Political Mobile Donation, Is It Realistic? - The Mobile Nonprofit

by Doug Plank on August 1, 2012

There was quite a buzz generated last month when the FEC approved mobile donations for political campaigns. Indeed, on the surface it seems like a great way to garner support $5 and $10 at a time. According to Business Insider, 30 million American?s don?t have a bank account. How do they participate in the democracy of financially supporting their candidate? Given most adults (18+ years old) in the US have a mobile phone, the idea of enabling them to make a political donation via mobile seems (on the surface) like a great idea. Certainly the fact that according to Pew, at least 9% of all Americans have made a mobile donation to a charity, why not political?

Well there are some unique differences between political and charitable fundraising. For one, the IRS requires that they need to be kept separate. Charitable giving is tax deductible and political is not. Tax deductible Charities have to go through a significant vetting process required by the wireless carriers to determine they are legitimate current 501 c 3?s, are filing their 990?s each year, raise at least $500K and are properly registered in order to raise money in the states where they solicit. The carriers deserve a significant ?shout out? of appreciation for enabling the democratization of easily making micro donations to charities! However, the requirements for political are very different and the carriers will need to assess their business models and the potential changes required to ensure only legitimate candidates are eligible, that donation limits are adhered to, and that all parties involved understand their critical roles?the campaigns, the aggregators, the political donors and mobile providers. My best guess is that if the business requirements can be addressed in a reasonable and sustainable way, that the opportunity for political donations via mobile will become a viable option. The question is when.

MobileCause fundraising and communication tools have the potential to be a great fit for political campaigns.

Source: http://themobilenonprofit.org/2012/08/01/political-mobile-donation/

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