Facebook is putting online fundraising tools in the hands of more than 160 million users in a move that could soon open the door for millions of new do-it-yourself fundraising campaigns each year.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports today that potential supporters will soon have the ability to raise money directly for organizations that register through Facebook to receive donations and that Facebook will keep 5 percent of the amount raised to cover operations and processing.
“With the expanded version of the tool, users of the social network can create dedicated pages to run individual fundraising campaigns to benefit registered 501(c)(3) organizations,” according to The Chronicle’s report. “The goal is for the pages to serve as storytelling hubs, with users posting write-ups, photos, and videos introducing friends and relatives to nonprofits and causes dear to them.”
Facebook and other social networks have already been powerful tools for those who have launched do-it-yourself campaigns — acting as a way for supporters to help spread the word about their fundraising efforts. Most notably, it helped ignite the Ice Bucket Challenge, the grassroots, social-media fueled campaign that raised more than $220 million for ALS charities in 2014.
But Facebook’s new functionality will likely make the process easier, since users will no longer need to rely on potential donors to follow a link to another site to actually make a donation.
What do you think this change will mean for your nonprofit’s campaign? Are you expecting to embrace the new functionality — or are you taking a wait and see approach?
We’d love to hear about your approach in the comments section.