Facebook fundraisers have become an extremely popular way for individuals and organizations to raise money for causes they care about. With Facebook’s large user base, fundraisers can easily spread awareness of their cause and collect donations from friends, family, and wider networks. However, one common question that arises is whether Facebook shows the fundraiser organizer who donated to their fundraiser. The short answer is yes, Facebook does provide tools for fundraiser organizers to see who has donated to their specific fundraiser.
Facebook Fundraiser Basics
Before digging into the specifics of who can see donor information, it’s helpful to understand the basic components of a Facebook fundraiser:
- Fundraiser Organizer – The individual who creates and manages the Facebook fundraiser. This person selects the nonprofit to receive the funds, sets a fundraising goal, creates the fundraiser page content, and promotes the fundraiser to their network.
- Donors – The individuals who donate money to the fundraiser. Donors can donate directly through the Facebook fundraiser page or app using payment methods linked to their Facebook account.
- Beneficiary Organization – The valid nonprofit charity selected by the fundraiser organizer to receive the donations. Facebook verifies legitimate 501c3 status.
- Facebook – The platform where fundraisers are created and hosted. Facebook processes the donations and sends money raised to the beneficiary organization.
The fundraiser organizer serves as the administrator of their unique fundraiser and has access to tools and insights that regular Facebook users or donors do not. Understanding this administrative role is key when it comes to accessing donor information.
Fundraiser Organizers Can See Donor Names
One of the privileges of being a fundraiser organizer on Facebook is the ability to see who has donated to your fundraiser. On the back end of the fundraiser, the organizer has access to a donor report that lists out every individual donor by name, donation amount, and the date they contributed.
This allows fundraiser organizers to easily track who has supported their cause and how much each person donated. Having this donor information enables the organizer to send thank you messages or updates to supporters directly.
Accessing the Donor Report
There are a couple ways fundraiser organizers can access their donor report and see donor names:
- On Desktop – Navigate to the fundraiser page and click “See Report” on the left side fundraiser management menu. This will open a detailed report with a list of donors.
- Facebook Fundraiser App – Open the fundraiser in the app and select “Donations” on the bottom menu bar. Swipe over to the “Donors” tab to see the list.
In both cases, the donor names will be visible along with the donation amounts and dates. The organizer can download a CSV of this report for their records as well.
Who Can’t See the Donor Names
While fundraiser organizers have access to donor names, there are certain parties involved with Facebook fundraisers who cannot see who donated:
- General Facebook Users – If a random Facebook user visits the fundraiser page, they will not see any donor names, just the total amount raised.
- Nonprofit Beneficiary – The receiving nonprofit organization does not get access to any donor information. They only see the total amount being received.
- Donors – Donors cannot see info on other donors, only the organizer can view the full list.
Facebook carefully limits donor information to protect people’s privacy. Overall, the fundraiser organizer is the only party who is able to access the report with donor names.
Displaying Donor Names Publicly
Now that we’ve established the fundraiser organizer can see donor names behind the scenes, what about displaying donors publicly on the fundraiser page for all to see?
By default, Facebook does not show donor names publicly on fundraisers. Any donations made are aggregated into an overall total raised for the fundraiser without individual attribution.
However, fundraiser organizers do have the ability to manually add donor names to the public fundraiser page if they choose. This enables public recognition of top supporters.
Two Ways to Show Donors Publicly
Here are the main ways fundraiser organizers can showcase select donors on the public fundraiser page for all to see:
1. Thank Individual Donors
From the fundraiser management menu, organizers can send thank you messages to any individual donors. This surfaces a public feed on the fundraiser page showing the organizer name, donor name, and comment.
For example, an organizer could write “Thanks for the generous $100 donation, Jane Smith!” and this would appear on the fundraiser timeline.
2. Add a Top Supporters Section
Organizers can create a dedicated “Top Supporters” section on their fundraiser page and manually add names of top donors. Typically, you’d list out donors who have given large contributions.
This provides public recognition for key donors while keeping other lower-dollar donors anonymous.
Adding this section takes some customization but can be a great way to call out vital supporters.
Consider Donor Privacy
While showing donor names can be used to celebrate important contributors, organizers should be thoughtful about publicly displaying donor info. Not everyone wants their donation amounts and names visible to all.
