$61,355

dollars raised

4,240

donors

United Way of Salt Lake needed to enrich its relationship with its Young Leaders, a group of young philanthropic professionals committed to reducing poverty and focusing on educating and empowering youth. Traditional forms of communication didn’t seem to resonate with the group, and participation was lagging. This led them to look for a digital solution to mobilize the Young Leaders. 

Challenge & Solution

With the help of GiveSmart, United Way implemented a text subscription campaign targeted at young professionals. They were able to upload a list of cellphone numbers, verify the numbers, and send out a subscription campaign opt-in message. The subscription campaign allowed members to learn about events, learn about volunteer opportunities, and sign-up to participate via short link in the text message. New members could opt-in at any time by sending a keyword to a 51555, and they too would be subscribed for the Young Leaders updates.

Results

As expected, results followed. Text messaging allowed United Way to interact with the group members through their preferred method of communication and thus improved engagement and participation. The response speed to volunteer and event sign-ups drastically increased, and the unsubscribe rate remained incredibly low at 4%. To date, United Way of Salt Lake has 2,025 subscribers and maintains an active group of Young Leaders. 

About the Organization

United Way of Salt Lake

Established in 1904 as the Salt Lake Charity Association, its original mission was to help the poor, discourage panhandling, and coordinate multiple programs. The historic “community chest” with a broad charitable mission has transformed into an agent for social change. Today, United Way of Salt Lake is pursuing lasting social change on some of the toughest challenges we face, including poverty, poor health and lagging educational achievement.