
Soccer Aid for Unicef raises donations using Fonix's mobile billing platform for the third year in a row
Overview
Soccer Aid for Unicef is a British annual charity football match. The game raises money for Unicef UK, which helps children all over the world to grow up healthy and happy. It brings together sport and entertainment in the form of an England v Soccer Aid World XI football match, involving many famous faces, including Robbie Williams, Usain Bolt, Lee Mack and Alex Scott . The 2021 campaign saw £13M raised and over £3M of this was raised by mobile donations alone.
Testimonial

Suzanne Ryder Richardson
Head of Soccer Aid at Unicef UK
Fonix recognise our core strategic objectives to drive the Soccer Aid for Unicef campaign forwards. Throughout the campaign we felt fully supported by the team at Fonix; when they joined us for the big match at Stamford Bridge, there was absolutely no doubt that everything would run smoothly. So far we’ve been smashing records, raising more than ever before in two years working together.
The Challenge
What was our job?
Soccer Aid for Unicef wanted to raise as much money as possible so that more children can grow up happy, healthy and able to play – just like children should. They needed to make it as easy as possible for the public to donate during the live broadcast of the match; to do this they needed a quick and intuitive way for people to donate.
The charity was also looking to maximise the amount of Gift Aid donated by the UK government, to boost the total amount raised.
"make it as easy as possible for the public to donate during the live broadcast"

The Solution
Finding the best way
Mobile billing has been incredibly effective when it comes to voting, entering competitions and donating to charity – essentially for any campaign where there is a clear call to action.
Fonix processed mobile donations during Soccer Aid for Unicef, allowing viewers to donate at four price points: £10, £20, £30 and, a first for Soccer Aid, £40. To donate, consumers text a memorable 5 digit short code with their chosen amount e.g. “text FORTY to 70818”, to donate £40.
These donations were charged to donors’ mobile phone bills, which meant that they didn’t need to leave the sofa to get their wallets out to enter credit card details, making it a quick and convenient way to donate for those watching the match on ITV.
Fonix also managed Gift Aid for Soccer Aid for Unicef, building a dedicated microsite for donors to make Gift Aid declarations. An automated text prompt was sent to donors about Gift Aid including a link to this in the message reply after a member of the public had donated.
The Results
£3.1M out of a total £13M was raised by mobile donations
£704k+ was donated at the £40 price point alone
£367k was raised through Gift Aid
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