cymba

Celebrating Les: Colleague, Mentor, Friend

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:05:37 GMT

A Milestone Moment

April brought a milestone for Cymba as we celebrated Les Beech’s retirement after more than a decade with us. It’s hard to imagine the office without him - his energy, humour, and support were part of the fabric of our days.

We’ll miss him deeply, not just for the incredible work he did, but for the laughter and lightness he brought to the team. He will, however, continue to inspire both the wider community and us.

Where it all began

His journey with Cymba started back at St John Ambulance. With a budget to try something new, he teamed up with DTV on a campaign that caught everyone’s attention. That advert eventually became a text‑to‑donate initiative - with Cymba right at the heart of it - and, well, the rest is history.

When he officially joined the team, Regular Giving by SMS was on the verge of launching. He brought with him a wealth of experience from regular giving campaigns, and under his guidance, the initiative grew into a powerful platform that made life easier for clients. He had a knack for spotting what would make things better and then making it happen - and usually making us laugh along the way.

More than just work, cats, wine and music

His absence is already felt, but Les wasn’t just the “campaign guru.” His warmth and personality shone through in everyday moments. Who else could make a complex two‑step campaign sound simple, or turn a chat about bounce‑back messaging into a mini masterclass? And of course, we’ll never forget Katja and Rasamus, his beloved cats, who became honorary team members, often stealing the spotlight on calls and reminding us who really ran the show.

It feels fitting that many of the charities he worked with shared his love of animals - Battersea Cats and Dogs, Cats Protection, and The Brooke. His efforts with them raised vital funds, but they also reflected his personal passions, which made his contributions all the more meaningful.

We’ll miss his support more than words can say. He was never too busy to explain something, lend a hand, or share a story. From his time studying in Japan to living in the US with his parents, he was always entertaining, making you stop and listen. And there were never any half measures - whether it was work, wine, or music - from rock to jazz, he threw himself in wholeheartedly and gave it his all.

Life beyond Cymba

So, what’s next? For now, he is taking some well‑earned time to focus on himself - tennis, cycling, pilates, and enjoying his beautiful new kitchen are high on his new agenda. We can already picture him, glass of wine in hand, music playing, and a smile on his face. We know he’ll throw himself into this next chapter with the same enthusiasm he brought to work.

Thank you, Les, for everything - from your friends at Cymba and the charities you've helped along the way. We'll miss you, but we'll carry your energy forward with pride. Here's to you: colleague, mentor, and friend. We'll raise a glass (and maybe sneak in a toast to Katja and Rasamus too).

Make Every Message Count

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 11:28:27 GMT

The Sea of Messages

People haven’t just moved to mobile - they live there. Phones buzz constantly with notifications, alerts, and updates. In that crowded space, silence from an organisation isn’t neutral. It feels like an absence. And absence costs more than missed opportunities; it costs trust, loyalty, and connection.

Email still has its place. It’s where longer updates and formal communications belong. But the phone is now king. Mobile messaging has moved to the forefront of engagement, offering immediacy and intimacy that other channels can’t match. The question isn’t whether to use mobile - it’s how to use it in a way that stands out.

The Stakeholder’s Perspective

For customers, members, employees, or donors, every message is a reminder of why they chose to connect with you. When those reminders don’t arrive in the space they use most - their phone - the relationship weakens. People want immediacy, recognition, and impact stories in real time. A message that shows gratitude, shares a quick update, or delivers useful information can make them feel valued and connected. Without it, they risk feeling forgotten.

Partners and investors also expect visibility and engagement. They want to see their support acknowledged and celebrated. Mobile messaging offers a direct way to highlight contributions and ensure they feel part of the story. A branded message that thanks stakeholders while showcasing partnership involvement is far more powerful than a logo buried in an email footer

Beyond Transactions: Building Relationships

Mobile messaging isn’t only about asking for action. It’s about creating a sense of belonging. Organisations can use mobile to invite feedback, share behind‑the‑scenes updates, or celebrate milestones together. These moments make people feel like insiders, not just recipients. They transform interactions from transactions into shared journeys.

When stakeholders feel part of a community, they don’t just engage - they advocate. They share stories, invite friends, and become champions for the brand or cause. Mobile messaging is the bridge that turns supporters into ambassadors.

The Evolution of Mobile Messaging

The journey from SMS to push notifications to RCS shows how mobile has matured. SMS was functional but limited. Push notifications added immediacy but often felt intrusive. RCS brings richness and interactivity, allowing organisations to deliver branded, visual, and interactive experiences directly in the native messaging app.

This evolution isn’t about technology for technology’s sake. It’s about meeting people where they are, in the way they want to be engaged. RCS is the natural next step for organisations that want to stay relevant in a crowded digital landscape.

Practical Examples

A retailer sends a personalised offer with a one‑tap purchase option.
A university shares an interactive reminder about an upcoming class.
A healthcare provider confirms an appointment with easy reschedule options.
A charity delivers a photo update from the field to donors.

These aren’t marketing tactics; they’re moments of connection. They show stakeholders that their involvement matters and make every interaction feel personal.

The Cost of Not Adapting

Failing to adapt to modern mobile messaging means fading into the background. Customers expect immediacy. Employees expect clarity. Partners expect visibility. Without meaningful mobile touchpoints, relationships drift. The cost isn’t just financial; it’s emotional. Every missed message is a missed opportunity to remind people why they matter.

M is for Mobile messaging that counts

Organisations don’t lose people because they stop caring. They lose them because they stop hearing. In a world of endless notifications, those that thrive are the ones that choose to adapt - to meet stakeholders in the space they already inhabit, and to speak in a way that feels immediate and human.

Mobile messaging isn’t about marketing blasts. It’s about presence. It’s about gratitude in real time, impact shared as it happens, and making every stakeholder feel part of the journey. That’s why M is no longer for marketing - it’s for mobile messaging that counts. And for every organisation, the future depends on making every message count.

Ready for RCS? Contact our team today, and start creating lasting connections.

Getting Started with RCS: As Simple as 1, 2, 3

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:22:28 GMT

When it comes to RCS, we’ve covered its features, benefits, and Apple’s game changing decision to support the technology. We’re even developing a white paper about RCS and the future of business messaging. But what we haven’t explored are the practical steps to set it up. The good news? Getting started with RCS is as simple as 1, 2, 3. So, what exactly do you need to do? Read on to find out.

1. Setting up your RCS business profile

First things first – and that’s setting up your ‘front of house’.

Think of it like creating a website or setting up a social media profile, but simpler. To use RCS, you need an organisational profile that lives within the RCS ecosystem. Carriers and platforms reference this profile every time you send a message, ensuring your communications are authenticated and trusted.

This is where you add essentials: your organisation’s name, logo, phone numbers, links, and a short description. These details are used to authenticate your messages, confirming that they are genuinely from you and ensuring that your brand is represented consistently across all devices.

2. Understanding RCS verification and registration

One of RCS’s biggest strengths is its verified status and built‑in security. And while “security” might sound like a hurdle, the truth is that the process is pretty straightforward.

To begin, you’ll need to set up your business profile for RCS messaging. Once your provider submits this profile to Google and the carriers, a nominated individual from your organisation will be contacted via email to approve the profile. This step ensures carriers can authenticate your traffic and confirm that messages are genuinely coming from you.

From there, your RCS provider or carrier will review and finalise the registration. Once approved, you’ll earn the verified sender badge. This badge allows RCS‑enabled devices to display your communications as fully branded and interactive, giving supporters confidence that every message they receive is authentic.

3. RCS’s Technical Setup and Campaign Planning

With your profile and verification complete, the next stage is connecting and creating - and the good news is that Cymba can support your organisation every step of the way.

Most of the time, we start by using a web portal to create and send RCS content. This provides a simple way to get campaigns live quickly. As your needs grow, you may choose to integrate your CRM or marketing automation tool with the RCS API. This unlocks advanced capabilities like sending messages directly from existing systems, automating campaigns, and personalising at scale.

Then comes the most exciting part: planning your campaigns. Whether you’re using RCS to deliver promotions, provide customer support, or send alerts and updates, planning ahead helps you make the most of RCS’s interactive features and ensures your communications are engaging, on brand, and effective.

What you can expect

Yes, there’s a little bit of admin required to get set up. However, once you’ve got that verified sender badge and you’re planning your first RCS campaign, you won’t look back.

With increased security features comes increased trust, and that translates into higher open rates. Add in RCS’s interactive features, from videos to quick‑reply buttons, and you’ll see engagement climb even further. Best of all, you won’t be relying on hunches; RCS delivers advanced analytics, so you’ll know exactly how your messages are performing and where they’re driving results.

If you want to speak with an RCS business messaging expert, then contact the Cymba team, who’ll be able to walk you through RCS messaging. step-by-step.

Ready for RCS? Contact our team today, and start creating lasting connections.

RCS 2026: From Messages to Meaning

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 11:03:16 GMT

Why the future of communication is about trust, dialogue, and resonance - not just reach

As we move through 2025, RCS has hit a tipping point. It’s now natively supported on both Android and iOS, with over 600 UK brands live and adoption accelerating fast - more than 50 billion messages sent worldwide. That’s huge. Which means 2026 is the year to stop seeing RCS as just another marketing tool, and start embracing it as a trust‑building, relationship‑driven communication strategy .

In this article, we’re taking a different angle. Sure, there’s been plenty of talk about the technical features - richer media, interactive buttons, verified sender IDs, better analytics. And yes, people have highlighted efficiency gains and cost savings compared to SMS. But here’s the thing: RCS is more than a channel. It’s a cultural shift in communication .

Because in 2026, organisations of every kind - from retailers to universities, banks to charities - will be competing in a world where audiences are drowning in notifications. The challenge isn’t reachable anymore. It’s resonance .

Trust and Authenticity

One of the standout features of RCS is verified sender IDs, which cut down on fraud and phishing. But what does that mean for the customer experience? In today’s digital world, trust is everything. Without it, your messages risk being ignored, blocked, or worse - damaging your reputation.

RCS flips that script. It’s a trusted technology that reassures customers they’re dealing with a legitimate organisation. It shows you’ve taken the steps to protect them, and that builds confidence. Instead of worrying about scams, customers can focus on the interaction itself — whether that’s making a purchase, confirming an appointment, or engaging with your brand story.

Conversation over broadcast

For years, marketing has been stuck in broadcast mode. Think about it - how many emails or SMS campaigns have you sent where it’s just you blasting out offers, hoping something sticks? Sure, email systems can tell you who opened a message, but that’s still a one‑way street. There’s no real dialogue, no genuine back‑and‑forth.

RCS changes that. Unlike SMS or email, it’s inherently two‑way . It’s not about shouting louder; it’s about starting conversations. Instead of “here’s our offer, take it or leave it,” RCS lets organisations invite supporters, customers, or students into a dialogue. They can ask questions, get instant answers, click through interactive options, and feel like they’re part of the exchange - not just the target of it.

This is where RCS reframes itself as the tool for relationship marketing . It’s about building trust through interaction, not just pushing content. And in a world where audiences are drowning in notifications, that shift from broadcast to conversation is what makes your message resonate.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

Everyone’s got a phone these days. And if you’re part of the younger generation, downloading apps is second nature - you grew up in the digital world. But not everyone has embraced the app age. There are still plenty of people who want rich, interactive experiences without the hassle of apps, logins, or social media accounts.

