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In the current challenging funding environment, NGOs need creative solutions to maintain and expand their impact while optimizing costs.

Mobile rewards - including airtime transfers and data bundles - have emerged as a powerful and cost-effective tool for humanitarian organizations. When implemented thoughtfully, these digital incentives can drive program participation, enable data collection, and support field operations, all while providing tangible value to beneficiaries.

With Telerivet, organizations can implement mobile rewards programs at any scale, from small pilot projects to nationwide initiatives. The platform connects with over 550 mobile networks in 150+ countries, enabling automated airtime transfers, data bundles, and eGift vouchers that can be triggered by survey responses, program milestones, or staff activities. This infrastructure makes it possible to seamlessly integrate mobile rewards into existing programs while maintaining detailed tracking and reporting.

It's not just NGOs that are discovering the utility of mobile rewards.  Telerivet enables its business users to wield micro-incentives to improve field-force effectiveness and encourage market-share increasing consumer behavior. In this post, however, we will focus on how to build effective mobile incentive campaigns for NGOs and humanitarian efforts.

Mobile surveys are transforming how organizations understand and respond to community needs. By leveraging mobile messaging through channels like SMS, WhatsApp, and Viber, as well as voice calls, NGOs can now collect vital data from even the most remote locations, enabling faster response times and more effective program delivery.

The humanitarian landscape is facing unprecedented upheaval. USAID is under fire, with potential shutdown looming. Already, funds are frozen, programs canceled, and countless NGOs and the people they serve are left in limbo. Having spent years in both Silicon Valley and international development, I feel compelled to share my perspective.

The situation is already having cascading effects throughout the development world. All of us in development hear unsettling reports daily: Millions of dollars’ worth of food rotting in ports. Layoffs and the scattering of deep institutional knowledge. Entire programs being suspended. Rising community-level despair as funds, food, and medicine stop coming. If USAID's freeze continues long-term, the consequences will be profound. A potential black swan event.

With over a billion users, WhatsApp is more than just a chat app; it’s a powerful marketing tool. From promotions and surveys to seamless customer interactions, it helps businesses reach customers where they already are.

This Telerivet article breaks down how to use WhatsApp effectively, without spamming your audience.

• Why use WhatsApp for marketing?
• 1: Notify about new products
• 2: Easy customer support
• 3: Run surveys and get feedback
• 4: Offer vouchers and discounts
• 5: Unlock the social graph
• 6: Use WhatsApp calling

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many SMS is an MMS worth?

If you want to send images to your customers, or other kinds of media beyond a simple text, how should you do it?

For a long time the answer was MMS. Now there are many options to choose from.

In this Telerivet article, we’ll look at:

• What is MMS messaging?
• How is MMS different to SMS?
• What are the downsides and limitations to MMS?
• MMS vs RCS vs iMessage
• When would you use multimedia messaging in business?
• MMS alternatives for business: WhatsApp

There are many advantages to bringing advanced tech like IVR into your business. 

Effective IVR is a pathway to maximum engagement at scale. Poorly implemented IVR, however, can damage your brand and customer trust. 

It’s a superpower - but with great power comes great responsibility. 

In this Telerivet article, we walk you through how to use IVR for best results and how to make sure you’re employing industry-leading solutions. We’ll cover:

• What is IVR?
• Our top 4 IVR use cases
• How Telerivet provides IVR
• Telerivet: Messaging when it matters

Where to start with cloud communication?

Cloud communication can mean a vast range of things.

To help clear things up for you, we’re going to break cloud communication up into a series of use cases and provide a recommended tool for each.

In this Telerivet article, we’ll cover:

• What do you need from cloud communication software?
• Cloud communication command center: Telerivet
• Done-for-you cloud communication: Teams
• Customer service cloud communications: Zendesk
• Identity verification API: Telesign
• Cloud communications tools for sales: Gong
• Telerivet: Messaging when it matters

Should you use RCS or SMS when leveraging connectivity solutions to communicate with your customers? 

The answer is often going to be SMS, but RCS is an emerging alternative. Read on to understand why. 

In this Telerivet article, we’ll cover:

• What is SMS?
• What is RCS?
• Why do organizations use SMS?
• The key RCS strengths and weaknesses
• Should I use RCS for my business communications?
• Alternatives to RCS
• Telerivet: Messaging when it matters