Monmouth College has announced a partnership with XIPWIRE, a mobile payment service, to provide students, parents and alumni with the ability to donate to the college via text message from a mobile phone. The convenient text-to-pledge service will be unveiled during the Fighting Scots’ first home game of the football season, marking the official start of the college’s first-ever mobile giving campaign.

XIPWIRE enables its users to securely send and receive money using a simple text message. According to the latest report from the Pew Research Center, their 2010 Mobile Access Survey confirms that 72 percent of all mobile phone users are texting – an 8 percent increase in just one year. Furthermore, 11 percent have pledged a donation via text message, indicating that mobile giving is quickly becoming a donation method of choice. For these reasons, Monmouth College immediately saw the impact XIPWIRE could make on the college’s annual fundraising efforts.

According to Susan Savage, Monmouth’s director of annual giving, the Fighting Scots’ Sept. 11 home opener against Grinnell College was selected as a venue for launching the giving campaign because of the large number of fans who could be reached at one time. The first recipient of Monmouth College’s mobile giving campaign will be the Fighting Scots Society, a new branch of the college’s annual fund that will benefit athletic programs.

“Everyone in the stands of April Zorn Memorial Stadium, from students and parents to alumni and faculty, will have the opportunity to join our mascot, Big Red, at halftime to make their first mobile gift to the Fighting Scots Society,” continued Savage. “With text-to-pledge, fans can ditch the hassle of writing checks and instead send a simple text message to support the college’s athletic programs. It’s hugely convenient and we expect the response to be great.”

To text a pledge, a user should first fund a XIPWIRE account by connecting it to a bank account, credit or debit card. Then, it is as easy as texting the letters “MC” and the amount of the gift to 56624. A text of “MC 50,” for example, would result in an instant $50 gift to the Fighting Scots Society. Users who do not have a XIPWIRE account at the time of the text will receive reminders to complete their registration so that current and future gifts can be processed.

Charter members of the Fighting Scots Society will be recognized in special promotions throughout the season.

Sharif Alexandre, founder of XIPWIRE, said, “Football games will provide the perfect venue to capture the fans’ emotion right there in the moment of their excitement as they cheer for the Fighting Scots.”

The college hopes to expand the program to other athletic venues throughout the year.

About Monmouth College

Located in western Illinois, Monmouth is a private liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,360 students. Its football program is ranked in pre-season polls among the Top 20 Division III teams in the nation.

About XIPWIRE

Founded in 2009, XIPWIRE is a mobile payment service that enables people to securely send and receive money using a simple text message. XIPWIRE leads the mobile payment technology industry with a strong focus on simplicity and security. Its robust platform caters to individual users as well as merchants and non-profits. XIPWIRE enables businesses to offer their customers a convenient cash alternative without the need to pay high credit card fees. XIPWIRE complies with all state regulations, operating with a SMS short code (56624) and certification from all major mobile carriers.