That’s where RCS shines. It goes straight into the native inbox on your phone. No app? No problem. Supporters, customers, or patients still get a great experience - images, buttons, carousels, and secure interactions - all without needing to install anything new.

For organisations, that means inclusivity. You’re not just reaching the tech‑savvy; you’re opening the door to audiences who might otherwise be left out. And inclusivity isn’t just good ethics - it’s good business. More people engaged means more conversations, more conversions, and ultimately, better ROI.

Sustainability of Attention

Let’s be honest - we’re living in a world of digital burnout. Notifications, emails, pop‑ups… it’s endless. Cutting through that noise is harder than ever, and most messages get swiped away or deleted without a second thought.

RCS offers a way to change that. With eye‑catching formats, personalisation, and interactive content, it doesn’t just land in the inbox - it grabs attention. Suddenly, people find it harder to hit the delete button because the message feels relevant, engaging, and worth their time.

That’s the real sustainability of RCS: it reduces wasted impressions and improves attention efficiency. Instead of throwing messages into the void, you’re creating interactions that stick. And in 2026, when attention is the scarcest resource of all, that’s the edge organisations need.

Cross‑sector impact

It’s easy to think of RCS as a retail tool - sending offers, promotions, and product updates. But the truth is, it goes way beyond that. Whatever industry you’re in, RCS has the power to transform how you communicate.

Take healthcare : appointment reminders that aren’t just static texts, but interactive messages where patients can reschedule instantly, request prescription refills, or even receive trusted health advice they can share with family.

Or education : imagine course updates with embedded links to book classes, pay fees, or access resources - all inside the inbox, no app required.

And in finance , RCS can deliver secure transaction alerts, fraud warnings, or account updates with interactive options that give customers peace of mind and control in real time.

That’s the beauty of RCS - it’s not confined to one sector. It’s a universal communication upgrade, reshaping how organisations connect with people wherever they are.

RCS the Future of Connection

As we step into 2026, RCS isn’t just another upgrade in messaging - it’s a shift in how organisations build trust, spark conversations, and sustain attention in a crowded digital world.

We’ve seen how it delivers:

Trust and authenticity through verified sender IDs.
Conversation over broadcast , turning one‑way blasts into genuine dialogue.
Accessibility and inclusivity , bringing rich experiences to everyone without apps or logins.
Sustainability of attention , cutting through digital fatigue with personalised, interactive content.
Cross‑sector impact , transforming communication in healthcare, education, finance, retail, and beyond.

The message is clear: RCS isn’t just about efficiency or cost savings. It’s about resonance. It’s about creating communication that feels secure, personal, and worth engaging with. And in 2026, when audiences are more selective than ever, that’s the edge every organisation needs.

So don’t think of RCS as a “ nice to have .” Think of it as the foundation for your marketing strategy in 2026 - the tool that will help you connect, engage, and build relationships that last.

Ready to put RCS at the heart of your 2026 strategy? Contact our team today, and start creating lasting connections.

The Case for RCS

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 06:37:58 GMT

Earlier this month, Cymba was asked to speak at a Google-hosted aimm event, alongside Virgin Media O2’s Partner Business Manager and Google’s Business Development Manager, on the future of RCS as a tool for payment and engagement. The event, entitled ‘RCS and Payments - engaging and delighting your audience’, highlighted why and how RCS, as a channel, is set to become ubiquitous amongst organisations. We caught up with Rich Mullens, Cymba Director, after the event to hear his takeaways and thoughts on the future of RCS.

Interviewer: Why do you think RCS is being called the next big step in business communication?

RM: Google’s Business Development Manager, Tim Atkinson, opened the event by charting the evolution of marketing and advertising over the years, plotting key ‘firsts’ such as radio advertising (1922), TV advertising (1941), email marketing (1996), and, of course, SMS marketing (2003).

When SMS was launched, it was revolutionary. And it’s continued to underpin our work with some of the world’s most recognised brands for its ability to boost engagement, build trust, and deliver high conversion rates.

However, a couple of key things have happened over recent years.

Firstly, the general public expects more than just words and links; they want richer content such as images, video, and quick action buttons that make taking action – whether that’s engaging, buying or donating – far more frictionless. Secondly, trust has become a critical factor in how people interact with organisations. In fact, 88 per cent of consumers cite that trust is important when dealing with a brand.

With RCS, which comes with the all-important ‘verified’ stamp, recipients of RCS messages can not only engage with brands in a way that’s more in keeping with the technology of today, but also in the knowledge that they’re dealing with the actual organisation that claims to be sending the message.

It’s also important to point out that RCS currently reaches around 50 million users in the UK, covering roughly 74-75 per cent of mobile users. This is a significant portion of the UK, which has grown as a result of Apple’s recent decision to support RCS on iPhone. Now, RCS is supported on both Android and Apple platforms, which suggests that RCS is only going one way.

Interviewer: SMS is generally used as a one-way communications channel between organisations and their audience. What makes RCS different from SMS?

RM: RCS is a natural evolution of SMS. It’s simple to deploy, but it looks and feels very different from SMS. SMS, for example, is one-way, text-driven, and lacks visuals. RCS is interactive, to the point where you can have conversations with individuals in a much more engaging way using video, imagery, and all the things that platforms built on RCS, such as WhatsApp, allow you to do.

With SMS, there is no verified sender functionality, which, taking into account my earlier point around trust, is becoming increasingly important. RCS provides that reassurance through verified messaging and branded content.

More importantly, the days of sending blanket messages to everyone are arguably coming to an end. Things are changing. People don’t want to think of themselves as names and numbers on a database; they want to be communicated with in a real and meaningful way. Whether it’s through personalised videos, quick action buttons that allow you to take action in response to something you’ve seen in the click of a button, or carefully crafted animation, RCS facilitates that.

Pia Dincer, Global Creative Strategy Manager at Google Creative Works, spoke at the event, during which she referenced a quote by Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, who once said “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion who are motivated by pride and prejudice”. She also discussed how 95 per cent of decisions are made with the emotional side of the brain, compared with only 5 per cent that are handled by the rational side. Given these two important points, it makes sense that a channel that allows organisations to speak to humans’ emotional side will thrive.

Interviewer: Can you share an example of RCS in action and the impact it’s having?

RM: We’ve been using RCS with several high-profile organisations over recent months, two of which are RSPCA and RSPB. A recent campaign we launched for RSPB was in support of their Big Garden Birdwatch campaign. The charity wanted to engage with its base in a more meaningful way, so, using RCS, we helped them encourage their supporters to take part. As a result, we had 120,000 requests for birdwatch packs. Aggregated results show that this was a 54 per cent uplift compared with SMS.

Interviewer: Final thoughts on RCS, then. What are the three things that you’d like to get across to organisations thinking of incorporating this technology as part of their communications strategy?

RM: In addition to the list of benefits I’ve already covered, I think it’s important to get across that this isn’t a case of brands having to invest heavily in rolling out a new channel. It’s about getting more people to engage with the great content they’ve already produced. It’s also important to make clear that it’s not an all or nothing option. When we manage an RCS broadcast, we ensure that SMS is in place as a fallback so that recipients not set up to receive RCS messages will still receive SMS messages. Our platform automatically detects this and reverts to traditional SMS in order to guarantee the broadest reach. Finally, RCS messages cut neatly through the digital clutter, getting straight to the hand of the recipient in a visually appealing, safe, and secure way.

As RCS continues to evolve, Cymba’s focus is on helping UK organisations connect with their audiences through trusted, verified, and measurable communication. In a world in which organisations are increasingly competing for people’s attention, that can only be a good thing.

In partnership with leading messaging platforms, Cymba has created an RCS service for organisations that boosts engagement and increases conversions. Contact our team today to find out how we can help your organisation.

Charity Sector Trends Report Confirmed for 2026

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 07:45:31 GMT

Cymba , the SMS and Rich Communications Services (RCS) payments and messaging provider to charities, in partnership with the Association for Interactive Media and Micropayments (aimm), is set to produce a new annual charity sector trends report that shines a light on Premium SMS (PSMS) usage, trends, best practice, and innovation across the UK.

The report, which will include key insights, data, case studies, and mobile messaging and payments predictions for the future, is expected to feature input from many of aimm’s high-profile charity members.

Designed to champion the sector, the report’s announcement has been welcomed by aimm’s board and its members, many of which are competitors, for its potential to share knowledge, further the sector, and unite the organisations that operate within it.

As a member-funded specialist trade association for the interactive media and micropayments industries in the UK, aimm has been working closely with industry, regulators, and government since its inception in 2008. The organisation is focused on creating conditions for growth amongst its members and protecting the regulatory environment in which its members operate.

Cymba, which will lead the production of the report, joined aimm in 2017. Rich Mullens, Director at the mobile payments and messaging solutions provider, joined aimm’s Board in 2025, having replaced Steve Matheison, the business’s Product Lead, who served two years.

On producing the report, which is scheduled for launch in Q1 of 2026, Rich comments:

“This is an exciting opportunity to promote best practice in the use of PSMS within charitable fundraising, and provide meaningful data and commentary that the entire industry can benefit from. PSMS, and now RCS, continues to enable supporter engagement and generate significant amounts of income for charities across the UK, so it’s right that we celebrate its impact in a structured and non-competitive way. CYMBA is delighted to lead on this project and proud of its ongoing association with aimm."

Joanna Cox, General Manager at aimm, adds:

“The report and the support it has received so far reflects an industry-wide commitment to strengthen the sector through insights, shared knowledge, and innovation. If we can better understand the emerging opportunities and challenges, then we can better support organisations working within the sector as they continue to grow and strive to improve the customer experience. Consumer trust is the most important thing, and the thing that we need to get right. If we’re continually trying to arm organisations in the sector with the tools they need to deliver positive customer experiences, as we’re aiming to do with this report, then that can only be a good thing.”

aimm members interested in contributing to the report can contact joanna@aimm.co and Cymba customers, please reach out to stevem@cymba.co.uk

For more information on aimm, visit www.aimm.co

Meet ClearDebit, the Smarter Way to Handle Direct Debits

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 08:08:46 GMT

Exciting news for Cymba Customers!

A smarter, more affordable way to manage Direct Debit collections is here.

We're proud to introduce ClearDebit , part of the ClearCourse Group alongside Cymba, offering seamless direct debit solutions to make your operation more efficient and cost-effective.

ClearDebit is a trusted provider of Direct Debit services to charities across the UK. As a Bacs Approved Bureau, Bacs Approved Software Provider, and Bacs Accredited Training Provider, they offer a fully compliant, secure, and seamless solution tailored to the needs of the not-for-profit sector.

At a time when many providers are increasing their fees, ClearDebit is committed to helping Cymba customers cut costs. Whether you're looking to switch from your current provider or explore Direct Debit for the first time, we’d love to show you how ClearDebit can support your mission.

Why ClearDebit?

