- BBC Children in Need uses OpenMarket Mobile Engagement Platform for fundraising via Premium SMS
- BBC Children in Need is the latest charity to choose OpenMarket for mobile donations

LONDON, UK – December 5th 2013 – BBC Children in Need, who supports disadvantaged children and young people across the UK, is using mobile engagement company OpenMarket to drive mobile donations for its 2013 fundraising appeal. OpenMarket’s Mobile Engagement Platform is powering BBC Children in Need’s mobile donation channel, which began on October 7 2013 and will be open for donations until Midnight on January 31 2014.

The BBC Children in Need Appeal 2013 is the first time that OpenMarket has provided the full mobile donation solution for the charity. OpenMarket already has several years of experience working with leading organisations in the UK’s third sector such as the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and fundraising agency Open Fundraising, to deliver mobile fundraising for high-profile nationwide campaigns and appeals.

For this year’s BBC Children in Need Appeal, OpenMarket has set up three charity donation SMS short codes so that donors have the choice of donating £1, £5 or £10 via text. Each short code can be used to donate to the many different fundraising projects that are taking place for the charity. Donors are charged the amount of their donation, plus the standard network message charge. For donors with text messages included in their mobile phone plans, the message charge is simply deducted from their allowance.

As well as providing a way to donate via mobile for each project, OpenMarket has also advised BBC Children in Need on best practice for end user experience for mobile donations made via text message.

“The flexibility, scalability and reliable performance of the OpenMarket Mobile Engagement Platform makes it the perfect fit for BBC Children in Need’s mobile donation needs ,” said Anna Bennett, Director of Finance and Operations at BBC Children in Need. “We’ve been impressed by the OpenMarket team’s excellent customer service and the speed with which they set up and put in place a robust, secure solution that fulfilled our requirements.”

UK mobile operators 3, O2, EE, Virgin, and Vodafone have all waived their charges in order to allow Children in Need to receive the full amount donated by people using the OpenMarket-powered service. HM Treasury has also confirmed that UK operators should not charge VAT on these text-based donations.

“OpenMarket has an impressive pedigree working with leading third sector organisations, and BBC Children in Need chose us based on this experience plus our expertise in delivering large-scale mobile engagement projects quickly and effectively,” said Adrian Sarosi, Director of Marketing and Business Development at OpenMarket EMEA. “At times, the OpenMarket platform processed sustained bursts of over 400 donations a second - which shows the power of the mobile channel as well as the stability of our platform. We are delighted that we helped BBC Children in Need raise such a massive amount of money for such a great cause. ”

UK donors have so far given over £4M via the mobile channel to BBC Children in Need in this record-breaking year.  Any UK donor can continue to support the cause and donate £10 via SMS on their mobile by texting DONATE to 70710 until Midnight on January 31 2014. Terms and conditions apply. Texts cost £10 plus the standard network charges and donors must be 16 or over and have the bill payers’ permission.

For further information please go to www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey or call the BBC Children in Need Helpdesk on 0345 609 0015 (Monday to Friday 9:00 – 17:00). Standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply.