# Facebook sets its sights on fundraising

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/05/19/facebook-sets-sights-fundraising/
- Published: 2016-05-19T22:39:55+01:00
- Author: Guest Blogger

**Facebook is no stranger to fundraising; the original ‘donate’ button that Facebook
launched in the US in 2013 was clearly designed with charities/non-profits in mind.
However, results in the UK have been disappointing thus far.**

One major animal charity recently shared its experience of trying the [donate button](https://fundraising.co.uk/2013/12/18/facebook-adds-donate-now-button-us-nonprofits/)
on its Facebook page, revealing that on a UK Facebook page with over 400k likes 
and +1,000 new likes in a single week, the “Donate Now” button received just 27 
clicks and generated no donations in the first month.

This underwhelming performance is perhaps unsurprising given that most people consume
content via their own feed rather than on an organisation’s page, and that donate
buttons that aren’t connected to emotive content generally underperform. GiftAid
issues, too, have forced an ugly compromise for UK charities, preventing in-Facebook
donations and offering a clunky, uninviting default message: “Not endorsed by or
affiliated with Facebook”, which simply redirects users to a charity’s own donation
pages.

## Advertisement

So, do all these barriers mean that the Facebook Donate button will never be a success?
Hopefully not.

## Tip jar

We are already seeing new functionality being trialed in the US that allows charities
to include a ‘call to action’ (CTA) at post-level in order to make donations both
quicker and easier. This change, combined with recent rumours that Facebook may 
have worked out how to handle Gift Aid in the UK – and that that one-click donations
may well be on their way to the UK too – means that Facebook’s donate function may
end up being very valuable after all.

The possibility of Facebook adding ‘tip jar’ functionality makes this area even 
more interesting still. This model, which allows users to make instant micropayments,
has traditionally been aimed at publishers who are looking for ways to monetise 
their content, but it could also create opportunities for fundraisers who can use
emotive, premium content to gain ‘tips’.

Tip Jar was not designed with charities in mind, but the opportunity for charities
to use this functionality could be sizable. After all, paid Facebook adverts weren’t
designed with charities in mind either, but have proven to generate substantial 
ROI for regular giving and event sign-ups. We’ve seen this be particularly effective
for campaigns like [Dryathlon](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/11/19/cancer-research-uks-dryathlon-returns-for-fourth-year/),
where the entire experience of the campaign exists online, and the ability to target
users by location and demographics leads to strong conversion rates.

![Jim Bowes and Julie Dodd quotation](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2016/
05/bowes-facebook-publishing-fundraisers-201605.jpg)

However, only those charities that can stop thinking like fundraisers and start 
thinking like publishers will be able to succeed in these areas. Further efforts
will need to be put in to understanding what types of content, what tone of content,
and what frequency of delivery will encourage donations and other support – and 
this may be substantially different from content that is successful at generating
likes and shares alone.

## Sharing petitions v sharing donations

Manifesto’s research with Unicef UK found that people have stronger emotional recall
about petition actions than donations, and will often share the former, but almost
never the latter. This sharing is not simply about getting more people to sign the
petition – it is a way for people to raise awareness of issues they care about whilst
simultaneously reinforcing their own self-identity.

This is clearly a relationship based around reciprocation: I’ll sign and share your
petition in exchange for publicly self-identifying as a champion for X and influencing
others to think like me. It stands to reason, therefore, that this type of content
may also be useful for encouraging visitors to make a donation.

However, in order to elicit this type of reaction, it’s vital that the content must
be something the audience can deeply connect with. Charities must also understand
that it is crucial that posts are relevant, timely and targeted to specific audiences,
in order to increase trust and support.

The new initiatives we’ve been seeing in this space demonstrate how social platforms
are providing new opportunities for charities to connect with both volunteers and
donors. Fundraising organisations will need to find a way to tap into this potential,
but first must consider the broader role that social media can play in their communication
and fundraising strategies.

 

_**Jim Bowes** is CEO at [Manifesto ](http://manifesto.co.uk)and **Julie Dodd** 
is a Digital Strategist and Consultant._

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