Something is rotten in the world of mobile fundraising.

Earlier this year, thousands of Americans donated to Haiti relief efforts, simply by sending text messages from their phones and donating $10 on the spot. It was a cool and easy way to donate to a good cause.

But there are other ways to donate, too. A few forward-thinking mobile marketing companies have developed innovative applications for mobile fundraising, including a system known as “text to call,” in which users send a text message to a shortcode and receive a phone call from a nonprofit, which provides more information and more personal interaction, and allows users to make larger donations or to volunteer.

But as this New York Times article shows, carriers aren’t happy about this kind of third-party application.

Case in point: In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, Catholic Relief Services saw an opportunity to raise much more by using a “text to call” application.

But Sprint Nextel got in the way, and three days after Catholic Relief Services launched its application, the carrier demanded that it be shut down. It seems that Sprint, like the other major carriers, wants complete control over how we use text messages, including dictating which apps nonprofits use for fundraising.

This is the latest in a line of arbitrary blocking of text messages from the carriers. To us, the issue is clear: Wireless carriers need to get out of the the gatekeeping business and start acting like networks again.

We at Free Press are asking the FCC to step in and investigate Sprint’s actions. If you’re as outraged as we are, sign our petition and tell the FCC to make sure that the carriers can’t get in the way of the good work of nonprofits and charities.