Proven experience working with charities nationwide
Seamless integration with your existing systems
Expert support and Bacs-accredited training
Competitive pricing — with no hidden fees
Cost savings compared to other providers, who are currently raising their prices

Contact Adele Green or the ClearDebit sales team to learn more and make Direct Debits simple, affordable, and effective for your organisation.

Boost engagement with SMS fundraising campaigns

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 10:05:39 GMT

As a business that has its origins firmly in SMS campaign execution, we’ve become the go-to company for charities wishing to boost engagement and revenues via SMS. In fact, we proudly regard ourselves as SMS fundraising experts.

The benefits of SMS fundraising are clear and well-documented, and an inexpensive way in which to get in front of potential donors.

It’s also extremely empowering for its ability to enable regular donors to control when they wish to donate (if they wish to skip a month, they simply send a text). And it’s this level of flexibility that continues to see this channel play a key role in fundraising campaigns by charities of all sizes.

And let’s not forget that by modern standards, this isn’t new technology; it’s been around since the early 1990s.

Yet, despite its longevity, we still see charities missing opportunities to maximise engagement when it comes to SMS fundraising by not considering a few basics.

So, to address this, here are five simple ways to boost engagement across SMS fundraising campaigns.

1. Get personal

Personalisation goes a very long way – particularly amongst a Gen Z audience. In fact, 84 per cent of this cohort say that their favourite brands treat them as an individual.

Generation group aside, people in general are more receptive to a personal approach, so why not get personal? At the very least, address your recipients by name. And, if you can, go an extra layer deeper by recognising their previous support. These days, you can tailor personal messages that specifically refer to their previous donations – and how those donations were used. Generic messages don’t win hearts and minds. Personal messages do. So, make sure you take a personal approach in all your SMS broadcasts.

2. Galvanize

Okay, so you’ve made your SMS broadcasts personal. You’ve referred to recipients by name and highlighted that time back in 2022 when they donated £30. Not only that, but you’ve clearly spelt out what you did with their donation. Now what?

Well, if you’re asking for more money, there needs to be a sense of urgency. Without a clear call-to-action (CTA) or a line that’s going to jolt them into action, then it may well be a wasted effort. SMS is immediate. It’s also very personal. So, leverage that by including something in the message that drives action. If you’re a dog-focused charity, then it could be ‘With your support, we can rescue 100 Dogs this week. DONATE NOW.’ Whatever your charity’s focus is, a line that hits the recipient straight in the heart and clearly asks them to do something will go some way to ensure that you maximise ROI on each and every SMS appeal you make.

3. Tell tales

Who doesn’t love using statistics? In fact, we’ll use a couple here by saying that we’ve processed over £70m in donations via our SMS fundraising campaigns, and continue to process 150,000 SMS regular SMS donations each month. However, whilst stats sell, stories have an even more powerful effect.

The beauty of SMS is that it provides the space to tell a powerful, emotive, and compelling story which, when combined with a strong CTA, is likely to inspire people to donate. The ability to tell stories is only going to grow, too, as Rich Communications Services – and channels such as WhatsApp, allow charities to incorporate video and interactive buttons – become more widely used in fundraising campaigns.

4. Two-way

Using SMS to send requests for donations is, without doubt, an integral part of any fundraising campaign. However, one-way requests for donations remove any sense of interaction from the ask. It also makes the recipient feel like they don’t have a choice.

By incorporating choice in an SMS ask, you’re empowering the recipient by giving them options. You’re also opening up a door to engagement – and engagement is a two-way street, after all. The good news is that this is easily achieved. The simplest way to address it is to include a question, such as ‘Would you like to help fund water for local communities in India?’ followed by ‘REPLY Yes to donate £5’. Given how it takes no more than a couple of lines, why wouldn’t you include it?

By leveraging these features, charities can effectively engage with their supporters, raise funds, and spread awareness about their cause all in a simple, convenient, and low-cost way.

5. Be grateful (and evidence success)

It can be easy to think of recipients as just numbers – both in terms of them being a small part of a large audience, and quite literally a series of telephone numbers that you are broadcasting to. However, the reality is that they are people who face daily financial pressures like anyone else, and who have to make decisions about where and how they spend their money (particularly in a challenging economic climate).

With that in mind, a simple follow-up message of thanks to those who have donated goes a long way. It incurs a cost, of course, but for the sake of the cost of a text, it could well turn out to be a worthy investment if that person continues to donate. Likewise, quantifying their donation in terms of its impact by outlining what it will be used to buy brings the donation to life. It also provides a feel-good factor, and there’s nothing more engaging than that.

Interested in using SMS campaigns to enhance engagement and increase revenues? Contact the Cymba team.

Cymba powers FLG with WhatsApp integration

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 07:20:24 GMT

Cymba has teamed up with sister brand FLG , a lead management platform used by small and medium-sized businesses to capture, distribute, and convert sales leads, to deliver a new to deliver a new WhatsApp integration. The project shows how Cymba’s expertise in messaging continues to unlock value across the group.

With 3 billion monthly users and 175 million people messaging a business each day , WhatsApp is now the go-to channel for conversations between organisations and their customers. But integrating it into lead platforms has been a challenge due to Meta’s strict compliance rules.

Cymba’s deep experience in navigating messaging standards and compliance frameworks meant we were able to enable FLG to add WhatsApp quickly and securely. By connecting through Cymba’s approved delivery partner, WhatsApp conversations can now flow directly into FLG and be recorded against contact records.

Steve Mathieson, Cymba’s Product Lead, said:

" For over 20 years, Cymba has helped organisations engage supporters and customers through messaging. This collaboration with FLG shows how our know-how can power new channels — from SMS to RCS to WhatsApp — helping our sister brands and their customers reach people where they already are. ”

This integration highlights Cymba’s role in driving messaging innovation across ClearCourse , building the foundation for even richer customer engagement in the future.

For more information on FLG, visit https://getflg.com or contact the team at Cymba

7 things to test before launching a text to donate campaign

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 11:07:10 GMT

There’s an anonymous saying liked by the Cymba team, which is Just because you’ve counted all the trees doesn’t mean you’ve seen the forest.

Testing text donation ask strategies is a bit like that. You might think that you have everything in place for a new campaign, but if it doesn’t support the bigger picture – or, worse, if it doesn’t work at all – then it really doesn’t matter that you’ve followed the blueprint for a successful fundraising campaign if the donations aren’t coming in.

Of course, there is a way in which to make sure a campaign is as effective as it can be before it gets a wider launch – and it’s relatively straightforward, too.

You simply test.

But in a campaign made up of countless components and a multitude of variables, what exactly do you test? As a longstanding fundraising platform provider that has carried out thousands of text-to-donate campaigns on behalf of its clients, here are Cymba’s top seven areas to test.

1. Perfect timing

Whether you’re testing the time of the day, week, or year, timing plays a large role in the effectiveness of text-to-donate campaigns. One member of our team used to work at a charity focused on an elderly demographic, which had notable campaign success in the colder months. Why? Because the donors were busy looking after grandchildren in the summer months. As a result, campaigns were restricted to autumn and winter.

2. Good value

Maybe you’ve spent the last decade asking for £5 per campaign, but lately you’ve been wondering what would happen if you asked for £10 or even £15. Or maybe you’re considering whether or not an open-ended ask might yield even higher donations? With testing, you can find out by issuing varying sizes of asks to a small group of donors.

3. The right message

Not that long ago, text-to-donate asks were limited to 160 characters. With the emergence – and now the exponential rise – of Rich Communications Services, there are no limits. Not only that, but charities can now incorporate images, video, and even interactive buttons into an ask. However, irrespective or whether it’s long or short, copy- or visual-driven, or even one-way or two-way, is it effective? The only way to know for sure is to test

4. Pre-broadcast messages

A successful campaign shouldn’t hinge on the effectiveness of one broadcast alone. We often run campaigns whereby a warmup message is sent, advising prospective donors that they’re going to shortly receive a message outlining how they can help. Is it effective? Well, it can be, depending on the message and the audience, both of which can easily be … you guessed it, tested.

5. To follow-up, or not follow-up

Sometimes, all it takes is a nudge to get that donation over the line. But there’s often a fine line between reminding someone to donate and being perceived as chasing someone to donate. As to how your audience will perceive a follow-up text remains to be seen via testing. But if this tactic is the difference between getting a donation and not getting a donation, then it’s certainly worth exploring.

6. A personal approach

A quick poll of the Cymba team revealed that they like being referred to by name when being sent marketing communications or asked to donate; the general consensus is that the personal touch goes a long way. But not everybody likes it. Whether your audience does or not might depend on the nature of the charity and the age of its members (remember, Generation Z expects personalisation when being communicated to).

7. Environmental impact

No, we’re not referring to the environment in a climate or sustainability sense, but rather what’s going on in the world at the particular time of your campaign. For example, escalating energy prices and a long-running cost-of-living crisis tend to make people think twice about spending or donating on the basis that they no longer have as much disposable income as they might have done, say, 12 months ago. In our view, how well a charity can counter these external challenges comes down to the messaging - so getting it right via testing is imperative.

Given the impermanent nature of life and the fact that everything changes all the time, testing should really be a permanent fixture in your text-to-donate campaign outreach. For advice, guidance, or to simply find out how your text-to-donate campaigns could be improved, contact the Cymba team to speak with a fundraising technology specialist.

Want to supercharge your campaigns and improve your return on investment?

Contact the Cymba team .

Next-Gen Fundraising: Emerging Tech Predictions

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 11:37:09 GMT

We’ve been harnessing technology to leverage charities’ fundraising campaigns for many years now. And, through our partnership with CM.com , which specialises in AI-powered customer engagement, we’ve broadened our technological capabilities even further.

From devising and implementing SMS fundraising campaigns to exploring what’s possible with Rich Communication Services (RCS), we’ve carved a reputation for delivering SMS and RCS campaigns that have the power to boost engagement and revenues.

This also puts us in the enviable position of having sight of what lies ahead when it comes to the technology that will be used to power fundraising campaigns in the not-too-distant future.

So, the question is, what are the technologies that we foresee being adopted by charities in the next 12 – 24 months? Here's what we expect to see rolled out soon.

RCS

Strictly speaking, this one isn’t on the horizon – it’s actually here now. However, it hasn’t yet been widely adopted. Whereas SMS is purely character-based, RCS allows charities to incorporate images, video, and even interactive elements, such as clickable buttons and polls. The result? A richer and more engaging experience for potential donors.

We have even been helping charities use this technology – via WhatsApp – for the stewardship of large-scale events such as marathons to gain a better understanding of how best to use the channel.

SMS

Now, this one certainly isn’t new. In fact, this technology has underpinned CYMBA’s campaigns since we first opened our doors in 2004. However, the way it’s used is likely to change over the next couple of years. Perhaps the most notable change will be its integration with Apple Pay and Google Pay, which will make it easier for people to donate in response to SMS messages.

We also expect to see SMS and AI working together more cohesively, the result of which will support two-way texting with responses that are tailored to the individual. Of course, SMS in its standard format will continue to dominate the charity fundraising landscape for its high open rate, simplicity, and immediacy.

Chatbots

Each ask made via SMS or RCS is generally the result of meticulous planning in order to make it as clear as possible, and as simple as possible for the donor to act on. However, potential donors can slip through the net for a whole host of reasons. But what if you have a chatbot on hand to guide potential donors through the giving process?

