Romney launches text donation campaign

Mitt Romney’s campaign began accepting donations via text message on Friday.

The move aims to make it easier for small donors to contribute to Romney, who accepted the Republican Party’s presidential nomination Thursday night. President Obama’s campaign announced its own text donation system last week.

{mosads}The Federal Election Commission decided in June to allow campaigns to collect money through text messages.

The FEC limits donations to a maximum of $10 per text, $50 per month and $200 per election cycle. The system is not open to corporations, foreign nationals or people younger than 18 years old.   

Standard texting rates apply, and the donations will appear on the customer’s monthly cellphone bill.

“We recognize that people lead busy lives, but they still want to support Gov. Romney with whatever means they have. This technology gives our incredible supporters the ability to make a donation in seconds — not minutes — with a text message,” Zac Moffatt, digital director for the Romney campaign, said in a statement.

Romney supporters can donate $10 by texting “GIVE” to 37377. Obama supporters can donate $10 by texting “GIVE” to 62262.

The programs are open to customers who have Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile or U.S. Cellular. AT&T is expected to offer text donations in the near future, according to the campaigns.