Nonprofit Donations: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Succeeds Due to Mobile

Taking nonprofit donations mobile has the power to transform a giving campaign.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is one of the most successful viral marketing campaigns ever attempted. The folks over at the ALS Association owe their gratitude to the widespread use of smartphones in today’s society.

How Mobile Affects Nonprofit Donations

Mobile devices aided the cause and sparked nonprofit donations in two ways:

Enabled people to take video and easily share that footage on social media via their mobile phones

Allowed other smartphone users to immediately view the challenge on their handy devices

Smartphones Are Everywhere

In this day and age, smartphone users take their devices everywhere — restaurants, concerts, and even the restroom. Take a look at these findings from one Google study:

83% of smartphone users never leave home without their device

67% have used their smartphones every day in the past 7 days

36% of consumers would rather give up TV than their smartphone

It stands to reason that these ever-present devices had a significant impact on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge’s success in raising nonprofit donations. If you can check your mobile phone anytime and anywhere, you’re more likely to know the phenomenon is taking place and join in on the action.

Proof In the Numbers

Check out this excellent infographic showing the donation statistics for just one month of the Ice Bucket Challenge:

• $37 / second
• $2,240 / minute
• 3500% increase

The numbers are stunning. Why was this possible? Facebook users shared 9.66 million videos, most of them on mobile devices.

Mobile Users Donate More

Additionally, smartphone users tend to have more money to donate. According to a Pew Research poll, 81% of adults who make more than $75,000 a year own a smartphone device. Users who are financially stable enough to make nonprofit donations are also more likely to have a smartphone. This means they are more likely to see the challenge and react accordingly.

Thankfully for the ALS Association, the challenge was made at the perfect point in history to capitalize on society’s obsession with smartphones. Imagine the other impressive feats smartphones will enable in the future.