Fundraising on Facebook has become increasingly popular in recent years. With over 2 billion active users, Facebook provides a huge potential audience for charitable campaigns. However, Facebook does take a cut of the donations raised through its fundraising tools.
How do fundraisers work on Facebook?
There are two main ways charities and individuals can raise money on Facebook:
- Facebook Fundraisers – This is Facebook’s own fundraising tool that allows users to set up a campaign for a charity of their choice.
- Donate Buttons – Charities can add a Donate button to their Facebook Page allowing people to donate directly.
In both cases the donations are processed by Facebook and they take a cut before passing the money on to the chosen charity.
What fees does Facebook charge for fundraisers?
For donations made through the Facebook Fundraisers tool, Facebook charges the following fees:
- 5% fee for donations made through a debit/credit card
- $0.30 + 2.9% fee for donations made through a mobile device
For donations made directly through a charity’s Donate button on Facebook, the fees are:
- 6.9% + $0.30 fee for one-time donations
- 9.9% + $0.30 fee for recurring donations
These fees cover the costs of payment processing. 100% of the donation after fees goes to the chosen charity.
What charities are eligible for Facebook fundraisers?
For a charity to be eligible to receive funds raised through Facebook it must:
- Be a registered and verified non-profit organization
- Comply with local charity laws and regulations
- Not be a personal fundraiser
Individual fundraisers can only raise money for eligible charities. Personal causes, individuals in need, groups that are not registered charities are not permitted.
How much money do Facebook fundraisers raise?
Facebook fundraisers have proven to be hugely popular and a highly effective fundraising tool for charities. Some key stats on how much money has been raised include:
- Over $2 billion raised for charities through Facebook fundraisers since launch in 2015.
- $1 billion raised just in 2021 alone.
- 1 million new fundraisers created every day.
- 120 million users have donated to Facebook fundraisers.
The most successful individual Facebook fundraisers have raised huge sums, including:
- $73 million raised by television host Jimmy Kimmel for children’s hospitals
- $20 million raised for refugee support by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg
- $12 million raised for children with critical illnesses by NFL player J.J. Watt
Top tips for creating successful Facebook fundraisers
If you’re looking to create a highly successful fundraiser on Facebook that raises a large amount for charity, keep these tips in mind:
- Choose a charity partner that resonates with your audience
- Tell a compelling story that explains why you are fundraising
- Set an ambitious but achievable fundraising target
- Leverage video and images in your fundraiser
- Share the fundraiser frequently leading up to and during your campaign
- Send personal messages to your network asking them to donate
- Use Milestone donations to keep people informed of progress
- Send thank you messages to all donors
The pros and cons of Facebook fundraisers
While hugely popular, there are some advantages and disadvantages to using Facebook fundraising tools:
Pros:
- Huge potential reach – Access to over 2 billion Facebook users
- Easy to set up and get started
- Tools for sharing the fundraiser
- All donations processed securely by Facebook
Cons:
- Facebook fees of 5-10% on donations
- Limited control compared to your own fundraising site
- Difficult to export donor contact info from Facebook
- Need to encourage sharing to reach wider audiences
More tips for successful Facebook fundraising
In addition to the tips mentioned earlier in this article, here are some other best practices to maximize the amount you raise with your Facebook fundraiser:
- Post interesting and engaging content surrounding your fundraiser to encourage more interest
- Go live on Facebook during your fundraiser to share updates
- Respond and thank all donors, even those giving small amounts
- Use hashtags cleverly to increase discoverability
- Run contests, challenges or events to drum up excitement
- Partner with local businesses or influencers to expand your reach
- Share photos and videos of the cause you are supporting
Should you do Facebook fundraiser or set up your own donation page?
For many charities and fundraisers, a key question is whether to use the Facebook tools or set up your own donation page that you have more control over.
For smaller campaigns, Facebook can provide an easy starting point. But for higher target amounts, the fees start eating into a significant chunk of donations. Setting up your own fundraising site allows you to:
- Avoid the 5-10% Facebook fees
- Have full control over the donation page design, messaging etc
- Customize the donation process and amounts
- Collect all donor contact details for future outreach
The downside is that you miss out on Facebook’s huge built-in audience. The best approach is often to use Facebook fundraising in addition to your own website/pages.
Conclusion
Facebook provides a fantastic platform for charities and causes to raise funds online. The tools are easy to use and provide access to a vast audience of potential donors. However, with Facebook taking a 5-10% cut of all donations, the fees can quickly add up, particularly when aiming to raise larger amounts. For anyone looking to maximize the money that reaches their cause, setting up your own fundraising website or pages should be strongly considered. This provides more control, lower fees and the ability to build direct relationships with your donors going forward.