Background

The Mobile Giving Foundation Canada (MGF-C) was founded in 2009 by veterans of the wireless industry, in partnership with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) and the support of the Canadian wireless operators, who wanted to harness the immense power of wireless communications to empower individuals to support their favourite causes. The concept is simple: give the more than 21 million Canadian wireless users a single “Mobile Giving Channel” over which they could receive and respond to appeals from qualified Registered Charities leveraging the ubiquity of text messaging.

The greatest attribute of mobile giving is immediacy. Alerted to a need either through a permission-based text message received on a mobile device or through an outside medium such as TV, mobile users can quickly and easily respond. No need to write a check, fill out a form or call someone, just text a reply to the prescribed short code, confirm your intent to donate and the giving cycle is complete. The time period from notification to contribution can be seconds rather than days, weeks or months. This immediacy and ease of use empowers Registered Charities to develop interactive applications that will engage a new class of donors. By providing one access point to all carriers, the MGF-C gives charities the power to utilize wireless ubiquity without complexity. We believe a cooperative effort between the Mobile Giving Foundation-Canada, CWTA and the wireless operators create a trusted, predictable and effective system for mobile giving.

MGF Team

The MGF-C was founded by the Mobile Giving Foundation and the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association:

  • MGF-C Board of Directors
  • Jim Manis, President and CEO, Mobile Giving Foundation
  • Bernard Lord, President and CEO, CWTA
  • Andre Tremblay, Managing Partner, Treo Capital
  • Alan MacIntosh, Partner, Acta Wireless
  • Mike Buhrmann, CEO, Finsphere Corporation
  • Additional directors to be named
  • Advisory Board
  • An advisory board of leaders from Registered Charities, wireless operators and community will be named soon
  • Foundation Management Team
  • Jim Manis, Chairman and CEO
  • Scott Kepron, Acting Executive Director, MGF-C
  • Christian Zimmern, VP Partnerships and Programs
  • Joe Manis, Account Manager
  • Ryan Finne, Online Marketing Manager
  • Becky Shanafelt, Accountant

MGF Funding

The MGF would like to thank the following organizations for their financial support: CWTA, QUALCOMM, 1024 Wireless Services, Acta Wireless, Mobile Accord, Kick Start Mobile, VeriSign, Acision, MyThum Interactive, Hook Mobile, UN Foundation, Entertainment Industry Foundation, and individual partners of Trilogy Ventures. We welcome your financial support to help us maintain operations and programs as the MGF-C becomes self-sustaining.