How To Set Up A Facebook Donation Page

This is a guest weblog post by Julia Campbell, a nonprofit digital marketing and online fundraising strategist.

With over two billion agile monthly users (450 one thousand thousand of them connected to nonprofit Pages), it may seem like Facebook is an like shooting fish in a barrel place to await for potential donors and other supporters for your organization.

Just to many nonprofits, Facebook tin can be something of a riddle.

Should we use it enhance coin?

Does information technology really piece of work?

Is it going to accept too much staff time to figure out?

Practise we have to spend hundreds of dollars on ads?

Having worked with dozens of nonprofits on their online fundraising campaigns over the years, I can tell yous that you practice non take to have a total time marketing person and a huge upkeep to go started with Facebook'due south free fundraising tools.

For case, the Polaris Project in Washington, DC registered with Facebook merely in time for Giving Tuesday in 2022.

Without doing any promotion, the small nonprofit raised shut to $14,000 straight through the platform on Giving Tuesday and throughout year-stop.

They at present use Facebook as one of their main peer-to-peer fundraising tools, and highlight individual fundraisers on their Folio:

polaris project fundraisers page

In this article, I will provide an upwardly-to-engagement overview of the 6 main ways you can leverage Facebook's suite of free fundraising tools to drive donations to your nonprofit.

I'll also answer questions like how to do a fundraiser on Facebook, and how to set up a donation page on Facebook.

How to Register for Donations on Facebook

There are ii main options when setting up Facebook fundraising tools.

Yous can set up it up so that if a potential donor clicks on your Donate call-to-action button.

(1) they go to the donation class on your website, outside Facebook,

or (two) they tin brand a donation directly inside Facebook with 2 taps.

If yous choose selection 1, yous can start right away, no registration necessary. The donation volition be processed through your payment processor.

If you choose option 2, and you want to raise coin on Facebook in just two taps, in that location are some things to consider:

100% of donations fabricated through Facebook Payments to nonprofits now go directly to those organizations.
U.South.-based charities must be a 501(c)(3) organization, registered with the IRS, take a tax ID number and have a bank account registered with a licensed financial services institution.
Only 1 Facebook Page tin can take the Donate button per IRS EIN (taxation number).

You may think that option 1 sounds pretty expert - "Hey, our nonprofit doesn't need to go through all the hoops required to annals officially with Facebook! We can just send people over to our website to brand their donation."

Only, allow's call back almost this for a second.

What's easier for a potential donor?

To get out Facebook, click over to your website, probably from a smartphone, then fill up out your long donation course, then observe a credit card to enter, so enter the credit bill of fare? That takes time and attending, and volition result in fewer conversions.

Donating directly on Facebook, on the other hand, is quick and like shooting fish in a barrel.

Let me evidence you an example.

I recently made a $5 donation to the Humane Society of the United States. Here'southward how I did it.

First, I clicked over to their Page:

And so, I clicked on the Donate button:

Next, I selected $v. Facebook saves my credit bill of fare info, so I don't accept to scramble to find it and enter it. I then clicked Donate again:

A screen popped upward, inviting me to share my donation on my Facebook profile, check a box to sign up for email (I did), or run into the receipt from my donation.

I then received an email receipt:

Easy peasy!

The primary pro to getting donations via the Facebook platform is ease of use for the donor. If your goal is purely revenue, so this is surely going to convert at a much higher rate than your website donation page.

However, if yous have a goal to abound your house file, therein lies the rub - Facebook gives complete command to the donor.

If I don't click the "check this box to sign up for the email list", then you lot only receive my name and no other information near me. Nonprofits at this time are non able to personalize the donation receipt either.

This means that although Facebook is nifty for one-off donations and getting your supporters to spread the discussion, it's not corking for human relationship-building and getting recurring donations.

So, I'd recommend using information technology for erstwhile events (such equally Giving Tuesday) as well as a way to encourage your supporters to fundraise for you on their own, rather than a consistent way to

If y'all determine to register officially with Facebook (and I highly recommend that y'all practise), and then there are 6 means you tin leverage the site to raise coin for your organisation.

The 6 Ways to Create a Fundraiser on Facebook using Facebook's Fundraising Tools

1) Collect Donations When People Visit Your Page via the Page Donate Push button

Facebook has fix a number of tools to aid you fundraise, just this is by far the most popular fashion to go donations from Facebook.