We envisage an uptick in charities using chatbots to do just this. Regardless of the platform – be it a charity’s website, its WhatsApp channel, or even its social media accounts – expect to see more chatbots giving charities a helping hand in getting donors over the line.

Voice activation

Whether it’s “Alexa, can you …” or “Hey Google, what is …”, the chances are that pretty much everyone is now familiar with voice activation technology. The next step, then, is to enable this technology to make donations via voice command alone.

Of course, the initial prompts will still be important, which is why technology such as SMS will never go away. But we expect to see charities asking donors to give via Alexa and Google become standard quite soon.

AI

Tools such as ChatGPT have become part of the English lexicon – and its adoption by organisations of all natures and sizes is now widely accepted. We expect to see AI help charities create and deliver campaigns at a much faster rate as it becomes a more reliable source of content creation.

Not only that, but tailored messaging, custom donation amount suggestions, and personalised communication based on previous donor interaction are now all possible.

We believe that 2025 is the year in which this will all come together, offering charities more campaign flexibility and higher chances of securing regular donations.

Summary

The integration of new and emerging technologies within charities’ fundraising strategies is coming, and its inclusion will allow organisations to be smarter, more efficient, and more tailored in their approach.

However, longstanding technologies – such as SMS – will continue to be a throughline, effectively tying together the old with the new by providing the prompts from which donations can be made through new and innovative ways.

The next two years are likely to be a period of change as new technology becomes more widely adopted and more is made of existing channels. However, in our view, it’s a positive change, and one that’s likely to open new doors – and new revenue streams – for UK charities.

Want to explore how technology can amplify your fundraising campaigns? Contact the Cymba team .

6 ways to use social proof to boost donor confidence

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 14:05:04 GMT

How often do you question the legitimacy of a text or email asking you to do something from someone – or an organisation – you know nothing about?

We’ve all been there. And as the number of unsolicited texts and emails rise, navigating what’s real and relevant becomes a job in itself.

Let’s take ‘cold’ emails, for example. According to Statista, over 100 billion unsolicited emails are sent daily. It’s also estimated that 23 – 25 billion SMS messages are sent daily, with 1.5 per cent of traffic earmarked as unsolicited. That’s between 230,000 – 250,000 ‘cold’ texts every day.

So, against this tidal wave of texts and growing piles of digital mail, how can charities ensure that their requests for donations are heard above the noise? Equally, how can you validate a donor’s decision to part with their money?

The answer is social proof, particularly when you consider that a field experiment conducted by the University of Zurich & Harvard Kennedy School evidenced how showing that others had already donated increased giving by 23 per cent.

Building trust, demonstrating legitimacy, and validating your charity (as well as the donors’ decision to donate) are as important as the ask itself. Here are six ways to do it.

1. Strength in numbers

There’s nothing more reassuring than knowing that you’re not alone in making donations. So much so that we’ll often specifically cite the number of people who have helped the charity we’re delivering an SMS fundraising campaign for.

For example, by stating how ‘9,598 people have supported our charity this month – could you be the 9,599 ^th ?’, you’re not only making your ask more human, but you’re also showing that the path to donating is well-trodden.

2. Leave no room for doubt

With SMS, you have a small window of opportunity to reduce uncertainty. However, a single line is all it takes to prove that you’re credible and illustrate how the recipient can make a difference.

Including a message such as ‘We’ve raised £10,000 this week from people like you’ speaks volumes and offers the reassurance needed to inspire action.

As fundraising campaigns delivered through Rich Communication Services (RCS) platforms such as WhatsApp become commonplace, the verified badge, used in conjunction with your charity’s logo, builds immediate trust and allays donors’ fears that they’re being duped.

3. Share personal stories

It’s one thing to tell people why your donors have supported your charity. Having other donors outline why they’ve supported you is another thing entirely.

With access to hundreds, if not thousands, of existing supporters, why not ask them why they donate and use a selection of the best one-liners in SMS appeals to make the case for donating on your behalf?

It’s so much more powerful to discover the motivation for donating from your peers, so why not use those who are already in your corner?

4. SHOUT about regular givers

People often give impulsively, and on a one-off basis – and that’s great. However, regular givers show a longstanding commitment that is likely to inspire trust from others.

If you’re able to talk about how 10,000 people donate every month – or, even better, reference regular givers by their name and location – then it’s likely to give prospective donors the confidence they need to donate .

5 . Added credibility with RCS

As we’ve already covered, RCS enables charities to build trust by proving their legitimacy via the verified badge and by incorporating their logo in a message. However, RCS offers a much wider dimension when it comes to social proof, too, as a result of its ability to integrate user-generated video and images as part of a campaign.

If you can click on a video that includes video testimonials from existing donors as to why they’ve pledged their support, then this level of authenticity speaks volumes and provides social proof in its purest form.

6. Narrow it down

The beauty of data is that it can be segmented in a whole host of ways. Take individual towns and cities, for example. If, when issuing an SMS fundraising appeal, you can show the recipient that other people in the area in which they live are already supporting your charity, then it might be all they need to donate.

People like to feel like part of something bigger, and feeling like part of a community is reassuring. People also hate to feel like they’re missing out. Tapping into success at a regional level might just be what you need to get additional donors on side.

Need expert advice on creating and delivering effective fundraising campaigns using the latest technology? Contact the Cymba team .

The role of personalised communication in retaining donors

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 11:32:28 GMT

Speak with any of our fundraising technology specialists, and they will all tell you that when it comes to personalised fundraising campaigns, 2025 is a BIG year.

Why? Because the fundraising technology required to deliver personalised communication has never been so good. Additionally, the level of interactivity facilitated by this new and emerging technology means that the quality of engagement charities can generate is like nothing the charity space has seen before.

But before we look at some of the personal fundraising tools available to UK charities, let’s explore why personalised communication is so effective when it comes to retaining donors.

Making donors feel special

Personalised communication builds deeper, longer lasting and loyal connections with donors. After all, who doesn’t want to be seen, valued, and heard at an individual level?

As a fundraising technology company that has been helping charities with their fundraising strategies since 2009, Cymba perpetually witnesses technology change. However, one thing that remains consistent is that when it comes to donor retention, a personal touch goes a very long way.

If you can demonstrate to a donor that you know what makes them tick, acknowledge the donations they’ve made in the past, and you can explain how their donation was used, you will build trust and loyalty. If you can do that, then you’re closer to the holy grail of fundraising: repeat donations.

Secondly, given how the cost of acquiring a new donor can be up to five times more expensive than keeping an existing one, the economic argument for delivering personalised communication, over and above simply securing more donations, is very compelling.

A Gen Z thing

Everyone prefers to be treated as a person rather than a data point, of course. But Gen Z is a particularly personal generation.

In fact, this cohort values authenticity, is digitally fluent, and places a high importance on personalisation and individualism. This is supported by a Statista report , which revealed that 21 per cent of respondents aged 18 – 24 liked mass communication that addressed them by name.

Looking at this in context with a Charity Times story, which covered a survey that revealed how one in three Gen Z donors have increased the amount they give to charities over the past two years compared to just one in six across all age groups, then Gen Z is not only the generation to acquire, but also the generation to retain.

Now we understand the value of personalisation, and know that Gen Z is a donor group worth securing, let’s look at some of the technologies addressing both aspects.

Fundraising technologies in 2025

There’s no question that when it comes to personal fundraising, SMS has been a stalwart for many years. Its continued success also means that it’s likely to stay in a fundraiser’s toolbox for many years to come, too.

However, Rich Communication Services (RCS) – an evolution of SMS – is already making an impact amongst the charity fundraising community for its ability to integrate imagery and videos, and enable donors to interact, in real time, with a charity.

With this multimedia format, the opportunities for personalisation are almost endless. For example, sending videos on topics you already know will resonate with individual recipients not only builds trust and loyalty as previously covered, but it also improves the donor experience.

WhatsApp is a great example of how RCS technology can be harnessed, not least for the fact that it has two billion users in 180 countries and has a conversion rate of 45 – 60 per cent compared to 2 – 5 per cent for emails and SMS.

Another relatively new technology is carousels, which also sits under the RCS umbrella. Here, a carousel containing up to 10 ‘cards’, all of which can contain a combination of images, videos, and buttons, can be personalised to each individual and issued at scale.

So, if you know that a donor of your animal charity has a particular soft spot for dogs, then you can not only use the carousel to deliver dog-based success stories, but also show them how their past contributions have helped.

Looking ahead

We’d argue that people always preferred the personal touch. However, the technology required to deliver it wasn’t available. Similarly, the data required to underpin this approach was never accessible.

Things have changed. Not only that, but Gen Z – the generation that is becoming an increasingly important donor demographic – has grown up in a digital world, so they not only prefer a personal approach, but expect it.

Personalised communication is undoubtedly essential in retaining donors. The trick now is understanding how the fundraising technology and tools available today can help you achieve that.

RCS success

Discover the impact of Rich Communications Services (RCS) by joining Cymba and its sister company, FirstClass, on 11 September for a webinar in partnership with the Institute of Legacy Management. We’ll explore how this emerging technology is transforming engagement around legacy giving.

Want to supercharge your campaigns, improve your return on investment, and learn how best to retain your existing donors? Contact the Cymba team.

How to get the most from your text to give campaigns

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 07:26:19 GMT

Thinking of broadening your fundraising toolkit to include text to donate campaigns? Maybe you’ve just started to use this approach and are wondering how to maximise your return on investment. Or perhaps you’re trying to work out which text to give platform or provider to use.

Regardless of where you are on your text to give journey, this article has been written to advise, inform and generally help you get the best out of your fundraising technology.

After all, we know a thing or two about text to give campaigns, having been improving campaign return on investment for some of the UK’s most prominent charities for two decades.

Not only that, but with SMS promotions and donations at the core of what we do, we process more than 150,000 premium SMS donations every month – and so far, we’ve processed more than £70m in donations.

But enough about us. Let’s focus on six key areas that will help you deliver maximum return on your text to donate campaigns.

Get the best

Not all UK text to donate providers are created equal, so get the best charity text donation service your budget allows. Our article entitled 8 things to consider when choosing a text donation partner will give you a head start when it comes to thinking about what you need. A good thing to keep in mind when choosing a text to donate platform is the three Ss: scope , service levels and simplicity . For example, what can it deliver, can it deliver it well, and can it deliver it in a way that’s simple to use for you – the charity – and the donor.

Keep it short

A successful text to donate campaign is obviously one that generates significant donations. And often, this stems from the keyword. In our experience, the most effective text to give campaigns use short keywords that are not only easy to remember, but that also drive action. Emotive words such as ‘SUPPORT’, ‘GIVE’ and ‘HELP’ are likely to be more effective than ‘SUPPORTOURCHARITY’ or ‘HELPUSRAISEFUNDS’, for example.

Broaden your reach

Cymba is an expert in developing and delivering text to donate campaigns. However, as a charity with a communications team, all of whom are experts in their own communications disciplines, you’re likely to have access to multiple channels at any given time. Whether you’re advertising in traditional media (or even DTV), hosting events and webinars, or simply promoting the campaign across your social media platforms, make the most of your channels to ensure that each and every text to donate campaign is broadcast far and wide.

