The SMS texting feature of Member Essentials requires the League to sign up for an account with Twilio, an SMS text provider. When Member Essentials is used to send text messages, they are forwarded to the League's Twilio account, which then sends the message through the cell phone networks.  Twilio charges for each text message sent.  The Twilio account will need to be funded with a credit card to pay for these charges.  

In addition to creating the Twilio account, regulatory requirements governing the use of SMS text messages require the sending organization to register a "brand" and a "campaign", which describes how the text messages will be used and are intended to limit the use of text messages for spamming and illegal purposes. In addition, a phone number is required to be registered as the sender of the text messages.

This guide will describe the process of creating the account, registering the brand and campaign, registering a phone number, and activating the SMS texting feature for Member Essentials. Please note that this guide is intended to help Junior Leagues with this process. However, the JL support team is unable to provide technical support for your Twilio account and service. If help is needed in setting up your account, see https://help.twilio.com/. Using the AI bot, you can submit a support request. 

Process Overview

1. Create a free Twilio trial account.
2. Upgrade the account.
3. Register the Brand, which describes your organization.
4. Register the Campaign, which describes how you are using text messaging.
5. Buy and register a telephone number, which will be the sending phone number for text messages.
6. Test the texting account.
7. Activate the feature in Member Essentials.
8. Manage Twilio billing.
   
   

1. Create a free Twilio trial account

1. Go to the website https://www.twilio.com/en-us
2. Select Start for Free
3. Follow the prompts.  

It is recommended that a generic email address associated with your League is used for this account, e.g., smsacct@jlanycity.org. The login credentials should be securely stored with other League passwords and passed on to future staff and leadership. 

2. Upgrade the account

1. Log in to the Twilio account.
2. From the account dashboard, select the Upgrade link at the top of the screen.
3. Enter your name and phone number
4. For Identity Type, select "Business Use" and "Direct Customer"
5. Enter the legal name and website for your League.  For Industry, enter "Not for Profit".  For Business Registration Authority, select "USA: Employer Identification Number (EIN), and enter the EIN number for your League. 
6. Enter the business address for your League.
7. For Tax Information, select Yes (tax exempt).  Send your tax-exempt form to the email address provided.  Your Account SID is available from the Twilio dashboard. 
8. Provide an amount to fund the account to cover texting fees, and provide a credit card.
   
   

3. Register the Brand

As part of the regulatory requirements governing SMS texting, you must register a "brand" and "campaign" that describe your organization's use of texting.  The registration process is known as "A2P 10DLC".  See this link for an overview > https://help.twilio.com/articles/1260800720410-What-is-A2P-10DLC

Register Brand

1. Review the video available in this article > https://help.twilio.com/articles/1260800720410-What-is-A2P-10DLC
2. Log in to the Twilio account.
3. From the account dashboard, select Messaging, then Regulatory Compliance, then A2P 10DLC Onboarding.
4. For Company Type, select "US Non Profit".
5. For Are you a 527 Political Organization, select "No".
6. For What type of brand do you need, select "Standard". 
7. For Enable brand sharing with current subaccounts, select "No".
8. Select the Register button.
   
   

You will see a message that the A2P Brand registration is in progress. This process may take up to 7 days to complete. You can leave the page and come back later to check on the status of the brand registration.  See the video below for an example.

Check on the status of the Brand registration

To check on the status of the brand registration: 

1. Log in to the Twilio account.
2. From the account dashboard, select Messaging, then Regulatory Compliance, then A2P 10DLC Onboarding.

The Registration status will be displayed. 

• In Review - indicates registration is still in process
• Registered - indicates the brand has been registered, and you can proceed to the next step.
  
  
  

4. Register the Campaign

Once the Brand has been registered, you can proceed to register the Campaign. 

1. Log in to the Twilio account.
2. From the account dashboard, select Messaging, then Regulatory Compliance, then A2P 10DLC Onboarding.
3. Select the Continue button.
4. The A2P Messaging Limits will show that your Brand has been verified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The use cases for this Brand are "charity" and "emergency", which qualify for discounted fees and increased messaging limits. Select the Continue button.
5. On the Create New A2P Campaign screen, for the Available A2P Campaign Use Cases, select "Charity".  
6. Under Messaging Service, select Create new Messaging Service. 
7. For Campaign Description, enter the following:
   
   This campaign sends updates to volunteers related to volunteer opportunities, volunteer shift updates, and other needed information to support the volunteers' charity work.
   
   
8. Provide two sample messages as follows.
   
   Sample message #1
   This is to confirm that you are registered for the following volunteer shift: Done In A Day on Friday April 4th, 2025 at 11am. Please see your shift confirmation for related information.
   
   Sample message #2
   Your registered shift has been canceled. Please access the member portal to register for additional volunteer opportunities.
   
