Summary: from the KCBS Radio website: http://www.kcbs.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=EpisodeaudioId=4316157 Dr. Carol McLaughlin explains how Haiti text donations end up in the the hands of the Red Cross. (See full story text below and link to accompanying audio.) Technology a Key to Fundraising Efforts by Susan Leigh Taylor, KCBS: http://www.kcbs.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=EpisodeaudioId=4316657 SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Texting and other online technology are emerging as an important philanthropic tool. This has been especially evident this week, as record setting donations made with the use of a cell phone are flooding in for Haitian relief. The Mobile Giving Foundation helped pioneer fundraising using Short Message Service or texting in 2004. And, since then, texting has garnered the Red Cross $190,000 in donations. However, since the Haitian earthquake this week, that number has been shattered with $3.4 million in donations. Simply text the word Haiti to 90999 and the $10 donation will be added to your cell phone bill, with all of that going to the Red Cross. "For this Haiti campaign, most of the phone operators are not charging a fee for texting," said Carol McLaughli with the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania. She said the "mobile donations" are an incredibly convenient way for the 280 million Americans with cell phones to help out a great cause. "Often, people aren't at their computer or don't have their checkbooks, but 70-80 percent of Americans have a cell phone," said McLaughlin. She said, ultimately, it gives you immediate gratification when you're asking yourself, "What can I do to help?