Minimise any friction

These days, if you want people to take action, you can’t expect them to jump through hoops. Make it easy for prospective donors to donate in a matter of seconds. If your donation process takes any longer than that, then you run the risk of losing a donation.

Is it urgent?

Getting people to part with their hard-earned money, particularly in what is currently a challenging economic climate, comes down to language and messaging – and urgency often plays a large role. Whether you’re focusing on a limited timeframe, a target you’re trying to reach or outlining exactly what the recipient’s donation will buy, ensure that your ask packs a punch.

After the event

So, you’ve issued the broadcast and delivered the ask… and the campaign has been a huge success. Donations are rolling in and the tone (and messaging) has clearly worked. However, can you send a follow-up SMS to say ‘thank you’. It’s really important that you don’t just use your text to donate platform as a one-hit wonder. You need to be able to use the same SMS channel to let the donor know you appreciate them via a message of thanks – and as the basis for further engagement.

Of course, there are many more elements that require consideration – one of which is testing. After all, each and every SMS ask needs to be as perfect as it possibly can be. Continual testing delivers continual improvement, so make sure you’re testing as much as you can and as often as you can.

In the meantime, for text to donate guidance, advice and insights from a team of text to donate experts, get in touch.

Want to supercharge your campaigns and improve your return on investment? Contact the Cymba team on 0845 0829622.

Pilot Project Launched to Support Free Wills Month

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 08:58:24 GMT

To shine a light on October’s Free Wills Month , an initiative designed to offer those aged 55 and over the chance to have straightforward wills written or updated free of charge, FirstClass and sister company Cymba have joined forces, in partnership with the Institute of Legacy Management (ILM) to launch a project that illustrates the impact mobile messaging has on legacy giving.

Whilst mobile messaging is typically associated with text-to-donate campaigns, the partnership between two companies that sit within ClearCourse’s stable of brands will showcase how this technology can be used to inspire people to leave legacies in their wills.

The webinar, entitled “ How to Boost traffic to your Free Wills and Legacy pages ”, will be jointly hosted by the FirstClass and Cymba teams, and explore how emerging Rich Communications Services (RCS) technology, the evolution of SMS, can be used to drive engagement when it comes to legacy giving.

The event will also provide charities with insights into how they can build trust when it comes to increasing donations and gifts by revealing tried and tested messaging formats that drive action. Charities will also learn how to highlight their free wills and legacy pages by harnessing RCS’s ability to implement branded quick-action buttons, and understand the difference in outcomes between SMS and RCS messaging via a dedicated split testing session.

In the lead up to the webinar , which takes place on 11 September at 10:30 am , Cymba and FirstClass will be running test campaigns with several of the UK’s prominent charities, the results of which will be revealed during the session.

On the event, Rich Mullens, Director at Cymba and FirstClass, comments:

“ Regular givers are often among the most open to leaving a legacy. In this webinar, we’ll demonstrate how mobile messaging can help charities engage these supporters more effectively and drive meaningful traffic, not only for donations but also to inspire gifts in wills. We’re delighted to unite these two brands, both of which are founded on helping charities boost donations via mobile messaging and increase their legacy giving. We're confident that attendees will leave feeling inspired to use new approaches. "

The new Data (Use and Access) Bill, which gives charities greater freedom to use the soft opt-in by enabling them to contact past supporters with relevant legacy messages without needing fresh consent, removes barriers to utilising RCS. This means that the benefits of RCS, such as the ability to use logos, images, video, and tap-to-act buttons, can be quickly and efficiently embraced by charities looking to incorporate this emerging technology.

For more information on Cymba, FirstClass, and Free Wills Month, visit https://www.cymba.co.uk , https://www.firstclass-software.com , and https://freewillsmonth.org.uk , respectively.

SMS campaigns do outperform email… and here’s why

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 15:12:11 GMT

As a company that’s carved a reputation for helping charities of all sizes maximise their return on fundraising campaigns using a whole suite of tools and technologies, it’s fair to say that we know a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to donor engagement.

And one tool that we’ve enjoyed HUGE success with is SMS fundraising campaigns. In fact, SMS fundraising has become the one tool that we’ve become synonymous with over the years.

Don’t just take our word for it, though. After all, the numbers speak for themselves. Since 2004, we’ve processed a total of £70m using SMS. And we currently process 150,000 SMS-based donations every month.

But why exactly is SMS fundraising so effective? And how does it outperform email fundraising campaigns? Let’s take a look.

SMS vs. email

It’s worth pointing out that email fundraising isn’t a thing of the past; it’s still very much alive and one of our top 10 tools to use when it comes to donor engagement. It’s just that SMS is… well, better.

We asked our team of fundraising specialists why, and here’s what they said.

1. High open rates

A fundamental point to make here is that everybody has a phone. And they tend to have it on them at all times . With that in mind, it’s perhaps no surprise that SMS text open rates are a staggering 98 per cent. This compares to a relatively modest open rate of between 20 – 22 per cent with email.

2. The 90/90 rule

SMS response times aren’t just quicker than email response times … they’re MUCH quicker. UK Fundraising magazine supports this by revealing that whilst respondents tend to respond to SMS messages in 90 seconds, it can take as long as 90 minutes to respond to an email broadcast. When you’re launching an urgent appeal, you want something to be read – and hopefully acted on – immediately. SMS is the perfect tool for immediacy.

3. Click-through conquests

Generally speaking, CYMBA’s SMS campaign click-through rates far exceed when compared to email click-through rates of around 2–5 per cent. SMS certainly outperforms email here.

4. Captive audience

According to datareportal.com , there are a whopping 5.81 billion unique mobile phone subscribers across the world. This represents just over 70 per cent of the global population. Porch Group Media , however, claims that there were 4.25 billion active email users in 2022. Of course, this is still a large number of people, but when it comes to audience size, SMS provides the greatest potential in terms of getting your fundraising campaign seen by the highest number of people.

5. More personal

SMS is a much more personal, not to mention accessible, form of communication. People tend to have alerts set for incoming text messages, which means that it’s generally seen and acted on much quicker than email. It’s also a much more informal channel for communication, typically reserved for friends and family. Of course, with this comes a greater need to send messages that respect personal boundaries – although that’s an area that CYMBA specialises in.

And the winner is …

In our view, it’s very clearly SMS. It’s quick, it comes with a degree of urgency that email simply doesn’t, and it’s cost-effective, too.

For example, through SMS campaigns, we’ve helped reduce ActionAid UK’s cost per acquisition and helped Cats Protection implement an SMS lottery service , which boosted sign-up rates.

However, there is still a place for email fundraising campaigns, and this channel is far from over. The secret is to harness the benefits of both to maximise engagement, build relationships, and boost revenue.

Interested in using SMS campaigns to enhance engagement and increase revenues? Contact the Cymba team on 0845 0829622.

8 things to consider when choosing a text donation partner

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 09:59:25 GMT

Okay , you’ve decided to boost your fundraising efforts.

Your fundraising strategy has been signed off, your team is invigorated and you’re ready to go. Except there’s one thing missing: a text donation partner. Or, to be more precise, a text to give platform.

Like any investment in a platform – whether it’s membership CRM or a legacy management system – it’s important that you get it right before signing on that dotted line.

So, in a bid to arm you with the information you need when choosing a text donation supplier, here are Cymba’s top eight things to consider.

1. Age and experience

There’s nothing technical about this point - but it’s not to be overlooked. Age and experience go a long way, so do your due diligence and make sure that the company you’ve shortlisted has evidence to prove that it can deliver what it says it can. Cymba , for example, has been helping charities get more from their fundraising campaigns since 2009 and has built a client portfolio that includes UNICEF, RSPCA, Marie Curie and Shelter. With large brands often comes large campaigns and large successes. Make sure the provider you’re considering is capable of delivering both.

2. Messages and money

Is your prospective text to give platform capable of running different types of campaigns including standard rate SMS and PSMS? Will they let you have access to the mobile numbers of those who texted in? If the answer’s ‘no’, then continue your search.

3. Information and tax

When choosing a text to give platform, it’s crucial that you ensure the provider can offer you a mobile responsive Gift Aid form . Not only is there an obvious benefit to being able to claim gift aid, but you can also use the information inputted to create a bigger, better and more rounded picture of the donor. It’s also possible to use the form to request communications preferences and permissions, effectively making it the gateway to more channels - all of which can be used to further your fundraising efforts.

4. Responders and donors

As a charity, you’ll know that you can only send additional communications with appropriate data protection consent. And the only way of obtaining that is if there’s an effective opt-out option built into the platform. In doing this, you can better cultivate future donor opportunities. Remember, someone who donates once is a responder, whereas someone who repeatedly donates is a donor. As you want the latter, you’ll need to make sure your platform has an opt-out facility.

5. SMS and stewardship

The primary objective of a text to give platform is to get donations via SMS. However, SMS is useful from a stewardship perspective, too. So, make sure you check if your potential provider offers SMS as a channel to send further appeals or stewardship messages to donors.

6. Regular giving and lottery

Single gifts are great. Regular donations are better. Can your prospective fundraising platform take monthly donations from a donor’s phone bill? If the answer is ‘no’, move on to the next provider. A recent development, and something that we offer our clients, is the option of an SMS lottery . By working with the charity and their external lottery manager (ELM), our solution enables the prospective player to sign up and be charged £5 every 5 weeks to play in the lottery. Contact and payment details are then sent to the clients’ ELM, which handles the rest.

7. Automation and alternatives

Sometimes, SMS donations fail. It may be that a donor’s parents, who also happen to pay their child’s phone bill, have blocked charity payments. Or maybe a company has blocked charity payments on employees’ work phones. Regardless of the reason, the important bit is how you avoid a missed opportunity if someone is willing to give. We’ve launched CymbaPay, for example, which automatically recognises when a donation has failed and sends the donor links to alternative ways of making payments.

8. Innovation and creativity

Cymba is continually looking for ways in which to drive engagement, build loyalty and generate more donations. For example, we’re tapping into Rich Communications Services, using WhatsApp to deliver fundraising campaigns that go above and beyond 160 characters by incorporating images, video and interactive buttons. Is your prospective provider capable of pushing the boundaries of what’s possible? If not, keep searching. Or simply call the Cymba team.

Want to supercharge your campaigns and improve your return on investment? Click here to find out more.

ClearAccept Ltd t/a CymbaPay is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Service Regulations 2017 (FRN 926372) for the provision of payment services.

Why RCS is the one to watch this year

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 12:41:01 GMT

Our Senior Product Manager, Steve Mathieson, recently spoke at an event on Rich Communication Services (RCS), which we attended in partnership with Google and the event’s host CM.com - a global leader in cloud software for conversational commerce.

The event, which took place at The Shard, opened with an address from Philippe Oliveira, Senior Business Development Manager for UK & Ireland, who quickly set the scene by stating that the mobile phone has become ‘the remote control of our lives’.

And with that comment, the entire audience, which included senior figures from illustrious companies, immediately paid attention.

SMS vs. RCS

Philippe went on to outline how SMS continues to be incredibly effective as a messaging tool for CM.com. Having sent seven billion SMS messages on behalf of their clients, one of which is Cymba , they should know. But he also drew the audience’s attention to its limitations.

