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Facebook Expands Fundraisers To More People And Causes

By Caroline Diana
Published on: 07:16 PST, May 28, 2017

To create social impact, Facebook has added more new features to its existing fundraising platform to enable users to raise money for themselves, their family, friends, or anyone else in need.

The company began testing personal fundraisers in March. After looking at the response, the social media site decided to expand the platform further.

“Facebook is a place where people come together to connect with their communities and support one another in meaningful ways. Today, we are giving people another way to mobilize around causes they care about by expanding personal fundraisers to everyone over 18 in the US and by adding two new categories – community and sports,” said Naomi Gleit, VP, Social Good, Facebook.

Facebook’s revised fundraising platform can quickly help raise money on Facebook and easily reach out to their friends in a few clicks, without leaving Facebook.

The fundraiser service, which works like a crowdfunding platform, enables users to find out more about the people who created the fundraiser and the person benefiting from the fundraiser. The platform also allows seeing which friends have donated to a particular cause.

The fundraising platform will come in handy for students in need, patients who need help with their medical expenses, owners of sick pets, crisis relief, funerals, and personal emergency.

“Since you can see real profiles on Facebook, donors will see how they are connected to the person who created the fundraiser, the person benefiting and others who are supporting the fundraiser,” Gleit said.

In 2016, Facebook made it possible for users to raise funds for more than 750,000 non-profits through fundraisers and ‘Donate’ button in their live broadcasts and posts. This year, the company enhanced the platform, announcing that verified Pages can now add ‘Donate’ button to their live broadcasts.

“This gives public figures, brands, businesses and organizations new ways to fundraise on Facebook for the nonprofits they support. People watching the live broadcast can donate as they watch, or give once the broadcast has ended and is posted on the Page,” Gleit explained.

Facebook will review all fundraisers within 24 hours. “Personal fundraisers are available on all devices, and have a 6.9% + $0.30 fee that goes to payment processing, fundraiser vetting, and security and fraud protection. Facebook’s goal is to create a platform for good that’s sustainable over the long-term, and not to make a profit from our charitable giving tools.We’re constantly inspired by the good people on Facebook do, and we’re excited to learn more about how people use this new product so we can continue improving the experience,” Gleit said in the official blog.

How to fundraise on Facebook

On your mobile app, tap the menu icon and select Fundraisers, or on desktop, go to facebook.com/fundraisers.

Choose to raise money for a friend, yourself, or someone or something not on Facebook.

Give your fundraiser a title and compelling story, and start raising money.

Crisis Support Over Facebook Messenger

To support people who are struggling—mentally or physically, Facebook has developed tools to help them overcome their difficulties. Crisis support over Messenger and suicide prevention tools are a part of this initiative.

Users can talk in real time with trained crisis, and mental health support volunteers over Messenger. Participating organizations include Crisis Text Line, the National Eating Disorder Association, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

“We’ve been committed to mental health support for many years, and this is one of the ways we’re working to build a safer and more supportive community on Facebook. As we continue to invest in new tools and resources, we hope Facebook can help provide support to more people over time,” said Antigone Davis, Global Head of Safety.

[Featured Image by Noah Berger/AP Images]

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