Is Apple taking a bite out of mobile giving to nonprofits?

Nonprofit fundraising is often in tandem with the economy and quite naturally has faced some difficulties in the last 2 to 3 years. While donations overall fell away in conjunction with the recession which was very nearly global; the response to disaster relief remain impressively (and encouragingly) high. Much of this was attributed to ease of mobile giving via a cell phone where a donation of a set amount would be as easy as sending a text. This growing element of fund-raising seems to have broadening appeal partly due to simplicity but also the speed with which it can be done. Not just coincidentally some of the only consistently growing industries in recent years has been high technology and mobile technology. Naturally enough these avenues in turn provide new sources for donors and versatile fundraising methods that are proving very effective for an increasing number of nonprofits.

The fact that Apple – the makers of the iPhone – have placed a ban on making any kind of donation via charity-based apps on iOS devices is causing a degree of furore and frustration within the nonprofit industry. Of course a sizable number of people with Apple hardware still go on to donate via other methods, nonprofits are feeling the decision by Apple is unfair and impacting the nonprofit sector significantly. Apple has to date refrained from making official pronouncements about the decision but the basis relates to the fact that processing donations via their application would result in them having to enter into the business of managing and distribute funding while also verifying charities themselves – each with extra layers of cost and responsibility that the company seems loathe to take on board. When asked for comments about the decision an Apple spokesperson responded in a sideways manner stating “We are proud to have many applications on our App store which accept charitable donations via their websites”

A number of different organizations already offer iPhone apps via the app store but none of these can be used for gift donation. Instead such tools direct the user out of the app itself and to the relevant website to make a donation, which seems a partial solution but nonprofit analysts are suggesting the extra steps result in inconveniences that impact donations. Some sites and blogs are calling for Apple to reconsider the decision while others are going as far as suggesting using alternate mobile devices exclusively, stopping just short of calling for a boycott of Apple phone technology. I’ve a feeling that the story is only partially written at this stage and that there will be more to come in the weeks ahead.