Facebook has become one of the most popular online platforms for charitable giving and fundraising. With over 2 billion active monthly users, Facebook offers a huge potential audience for nonprofits and charities to connect with supporters and solicit donations. Facebook’s tools like Facebook Fundraisers, Donate Buttons, and Giving Tuesday make it easy for users to give money directly through the platform. But how exactly does donating money on Facebook work? Let’s take a closer look at the options for donating on Facebook.
Facebook Fundraisers
Facebook Fundraisers allow users to create dedicated campaign pages to raise money for nonprofits or personal causes. Users can share these fundraiser pages with their network of friends to solicit donations. The money raised through Facebook Fundraisers goes directly to the selected nonprofit organization minus a small transaction fee taken by Facebook. Here are some key things to know about Facebook Fundraisers:
- Anyone can create a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization that has registered with Facebook as a valid nonprofit. You don’t need any special permissions.
- When setting up a fundraiser, you can select one of the 1.5 million valid nonprofits on Facebook. You can also add a custom nonprofit if it is not listed.
- Facebook does not take a platform fee for personal fundraisers for nonprofits. The full donation amount goes to the nonprofit minus a payment processing fee (around 2.9% + $0.30 per donation).
- For fundraisers involving personal causes (memorials, pet medical needs, etc), Facebook takes a 5% platform fee.
- The fundraiser creator can set a fundraising goal amount and schedule end date. The campaign page shows real time progress towards the goal.
- Donors can leave comments and see who else has donated when they contribute to a fundraiser.
- The fundraiser organizer can withdraw the money to their bank account or send it directly to the nonprofit once the campaign is finished.
Overall, Facebook Fundraisers provide a turnkey way for users to mobilize their network for a cause and generate donations. It takes just minutes to set up a campaign page and start soliciting contributions from friends and family.
Donate Buttons
In addition to Fundraisers, Facebook offers Donate Buttons that nonprofits and charities can add to their organization’s Facebook Page. These prominent buttons allow Page visitors to easily contribute donations right within Facebook. Here are some key facts on Donate Buttons:
- Nonprofits must apply to add a Donate Button through Facebook’s Social Good portal. Facebook reviews each application.
- Once approved, the nonprofit can customize the button with options like custom amounts, text, colors, and images.
- When someone clicks the Donate Button, it opens up a donation window where donors can enter payment info and complete the transaction.
- Donations go to the nonprofit organization with Facebook taking a 5% transaction fee plus $0.30 per donation.
- A receipt is automatically emailed to the donor through Facebook’s payment processor.
- The Donate Button links directly to the nonprofit’s bank account once they enter their payment information.
- Nonprofits can view analytics on donations received directly through the Page Donate Button.
The Donate Button offers a convenient in-the-moment giving option for people browsing a nonprofit’s Page. Fans can contribute right then and there without leaving Facebook.
Giving Tuesday
Many nonprofits and causes see a surge in Facebook donations on Giving Tuesday, the global day of giving that takes place each year after Thanksgiving. Facebook supports Giving Tuesday in the following ways:
- Users can discover and donate directly to participating nonprofits through Facebook’s Giving Tuesday portal.
- Nonprofits can create special Giving Tuesday fundraisers and campaigns to engage supporters.
- Facebook provides matching donations through partnerships. For example, Facebook matched up to $7 million in donations to US nonprofits on Giving Tuesday in 2021.
- Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan donate to causes on Giving Tuesday and encourage Facebook users to do the same.
- Facebook offers Giving Tuesday stickers and filters that users can access to promote donations.
Giving Tuesday offers a big opportunity for nonprofits to harness Facebook for online fundraising around the holidays. Facebook’s tools and promotion help drive donations on this global day of giving.
Donation Drives & Teams
Groups of Facebook users can band together in donation drives and fundraisers for events like walks, runs, or bike rides. While these team efforts do not involve direct donations on Facebook, participants often solicit contributions from their Facebook friends and networks. Nonprofits can also form Facebook Teams as a way to coordinate fundraising around events and campaigns.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
For personal causes and fundraisers, Facebook users can solicit donations from their friends through peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. While Facebook does not process or transact these donations directly, it provides users with a platform to promote their fundraising to connections. Users can share their fundraising efforts and solicit support through posts, messages, images, videos, and livestreaming.
Other Facebook Features that Support Fundraising
In addition to direct donations, Facebook offers other features that nonprofits and causes can leverage for fundraising outreach, including:
- Facebook Live – Livestreaming events, campaigns, and fundraiser updates engages followers.
- Facebook Stories – Posting ephemeral stories allows urgent fundraising appeals.
- Facebook Ad Grants – Eligible nonprofits can access matching advertising credits.
- Fundraising Toolkits – Facebook provides free digital toolkits to support nonprofit campaigns.
- Nonprofit Resource Hub – This hub offers trainings and best practices for causes.
- Instagram – Visual storytelling and engagement on Instagram can support fundraising.
- Crisis Response – Facebook offers support for nonprofits to launch fundraisers during disasters and emergencies.
Requirements and Restrictions
While Facebook offers many options for charitable giving, there are some requirements users must follow. Here are some key policies around donating money on Facebook:
- For personal Facebook fundraisers, the money raised must go to an eligible nonprofit organization registered on Facebook.
- Fundraisers cannot be set up to disperse money to individuals, including sending money directly to oneself.
- Facebook prohibits fundraisers that the platform deems fraudulent, misleading or illegal.
- Nonprofits must follow Facebook’s verification process to access fundraising tools like Donate Buttons.
- Facebook reserves the right to remove fundraisers that violate policies or seem suspicious.
- Fundraiser organizers must withdraw and disperse all money to the nonprofit once the campaign ends.
- Facebook requires fundraisers to display accurate information about the campaign purpose and beneficiary.
These policies protect donors and prevent abuse of Facebook’s fundraising tools. Users should take time to understand the requirements before launching a fundraiser.
Tips for Successful Fundraising on Facebook
Here are some best practices for individuals and organizations to keep in mind when fundraising on Facebook:
- Craft a clear, concise fundraising description explaining why donations are needed.
- Post frequent updates with photos/videos to keep donors engaged.
- Share the fundraiser link prominently on your Facebook Page and personal profile.
- Leverage Facebook advertising tools to expand your fundraising reach.
- Tag donors in thank you posts and provide fundraising impact updates.
- Use a click-generating caption like “Learn more” under your fundraiser image posts.
- Partner with influencers, celebrities, brands, and peers to amplify your message.
- Launch fundraising campaigns to complement major awareness days or events.
- Give donors options with different donation tiers and amounts.
- Test different fundraising images, videos, and captions and iterate based on performance.
Optimizing your Facebook fundraising strategy takes experimentation and data analysis. Track performance trends over time to identify best practices.
Conclusion
Facebook offers individuals and organizations diverse options for accepting donations right within the platform. Facebook Fundraisers, Donate Buttons, Giving Tuesday integration, and other features make it seamless to fundraise from your network of family and friends. While Facebook does take transaction fees on donations, the platform provides access to vast potential audiences of supporters. Nonprofits and causes should take advantage of Facebook’s fundraising tools alongside smart content strategies and donor stewardship practices. With the right approach, Facebook can be a powerful online fundraising channel.