Facebook enhances Donate button and adds ‘Fundraisers’ function
Howard Lake | 19 November 2015 | News
Facebook has improved one of its charity fundraising tools and added a new one to its platform. Currently over 150 million users are connected to a cause by the site, but the company sees “a huge opportunity to help charities raise awareness and funds directly on Facebook”.
The two functions announced this week are ‘fundraisers’ (in the sense of fundraising events rather than people who fundraise) and a new Donate button. They are initially being made available only to US nonprofits.
Fundraisers
https://vimeo.com/145698529
The new fundraiser function is “a dedicated place to raise funds from a nonprofit’s Page for a specific campaign”. Organisations can use the facility to tell their campaign’s story, collect donations through Facebook and track and report on progress towards their fundraising goal.
The function includes the facility to thank donors and tell them about the impact their donations have made.
Fundraisers are designed for a specific campaign, rather than, for example, ongoing or core costs.
There is of course a social element. Facebook users will be able to encourage friends on Facebook to join a fundraiser, share the fact that they have donated, and opt in to receive updates via Facebook from an organisation.
Naomi Gleit, vice president of product management, blogged:
“Nonprofits can tell their campaign story, rally supporters, collect donations and visibly track progress toward a goal for year-end drives, themed campaigns and special projects such as building a clean water well or funding a clothing drive”.
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Improved donate button
Facebook offers a prominent Donate button
Facebook has also updated its ‘Donate’ button which charities can add to their organisation’s Page and posts. The button was first tested in 2013.
Facebook announced that “Adding a Donate button to a Page will give a nonprofit a consistent place to collect donations, even as they update their Page’s content”.
The donate form is a one-page form on Facebook. The platform also offers a Donate Now call-to-action on Pages and link ads that redirect people to the website of your choice.
Not for UK charities yet
The features are not yet available to all US nonprofits, but interested organisations can find out more and register. They are being tested by 37 nonprofits including American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, We Day, Mercy Corps, and National MS Society.
The roll-out to other eligible US nonprofits will take place “over the coming months” so it is unlikely UK charities will be able to use these soon.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.