“Text GIVE to 55555” sounds like a single feature you switch on. In practice, text-to-give is three separate pieces: a phone number or keyword that receives the text, an auto-reply that sends back a link, and a donation page that actually takes the money. Altru can own the last piece. The first two come from somewhere else.
Blackbaud Altru does not, as far as we know, include a built-in SMS keyword service. If you’re not sure whether your contract or a newer release adds one, ask Blackbaud support directly before buying anything. For everyone else, here’s how to put the pieces together so the gifts end up where they belong: on the right constituent record, coded to the right fund and appeal.
First, decide where the gift is recorded
This one choice drives everything else. There are two realistic setups.
Option A: The text links to a donation page that posts to Altru
The donor texts a keyword, gets a reply with a short link, and gives on a page connected to Altru. The gift lands in Altru the same way any online donation does. You don’t import anything, and you get your normal acknowledgment process.
The catch: the page has to work well on a phone. Someone who just texted from their seat at a gala or from a garden path is not going to pinch-zoom through a long form. Open your current Altru donation web form on your own phone and try to finish a gift in under a minute. If you can’t, fix that before you promote a keyword.
Option B: A text-giving vendor collects the money
Many SMS giving services host their own donation page and process the payment themselves. That’s quick to launch, but the gift lives in the vendor’s system first. You’ll need to export those gifts and get them into Altru, usually through a batch, then match each donor to an existing constituent or create a new one.
This works, but plan for the reconciliation time. Payouts from the vendor won’t line up one-to-one with individual gifts, and phone-only donors often arrive with a first name and no address.
Setting it up, step by step
- Pick an SMS provider. Look for a service that supports keywords on a short code or a registered toll-free or local number, and an automatic reply containing a link. Ask how they handle opt-in consent and opt-out (“STOP”) replies, since texting rules in the U.S. are strict and the provider should be managing that for you.
- Choose your keyword. Short, easy to spell, hard to autocorrect. Your organization’s nickname or a campaign word works better than an acronym people will mistype.
- Build or pick the landing page. For Option A, this is your Altru-connected donation form. Make a dedicated version for text giving so you can tell where the money came from.
- Set up the Altru coding. Create or confirm the designation, appeal, and any source code you’ll use for text gifts. If you run several campaigns, give each keyword its own appeal so your revenue reports split cleanly.
- Write the auto-reply. One sentence of thanks, the link, and nothing else. “Thanks for supporting the zoo! Give here: [link]” beats a paragraph.
- Test from three phones. An iPhone, an Android, and a phone that isn’t on your office Wi-Fi. Make a real small gift on each, then find all three in Altru and check the constituent, the fund, the appeal, and the acknowledgment.
Keeping the constituent data clean
Text giving tends to bring in people who’ve never given before, and people who have but use a different email on their phone. Both create duplicate constituents if nobody is watching.
- Ask for email on the donation page, even if phone number is captured by the SMS provider. Email is usually the most reliable match key in Altru.
- If you’re importing gifts (Option B), run your normal duplicate check before committing the batch, not after.
- Decide whether phone numbers from the SMS service belong on the constituent record, and make sure your consent language covers how you’ll use them later.
Where text-to-give actually pays off
Be realistic about where it fits. Keyword giving shines in live moments: a paddle raise at a gala, a sign at an animal exhibit, a slide at a lecture, a placard at a historic site entrance. It’s less useful in mailed appeals, where a QR code or printed URL does the same job without the SMS fee. Many organizations run both and point them at the same page, with different appeals so they can see which one people used.
Set expectations internally too. Text gifts skew small and spontaneous. The value is often in the new names you capture and steward afterward, so plan the thank-you and the follow-up before the event, not after.
Making the donation page phone-friendly
If testing shows your Altru donation form is the weak link, that’s the part we work on. Social Good’s Checkouts give you a branded, mobile-friendly donation page with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and the gift writes back to Altru. Your SMS provider’s auto-reply simply links to it, so the donor goes from text to tap-to-pay without retyping card details.
Quick answers
Can donors give by having the charge added to their phone bill?
Carrier-billed giving exists but is far less common than text-to-link, and it comes with its own limits and payout timing. Ask any provider you’re considering whether they offer it and how those gifts would reach Altru.
Do we need a short code?
Not necessarily. Many providers offer keywords on toll-free or local numbers, which can be cheaper and faster to approve. Compare options with your provider.
