❖ Heads up! This article is intended for site managers. If you're a program facilitator looking for more information about how to review your programs, click here!
You can use text messaging to make important announcements about upcoming events, emergency needs, final updates and reminders, and other items of interest to your community! The process of sending a text message from your site is similar to that of sending an email blast—only your message goes straight to the recipient's phone. If you want to enable texting on your site, contact us to get started! In this article, we cover:
- How do I get started?
- How do users opt-in to SMS?
- How do users opt out?
- How are numbers validated?
- How to create and send text messages
- How to view text message statistics
ⓘ So you know: SMS means short message service—which is the formal name for text messaging.
How do I get started?
Before you can begin text-messaging your site's users:
- You must purchase credits
- Users' mobile numbers must be validated
How to purchase credits
Your site must have text credits before you can send text messages. Please email us at [email protected] to purchase credits.
- Credits are available for purchase at $100 per 10,000 units (messages), with a minimum purchase of $100.
- Purchases must be made with a credit card.
- We accept all major credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club.
How do users opt-in to SMS?
New users
New users can opt-in to receive SMS messages when registering on your site. The option to opt-in is located below the Mobile phone number field.
Existing users
Existing users can opt-in from their profiles. The option to opt-in is located under Basic Info when they click Edit Profile.
How do users opt out?
Users can opt-out at any time by going back into the Edit Profile area and selecting Stop Receiving Texts From This Site under the Mobile number field. 
How are numbers validated?
When a volunteer checks the box beside Send me texts from this site, they're sent a text message to confirm their selection. They must reply YES to validate their number and start receiving those messages. 
How to create and send text messages
Like the email blast tool, text messaging incorporates the user filter so you can send messages to specific groups of people.
To create and send a text message from your site:
1. Go to Communication > Text Messaging.
2. Filter your recipient list.
ⓘ So you know: The filter User Data > SMS > is > A Validated SMS User is applied by default. To filter it further, click Add New Filter. 
✏️ Quick tip: You can save a filter to use again later!
- Enter a name for the filter and click Save User Filter.
3. Enter your message in the Message field and click Send Message when you're ready!
ⓘ So you know:
- The maximum length is 160 characters.
- If you insert a URL, it's automatically converted to a clickable link.
- The message appears in the recipient's phone from a five-digit "return" phone number.
- This number is created by system and can't be changed.
- Responses to this number aren't processed.
- If you want recipients to reply, be sure to provide them with an alternate response number.
How to view text message statistics
To see information about text messages sent from your site:
1. Go to Communication > Text Messaging.
2. Click the History tab. 
- Here you can review information about sent text messages, including:
- ID number - A unique ID number is automatically assigned to each text message.
- Message - The message text. To filter messages by keyword, type the keyword(s) into the field at the top of this column and press Enter.
- Sender - For validation code messages, the sender will typically be the user who triggered the code. To filter messages by sender, enter all or part of the sender's name in the field at the top of this column and press Enter.
- Recipient - While the column shows the number of recipients, you can click the linked text to view the recipients' names. To filter messages by the recipient, enter all or part of the recipient's name in the field at the top of this column and press Enter.
- Date sent - Both date and time of day are shown.
- Group - All text messages sent in a batch are part of a specific group, indicated by a 5-character group name. To filter text messages by group, type all or part of the group name into the field at the top of this column and press Enter.
✏️ Quick tip: Use the Table Filter as needed to show or hide columns.
How to export text message data
To export text message data, click the Export icon above the data table.
- Results are exported into a CSV that can be opened with Microsoft Excel.