What is a short code and can they be customized?

A shortcode is a five-digit specialized phone number. Shortcodes are used in conjunction with keywords to initiate donations and subscriptions. Shortcodes are shared between all GiveSmart Fundraise customers and keywords are limited based on availability.

Each shortcode distinguishes the type of activity and has been programmed to trigger a specific action when it receives a text message with a unique keyword. These shortcodes cannot be changed.

41444 and 91999 are used for the majority of GiveSmart Fundraise activities

51555 is used for SMS Subscriptions

71777 is used for Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

How does this work?

Your keyword is the element that your supporters type in to interact with you through GiveSmart Fundraise. The combination of the keyword and the shortcode act similarly to an email address where the keyword would be something like your name, and the shortcode would be the @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @nonprofit.org, etc. Put the two pieces together and you have a unique way for supporters to reach you. For more on Keywords, click here.

More on Fundraising Shortcodes (41444 and 91999)

Why the choice?

You have the choice of either 41444 or 91999 for your Fundraising keyword. Because shortcodes are shared among GiveSmart Fundraise clients, the keyword you wish to use may already be in use by another organization. So, when you try to save your keyword, it will check and advise you if it is live or if it is in use. If it is in use, you have the option to either change the keyword or try to get it on the other shortcode.

These shortcodes are used for the majority of activity types in GiveSmart Fundraise: Text to Donate, Ticketing, Surveys, Volunteer sign-ups, etc.

What is special about them?

The primary use of the Fundraising shortcodes is for the Text to Donate activities, so they will be set up to send the automated fulfillment messages. For more about the Fulfillment messages, click here.

When someone texts your keyword + shortcode, they will receive an automated reply that says:

Thanks for supporting [Your Organization Short Name].

Click here to complete:
http://igfn.us/f/example1

Msg&data rates may apply. 4 msgs/mo. Text HELP for help, Text STOP to end

If it is a Text to Donate activity it will tell them their pledged amount instead:

You pledged $[Amount].

Complete here:
http://igfn.us/f/example1

Reply CANCEL to cancel.

Msg&data rates may apply. 4 msgs/mo. Text HELP for help, Text STOP to end

The language of these messages cannot be changed. If you want a different automated reply, see the SMS Subscription Shortcode section below.

More on the Subscription Shortcode (51555)

This is used when you create an SMS Subscription activity. For detailed information about the SMS subscription features, click here.

What is special about it?

By using the One Time Response option, you can personalize the automated reply to your supporters.

Sometimes you can use a Subscription keyword/shortcode in place of the Fundraising keyword/shortcode if you do not like the wording of the Fundraising reply. You can write your automated reply and simply use the link to your Fundraising activity in the message.

Note: If you do this, though, you will NOT have any Fulfilment messages sent to your supporters. They will not appear on a fundraising thermometer unless they complete their donation.

More on the Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Shortcode (71777)

This shortcode is used exclusively with the Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer Fundraising activity. For more on this, click here.

What is special about it?

Keywords on this shortcode will generate additional keywords based on the root one as you add teams and/or fundraisers to your Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer Fundraising activity. You can market the root keyword (example: CFEXAMPLE) to send people to your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising or landing page where people can donate or volunteer to become fundraisers. When they volunteer, they receive an automatically generated keyword based on the root one (example: CFEXAMPLE4), and all of those keywords will apply to the one activity.