How to Send Donation Links via SMS During Fund-a-Need

Trellis does not have a dedicated text-to-give system where donors text a number to make a donation. However, you can use the Messaging feature to send an SMS campaign with a link to your Fund-a-Need or donation page, achieving a similar result.

How to Set Up an SMS Campaign for Fund-a-Need

1. First, ensure your Fund-a-Need is enabled and setup in your fundraiser builder. 
2. Navigate to Messaging in your Trellis dashboard.
3. Create a new SMS campaign and compose your message
4. Use direct links to select the Fund-a-Need Donation page.
   1. Direct links will also automatically log the donor into their account, so they can use their saved payment method.
5. Choose how you want to send it:
   • Pre-schedule the message to go out at the time your Fund-a-Need moment is expected to begin.
   • Or keep it ready to send manually when the moment starts.
6. Confirm your recipient list and send or schedule the campaign.

Pro Tip: Pre-scheduling your SMS is a great option if your event runs on a tight timeline. It removes one thing to manage in the moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Trellis support text-to-give, where donors text a keyword to a number?

Not currently. The workaround is to send donors a link via SMS through the Messaging feature, which directs them to your donation or Fund-a-Need page.

Do donors need to log in to make a FAN donation?

No — donors can make a FAN donation or pledge without logging in. However, if you use the Direct Links via the Messaging system, this link will automatically log the donor in, so they can use their saved payment method.

Please note that any login links expire after 6 hours and can only be used to log in once.

Can I send the SMS to all my donors at once?

Yes. When setting up your campaign in Messaging, you can select your full donor list or a specific segment as the recipient group.

Can I send the SMS to a specific group of donors?

It is not currently possible to build custom lists to send via the Messaging system. You can use one of our recipient groups to build a list based on your fundraiser's activity.