For example, SMS has no branding facility (it’s simply characters and words), no Verified Sender profile, no read receipts and limited potential for interaction. RCS , on the other hand, can include full branding, Verified Sender profiles and an abundance of video and images including carousel functionality.

After all, SMS has been around since 1992; it’s old technology by today’s standards. Whereas RCS is new technology that’s only just beginning its ascendance into the mainstream.

And this is exactly why Cymba is integrating the technology into its charity clients’ campaigns (more on that to follow) and why Google is heavily investing in its development.

Vital statistics

Google’s RCS Business Development Manager, Tim Atkinson, confirmed this during his presentation on harnessing the powers of carrier messaging.

According to Tim, Google’s RCS mission revolves around enabling reliable, helpful and safe communications on any device. Based on the statistics he referenced, RCS appears to be providing the framework to do just that.

RCS’s pervasive nature means that response rates are 60 – 300 per cent higher than SMS*, engagement levels are up to 500 per cent higher* and conversation rates 20 – 250 per cent higher*. Add to this the fact that 89 per cent of people want to connect with organisations via messaging+, and the case for multimedia-driven interactive messaging is hard to ignore.

Early adopters and early successes

Having worked with CM.com since 2021, Cymba now sends four million SMS messages a month.

However, it is RCS and its associated possibilities that’s capturing our clients’ imaginations after we made it available in 2023.

Firstly, it’s much more engaging than SMS. Using imagery, video and one-tap replies not only make messages from charities much more dynamic and interesting, but also easier to respond to.

The Verified Sender tick, once clicked, brings up more information about the charity that’s sending the message, which only reassures the recipient that they’re receiving a safe message (the ambiguous nature of bit.ly links can cause recipients to question the source).

Additionally, you can complete your declaration and even speak to a support centre direct from the RCS message, both of which make supporting a charity – or interacting with a charity, at the very least – very easy from the outset.

Cymba’s successes with some of the UK’s major charities including RSPCA, RSPB and SENSE have already proven that RCS is likely to revolutionise fundraising campaigns – not years from now, but months from now as the technology becomes more prevalent.

It’s important to note that SMS is very far from dead. But RCS is very powerful. The recent event, which welcomed some of the UK’s largest brands, not least of all Google, is testament to this.

Our view is that those who choose to use RCS now are likely to benefit from the early gains.

For more information on RCS and how to get the best from your fundraising campaigns, download our free eBook – Fundraising in 2024 and beyond . Or, to speak with one of our experts, call Cymba on +44 (0)845 0829622 or email enquiries@cymba.co.uk .

*Infobip, client case studies, 2023; +Spectrm, 2021

Bolster Fundraising Efforts with Mobile Messaging Campaigns

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 12:40:57 GMT

Now more than ever, it's crucial for NGOs to adopt mobile messaging practices to effectively communicate with their supporters and donors. With an astonishing 5 billion people using mobile devices worldwide, SMS has emerged as an essential marketing channel, boasting unprecedented open and response rates compared to email and other digital platforms.

With people constantly connected to their phones, mobile messaging offers instant communication at the perfect time and place— right at your audience's fingertips. It also enables personalised communication, keeping your stakeholders engaged and ensuring high readability. Additionally, sending bulk texts makes it easier and more cost-effective to reach a larger audience quickly.

With so many messaging platforms to choose from—SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, social media, and more—here are some key benefits that Cymba offer and how they can enhance your fundraising efforts.

Personalisation

Personalisation is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity. Building a personal connection allows you to create relevancy, enhance supporter satisfaction, and ultimately boost conversion rates. Additionally, the ability to segment donor lists enables more targeted messaging, whether addressing new donors, recurring supporters, or major gift prospects.

Creating compelling campaigns

We're all familiar with the saying "a picture paints a thousand words." This rings especially true when reaching out to potential donors, particularly younger generations who are predominantly mobile-first. Rich text messaging (RCS), now facilitated by apps like WhatsApp, allows for emotional connections with potential donors through the use of images and videos. These visuals vividly illustrate the impact of donations, making the message more compelling and engaging.

Simplified donation processes

Simplicity is paramount when it comes to making that all-important donation. Now, it's easier and quicker than ever before. There's no need for people to land on your website; simply include a direct link to mobile-friendly donation pages in your messages. Ensure these messages come from a recognizable, reputable business page, featuring your logo for added trust. Alternatively, utilise text-to-donate services. Whether your charity is fundraising on TV, online, social media, or print, making a donation to your cause is as easy as sending a text.

Looking for help?

If you'd like to reach more supporters through their preferred channels, create compelling content that effectively tells your charity's story, and deliver targeted messages to the right audience at the right time, Cymba can help.

With two decades of experience in enhancing campaign ROI for leading charities and brands, Cymba has a deep understanding of what strategies are successful and, just as crucially, which ones are not. Read some real examples of how our software has been effective in our case studies section or alternatively reach out to our team of experts to book a discovery call.

Feature showcase - SMS lottery and prize draws

Tue, 21 May 2024 15:44:57 GMT

If you're a Cymba user, you'll know our platform offers many features, all of which have been designed to make mobile payments and messaging more efficient, flexible, and appealing for charities.

But do you know everything the platform offers? We've launched Cymba's feature showcase – an ongoing series highlighting the system's functionality – to show you everything we offer.

If you're not already a Cymba user, this series will help you better understand why you should be. This edition will cover increasing donor lifetime value and diversifying your supporter base with SMS prize draws and lotteries.

A look at SMS prize draws and lotteries

Lotteries and prize draws offer an excellent opportunity to foster engagement and raise additional funds from your current supporters. With seasonal draws and regular lotteries, your existing supporters are typically eager to participate, and these initiatives can generate extra revenue for your cause.

Regular giving via SMS is easy with Cymba. You can send or schedule messages and connect your website or application to our API. With a 98% open rate, SMS messages are three times more likely to get read than emails.

With our charity SMS lottery platform, Connected Lottery, supporters can buy tickets to win one or more prizes. Our platform enables charities to recruit more lottery players, manage compliance through SMS, and process payments.

SMS donations vs the lottery product

There are notable distinctions between regular giving platform SMS (RGPSMS) donations and our lottery product:

RGPSMS donations:

Supporters can make varying monthly contributions, including £3, £4, £5, and £10.
Supporters can't choose the 'skip' options with RGPSMS donations.
We have abundant numbers short codes for RGPSMS promotion. But there are restrictions on the short codes that can be used to promote the Lottery.

Lottery platform:

Lottery players can make a fixed payment of £5. Typically, this enters them into one draw for five weeks.
The frequency of payments is every five weeks.
There is no skip.
We export the lottery players’ details to the external lottery managers, who are responsible for running the actual lottery draw. They also hold the client lottery database and communicate with the winners. We work with four leading ELMS.

Cymba case study

For a real-life example of how Cymba can help you manage regular giving via lottery, read our case study on Cats Protection, the UK's largest cat welfare charity.

The case study explores how the charity used our solutions to increase the number of people participating in its weekly lottery, Win With Cats.

Explore the world of SMS lotteries and prize draws with Cymba

Want more information on how Cymba can help you manage SMS lotteries and prize draws? Contact our team today.

Call 0845 08 29622, email our team at enquiries@cymba.co.uk or text CYMBA to 88008* and we will call you back.

*Texts charged at your standard network rate.

Cymba turns 20

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:50:24 GMT

Fuelled by ambition and drive, Nevil Coleman and Steve Hanna founded Cymba in 2004 with one clear aim: to enter the mobile messaging sector.

Having quickly established that short codes - special telephone numbers designed for high-throughput, two-way messaging - had huge marketing potential, the business began generating regular revenue.

Both owners suspected this approach would appeal to charities looking to boost donations. However, there was one significant hurdle: major mobile operators wanted to retain the majority of the donation - a decision that priced out charities.

This all changed in 2010 when Vodafone announced that they would give 100 per cent of donations to charity, which meant that SMS messaging campaigns became much more accessible to the third sector. Soon after, other mobile operators followed suit.

After winning UNICEF as a client - just as it was embarking on the now famous campaign with Ewan McGregor that went on to secure millions of pounds for the charity - Cymba had officially entered the world of charity fundraising.

Fast-forward 20 years, and Cymba has raised over £70m - £36m of which comes from regular giving - from a supporter network of 436,000 people. In the last 12 months alone, it has raised almost £6m in regular giving donations.

As Cymba turns 20, let's hear from those who have been with the business the longest, including Rich Mullens, Cymba's Product Director.

Steve Mathieson - Head of Client Services

An insane rollercoaster ride

“I’ve been with Cymba since 2008. That’s a long time, but it’s flown by. It’s honestly been an insane rollercoaster ride – all positive, though. We’ve always had to think on our feet and we’ve never taken anything for granted."

"We started with a charitable customer base of zero. Fortunately for us, our work in the private sector got noticed by someone at WWF. They wanted to know who was responsible for the National Accident Helpline campaign – and it was us. On the back of that, Cymba and WWF began working together and from there we went from strength to strength."

"The watershed moment came when you were able to donate via you phone. The second came when mobile operators agreed to hand over the lion share of a donation rather than holding onto it, the result of which turbocharged charities’ interest in what we did."

“The next big moment came in 2011, when regular giving by SMS came into play. Not only did it make regular giving easier for donors, but it also gave them control by enabling them to skip donations if they wished. Prior to that, regular giving was reliant on Direct Debits, which, once cancelled, are expensive for charities to try and reinstate. This part of the business has grown steadily over the years and today we have 150,000 people giving a combined total of £500,000 a month."

“Cymba’s biggest achievement is the fact that it took mobile phone-led donations niche to mainstream. We really are trailblazers in what we do. Not only that, but we also make it viable for the smaller charities and not just the large ones."

“We’re now looking to take the same approach to flexible donations that we’ve achieved with SMS and replicate it with Direct Debits. This will reduce attrition rates and lead to higher levels of engagement."

“Additionally, rather than just building a list of donors, charities will be able to build entire communities, as the pool of potential donors will be much bigger."

“It’s been an incredible journey over the 16 years I’ve been with Cymba. However, I think the most exciting chapters lay ahead of us.”

Les Beech - Account Manager

We’ve generated £70m plus for charities

“I’ve been with Cymba for 10 years, but my journey with the business began four years earlier, in the lead up to the 2010 General Election."

"I was working for St John Ambulance at the time, which had recently been given the opportunity and the budget to invest in new media, which we had never done before. We started working with DTV and were introduced to Cymba via them."

"The first campaign we launched was overwhelming. The interest we received was huge, so much so that we were advised to turn the advert into a text-to-donate campaign, which Cymba played a huge role in.

I joined the business as it was about to launch Connected, its regular giving product, as I had experience running regular giving campaigns."

“In the intervening 10 years, things have changed enormously. In 2014, we had less than 30,000 RG donors but were raising @ 76K in income. These days, one of our charity clients raises over £1m a year via regular giving donations."

“Connect, the platform we’ve developed that allows our clients to send SMS broadcasts, is incredibly advanced. It enables users to determine data protection, download Gift Aid data and review bounce back text wording. We’re also making further investment in Rich Messaging, which will provide a step change for charities throughout the UK."

