# G.O.S.H's 92,425 Facebook members have given $280 - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/10/22/gosh039s-92425-facebook-members-have-given-280/ - Published: 2008-10-22T11:10:37+01:00 - Author: Howard Lake Two days ago, the administrator of the G.O.S.H (Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children) group on Facebook announced that 89,500 people had registered to support it through the [Causes application](http://apps.facebook.com/causes/?m=82959969). Today that figure stands at 92,425. That’s an impressive number. Yet these ‘supporters’ have donated just $280 to the charity via Causes. That doesn’t mean that these supporters haven’t given or won’t give by other means. They just haven’t given via Causes/Facebook. ## Advertisement [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/) That probably isn’t too surprising, although donors must by now be used to giving via a number of ways to their favourite charity/charities e.g. through [Justgiving](http://www.justgiving.com), [Bmycharity](http://www.bmycharity.com), [Alta Contact](http://www.altacontact.co.uk) and the rest, via Paypal or Google Checkout, and even via Amazon and Yahoo! in cases of major disasters such as the 2004 South Asian Tsunami. It probably means that the supporters are more likely to give direct to the charity itself, presumably via its website. The challenge therefore for charities using Causes and similar third party tools is somehow to persuade those groups of self- selecting supporters to contact them directly. That’s not easy of course. But the admin of the GOSH Causes group is trying it. In announcing its total of supporters, the admin gave web links to enable supporters make one-off or regular/Direct Debit donations. Unfortunately, the latter link isn’t correct: “The direct debit form cannot be displayed as it is missing its campaign reference” says the page you reach. So, there remains considerable potential from Causes for charities, but it does need a dose of hard work, good old fashioned fundraising common sense, and, where volunteers are managing the communications, for professional fundraisers from the charity to oversee it. And GOSH isn’t the only charity not to generate large sums via Facebook Causes. Amnesty International has 312,210 members, who have donated $15,423 via Causes. http://apps.facebook.com/causes/8620?m=4105dd6c * **[Facebook for Good UK ends today](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/11/15/facebook-good-uk-ends-today/)**( 15 November 2008) * **[Webinar asks what Facebook can do for your charity](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/11/18/webinar-asks-what-facebook-can-do-your-charity/)**( 18 November 2008) * **[New charity focuses on Web 2.0 from the beginning](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/12/09/new-charity-focuses-web-20-beginning/)**( 9 December 2008)