Facebook Fundraising: Do We Have a Choice?

Why Use Facebook for Fundraising?

Despite all its problems, Facebook remains the biggest social network in the world. According to Classy’s State of Modern Philanthropy Report 2022, Facebook pulls in the most traffic to fundraising campaigns out of all of the social platforms. And because it is the nexus for its “family of Apps,” including WhatsApp and Instagram, if you want to fundraise with those platforms for your nonprofit a Facebook account is pretty much required.

Another perk? Meta is about to start their Giving Season, beginning on November 15 and going through December 31. This means Meta will match some recurring monthly donations set up for eligible nonprofits on Facebook and Instagram during this period: “up to $100 per donation, $100,000 per nonprofit and up to $7 million in total.”

However! You don’t have to use Facebook if you don’t want to, or if your audience doesn’t like to use it. For example, if cultivating Gen Z donors is on your to-do list, Facebook isn’t the place. A recent Pew study found that only 32% of American teens use Facebook at all, preferring other platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Still want to fundraise on Facebook, even if the teens aren’t vibing? Here’s how.

Do This Now:

• No, Really… Check That You’re Set Up to Fundraise on Facebook: If you didn’t do this when you read our post about fundraising on Instagram, it’s time to do it now. Use this link to sign up to use Meta Pay and Facebook’s fundraising tools, and remember that it will take a few weeks for your application to be approved. And make sure your Facebook page is eligible for fundraising; if you’ve violated their Community Standards or policies in the past, you’re out. If you’ve promoted hate speech or violence, you’re out. You’ll potentially need your organization’s banking and legal docs if Facebook asks for more information, so be ready. Another key detail is that Facebook partners with Candid/Guidestar, a research database on nonprofits. If your organization isn’t listed there, you might not be approved, so make sure you’re signed up.

• Once You’re Signed Up, Make Sure Your Settings Are Updated: Under Donations, make sure the boxes next to “Allow people to create fundraisers” and “Allow people to add donate buttons next to their posts” are checked. And, if you don’t have a button set up on your Profile, update that to say Donate.

• Get to Know Your New Data Dashboard: Once you’re set up to go and the donations are rolling in, Facebook will provide a Fundraiser Insights Dashboard with real-time information, payout reports, and other fun stuff. It’s one more dashboard to learn, but data is fun! And if you get to a point where lots of supporters are running fundraisers to benefit your organization, you’ll want this data. Your development team might harass you for it, in fact.

Do This Over The Next Few Weeks:

• Start to Encourage Your Supporters to Make Fundraisers: You’re not on your own here. The most effective way for your organization to raise money on Facebook is to ask your supporters to raise it on your behalf; according to Facebook, “80% of donations this year were from fundraisers created by people and shared with their friends and family, and is the #1 way that people donate on Facebook.” That said, if you need to, you can use this form to request that a fundraiser created for your org be taken down.

• Respond, Respond, Respond: If you’re running your fundraising campaign and start seeing notifications of donations, comments, fundraisers being created, and mentions of your Page, it’s time to take your engagement with your community up about ten notches. Start liking, commenting, and interacting so your supporters feel acknowledged and, well… supported! Facebook even has a “Say Thanks” button on the fundraisers created by your supporters, so you can easily shout them out on their own pages. Put the “social” in social media, and you might just get more funds raised because of it. We should mention, too, that if a fundraiser meets its goal, you can always increase it. After the fundraiser, share updates on the impact that your supporters made and how the funds are being used.

• Commit to Using Facebook In General: Potential donors will want to scope your organization out before they part with their hard-earned cash. So don’t forget that, if you’re committed to fundraising on this platform, you’re also committing yourself to using Facebook regularly. Make sure your Page looks the best it can with updated info and images, and update your Page with original content at least a few times a week. Facebook Ads can also be a good idea during your fundraising period, to boost your visibility overall.

Two More Things:

• Recurring Donations Are Complicated, But Worth It: Here’s how you can allow your supporters to set up recurring donations to your org through Facebook, using their Creator Studio’s monetization tools. You’ll need to be using Facebook Live and have a community of at least 10,000, and that community needs to be highly engaged… but the benefits are pretty sweet.

• Finally, Here’s Some Good News: The money your organization receives from Facebook donations (and other social media platforms) is unrestricted! Yay!