Mobile marketing company Mad Mobile has launched the “Oil Spill Relief” mobile giving text message campaign to raise money to aid in the cleanup of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 

To participate in the Oil Spill Relief campaign, consumers can text the keyword GULF to the short code 50555 to donate $10. Once a text message is received, consumers will receive a text message in response confirming their contribution—100 percent of which goes directly to the Waterkeeper Alliance and SaveOurGulf.org.

“We’re all working together with our Gulf Waterkeepers on the front lines of the BP oil spill to protect the affected communities, protect their waterways and fight for full accountability for BP and others responsible for this disaster,” said Marc Yaggi, deputy director of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Irvington, NY.

“Specifically, we’re supporting their efforts to meet with the Coast Guard and the EPA, as well as other federal state and local agencies, to provide input on the response strategies, assessing sensitive shoreline strategies and ensuring the most fragile ecosystems are being protected,” he said.

“We’re working with fisherman to make sure they have the tools they need including protective gear.”

Mad Mobile specializes in messaging, the mobile Web and applications. Its clients include Target, Coca-Cola, Fox’s American Idol, Sports Illustrated, Ed Hardy, T-Mobile, NBC and Playboy.

The company is collaborating with mGive to power the mobile giving intiative.

Text to Save Our Gulf
The call to action for the Oil Spill Relief mobile giving campaign is being distributed via Waterkeeper channels such as Saveourgulf.org and email, banner ads, social media grassroots efforts via a Facebook page and Twitter, as well as a widget that Mad Mobile created.

“There has been a great deal of interest and support for this crisis from all over the world,” Mr. Yaggi said. “Many of our Waterkeepers are promoting mobile giving to support the Gulf region to their membership.”

The SMS donation appears as a charge on the consumer’s mobile phone bill.

“Mobile giving—text giving—has really arrived—it’s clearly at the forefront today, and it is a very robust avenue for fundraising,” Mr. Yaggi said. “In particular, we saw how successful it was with the Haiti disaster.

“For this Gulf crisis, it is critical to be raising money, because it’s going to be a multi-year clean-up and response effort,” he said. “We thrilled that Mad Mobile is donating their energy, time and resources to partner with us and include us in this initiative to support our Waterkeepers.

“It’s not a revenue-generating project for Mad Mobile at all, it’s a charity project, and we’re grateful for their generosity and their commitment to the Gulf.”

Through the Save Our Gulf initiative, the Waterkeeper Alliance is working with its Gulf Waterkeepers who are on the frontlines in the BP oil disaster.

“We’re really excited to be part of the mGive program, and we’re grateful for all of the support and interest that is coming from around the world,” Mr. Yaggi said. “It really means a lot to the folks who are on the frontlines every day, because the oil spill is jeopardizing the livelihood of an entire culture, the fishermen of Louisiana.”

The organization has Waterkeepers in Florida (Apalachicola Riverkeeper and Emerald Coastkeeper), Alabama (Mobile Baykeeper), Louisiana (Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, Louisiana Bayoukeeper and Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper) and Texas (Galveston Baykeeper) that are working together to protect their communities, ensure transparent information, protect their waterways and fight for full accountability by BP and others responsible for the disaster. 

More specifically, some of the activities that Waterkeepers and Waterkeeper Alliance are undertaking in this crisis are:

• Meeting regularly with the Coast Guard, EPA and NOAA, as well as state and local agencies, to provide input on response strategies

• Assessing sensitive shoreline strategies and ensuring that the most fragile ecosystems are protected first

• Working with fisherman helping with spill response to make sure they have the tools to report back from the backwaters and deploy boom safely

• Providing protective gear, including respirators, to fishermen who are working on the spill

• Working with National Park Service on wildlife rehabilitation stations

• Responding to community hotline calls, emails, and national media requests

• Fielding calls from tens of thousands of volunteers and working with state and federal agencies to organize and channel that interest

• Documenting pre-impact and post-impact shoreline conditions to support Natural Resources Damage claims by state and federal agencies

• Monitoring the coastal areas for the first signs of tar balls, rainbow sheens, and hydrocarbon slicks as they come in to the coastal areas

• Conducting water quality monitoring and analysis for dispersants and oil

• Advocating for enhanced regulatory oversight of safety protocols and mechanisms

In order to fulfill the ongoing activities above, the Gulf Waterkeepers and their communities need:

• Protective gear such as neoprene gloves, arm gators, respirators, goggles, booties and aprons

• Expert legal, technical, and medical assistance

• Monitoring equipment and lab analyses of samples

• Photo and video equipment

• Food and water for fishermen and volunteers

• Expanded office space

• Additional landline and mobile phones

• Laptops, netbooks and Internet boosters

• Printing.

“As a Gulf company it was important to us to use the mobile channel to raise money to aid in the clean-up of the BP oil spill,” said Greg Schmitzer, CEO of Mad Mobile, Tampa, FL. “We are pleased to team with mGive to power this charitable service.

“The nation has adopted texting and mobile donations as we saw with the Haiti Relief Fund,” he said. “Mobile giving represents a significant fundraising opportunity.”