“We’ve generated a total of £70m+ m for charities and it’s just fabulous that we’ve played such a pivotal role in helping those we work with to raise so much money. It’s a huge achievement and one that’s shared by our partners and the agencies we work with. Given the amount of development that’s currently going into Cymba, this is only set to increase and I’m delighted to be a part of it.”

Rich Mullens - Product Director

It’s been quite a journey

“I first began working with Cymba in 2012 while running a face-to-face fundraising agency. Finding the business was a dream, as it ultimately allowed us to pair text-based giving with shopping centres, which was a huge success.

After spending some time in Australia to run another fundraising agency, I came back and met with Neville, Cymba’s Co-founder, who offered me a job. Cut to the present day, and all I can say is that it’s been quite a journey. "

“Cymba has evolved significantly, even over the last 18 months since I’ve been leading it, as a result of huge investment in our people and the technology that underpins the business. This investment has given us a springboard to the future in the shape of two new products."

“The first is our Rich Messaging suite, which will see us increase the use of platforms such as WhatsApp to boost charitable income and drive engagement through more visual - and therefore more emotive - messaging. The second is being developed to remove barriers to payments. Whilst our history is steeped in SMS-based payments, now, as part of ClearCourse, one of our key priorities is to reduce friction across ALL forms of payments. So, providing our charity clients with the ability to take payments from donors using credit cards, direct debits, and, of course, SMS, all from one platform, will be revolutionary."

“Of course, it’s not just about the money but also about driving engagement, too. By making charitable giving more accessible and helping organisations to meet their supporters where they are, rather than relying on them to come to the charity, we’re facilitating this aspect, too."

“Our continued investment in artificial intelligence will also transform the charitable giving space. We’re currently exploring how it can play a role in customer journeys by providing charities with insights into the decisions donors are making. As a result, charities will be able to understand, in real-time, what aspects of a campaign work, and those that don’t."

“Charities are accountable for every penny they spend. If we can provide the tools that enable them to do that, we can provide even more value. The past 20 years have been incredibly exciting for Cymba, and I’m incredibly proud to be able to play a role in shaping the future of the business.”

Four ways to recruit regular donors to give via their phone bill

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 09:50:07 GMT

By Les Beech, Account Manager at Cymba

Over the past few decades, regular giving has become increasingly important for charities, which is why so many have adopted Direct Debits.

In 2011, Cymba launched Connected , a regular giving SMS platform, to give charities another way to accept regular donations.

The system enables charities to take donations from donors' phones on a 30-day cycle, similar to a Direct Debit. However, donors have control over regular gifts, as they can decide whether to give in any given month.

The platform meets the Phone-paid Services Authority's (PSA) standards, which state that donors must be reminded every 29 days of who they're giving to, how much they're giving, and how to skip payments.

Connected complements our client's efforts to promote regular giving by Direct Debit, which is why it's a valuable platform for anyone looking to recruit regular donors.

Let's look at ways you can encourage and secure regular giving platform SMS (RGPSMS) donations.

1. Telephone agency drop ask

Initially, this was the primary way for charities to ask donors for a regular donation from their phone bill or RGPSMS. The client promotes a keyword, for example, 'CAT', and a short code, for example, 70007.

Cymba then forwards the phone numbers of those who responded - minus any opt-outs - to the clients' telephone fundraising agency, which then calls to ask for a Direct Debit donation. If the member of the public declines to make a Direct Debit donation, then as part of the negotiating cycle, the fundraiser asks if they would like to make a regular donation via their mobile phone bill.

If the prospective donor says 'yes,' the fundraiser sends a text message to their phone asking them to reply YES to sign up for an RGPSMS donation. This text message is followed by a message confirming what they have signed up for to comply with PSA regulations. At this point, their phone is charged for the first time.

Doing this enables the client to sign up additional donors, which helps to reduce the cost per acquisition and generate a further group of regular giving donors. Cymba's clients typically see a conversion rate of around 5 – 6 per cent of people signing up to an RGPSMS regular gift due to the drop ask, depending on the telephone marketing strategy.

2. Two step

With this method, a charity promotes a keyword and short code again. But this time, when the donor texts in, they make a single donation. The bounceback text message from the charity confirms that the donor has been charged £5 and promotes a regular gift.

This text message is followed by a second bounceback message that contains instructions on how to set up regular giving.

In our experience, the conversion rate for those who make a single donation and then an RGPSMS donation following the second step is around 10 per cent, making it a valuable tool in any regular giving toolbox.

3. Straight to

This method is the most frictionless for individual donations. Here, if a public member, after seeing a charity's advert, texts CAT to 70007 to make a £3 a month donation, they will receive a message from the charity asking the individual to reply 'YES' to confirm their decision.

Once this commitment is made, the charity will text them explaining how to stop the recurring payment or, should they wish to, at any point in the future, how to skip a payment.

Another text—the first text that charges the donor—follows. Straight to campaigns managed by Cymba typically see 70 – 80 per cent of people who text convert to making RGPSMS donations.

4. SMS broadcast

SMS broadcasts are similar to sending appeals by mailshot or email, except you're using SMS instead.

With this approach, a charity simply needs a list of mobile numbers of potential donors and supporters who haven't opted out of being approached. The prospect is sent an RGPSMS appeal, which uses the short code the donor will be giving on, and asked to reply with the appropriate keyword. Once again, the donor is asked to confirm that they want to sign up for a regular giving donation by replying 'YES'. At this point, the process follows that of a straight to campaign.

SMS broadcasts are generally a much cheaper option, as charities typically already have mobile numbers. However, because these mobile numbers probably come from previous campaigns, historical costs should be considered when budgeting. Our experience shows that 20 per cent of people approached upgraded their RGPSMS donation from £3 to £5 per month. This tool can also be used to promote the Cymba Gift Aid form to donors.

We've helped many charities establish, maintain and grow their regular giving programmes.

To get more tips on recruiting regular donors, join our webinar on April 25 at 11:30 AM, presented by our Account Manager, Les Beech and our Head of Client Services, Steve Mathison.

5 tips for creating a successful RCS campaign

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 07:44:16 GMT

By James Briggs, Account Executive at Cymba.

As someone who’s spent a considerable amount of their career charity side, I’ve had the freedom to try new fundraising approaches and get a sense for what works, and what doesn’t.

Now, having recently joined Cymba, I’m in the privileged position of being able to consolidate what I’ve learnt along the way in order to help multiple charities leverage their fundraising campaigns when it comes to that all important thing – boosting fundraising revenue.

Whilst RCS as a tool for fundraising is still in its infancy, my charity was an early adopter and I worked with Cymba to test RCS across several campaigns.

Here are the five things that I learned.

1. The devil is in the detail

It’s often the subtle things that make the big difference – particularly when it comes to building credibility. RCS is no different. For instance, the verified badge, as well as your charity’s logo, at the top of a piece of RCS communication speaks volumes. During our standard PSMS campaigns, we’d often get calls from potential donors asking if the text we sent was legitimate and not a scam, or concerned that the short code link was potentially harmful. With RCS and a fully setup profile, which is visual and verified, this concern simply falls away. So, make sure that your RCS profile is correctly setup, and that the logo is clear and concise.

2. Stick to the story

The biggest restriction to PSMS is the 160-character limit. After all, trying to convey a message or tell a story that resonates at an emotional level and make an ask within these parameters is incredibly difficult (and that’s before you’ve factored in copy around compliance). The way to get around this to some degree is to abbreviate everything, which can kill the mood and the message. With RCS, characters aren’t limited, which means that you can be much more detailed when it comes to storytelling. RCS’s ability to support storytelling allows your charity to be much more emotive – and when it comes to fundraising, emotional connection is critical.

3. A picture is worth a thousand words

Use imagery wherever and whenever possible. Any visual cues that support the story you’re telling makes the message so much more powerful. Just like text characters are unlimited with RCS, so too are images. And they’re free to add, too. More to the point, images enrich the content and make the user – or recipient – experience that much more compelling. So, why wouldn’t you use them.

4. Button it

Another beauty of RCS is the ability to embed buttons into a piece of communication. Not only does this enhance the user experience (who doesn’t prefer buttons to links) but it makes it more appealing – and arguably more likely – for people to take positive action and donate. Furthermore, buttons yield metrics that can be tracked, which means that messages received and open rates can be evaluated. This also provides invaluable feedback and insights that can be used to improve future campaigns.

5. Novelty factor

This is less of a technical point, but it’s true nonetheless. RCS in all its visual glory is new and interesting. As a result, we saw fewer unsubscribes from those who received the RCS campaign compared with the PSMS variant. PSMS has been around for years, so people are seemingly more inclined to default so unsubscribe. With RCS – the new kid on the block – people are seemingly more inclined to engage. My view is that whilst it’s so new, charities should adopt it now before the novelty factor wears off (although that’s likely to be many years from now).

As with all campaigns, charities should give RCS time and split test. However, there’s no doubt that RCS is the future. It just depends on when individual charities decide to adopt it. In my view, the sooner they do the better.

Interested in finding out how we can make RCS work for your fundraising campaigns? If so, call us on +44 (0)845 0829622 or email enquiries@cymba.co.uk .

Cymba’s fundraising guide urges UK charities to be bold in 2024

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 14:47:12 GMT

Fortune favours the bold according to Cymba, the mobile payments and messaging solutions specialist, following the launch its latest eBook entitled Fundraising in 2024 and beyond.

The eBook, which offers Cymba’s top 10 tools to help charities boost their fundraising revenue, features contributions from DTV Group , the film fundraising agency, conversational commerce experts CM.com , and senior figures from within Cymba including its CEO, Rich Mullens.

Whilst the eBook covers some of fundraising’s traditional tools such as direct mail and email marketing, it also explores the potential of emerging technologies such as Rich Communication Services and illustrates how charities can harness it to boost revenue.

On launching Fundraising in 2024 and beyond, Rich Mullens comments: “We’ve produced this guide in order to inform, educate and empower in equal measure. Charities of all sizes will be able to discover our favourite tools, gain insights from our highly experienced team and hear first-hand customer accounts of how many of the featured platforms are irrevocably changing their approach to fundraising. This collaboration with some of the UK’s highly respected charity partners is a must-read for those wishing to stay ahead of the curve in 2024.”

Readers will discover from Spike Bowen, Head of Account Management UK & Ireland at CM.com, how its omnichannel approach is helping to make donating fast and simple. Similarly, Chris Clark, Head of Media at DTV Group, also highlights some of the key trends for 2024 and outlines his top two recommendations for the year ahead.

2024 will be a year of opportunity for charities and Cymba believes that this guide will provide a head start.

Lunch and Learn Webinars

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 11:43:28 GMT

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new informative lunch and learn sessions aimed at ensuring you get the most out of your Cymba products by demonstrating new features and functionality.

Our first session will take place on the 28 February at 11:30am – 12:30pm and will be hosted by Steve Mathieson, Head of Client Services at Cymba.

