Pretty soon, there will be more cell phones than people, but how can your nonprofit leverage this important trend to further your mission? A group of experts will share data, case studies, and insights that will help you learn the benefits of entering and accessing data remotely, using both the mobile Web and SMS.

1. Taking Your Mission Mobile
Deb Levine, Founder, YTH
(formerly ISIS)
Social Media 4 Nonprofits
June, 2013 Mountain View

2. Why Mobile?
• 91% of people in the U.S. own mobile
phones
• 56% of adults in the U.S. own smart
phones
• 78% of teens have mobile phones
• 36% of teens have smart phones
• There is little disparity in phone ownership
based on race/ethnicity/socioeconomic
status

3. Adult Latina Women
• 251 surveys of Latinas aged 16-59
• 96% have mobile phones
• 70% have data plans on their mobile
phones

4. African-American Youth
• Conversations with 75 youth of color in
San Francisco
• 99% have mobile phones; about 20%
have more than one
• 100% use their phones for calls and SMS
text messaging
• 66% have data plans on their mobile
phones

5. The Basics: Messaging
• Text messages: 140 – 160 characters, one
way or two way messaging. One way best
used to engage and encourage to take an
action, such as increase access to services
or sign a petition. Two way good for deep
engagment, crisis management.
• Multimedia messaging: Enhanced text
messages with pics, video and audio

6. The Basics: Web and Apps
• Mobile web: Reaching those who access
the Internet only via their mobile phones,
most often people with greatest economic
and health disparities
• Smartphone apps: Makes optimum use of
phone features such as photo, video,
GPS, etc. Platform dependent
(iPhone/Droid)

7. Use for Mobile
• Information and Awareness: SMS and
MMS
• Advocacy: SMS and mobile web
• Fundraising: SMS and mobile web
• Behavior Change/Reminders: SMS, apps
• Prevention: SMS, apps

8. SMS: Does it Work?
• Numerous feasibility and acceptability
studies completed of SMS non-profit
usage
• Recent reviews concluded that SMS can
be used successfully to promote short-
term behavior change, advocacy,
fundraising

9. Examples
• Fundraising: Works well for events (Red,
ACS)
• DoSomething.org: 1 million subscribers
• Credo mobile: 3 million+ members; 500
action campaigns/year
• National Dating Abuse Helpline: 2 way
chat and text messaging service

10. Best Practices
• Understand the local mobile landscape
• Community inclusion
• Partnerships (community and tech)
• Multi-media strategy
• Evaluation and marketing built in and
budgeted

11. Challenges
• Mobile still low priority (4% of nonprofits said
texting was somewhat important to their
mission in 2012)
• Inability to be flexible and iterate
• Wildly divergent costs, services provided
• Msgs sent via mobile phones are not
confidential
• Unclear terms of service by carriers

12. Case Studies
• TIPS: Text information portal for Latina
women in Fresno County
• Oregon Reminders: SMS, Voice and Email
reminders for HIV testing and medication
• Circle of 6: Mobile app to prevent dating
violence and sexual assault on college
campuses

19. YTH Live
mHealth for Youth track
– SMS to improve medication adherence for HIV+
youth: Children’s Hosp of Chicago
– Geolocating apps for HIV prevention: San Mateo
County Health
– Mobile app to help teens find docs: NYC DOH
– SMS and text-chat to replace f/u appointments: Cell-
Life, South Africa
– Mobile and tech on a shoestring budget: Family Tree
Clinic
– Responsive design: AIDS.gov

20. Contact Info
Deb Levine, YTH
deb@yth.org
@DebYTH
Facebook.com/ythorg
510-835-9400