Call me stupid (please don’t:) – but every time I see an ad to text a donation (or enter a text competition or send a company a payment by text) using my mobile phone to a worthy need or cause (I just saw the Nepal disaster earthquake and wanted to donate) I get quite excited – until I pick up my phone and then I can’t think how on earth how to text a donation via my mobile phone!
The donation appeal ad says; Nepal Earthquake: Help save lives now. Text AID to 70123 to give £5 (Please note: this as was posted April 2015 for anyone who has run across this how to article and is thinking of donating!).
So why on earth is this so hard?!! Well because as far as I can see, I have to already have the number they want me to text to in my phone in order to send the text! Or, as I always hope, is there a much simpler more obvious way how to make a cell phone text donation WITHOUT having to add the charity’s number into my phone. Even after searching you tube and all the articles in Google I still couldn’t find the answer to this question. I know, I must be daft right? Well I have a sneaking feeling that half the over 50’s non-technical or computer savvy population of the world have the same problem.
Anyway – to stop waffling and get down to the answer of how to text via a mobile phone, after a bit of research, here is how I found to do it from my iPhone without having to add the recipient charity number into my mobile cell phone first (I assume it’s the same on all other cell phones).
How to make a text donation to a charity using a cell phone or mobile device
Step 1
Don’t open the phone call key pad – open your mobile phone’s ‘Messages’ function. This should be available somewhere from the home screen of your cell phone.
Step 2
Now that your text messaging screen is open, find somewhere on the screen the icon or link that allows you to create a new message. This might be a paper icon with a pencil or simply a link that says; “new message.”
Step 3
Now simply type the number of the aid organisation you saw or heard on the ad into your text message ‘To/Recipient’ address/field. It’s normally a short code/number specially designed by phone companies for companies or charities that need a temporary super-quick means of being paid from donator’s mobile cell phones. Don’t worry that the number is very short and looks odd – not like a normal mobile phone number – this is normal.
Step 4
Last, simply type in the code or text that the ad asked you to text for example; ‘AID’ or ‘GIVING’ etc, then hit ‘Send’ on your cell phone. Your donation is now sent to the charity, cause or company or competition! In a few seconds or minutes you should receive (if it is a legitimate company) a return text “thank you for your donation” receipt.
WARNING: be careful who you send money to on the web! If you are ever unsure – type the charity/company/org name followed by the word ‘scam’ into Google, to check if anyone else has been taken for a ride or conned by this organisation. If they have, you can be sure they posted it in an online forum or website. If you don’t see any problems – you’re good to send your text donation via your cell phone!
This page is all about how to make a charitable donation using a mobile phone. In other words, how do you donate to a charity using a cell phone and a text or short code/phone number? Or, how do I send a donation to a cause or charity from my cell phone by texting ‘XYZ’ to ‘12345’?
