank donors. Test a short update after a gift. Watch responses. Learn from your donors what feels helpful and what feels like too much.

This fall, I’m getting on a cruise ship and challenging a few of my own assumptions. Maybe it’s time for your organization to challenge an assumption or two. If you’re ready to explore how texting could fit into your communications strategy, reach out. Or better yet, send us a text at (913) 766-2697. We’d love to help you think it through.