About Us

Mission Statement

Our goal is to enable the mobile channel for charitable giving in support of good causes by using the convenience, security and ubiquity of wireless network based billing systems across all mobile platforms – messaging, apps, web, advertising and social. Non-profit organizations will find mobile to be an effective channel for new donor acquisition, fundraising and donor interaction. Donors will find the use of mobile to be convenient, immediate, private and secure. Merging philanthropy with the power of the mobile medium serves the broader objective of expanding the pool of contributors to include those who might only be able to afford to make a small gift through a $5, $10 or $25 charged through their carrier bill. Donors can immediately respond to a mobile call to action whether it is delivered at point of sale, on television, via print, etc. 100% of each donation is remitted directly from the wireless operators to the Mobile Giving Foundation, which in turns gives 100% to the recipient charity minus applicable processing charges, if any.

The Mobile Giving Foundation operates in the US and Canada, and serves global charitable interests by:

  • Providing the organizational element enabling charitable giving across wireless carrier platforms
  • Oversee responsibility for compliance with all federal and provincial laws and regulations
  • Developing, managing and maintaining standards for participation
  • Certifying non-profit participation and giving campaigns — our certification program provides assurances to both the carriers and to donors making donations through carrier billed donations
  • Manage message delivery and billing solutions across carriers
  • Managing short codes and keywords utilized by charities for mobile giving
  • Providing billing settlement and a records clearinghouse between carriers, other billing processers and participating charities
  • Providing tax receipting tools for the individual donor
  • Providing publishers and brands with a Donor Advised Fund service to ensure a trusted corporate social responsibility experience
  • Managing ongoing technological development and policy to support enhanced program offerings and increased functionality
History, Charitable Status and Charitable Objectives

The Mobile Giving Foundation (MGF) was founded in 2007 by veterans of the wireless industry who wanted to harness the immense power of wireless communications to empower non-profit organizations. The concept was simple: give the millions of American wireless users a single “Mobile Giving Channel” over which they could receive and respond to appeals from worthy causes.

Specifically, MGF’s founders envisioned themselves as the organizational element that would permit charitable giving over the networks of US wireless carriers. Their goals were to develop and manage carrier standards for participation; ensure compliance with all laws and regulations concerning charitable giving; certify the participation of Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) and their campaigns; manage message delivery and billing solutions across all carriers; and act as a billing settlement and records clearinghouse between carriers and participating charities.

Since its launch, MGF has achieved 501 (C) (3) tax-exempt status, registered in all states to undertake charitable solicitations, enlisted numerous wireless industry participants, established relationships with major NPOs and won the support of wireless industry associations.

How It Works

MGF serves as the link between a charitable giving campaign, the wireless operators, and the millions of wireless users in the United States. MGF vets all non-profit organizations that utilize the mobile channel, certifies all mobile giving programs, provides industry-wide guidance for charitable campaigns and establishes, with industry-wide input, the guidelines and standards for mobile giving. Additionally, we facilitate the text messages through our platform, process billable donations, collect funds generated through mobile giving campaigns from the carriers and then distribute the collected funds to the designated charity at 100% pass through. The wireless carriers pass 100% of the charitable funds they collect through to MGF. The MGF then remits 100% of the donation, minus processing charges if applicable, to the recipient non-profit within 30 days of receiving funds from the wireless carriers. The MGF charges back costs for short-code costs, reporting and messaging charges directly to the non-profit organizations or their supporting service providers on a post-donation basis.

Board of Directors
  • John Graham, President and CEO, American Society of Association Executives (Board Chair)
  • Jim Manis, Founder
  • Fabrice Sergent, CEO, Cellfish Media (ex officio)
  • Brad Horwitz, President, Trilogy International
  • Brian Ashby, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Verizon
Management Team
  • Jim Manis, Founder and Board Member, Chief Philanthropy Officer
  • Sonia Vahedian, Chief Operating Officer
  • Joe Manis, Director, Charity and Partner Operations
  • Becky Shanafelt, Accountant
  • Katherine Winchester, Director, MGFC
  • Fiona Worley, Advisor, MGFC
Advisory Group
  • Tom Wheeler, former CEO of the CTIA and current partner of Core-Capital (former)
  • Mike Buhrmann, Partner, 1024 Partners
  • Sally Martin, former Grants Manager, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (former)
  • Paul Reddick, CEO of Handmark and former Vice President of Sprint PCS
  • Lisa-Anne Uhrmacher, Sprint and Advisor to the Tug McGraw Foundation
  • Anne Schelle, Actium Advisors
  • Wayne Irwin, President of the Americas, Acision
  • Richard Siber, President & CEO, Siber Consulting
  • Paul Palmieri, President & CEO, Millennial Media
  • Louis Gump, CEO of NewsOn Media (former member of the MGF Board of Directors)
  • Jeffrey Glass, Starting Five Partners (former member of the MGF Board of Directors)
  • Mike Silva, former COO, MGF; CEO & Founder, KnuVu
  • Jay Emmet, GM, Openmarket and SVP, Amdocs
  • Albe Angel, CEO, Give on the Go
  • Kurt Eide, Executive Producer, I.D. Studios, Inc.
  • Mark McDowell, Partner, Acta Wireless
  • Soren Schafft, Partner, Modern Crossing
Third-party Technology Providers
Participating Wireless Service Providers
Legal
  • Scott Delacourt, Wiley Rein
Mobile Giving Alliance Members

Supporting Partners

Partenaires parraineurs