   
9. For Message Contents, select "Messages will include embedded links." Do not select the other choices.
10. For How do end-users consent to receive messages, enter the following:
    
    Texting is limited to members of the volunteer organization and registered attendees of charity functions. Members consent to receive texts through their member agreement, and only if they enroll on the online member portal and agree to the terms of use. Attendees consent to receive texts through their event registration. 
    
    
11. Select the Create button, read the confirmation, and select Confirm.
    
    

Your Campaign will now be verified. You will see messages that verification may take several weeks. In our testing, the Campaign was verified within one week. You can leave the screen and check back later.

Check on the status of the Campaign registration

To check on the status of the Campaign registration: 

1. Log in to the Twilio account.
2. From the account dashboard, select Messaging, then Regulatory Compliance, then Campaigns.

The submitted Campaign will be listed.  Once the Campaign status indicates Verified, you can proceed to the next step. 

5. Register the Telephone Number

A telephone number is required to send text messages on cell phone networks.  This step describes buying a number and registering it with the campaign.  IMPORTANT: When you create a Twilio account, a 1-800 phone number may be assigned to the account.  The phone number will not be active until it is authorized and registered.  We do not recommend that Leagues use a 1-800 number for texting, as that will incur additional charges.  Instead, follow the instructions below to buy a standard 10-digit toll number and assign that number to your campaign.   After that is done, the original 1-800 number can be deleted from the account.  

Buy a phone number

1. Log in to the Twili account.
2. From the account dashboard, select Messaging, then Regulatory Compliance, then Campaigns.
3. Select the Campaign by clicking on the Campaign SID number.
4. Select the Register Phone Numbers button.
5. Select the Buy a Phone Number Here link.
6. Select an available phone number from the list.  You can search for phone numbers in your area.  Select the Buy button to buy the number. 
7. On the Review Phone Number screen, make sure the number includes SMS (under Capabilities).  
8. Select I Agree... and select the Buy button.  You will see a confirmation screen displaying the Number Purchased.

Register the phone number with the Campaign

Once the number has been purchased, register the phone number with the Campaign. 

1. Log in to the Twilio account.
2. From the account dashboard, select Messaging, then Regulatory Compliance, then Campaigns.
3. Select the Campaign by clicking on the Campaign SID number.
4. Select the Register Phone Numbers button.
5. Select the phone number and select the Register button. 
6. Select Confirm.

The phone number will be registered with the Campaign.  On the Campaign screen, you can check the status of the registration under Connected Phone Numbers. Once the registration is complete, the Status will indicate Registered. 

6. Testing the Texting Account

Once all of the above steps have been completed, test the account by sending a text message using the Twilio dashboard. 

1. Log in to the Twilio account and access the account dashboard.
2. Select Try it out > Send an SMS.
3. Select Send to personal number.
4. Under To: enter a cell phone number. This is the number receiving the text. NOTE: The number must be entered in the format +15551112222.
5. Under Sender type, select Phone number.
6. Under Phone number, select the phone number you registered in the section above. 
7. Under Message, enter a message.
8. Select Send an SMS.  
9. Verify that you receive the text at the phone number entered in step 4 above.
   
   

Please note that the JL Support team is unable to provide support for Twilio accounts.  If help is needed in setting up and testing your account, see https://help.twilio.com/.  Using the AI bot, you can submit a support request. 

7. Activating the SMS Texting Feature in Member Essentials

Once your Twilio account has been set up and tested, it can be connected to your Member Essentials portal, and the texting features can be activated. This is done by the JL Support team. To activate the feature, information from your Twilio account must be submitted to JL Support.  Please follow the steps below to send this information.

1. Log in to the Twilio account and access the account dashboard.
2. Note the information below the section Account Info.
3. Use the form https://vms.ajli.org/?nd=vms_public_form&form_id=1005300 to submit the following information:
   • Account SID
   • Auth Token
   • Twilio Phone Number
4. The JL Support team will notify you when the texting feature has been activated in your Member Essentials portal.
   
   

8. Managing Twilio Billing and Estimate of Fees

The Twilio account must be replenished with funds to cover incurred fees. Funds can be manually added to the account, or can be set to automatically replenish the funds as needed. A credit card is required. 

To manage the billing of your Twilio account, access the Manage Billing tool in the account.

1. Log in to the Twilio account.
2. In the upper right of the screen, select Account Admin > Account Billing.
3. From the Manage Billing screen, you can add funds, view charges, statements, and payments, and set up Auto Recharge. 
   
   

Below is an estimate of Twilio fees.  Actual fees may vary and are subject to Twilio's pricing policy.  See https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/prZYM0wyw0jwx0vuc!yxyicing/us

*SMS Message Segments are 160 characters.  Messages longer than 160 characters are broken up into segments and sent as separate text messages.  A charge is incurred for each sent segment per recipient.