Fifty percent of nonprofit organizations expect to adopt mobile donor engagement and fundraising in the next two years, according to a recent study by the Kaptivate Group.

Currently, 36 percent of the organizations use mobile media or plan to deploy a mobile channel this year. Nonprofit adoption of mobile is expected to grow significantly in 2010.

Mobile giving

The study found that 62 percent of nonprofit organizations do not know how to market or promote via the mobile channel effectively. With the limitations of the current technology, 58 percent raised less than $1,000 in funding via mobile, because doners were not aware of the mobile giving capability.

Eighty-three percent of respondents that were surveyed believed mobile would improve donor convenience, as well as reinforce donor engagement by 74 percent and donor acquisition by 69 percent.

“Despite limited successes, nonprofits are doing some creative thinking about what would make mobile a game-changer for their organizations,” Mr. Vassallo said. “Respondents clearly see it as a medium that can do more than capture small transactions.

“They believe it has the power to engage and mobilize supporters in ways they’ve only begun to appreciate,” he said.

“Nonprofit marketers need to understand that mobile is not a panacea but can be a powerful addition to their marketing mix through integration with social media and cross promotion with more traditional channels.”

Nonprofits go mobile

“As many of nonprofits already appreciate, mobile’s potential extends far beyond anonymous $10 gifts,” Mr. Vassallo said. “Their mobile campaigns can deliver a richer, branded user experience through mobile Web applications, catalyze legislative action through SMS alerts, and drive mission outcomes through clever on-the-ground crowd sourcing.

“Given creativity and experimentation, mobile may transform how nonprofits – whether school, cause or house of worship – engage their supporters,” he said.

“The year 2010 will be the year nonprofits get smarter about mobile but they will leap frog past the first generation of technology and begin to explore mobile opportunities across myriad platforms.”

UPDATE: Apple issued a press release Monday putting first-day iPad sales at over 300,000. They did not offer a number that included Sunday sales.

"It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world — it's going to be a game changer," said Steve Jobs, in a prepared statement. "iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad."

Even with all the hype that preceded the launch of the iPad — or perhaps because of it — Apple managed once again to blow past expectations.

As of 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 19 of the 20 Apple Stores reached by independent Apple analyst Gene Munster of Pier Jaffray reported having iPads in stock. But a search of Twitter messages Sunday morning turned up reports of stockouts at many Best Buy outlets and several Apple retail locations.

In a report to clients issued Saturday night, Munster's estimated that by midnight Sunday, Apple will have sold 600,000 to 700,000 iPads, including pre-orders — more than double his relatively conservative pre-launch estimate of 200,000 to 300,000.

It took Apple 74 days to sell its first million units of the original iPhone, and three days each to sell a million units of the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3Gs.

RIDING ON its huge success in mobiles and mp3 players, Apple has taken the challenge of dominating the notebook market along with the smart phone segment with its latest product. The Apple iPad,

launched buy Steve Jobs, CEO Apple, seems to be a hybrid of a mobile phone and a notebook, combining the dual features of both products. Though, the product is expected to hit the markets by April 2010 only, it seem to be generating a lot of buzz, which is a by product of Apple’s marketing strategies.

With a 9.7 inch display, Apple must be looking forward to take away a huge pie of notebooks and ebooks market. The iPad boasts of all the features of both the products with a 1Ghz processor to beat the heat. The larger screen size obviously calls for a better video and reading experience as well as efficient browsing. This fourth generation phone will offer a wide range of memory from 16 GB to 64 GB. Weighing just about 1.5 pounds, it will certainly be a convenient companion on the move.

The price range for the Wi-Fi model of iPad is estimated to be $500 for 16GB version, $600 for 32GB, and $700 for 64GB, while the iPad 3G models will be available in the range of $630 for 16GB version, $730 for 32GB, and $830 for 64GB.

What about you? Will you be a buyer when the Apple iPad becomes available?