Photo courtesy of Scolirk
Mobosola is an intern for the Case Foundation and a junior at Howard University in Washington, DC. She is currently majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Playwriting. In addition, Mobosola is proud to be the president of the Howard University African Students Association and owner of her own business.
Interning at the Case Foundation this semester, I was exposed to a new world in which there are so many great social good initiatives. This experience drove me to want to learn more about how nonprofits could further push and engage the public to support their causes or issue areas. One topic in particular caught my attention: making nonprofits more interactive through mobile apps. While at the Case Foundation I researched this topic and came to a few conclusions about the future of mobile apps.
As we all know, there are so many different ways to access the Internet—through desktops, laptops, tablets, and even gaming systems. Thanks to modern innovations all of these can be found in one item, smartphones! According to the Pew Research Center, 45 percent of American adults own a smartphone (as of September 2012), which is an 11 percent increase from the year before. These numbers show how ownership of smartphones has, and will likely continue to rise.
Research also has shown that there is a growing trend in which people are using mobile apps more frequently than actual web sites while online. What accounts for this shift? It seems that mobile versions of things make just about any task more convenient and accessible. Take for example, reading The Bible through the Bible App. Rather than sit down at a computer or pull out your laptop, you can access a verse of the day and receive tailored lessons just for you on your smartphone - streamlining what you would have to do otherwise to access the same information. It’s also now possible for you to manage multiple Twitter accounts effortlessly through the Echofon App that is loaded on your smartphone while on the go. Or maybe you just want to get a word of encouragement, so instead of going online to a website, why not just download the Inspirational Quote App?
Think of your favorite apps, why did you download it and what did you love about it?
This shift in the way that people are accessing the Internet has led to the prediction that by 2014, just a little over a year from now, mobile will overtake fixed Internet access. It’s an interesting proposition that foundations and nonprofit organizations may want to consider taking advantage of and integrating into their planning now.
What might this nonprofit integration look like?
Studies show that majority of people use apps for games, social networking, and entertainment, followed by news and other miscellaneous functions. Nonprofits can take advantage of this by creating apps that bring together several of these uses. One suggestion is to find ways to ensure subscribers actively offer their input to make the content relevant; keep users up-to-date on the issue at hand; and find fun ways to reinforce initiatives through games.
By creating mobile apps, nonprofits can help subscribers stay close to the causes or interests they care about. More importantly, these apps will be one touch away from potential donors, supporters, volunteers, and advocates on their phones and therefore integrated into those people’s daily lives through updates, news, games, and so much more. It is a virtual one-stop shop.
Integrating everyday technology into great causes and causes into technology can aid social change makers and nonprofits in their efforts to create greater impact.