Red Cross Texting Campaign Raises Millions for Haiti - Power of Social Media in Crisis
Simply stated, social media has changed the way we communicate during disasters. This is now abundantly clear with all of the online activity surrounding the recent earthquake in Haiti.
Over the past couple weeks, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support for the Haitian people. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy donations have exceeded $470 million!
Mobile giving raises the bar
A large portion of donations are coming from The Red Cross’ mobile phone texting campaign. With partners Mobile Accord and the mGive Foundation, Red Cross quickly enacted a mobile texting campaign shortly after the earthquake hit. And with the help of the NFL playoff game spots and other widespread promotions, mobile phone users have donated over $25 million thus far just by texting “90999!” According to this NY Times story, over $500,000 per hour was donated to the Red Cross during recent NFL games. And according to Pew and Twitter-tracking service Sysomos, 189,024 tweets included “90999″ between January 12th and 14th. 2.3 million included the word “Haiti” or “Red Cross” in this same time frame. Truly unbelievable!
Relying on social media and citizen journalists
Not only has social media been used to gather donations, but people on the ground in Haiti have used Facebook and Twitter to send updates/photos, while concerned onlookers tune in to the constant stream of updates. In addition, news outlets have relied on social media and “citizen journalists” in their reporting. For example, CNN started a “Haiti Boots On Ground” Twitter list, compiling updates from the CNN reporters on the ground. CNN’s iReport has also played a key role in their coverage of the disaster.
And companies have rallied to develop mobile apps and websites dedicated to the cause, such as a Creole-to-English translator app . An organization called “The Extraordinaries” which allows people to complete micro-tasks for organizations or causes, using a mobile phone or web browser in a few minutes, have set up a support page at http://www.beextra.org/haiti to leverage the “power of the crowd” to help locate and identify missing persons.
Our best wishes to the Haitian people and to all of the families affected by the earthquake. Stay strong.
Hey Elicia-
The response of consumers through mobile donations for Haiti has been nothing short of amazing. It shows that when the need is urgent and the call to action simple, people will use any tools at their disposal to help. I also posted on this topic at: http://www.coneinc.com/disaster-relief-in-the-digital-age
I hope that from this tragedy, other organizations will realize the power of mobile and other new media tools. Leveraging these channels before disaster strikes will be key to making it work in the time of need.
Thanks for your post!
Casey Brennan
Insights Associate, Cone
Hi Casey! Thanks for your comment and contribution. While the disaster in Haiti has been a tragedy of mammoth proportions, it has definitely been encouraging to see how helpful social media can be with relief efforts. Can you even imagine what it would have been like to have these tools throughout the past century - with the World Wars and other important moments in history?!?!?
The texting campaign by the Red Cross was a truly awe-inspiring demonstration of the power of social media and its applications for charities. The easier they making donating, the more money will be donated.
Hi,
Interesting post… But I think there’s an inaccuracy there. On 3 occasions the post mentions a “hurricane” in Haiti. I may be wrong, but as far as I know there has been no hurricane in Haiti this year. But on January 12th, 2010, there was a devastating earthquake.
Thanks for pointing that out, Anna! My mistake - I’ve corrected the post. Appreciate your comment