Our series will be touching on recent enhancements to our platform one of which is ‘Broadcast Personalisation’ where we will be focusing on the following:

Introductions
SMS broadcast “The Basics”
Engaging & Stewardship with Personalisation
Advanced Examples – Direct Debit and Regular Text Giving upgrades
Futures update

There will also be the opportunity to ask any questions in an interactive Q&A session at the end.

We hope you can make it, however, if not please register and we'll send you the recording following the event.

Should WhatsApp feature in my fundraising toolbox?

Thu, 23 Nov 2023 09:33:32 GMT

As a business immersed in creating innovative mobile payment opportunities and developing messaging solutions for charities and brands, our answer to this question is ‘yes, absolutely!’.

Our recent event with Charity Digital – an organisation which, similar to us, exists to help charities get the most from their digital toolboxes – reinforced this, too, when we jointly explored how to optimise supporter engagement using WhatsApp alone.

‘But why?’, you’re probably asking. If so, read on.

Get the message

WhatsApp isn’t just big. With over two billion users in 180 countries, it’s HUGE.

Not only that, but communication habits have dramatically changed, too. For example:

67 per cent of people check their phones within the first five minutes of beginning their day*
85 per cent prefer messaging than a phone call or email**
90 per cent of people will have at least one messaging app by 2023 ⁺
39 per cent prefer WhatsApp as a customer service channel
With a conversion rate of 45 – 60 per cent, WhatsApp beats SMS and email, which stands at 2 – 5 per cent

Sources: *Zipwhip – The State of Texting; **Gartner; +eMarketer, Cooby – WhatsApp Statistics

So, combine one of the world’s largest messaging platforms with a planet full of people who can’t get enough of their phones, and what do you have?

An abundance of opportunity to engage and raise money.

Show me the money (and the messaging capabilities)

If you’ve read this far, it’s likely that you’re wondering how WhatsApp can be used in such an effective way.

The good news is that Cymba has partnered with CM.com , a global leader in cloud software for conversational commerce, in order to create a unique and rich messaging solution for charities to harness.

With WhatsApp at the heart of your charity’s communications campaign, our new rich messaging solution can help you:

Connect with supporters and minimise friction throughout the supporter journey

Initiate more conversations using messaging templates that provide supporters with the information they need, right when they need it

Take advantage of key features such as quick replies, appeals and updates

Manage a whole spectrum of conversations via WhatsApp such as utility, authentication and service conversations.

Want more from WhatsApp?

If you’re looking to reach more supporters using channels they’re already using, develop rich content that communicates your charity’s story in the most impactful way, and deliver the right messages to the right people at the right time, Cymba can help.

We’ve been improving campaign ROI for the biggest charities and brands around for almost two decades, so we know a thing or two about what works – and, importantly, what doesn’t.

Profile: Why Cymba’s Rich Mullens is determined to leave a legacy

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 11:21:03 GMT

Every day, Cymba’s Product Director Rich Mullens is driven by one thing: leaving a legacy.

And, it’s a passion that comes from deep within.

“When I was a young teenager, my dad passed away, and that experience changed me,” Rich says.

“It really drove me to want to connect with people – it’s not just about living a life, it’s about leaving a legacy. My dad left an incredible legacy and impression on my life, and every day since then, whatever I did, whatever I do, I want to leave people feeling good about any interaction I have with them – and I want to help make the world a better place with every interaction.”

Positive communication and building relationships with people are fundamental to Rich’s every day, and as a young professional he was driven to put that approach to life to use by helping others.

After beginning working life as a graphic designer, and then using his communication and relationship-building skills professionally by training Yellow Pages sales teams, UK-born Rich – who spent his formative years living in Zimbabwe before moving back to the UK in his late teens – focused on using his skills to make a global impact.

“At Yellow Pages, we developed what we called the 21st Century Sales Method, which changed the paradigm of selling. It wasn’t about pushing features and benefits of a product or service, it was about connecting with people, building rapport, understanding their pain points and their needs.

“The biggest satisfaction for me was when people had that ‘aha!’ moment – when they realised that, actually, all they were doing was connecting with people.

“As human beings, we thrive on connection, and it’s one of the most wonderful experiences when you can connect with someone, build a rapport and develop the kind of relationship that leaves a lasting impression.”

Rich believed that approach could be key to helping charities raise significant amounts of donations – which, over the following decades, he’s done to tremendous effect.

Putting the connection into fundraising

After four and a half years at Yellow Pages, Rich decided it was time to put his connection skills to use in the fundraising sector – a decision that was validated in his own mind when travelling to an interview for what would turn out to be his first role in a sector in which he’s – so far – spent the rest of his career.

“The day I had my interview was the day of the London Tube bombings. I was on my way to the interview, and I got on the tube. It happened to be the wrong one. I was supposed to go to Edgware Road station and ended up going to Edgware. I literally got off the train, and a few seconds later, there was pandemonium. A bomb had gone off on the train just behind us.

“For me, seeing all of the chaos that unfolded, brought home to me that life is short – we've only got a short period of time to do what we were put on this earth to do. It inspired me to keep going, and it reaffirmed my decision that getting into the charity world and making a real difference was the right one to make.”

The company Rich joined trained face-to-face fundraisers – and he spent the next three years training people across the world, raising considerable sums of money in the process.

“I was going up and down the country, training thousands of fundraisers, teaching them fundraising communication methods, building rapport and connecting with potential supporters in shopping malls, on the doorstep and in the high street.

“Over the years, I’ve helped charities raise hundreds of millions of pounds through face-to-face fundraising, which is one of the most used methods of fundraising around the world to engage prospective supporters.”

A life dedicated to fundraising

Since that fateful day in 2005, Rich has helped charitable organisations across five continents fundraise – and his international tour of duty took in some familiar territory.

“A part of my role was to go and connect with some charities over in South Africa, bringing my expertise to some of the fundraising teams over there, working with UNICEF and Save the Children and supporting them in their programme.”

In 2012, Rich launched his own face-to-face fundraising agency, and it was shortly after that when he first came into contact with Cymba.

“I was running a fundraising agency, and we were pioneering text donations as one of our methods of donations,” he explains.

“It was in the early days of text donations, and I connected with Cymba, which developed the technology, and I fell in love with what the business was all about and the technology they had.

“Cymba was making it possible in such a smooth, frictionless way that added a whole new dimension to fundraising, and I thought, ‘one day I’d like to work with this company’.”

Connecting with Cymba

Returning to the UK after leading a fundraising agency in Australia and New Zealand, Rich reconnected with Cymba, and one conversation led to Rich joining the team in 2022; a promotion to Product Director late last year underlining the success of both the business and the impact Rich has made.

For Rich, mobile messaging and payments are continually evolving with new and innovative ways to engage and connect with supporters, and he sees huge potential to work with charities across the world to help them grow this important fundraising channel.

“The beautiful thing about SMS is that everyone has a mobile phone,” he says.

“We send more messages than we make phone calls, and messaging is another efficient and effective way of connecting with people. Even though messaging is more than two decades old, it’s evolved – we have WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Apple Business messenger and Rich Communication Services from Google, too – and it’s so easy, so convenient, that charities are increasingly embracing it as a way of getting a good return on investment of their marketing and fundraising spend.”

Away from work, Rich and his family, wife Lisa, and children Luke and Myah – now 18 and 14, respectively – enjoy taking walks around their Bedfordshire home, accompanied by their two dogs – Enzo and Murray. “It’s important to be out in the fresh air, and just take some time to connect with each other, ourselves and nature – particularly with the world as busy as it is,” he says.

However, you can’t stop Rich from devoting himself to helping others. As well as walking, playing the odd round of golf, and watching international rugby (England’s his team, in case you’re wondering!), Rich spends the rest of his free time running his own charity with his twin brother.

“He spent a lot more time living in Zimbabwe than I did, and he said one day, ‘You’ve been in the charity world for a while, and these people need help – what can we do?’.

“So, back in 2019, we started our charity Hope Works. It was originally called Hope for Africa, and we initially set it up with the goal of helping people who couldn't afford a meal. There were food shortages, people were dying, and people were struggling with their health. They couldn't get into hospitals. Young children couldn't get access to education, and people who didn't have an education are grown up now trying to support and feed their families without the skills they need.

“So we set up Hope Works to feed the hungry, provide health care grants, educate young children, and help adults reskill.

“We raised over $100,000 in the first year, and year two was incredible with nearly a quarter of a million dollars raised – all going to help people across Zimbabwe have hope for a better future.”

And that’s the type of legacy you can be truly proud of.

How Cymba’s Gift Aid solution is helping charities maximise fundraising

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 15:17:41 GMT

As the vast majority of us are experiencing every single day, the ‘cost of living crisis’ is very, very real. With prices of goods increasing and interest rates rising, the value of the money we do have is decreasing – and, as a consequence, so too is discretionary spending.

This significantly impacts our charity partners too. With belts tightening, non-essentials are cut back on – something that was made abundantly clear by recent statistics from the Charities Aid Foundation.

November is usually a prime fundraising month. However, research revealed that in November 2022, 3.8m fewer people donated to or sponsored someone for charity, compared to a typical, pre-pandemic November.

The challenge, of course, is that during times of hardship and community stress, charities are in increasing demand – with the Charities Aid Foundation finding a third of charities have seen a ‘significant increase’ in year-on-year demand for their services.

“When times are tough, people turn to charities, and charities will always help when they can,” says Rich Mullens, Product Director at Cymba.

“In times such as these, when people aren’t necessarily able to donate as much as they would like to, it’s even more important that charities are making it as easy as possible for people to donate to their cause, and that charities are maximising the donations they’re receiving, too.”

The SMS Gift Aid challenge

One of the ways charities can do this is through Gift Aid, which represents 25 per cent of the donation.

If the donation is made by a UK income tax or capital gains tax payer, the charity can claim the Gift Aid. It’s a significant tax benefit, however historically, it’s one that charities haven’t exploited fully when taking SMS donations due to the complexities surrounding it.

“This was due to a mismatch between the HMRC audit requirements for Gift Aid and the Mobile Network Operator (MNO)’s monthly reporting of successful donations,” explains Rich.

“The charity was unable to tie every Gift Aid declaration back to the original donation through lack of detailed reporting, which was exacerbated with anomalies between MNO summary reports and the charities’ aggregator’s donations reports.

All in all, it’s meant that many charities have been missing out on a sizeable chunk of SMS donations due to complexities outside of their control.

The solution to SMS Gift Aid

Fortunately, changes to the Gift Aid audit requirement by HMRC, on the understanding that the charities’ aggregator has been paid in full by the MNOs at the end of each month, theoretically enabled charities to maximise Gift Aid when donations are made via SMS; and Cymba quickly designed a solution to turn that theory into a reality.

“As a result of the change and HMRC approval, we developed and deployed a mobile-friendly Gift Aid form and declaration,” says Rich. “By deploying a unique, trackable link we can pair to the mobile number, we can take consent statements, enabling our charity partners to increase the revenue they receive.”

The solution was originally developed during COVID, when charities couldn’t fundraise face-to-face, and is now being used by many of Cymba’s charity partners to help them navigate through this current crisis.

While every donation certainly helps a charity, maximising those donations is just as critical.

If you’d like to speak to one of the Cymba team about how you can maximise SMS Gift Aid donations, or any other aspect of fundraising during the cost of living crisis, get in touch .