Some best practices around donor recognition include:
- Asking donors first before listing their names publicly
- Only showcasing top tier donors who gave large amounts
- Keeping lower dollar donors anonymous
- Allowing donors to request their name be removed
With some extra effort, fundraiser organizers can share donor names publicly. But they should balance publicity with protecting donor privacy when possible.
Anonymous Donations
Up to this point, we’ve focused on cases where fundraiser organizers can see and potentially showcase donor names publicly. However, there are ways donors can choose to donate anonymously and keep their information hidden.
How Donors Can Donate Anonymously
For those donors who wish to contribute anonymously and not have their information visible, there are couple options:
- Donate Offline – Donors can donate directly to the nonprofit beneficiary via check, cash, etc. This keeps their gift anonymous from the fundraiser organizer.
- Contact Organizer – Donors can message the fundraiser organizer and request their donation be marked anonymous and name removed.
- Create Fake Facebook Profile – Less advisable, but donors could theoretically create a fake Facebook profile just to donate anonymously and not use their real identity.
The easiest method is donating an offline gift directly to the nonprofit beneficiary. This ensures the donation gets counted toward the fundraiser total but the giver remains anonymous.
When Donors Want Anonymity
Common situations where donors may wish to remain anonymous include:
- General Preference – Donors are private by nature and don’t want attention.
- Avoid Solicitation – Donors want to avoid further fundraising requests.
- Controversial Cause – Donors don’t want backlash for supporting a controversial nonprofit.
- Tax Reasons – In some instances, public donations don’t qualify as tax deductible contributions.
For a variety of reasons, donors may choose to contribute anonymously. Fundraiser organizers should always respect and accommodate these requests.
Access Donor Info After Fundraiser Ends
An important question organizers have is whether they can still view donor information after their fundraiser has ended. The good news is that fundraiser organizers maintain access to their donor reports even after the fundraiser is over.
How to View Donors After Fundraiser Completion
Here are the steps organizers can take to access donor info once the fundraiser is finished:
- Go to the Facebook Fundraisers page in your account menu
- Click “View Report” on the completed fundraiser
- Open the detailed report and go to the “Donations” tab
- See the full list of names, amounts, and dates of everyone who donated
As long as the organizer still has their Facebook account, they can access donation details regardless of when the fundraiser occurred.
No Expiration on Access
There is no expiration date on the organizer’s ability to view their donor roster. This info is available whether the fundraiser finished last week, last year, or even several years ago.
Of course, the longer ago the fundraiser happened, the less useful the donor data becomes. But for fairly recent fundraisers, having the donor list enables continued stewardship.
Can You Export Donor Data?
Accessing the donor report within Facebook itself provides helpful insight on supporters. But for deeper analysis and stewardship, organizers will want to export the list outside of Facebook.
Download Donor CSV
The easiest way to export donor data is downloading the report in CSV format. From the fundraiser management menu, click on “Download Donor Report” to get a spreadsheet with all donors and contribution info.
This allows the data to be accessed offline and integrated into other systems. The CSV can be opened in Excel or any spreadsheet program.
Integrate with CRM
Going beyond a basic spreadsheet, fundraiser organizers can link their donor data to CRM platforms like Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, etc.
This takes more technical work but enables the deepest level of stewardship. Donor names, amounts, and other fundraising history can be tracked over time.
Segmentation and Communication
Once donor data is in a CRM, organizers can leverage it for segmentation and strategic communication. For example:
- Segment by donation amount for tiered stewardship
- Identify repeat vs. new donors
- Craft targeted outreach campaigns for re-engagement
Exporting and integrating donor data unlocks new potential for maximizing fundraising efforts.
Conclusion
To summarize the key points:
- Facebook fundraiser organizers can access a donor report with names, amounts, and dates.
- General users, nonprofits, and donors themselves cannot see full donor information.
- Organizers can choose to display select donors publicly if desired.
- Donors have options to donate anonymously and withhold their information.
- Organizers maintain access to donor reports indefinitely.
- Exporter donor reports via CSV enables deeper analysis and stewardship.
Understanding who can see donor data is important for both organizers and donors to Facebook fundraisers. Balancing public recognition and donor privacy is key. Proper use of donor information ultimately enables more effective fundraising and stewardship efforts.