Whether you are hosting a peer-to-peer event or canvassing door-to-door, Grassroots Unwired’s mobile platform enables progressive political and non-profit organizations to gain supporters and donors through face-to-face conversations. We believe our mobile-first technology can be customized and utilized for the greater good AND we have eliminated language barriers.
Face-to-Face Fundraising (“F2F”)
A largely successful F2F fundraising project that Grassroots Unwired has facilitated is for the Fund for the Public Interest. The Fund employs thousands of canvassers each year to:
- Fundraise: Upgrading current sustainers or building new relationships
- Canvass: Gauging public opinion on the social action issues
The Fund for the Public Interest made the shift from paper to mobile mainly for data security as well as customization and the ability to tailor their messages to particular groups of people.
The Fund for the Public Interest has found success with the Grassroots Unwired mobile solution because:
- The digital platform enables credit cards to be run on the spot (less possibility of declined cards).
- Data shows that people feel more secure having their cards swiped as opposed to writing their credit card information down on paper.
- Grassroots Unwired gives clients the ability to accept recurring donations with the PCI compliance inherent in the technology.
- Instead of the “one and done” nature of most F2F fundraising, Grassroots Unwired clients have the ability to turn one time donors into monthly and annual donors on the spot, vastly increasing their memberships and funding.
Door-to-Door (“D2D”)
You’re sitting at home when someone with a clipboard knocks on the door and asks to speak with you or another member of your family. This is the traditional way of canvassing that Grassroots Unwired has taken to the next level. We have eliminated the clipboard. Now, when a canvasser arrives at a home they will use the marketing information uploaded onto the tablet to start a productive, tailored conversation. All while recording answers, encouraging donations, and confirming contact information. Thanks to the integration between Grassroots Unwired and Twilio, email addresses and cell phone numbers will be verified on the spot, ensuring the most updated and accurate constituent information.
Street Fundraising
We have all experienced people on street corners in major metropolitan areas trying to catch our attention. Historically, it was clipboard-wielding college kids who were working hard to get names added to a donor or advocacy list. Then, at the end of the day, they would bring their clipboards back to headquarters and manual enter the new information into the database. This typically took hours. Often, there were inaccuracies because of typing mistakes or illegible handwriting. But now, with GRU’s innovative technology, college kids are armed with tablets, which effectively eliminate the barriers to building a solid donor or advocacy list. People can enter their information onto the tablets, their email addresses will be instantly verified, and their information will be sent to a safe and comprehensive database.
Advocacy Work
Advocacy has become a mainstay in our Democracy. And it can take many different forms, such as:
- Protesting at a rally
- Sending a letter to or calling your representative
- Signing a petition
- Posting a political perspective on social media
Yet, regardless of the various forms of advocacy, the best way to galvanize support for a cause continues to be talking to people face-to-face. Having a conversation with someone is the most effective means of building a relationship and getting someone to take action. Mobile canvassing technology has made it possible to bring what has typically been viewed as web-based activity into a mobile environment. A mobile platform allows for the ability to:
- Survey someone and minutes later send an email about a specific policy initiative to a legislator
- Collect survey responses and instantly send them back to headquarters instead of having to wait for data entry to be complete
- Collect and track secure donations towards your cause
- Capture E-Signatures
- Collect cell phone numbers and immediately send them to the Mobile Commons SMS marketing strategy system for continuous outreach