Facebook introduces matched giving to its fundraising platform
Howard Lake | 8 May 2018 | News
Facebook has started to allow charity supporters in the US to add a matched giving offer on the fundraising page they set up. They can pledge to match total donations from between $5 and $2,500.
The option is now presented to individuals when they create a fundraising page for their selected charity.
The pledge is made at the beginning of the campaign in the set-up options. Facebook makes it clear that the individual pays the pledged amount at the end of the fundraising campaign.
Setting up matched giving for a Facebook fundraiser
It also clearly explains how it works. “If you pledge to match $50 and raise $25, you’ll only pay $25. If you raise $100, you’ll pay $50.”
https://www.facebook.com/facebook/videos/10157313820906729/
Facebook removed charges for nonprofit fundraising in November 2017, so charities receive 100% of donations and matched pledges.
In announcing the matched giving functionality, Facebook shared an example of a campaign.
“David Smith lost his sister in a car accident in 2013, and this year for his birthday, he started a fundraiser for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). He told family and friends that if he could raise $100, he would match their contribution. People rallied around the cause and raised $2,360 — more than 10x his original goal.”
Although launched initially in the US, fundraisers in the UK and Europe have reported seeing the option available to them as individuals, but the roll-out is clearly not yet complete.
To be clear, the matching option is only for individuals. Facebook pages (or organisations) can not offer a matched giving function. So this is not (yet) a tool for corporate fundraisers to exploit. Also, its roll-out has come too late for this year’s London Marathon event, so charities will have to wait until 2019 to see how well it can be used in that context.
Personal cause fundraisers
Facebook has also made some changes to personal cause fundraisers, where individuals can fundraise for personal or family need.
Individuals now have a broader range of categories to select from. Family categories now include options such as new baby suppliers and adoption. New categories include travel for medical needs, educational trips and volunteer programmes. The latter might prove particularly useful for the many young people who seek to volunteer internationally during a gap year.
Facebook has also removed the fee it charges for personal cause fundraisers. Originally Facebook explained this fee was to cover payment processing and security activities such as fraud prevention. Personal cause fundraisers now will simply incur a small payment processing fee.
Crisis Response
Facebook has also announced more social good developments at its recent F8 developments conference.
It has expanded its Crisis Response service, which it launched last year as a place where people can get information about recent crises and access Safety Check, Community Help and Fundraisers.
Soon, people affected by a crisis are able to share firsthand accounts of timely information, like road closures and damage photos and videos, making it easier to get real-time updates. The feature will be “rolling out later this year”.
Facebook Crisis Centre – sharing firsthand information
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Blood donations
Facebook has expanded its recent feature enabling people in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan to register as blood donors via Facebook. Now, ‘Blood Donations on Facebook’ will make it easier for people who want to donate to find opportunities nearby. Later this month, people in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan will be able to view nearby blood donation camps, requests for blood donations and blood banks from one place on Facebook.
- Facebook launches personal fundraising tool in the UK (9 November 2017)
- The strategic opportunities of Facebook’s suite of donation tools (20 December 2017)
- Facebook tests birthday fundraising option (11 May 2017)
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.