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Press Releases - the latest news
TELLURIDE FOUNDATION INITATES LOCAL NONPROFIT TEXT-TO-GIVE CONTEST
The Telluride Foundation announces the start of a new Local Nonprofit Text-To-Give Giving Contest. Four nonprofits will rally supporters and public to send a $5 text donation to their organization and the nonprofit with the most texts-to-give donations will receive a matching donation from the Telluride Foundation up to $2,000. The Foundation hopes that the new program increases local charitable giving by people of all ages and engages a new giving channel while increasing awareness of our local nonprofits and their tremendous contribution to the community.

The Telluride Foundation will hold four text-to-give contests during the year and will match the organization who receives the most texts up to $2,000 in each contest. Each round of Text-To-Give will feature a category of nonprofit i.e. arts, education, athletics, human services, etc. Nonprofits organization's that align with the category will respond to a request for proposal demonstrating how they will promote the contest and how they will use the donations to the Foundation, and four will be selected to participate. Selection will be based on the mission of the organization and how well the organization plans to involve potential donors.

The first contest will be eligible for local nonprofit arts and culture organizations. The local arts and cultural organizations, similar to those across the country, have been particularly hard hit with a reduction in audiences, attendance and donations during the recession. The arts and culture organization text-to-give contest will run from March 5 - April 4, 2010. The other Nonprofit Text-To-Give Contest categories for 2010 will commence as follows: second, Health & Human Services May 28 - July 3; third, Environment August 4 - September 6; fourth, Early Childhood Development & Education November 25 -December 31. For more information about the Text-to-Give Context contact the Telluride Foundation or email: april@telluridefoundation.org.

The Text-to-Give Contest is an opt-in only, voluntary means for nonprofits to raise donations and communication with new and existing donors. A donor hears or sees a donation request, responds with the text "TRIDE" to 90999, then selects one of four nonprofits, and finally confirms their donation by replying to the text message they receives back by testing YES. Upon confirmation, the charge is added to the donor's mobile-phone bill. The charge appears as a tax-deductible donation to the charity of choice on the donor's bill, which can be used as a receipt. The donation is collected by the wireless carrier when the donor pays her next mobile-phone bill.

There are over 250 million mobile-phone users in the US, and 75 million are classified as frequent users of mobile data, meaning they are using their mobile phones to communicate in new ways. As an example, close to 1 billion text messages are sent each week in the US alone. Nonprofits in many other countries have been collecting mobile donations via text messaging for several years. Most recently, the Red Cross raised over $32 million in two weeks through mobile giving immediately following the Haiti earthquake disaster.

The Telluride Foundation exists to create a stronger Telluride community through the cultivation and promotion of philanthropy. It is a nonprofit, apolitical community foundation that provides year-round support for local organizations involved in arts, education, athletics, charitable causes, land conservation and other community-based efforts through technical assistance, education and grant making. As a grant maker, the Foundation awards grants to qualified applicants that serve the people living and/or working in the Telluride region for the purpose of enhancing the quality of life within the region. For more information on the Telluride Foundation, visit www.telluridefoundation.org.

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