The answer to "Which demographics can I reach using smartphones?"

MilkCrate’s CEO, Morgan Berman, discusses data for one of the topics that comes up the most when talking to nonprofits about smartphone accessibility

Over the years at least 50% of the phone calls I have with nonprofit leaders end with a question like, “Well, will my members or beneficiaries use an app?” or “How many of our volunteers even have a smartphone?” or “We serve older, will they be able to use an app?” These questions usually come up towards the end, after they have started to let their hopes grow as they envision what an app could do to increase their program delivery efficiency and track participation… and when they start to think about the nuts and bolts, or in this case buttons and bytes, of what it would look like to actually launch such an app they start to worry. What will it take? How successful will an app be with the population we service? And I’m so glad when they actually start to think like this because they are taking it seriously. We at MilkCrate also take this work very seriously, which is why we’ve done our homework. And the experts who study digital access have done extensive research, and as you can see in the chart below, smartphone ownership is in fact incredibly common amongst almost every demographic including; race, gender, income, education level, and geography. I love sharing this information with nonprofit leaders because it almost always surprises and delights them when they realize they were underestimating smartphone accessibility.

The data speaks for itself: U.S. adults across the board are more likely to have a smartphone than not, making mobile apps a great solution for nonprofit program delivery

As you can see in the second graph, 81% of adults as of February 2019 had a smartphone and the numbers are only increasing in terms of smartphone ownership. So while there is no ‘silver bullet’ to reach every person from every circumstance and background, mobile is the best possible way to reach the most people.

And the numbers for smartphone ownership are only going up and up over time!

There is no single solution, but a MilkCrate app is the best way to reach your diverse nonprofit audience

It is important to keep in mind that you will not reach EVERY person with one medium, and it’s unlikely that you will every reach everyone even using all the media and outreach tools in the world - but it’s our job to maximize the chances and the efficiency while working within the resources of nonprofits. This is why MilkCrate is so mobile focused, because we want to provide the most effective tools to engage diverse audiences.