Comic relief text donations raise 9 5 million in one day

Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day, took place back on Friday 24 March and saw people up and down the country doing what they could to raise money for charity.

Figures recently released by mobile payment company Fonix showed that an impressive £9.5 million worth of text donations were processed live on the night alone.

Text donations operate through text shortcodes – the five digit numbers that appeared on your screen during the live show. They allow you to donate money, by text, via your phone bill with 100% of the donation going to charity, in this case Comic Relief.

For the eagle-eyed among you, you may have spotted that, for the first time on Red Nose Day, you could donate £20 by text, alongside the £5 and £10 amounts.

The option of a £20 donation option reflects the convenience and trust in this method of donating. Figures from the night back this up with the £20 option generating 57% of the total amount raised by mobile donations.

Donating by text on the rise
Figures from our Annual Market Review show the amount donated via text is higher than ever before. 

Text donations are now the largest sector in the phone-paid services market, accounting for £122 million in 2015/16. This was an increase of 6% on the previous year with charity text donations making up an impressive 18% of all consumer transactions in the phone-paid services market. And the trend is predicted to continue this year as events such as Red Nose Day take advantage of the convenience of this method.

We will have to wait and see if the total amount raised this year passes 2015’s total. One thing is for sure, donating by text is here to stay. With a new, higher price point and strong consumer confidence, the signs are positive for charities raising money in this way.

Figures taken from the PSA’s Annual Market Review 2015/16. This year’s review will be published in summer 2017.