When you lot create a Facebook Page for your nonprofit, Facebook allows you to put a phone call-to-activity push button merely beneath your cover photo and then that anyone navigating to information technology can run across it correct abroad:

To first, first create your organization's Facebook Folio, then follow these steps:

Make sure that your Folio Category is fix to Nonprofit Organization (visit the About department of your Page to see the Category). NOTE: You must be an Administrator of the Facebook Page to make these changes.
Click on the call-to-action button on your Page and select Edit Push.
Then select: Shop with y'all or brand a donation, and then select Donate, then click on Next.
If you are registered with Facebook, y'all will see an pick to collect donations within Facebook. If you are not registered, yous will meet an option to add a Website Link. in this case, merely copy and paste the link to your donate page on your website.

2) Collect Donations Directly from Your Facebook Folio Posts

You can add a donate button to your Page posts to allow people to donate without leaving Facebook.

This tool makes information technology easy for supporters to donate when they are inspired to give.

3) Collect Donations from Your Facebook Ads

Are you running ads on Facebook?

Many nonprofits take noted that information technology's the easiest manner to gain greater visibility for their contour — and every bit an added bonus, you can now collect donations direct from your ads rather than making visitors navigate dorsum to your folio to donate.

If you'd like to make it easier to collect donations from your Facebook ads, you can add a donate button.

It volition expect like this:

Learn More: 8 Expert Tips for Raising Over $10K on Facebook

4) Collect Donations During Your Facebook Page Live Streams

Have you tried live streaming on Facebook yet?

It's 1 of the all-time ways to connect with people on Facebook, and even improve, you lot or your supporters can now collect donations for your nonprofit while doing so!

Earlier going live, tap on the "…" button for more options on the bottom left-manus corner of the screen. Tap "add donate button" and select a nonprofit.

Become live, and the donate button for the nonprofit you selected will be attached to the bottom of your live video, allowing friends or fans to donate direct from the video every bit they watch or after y'all post the video to your page.

People will also be able to run across how much coin has been raised.

Pop star Ariana Grande used this tool to raise coin afterwards the Manchester United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland shooting at her concert:

Y'all can as well save your videos so that supporters who weren't able to attend can lookout them after. The Donate button will withal appear.

v) Enable Private Members of Your Network to Ask Their Friends and Family for Donations Through Facebook Fundraisers

Facebook Fundraisers exploded on Giving Tuesday — I donated personally to three of them!

Fundraisers permit individual users on Facebook to raise money for causes directly from their Facebook Profiles. Many people may choose to do so for birthdays, like the instance beneath — I know I've run a few myself for causes I care about.

These are not available to Pages to create and run, just private Profiles.

The resulting campaign looks just like a peer-to-peer or crowdfunding page, simply is completely hosted on Facebook.

polaris birthday fundraiser

Facebook users can and then share the Fundraiser directly on their profiles and in their Feeds:

The Polaris Project, based on their Giving Tuesday and year-cease fundraising success with Facebook Fundraisers, at present features them prominently on their Facebook Page: it's the showtime thing that new visitors encounter when they navigate to their page.

polaris project fundraisers page

To endeavor this yourself, simply go to Facebook'south Fundraiser page where you can create your own personal campaign (or navigate to the profile of the nonprofit you lot want to back up and create a fundraiser directly from there).

Notation that supporters tin also fix matching gifts this fashion, by pledging to match all gifts that are donated to their personal fundraiser on Facebook. Verified profiles and verified Pages can too exercise this. Although it's currently only available in the U.s.a., it'due south an selection that you may want to share if you take supporters who are willing to practice and so.

Read More: five Ways to Reach New Donors Online

six) Collect Donations via Facebook Fundraiser Live Streams

Remember the Live streams nosotros mentioned earlier?

Your supporters tin can exercise the same matter to enhance money for your nonprofit.

Once a person has created a fundraiser, they tin add the donate button to a live video to let viewers to donate to their fundraiser. People can and then donate during the alive video or from the published recording of the alive video.

This is a great way to take advantage of the growing video appointment on Facebook. Hither's an example of what this looks like:

Many people may not know about this option, so you may want to spread the discussion amongst your supporters who are video-savvy and enquire them to do this for your cause!

Ane Final Word

Although it may be tempting to run Facebook Fundraisers all the fourth dimension, they shouldn't exist used like an ATM machine for donors. Success on the world's biggest social network requires persistence, creativity, and dedication.

If you lot'd similar any help to raise funds on Facebook, or with creating your Facebook fundraising entrada, feel free to make it affect with me.

And if you have whatsoever concerns nearly how Facebook handles your fundraiser, head on over to their fundraising and donation assist site, where they've answered a number of common questions.

All the all-time with your online fundraising plans!