SMS Marketing Boosts Volunteer and Donor Acquisition for Environmental NGO

The Context

The environmental NGO, dedicated to conserving natural ecosystems, had a small team and a base of committed volunteers and supporters. However, its impact was limited by the difficulty of recruiting new collaborators.

They were looking for enthusiastic volunteers, supporters to contribute resources, and regular donors. Attracting these committed profiles was essential to scale reforestation and environmental education projects, but they faced the challenge of delivering their message effectively.

The Challenge

Until then, the NGO had relied on email and social media to mobilize its community. However, the response was limited. Emails were rarely opened, and posts got buried among other content. Each campaign resulted in very few new volunteers, and the recruitment effort became increasingly expensive and slow.

In a sector where users receive hundreds of messages, maintaining interest in the cause was an uphill battle, and old strategies no longer yielded the necessary results to expand their base of collaborators.

The Solution

To reverse this situation, the NGO implemented SMS marketing with the LabsMobile platform. They first segmented their database and crafted personalized messages based on the recipient profile.

Using LabsMobile, they were able to automate sending and analyze responses in real time, simplifying management. The campaign strategy included specific actions such as:

• Volunteer events: Sending SMS invitations for planting days, green area clean-ups, and information sessions, with a confirmation link to simplify registration.
• Donation campaigns: Short, urgent messages requesting one-time contributions, with payment links to simplify the donation process.
• New members: SMS with direct links to web forms to become a member or subscribe to monthly donations, streamlining the registration process.

With messages properly segmented and automated, the SMS channel succeeded in capturing the attention of key new audiences where other channels had failed.

Results

Within just a few weeks, the NGO recorded strong growth in recruitment indicators:

• New volunteers: Dozens of new volunteers joined in just a few weeks, multiplying the previous monthly registration numbers—from 10 to over 50 new volunteers in the first month.
• New donors: Approximately 25% of SMS donation requests resulted in contributions, achieving over 40 new donors in a single month.
• High initial engagement: SMS messages achieved nearly a 95% open rate, ensuring that almost all recipients saw the call to action, with many completing registration immediately.

In addition, SMS provided important collateral benefits:

• Collaborator retention: Once recruited, new members showed high loyalty. Having been contacted via SMS, they continued to receive relevant updates (events, news) and participated actively.
• Active participation: Attendance at scheduled events and activities increased, as those invited via SMS responded more quickly and remembered the appointment better.
• Operational efficiency: The SMS channel proved very cost-effective. In practice, the NGO was able to send thousands of SMS messages each month without incurring high additional costs or extra manual effort, making the process highly scalable.

Compared to previous campaigns via email (with 15% open rates) and social media (organic reach below 5%), SMS proved to be 5 to 10 times more effective.

Testimonial

“With LabsMobile’s help, SMS became our most effective channel for recruiting collaborators. In just a few weeks, volunteer and donor sign-ups skyrocketed, exceeding all our expectations.”

—Communications Director of the NGO.

Conclusion

SMS marketing proved to be a decisive lever for recruiting new volunteers, members, and donors for the environmental NGO. This channel brought immediacy and high visibility to the organization’s message, complementing efforts in email and social media.

We encourage other NGOs to incorporate SMS into their communication strategy. With specialized tools like LabsMobile, it’s easy to start sending effective messages and tracking results. Try it and see the direct impact on your organization.

Want to implement a solution like this in your NGO, organization, or association?

Contact us today and discover how we can help you transform your communication.