In Emergency Moments, Donors Mobilize Over Text: A Case Study in Rapid Response With MissionSMS
When your organization is mobilizing to support your community in the face of an emergency, rapid response campaigns are critical for activating your audiences to help power your relief efforts. But there are a great deal of folks out there who aren’t in your audiences yet, who are watching the same crisis unfold and looking for ways to help.
MissionSMS is a powerful tool for finding new audiences who want to give in key moments – and connecting you with immediacy.
In this case study, we’re looking at how one nonprofit member of The Digital Co-Op leveraged MissionSMS to get their message out to new prospects to support their response efforts in a series of natural disasters: two hurricanes in the fall of 2024 and the California wildfires in early 2025.
Over 900 new donors acquired in response to emergency appeals over text.
THE CHALLENGE
When Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton struck the Southeast region of the U.S. less than two weeks apart, this nonprofit member of The Digital Co-Op was looking for a way to connect quickly with new audiences for their appeals. Their texting program was fairly new, and while they’d begun texting their existing file of donor phone numbers, they’d only recently tested list rentals through MissionSMS.
Taking the powerful messaging and effective emergency response strategies that had been driving results over other channels and translating them to SMS, their goal was to find new supporters with the urgency and speed that a rapid response effort requires.
THE STRATEGY
Leveraging MissionSMS in their hurricane response efforts, this organization discovered a successful tool for finding new audiences who would be responsive to their appeals over text – in a campaign that converted over 400 new donors. Armed with this exciting resource, this nonprofit went on to utilize MissionSMS in their international aid efforts – and when wildfires struck the LA area in January 2025, they knew the tool would be a cornerstone of their response efforts.
To maximize the effectiveness of their emergency response efforts, this Co-Op member leveraged MissionSMS to accomplish:
Quick delivery times for immediate results. Once this member confirmed their investment, names were delivered within 24 hours, enabling them to scale up and get their message out the door right away. In their response to the CA wildfires, connecting with supporters quickly helped them achieve a 200% return.
Conversion-driven appeals. When testing ask amounts, this member prioritized response, converting donors with whatever gift amount felt most comfortable to them to bring them into their audience. Thanks to that approach, this program acquired over 900 new donors for their list.
THE RESULTS 
Making investments in MissionSMS an important part of their rapid response appeals during a series of fall hurricanes and winter wildfires helped this nonprofit member achieve:
149% immediate ROI
924 new donors
The Digital Co-Op is built to help your program find the donors, activists, and supporters that will help grow your mission. Got a list-growth goal you’d like to achieve? Check out more case studies and offerings, and get in touch by reaching out to thedigitalcoop@missionwired.com.