This article explains how to obtain proper consent before sending SMS notifications to your contacts through Breeze. It's crucial to follow these guidelines to comply with regulations and respect your members' communication preferences.
Why is Consent Important?
Sending SMS messages without prior consent is not only bad practice, but it can also lead to legal issues. Breeze provides tools to help you collect and manage SMS consent effectively, ensuring you communicate responsibly and within legal guidelines.
Methods for Obtaining Consent
Breeze supports several methods for gathering consent to receive SMS messages:
Verbal or Written Consent
If you receive verbal consent, document it clearly. Written consent can be gathered through physical forms or electronic forms, such as connect cards or online forms. Be sure to include clear language stating that the individual is agreeing to receive SMS messages from your organization.
Receiving Enrollment Consent from a Form
When gathering consent for SMS communication, it's crucial to use clear and compliant language. Below are two model forms you can reference when creating your consent forms, whether in writing or when collecting consent via a Breeze form.
If your church uses a physical connect card, you can add in a field to check for whether they express consent to receiving text messages. This would be considered "Written (paper or electronic)" consent for enrollment.
You can also collect enrollment consent by Creating a Form. Below you'll see a "Text Message Consent" header with a multiple choice option for Yes or No under "Do you wish to receive text messages". If they check "Yes", this would be considered "Written (paper or electronic)" consent for enrollment.
This type of form field will not automatically enroll them in text messages, but you can utilize the Form Results to then enroll those profiles who have expressed consent to enroll.
Recommended Language for Consent Forms
When creating consent forms, whether physical or digital, use clear and concise language. Here's an example:
By selecting "Yes" above, I am consenting to receive SMS messages from Breeze regarding information and announcements for {{your_org_name_here}}. I understand that message and data rates may apply and message frequency varies. I can opt out by responding STOP at any time. For support I can text HELP to 87447. Please review the Breeze Privacy Policy and Terms of Service available at breezechms.com for more details.
Enrolling Users After Obtaining Consent
Once you've obtained consent through any of the methods above, you can then enroll the user to receive SMS notifications in Breeze. See the How to Enroll Users to Receive SMS Notifications in Breeze article for detailed instructions on how to enroll individuals or groups.
Important Considerations:
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Double Opt-In: Breeze utilizes a double opt-in process. After you enroll someone, they will receive a confirmation text asking them to reply YES to finalize their enrollment. They will not receive further messages until they confirm.
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Respecting Opt-Outs: If someone replies STOP to your messages, you must respect their decision and ensure they are no longer sent SMS notifications. Breeze provides tools to manage these opt-outs.
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Record Keeping: Maintain clear records of how and when you obtained consent. This documentation is essential for compliance.
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Transparency: Be transparent with your members about how you will use their phone numbers and what types of messages they will receive.