The other day, I started seeing status updates of colors come across the News Feed in Facebook referring to the bra people were wearing themselves. It quickly devolved to guys messing around and posting things like “diamond studded”. Not only was it TMI (did my professional colleagues need to know what color bra I’m wearing?), but if the claim of breast cancer awareness is true, there was no call to action or informative references. And it was a flashback to the days of chain letters, but with more viral potency.

So sarcastically, yet seriously, I posted to Twitter and Facebook:

HUNGER! Re:colors as Facebook statuses: http://su.pr/1Oyadh . TMI. How about a social experiment re:humanitarian crises? http://su.pr/1k8qZ5

Then the earthquake in Haiti hit and next came the viral social network messages. Haiti Earthquake Relief donations via text reached a record $3 million and $5 million+ for social networks in general in the first day ($5+ million via texting to date) - now this is something worth posting about and passing on!

However, knowing the pitfalls of technology and having done some research on charitable donations a few years ago, the thoughts crossed my mind… what are the disadvantages of text donations? What are the consequences of disclosing your cell phone number?

In my previous research, I discovered Charity Navigator a few years ago and ever since then I’ve used them to research a charity before deciding where my dollars should go. They have financial information regarding the percentage they’re using for their cause vs. administrative expenses and you can even see how much the non-profit CEOs are making.

One of my previous dilemmas regarding charitable giving had also been to either give via credit card vs. personal check. I had learned from talking to someone in Alumni Relations and Development for my high school’s alumni association that they started adding credit card donations because members asked for it and despite the credit card processing fees, more people were donating because of the convenience. When I thought about it myself, it’s possible that the credit card processing fees offset the administrative costs incurred to process a check donation enough and the charity supposedly receives the money more quickly. Unfortunately, I was not able to find if this is indeed true.

So what’s the deal with charitable giving via texting? Check out Charity Navigator’s recent post on “Are Text Donations Safe?”

Their answer: Some, but not all and as with credit card or personal check donations, make sure you do your research and know if your charity is getting the percentage of your donation you’re expecting.

As for me, I got an email from the Red Cross. After hearing about how the first 48 hours are crucial and unable to find any avenues for matching donations at the time, I submitted my donation via credit card.

Update (1/20/2010): As of yesterday, text donations have topped $27 million… even more impressive! Also according to CNN, text donations may take up to 90 days to process; in the case of the Red Cross, the text donations are replenishing the funds that have already been sent. So while text donations are convenient, online, phone, or mail is quicker according to the Better Business Bureau. As in the case of Haiti donations, at least some cell phone carriers have recently decided to advance the donated money and mGive is waiving the administrative fee for processing text donations to the Red Cross. If your cell phone carrier charges you for the text (some are 20 cents) and the donation is only $5 or $10 (2-4%), the charity is probably better off with a non texted donation and getting the money more quickly and definitely more so if the mobile text donation processor isn’t waiving their processing fee.

Donate to Help Haiti:
American Red Cross
Doctors Without Borders
Charity Navigator’s List