Text-to-Pledge® Surpasses $15 Million Raised for Non Profit Organizations

Holly's Angels Gala Yields Record-Breaking Participation Rate At Cipriani

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Jun 29, 2012, 11:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Funds raised since the 2007 inception of Text-to-Pledge® eclipsed $15 Million this week. Sophist CEO Reed Baker reports that Text-to-Pledge® is now used by more than 100 nonprofit organizations and nearly 16,000 donors, who have generated $15,000,000+ via text messaging at major galas for their respective causes.

Sophist eclipsed the benchmark at a fundraiser called the Holly's Angels Gala, hosted at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York by the Making Headway Foundation. Keith Lind, aided by his three year old daughter Avery, made an appeal to raise money through Text-to-Pledge® in memory of his wife Holly Lind, a newlywed and young mother who passed away in 2011 from cancer. The monies were earmarked to fund new cancer research and clinical trials.

42% of attendees participated in Text-to-Pledge®, a new single event high. Participants raised nearly $300,000 in texted pledges ranging in denomination from $10,000 down to $10. Holly's Angels also set a record for individual gifts equal to or exceeding $1,000 at a Text-to-Pledge® event, with 118. Notable attendees included President Bill Clinton, Seth Meyers, and Erin Andrews. Sophist's Director of Development, Michael McConnell, who managed the Text-to-Pledge® execution onsite at the Holly's Angels Gala, texted Mr. Baker afterwards: "This was one of the best events I've ever been part of. The Lind Family, Making Headway, ESP Productions, Cipriani, Star Group, and Sophist made a major difference tonight."

Sophist (www.sophist.com) is a Limited Liability Company based in New York and the top mobile fundraiser in the nonprofit special events space, with more than $15 Million raised for charities nationwide through Text-to-Pledge® (www.texttopledge.com) campaigns. Sophist uses sponsor activation, digital signage, and interactive on-screen text messaging capabilities in order to create Text-to-Pledge® initiatives, aimed at generating competitive and viral giving environments at fundraisers targeting major donors, most often galas, sit-down dinners, and luncheons hosting 250 guests or more. As pledges are sent from attendee mobile phones, the copy is displayed on screen in real time for all attendees to see. Following the event, SMS is used to communicate with donors and streamline collection efforts. Text-to-Pledge® is risk free for qualifying Non Profit Organizations.

For information on Text-to-Pledge®, visit www.texttopledge.com. To schedule an interview with Reed Baker contact Gina Dell'olio at [email protected] or 347-527-0321.

SOURCE Sophist