Soon the fundraisers who solicit passersby on the streets of the world’s big cities will go high-tech.

Some groups are experimenting with using iPads to get attention and speed donation transactions. Charities are also seeking donors’ cellphone numbers so they can instantly thank the donors via a text message minutes later.

Daryl Upsall, a consultant in Madrid who advises nonprofits on the technique, said at a session of the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual meeting, in Vancouver, that street fundraising is growing more common and is now used in 35 countries.

But as the approach has become more popular, it has also spurred a backlash. In London and elsewhere in Britain, the solicitors are often called chuggers, a compression of the term charity muggers, Mr. Upsall says.

Because complaints about harassment have been on the rise, nonprofits have formed a…

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