In the first three days after an earthquake rendered a third-world country nearly unreachable, more than $10 million in donation pledges flooded in using a 21st-century method of philanthropy.

At one point, 10,000 text message pledges of $5 or $10 were being sent per minute to charities aimed at getting help to Haiti in the wake of an earthquake that's left the country in ruins.

This new philanthropic tool was ready thanks to the efforts of a young nonprofit in Bellevue, Wash.

Founded in late 2007, the Mobile Giving Foundation was formed by chief executive Jim Manis. He's a former telecommunications executive who was inspired by charity efforts after a 2004 tsunami ravaged southeast Asia.

His organization has since coordinated minor mobile efforts here and there, but the situation in Haiti accelerated every process and provided the first major test for a system tailored to cell-phone-driven communications.

It seems to have passed. In some cases, text donations could be received as soon as 90 minutes after the earthquake struck.

"Part of the reason you're seeing the response is that we were ready," said Mr. Manis. "The agreements were negotiated, the technology was set up."

Haiti's desperate need for help has thrown out the rulebook for mobile campaigns.

Four major carriers -- Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile -- have dropped text messaging fees for donations. And American Express, Visa and MasterCard have said they will waive their typical percentage cut on donations.

But in calmer days, here's how the process of setting up a text-ready system works.

A nonprofit organization goes to the Mobile Giving Foundation and applies to launch a mobile giving campaign. The foundation vets the charity and refers it to an approved, for-profit Application Service Provider, a middleman that works with the charity to organize a mobile campaign.

The nonprofit then has two contracts: one with the Mobile Giving Foundation for wireless access and the other with the Application Service Provider for execution.

The Mobile Giving Foundation collects the donations from mobile carriers and then distributes the money to the receiving charities.

"The pledge gets converted to a donation when you pay your bill," Mr. Manis said. That can take up to two months, something else that's been getting a second look in the face of this week's disaster.

Mr. Manis said he thinks major carriers should start delivering funds to recipient charities before then, essentially making payments against pledges.

Verizon and Sprint announced plans to do just that yesterday afternoon, and other carriers are expected to follow suit.

The foundation's approval process helps eliminate the scams that have popped up in e-mail accounts in the days since relief efforts for Haiti began.

After texting a shortcode such as "HAITI" or "YELE," donors are asked to confirm the donation. The charge turns up on monthly cell phone bills, which can be used for tax-deduction records.

The American Red Cross will draw on existing funds to avoid the 60-day wait for the $9 million it has raised in text message donations so far, said social media director Wendy Harman. "That's why all year round we're asking for donations, not just when there's an emergency," she said.

The Red Cross text system was active three hours after the earthquake struck Port-au-Prince and raised $6 million in one 24-hour period.

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