Text reminders, done the careful way

Text reminders get people to shifts. They also get organizations into trouble when they are sent to people who never asked for them. Causefolk sends texts the careful way, and it is worth knowing what that means.

Consent first

Nobody is texted without saying yes. The signup form, the series join, the application and the portal each offer a phone number with a consent checkbox and the sentence that says what will be sent. We record which version of that sentence the person agreed to, and when.

What gets sent

Two things: the reminder before a shift, and a waitlist offer when a spot opens. Nothing else. No campaigns, no newsletters, no “we miss you.” If a message does not help someone show up, it is not sent by text.

STOP means stop

A reply of STOP ends texts from every organization on Causefolk that has that number, and START turns them back on. A person who stops texts from their portal, or whose number keeps bouncing, is opted out too. Staff cannot override any of it.

Numbers that stop working

Three undeliverable texts in a row to a number mark it as not working, and email takes over. Nobody keeps paying to text a dead line.

Short on purpose

Texts are written to fit two message segments, in English or Spanish, with the manage link for people who added their number from their portal. Reminders say where and when; offers say how long the hold lasts.

The allowance

Every organization has a monthly allowance of text segments. Reminders and offers count against it; when the allowance is used up, texts pause until the next period and email continues. Subscribers can go over and are billed for the extra, per segment, on the next invoice.

Staff get texts too

A coordinator who wants to hear about signups and cancellations by text verifies their number once and chooses, per event type, instant, text, digest or nothing.