Just in time for #GivingTuesday, Facebook is expanding the ways registered nonprofit organizations can hope to garner donations through the platform.
Organizations can now add a donate button not only on their own pages and posts, but also to video streams on Facebook Live. So while streaming a live broadcast to the Facebook world, nonprofits can convert audience enthusiasm by allowing viewers to immediately donate to the cause.
Since 2013, Facebook has been cultivating tools for nonprofit organizations to engage with a broader audience through the platform. The “fundraise” function on the site started with a pilot connecting Facebook users with 37 nonprofit organizations. Today, over 750,000 registered U.S. nonprofits can benefit from a Facebook fundraiser.
Research into activism and philanthropy through social media has highlighted that engagement with a “cause” doesn’t necessarily translate into meaningful action off the platform by a user. For example, clicking “like” on a post or publicly encouraging others to donate may satisfy a user’s need to offer that cause support, and doesn’t translate into a donation in most instances.
However, efforts like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and natural disaster relief, such as fundraising for aid after the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, put a spotlight on the potential that fundraising on Facebook offers nonprofit organizations.
According to the 2016 Global NGO Online Technology Report, Millennials are the group most likely to be moved to donate through social media. Research from Blackbaud showed that in 2015, online donations on #GivingTuesday increased by 52 percent over 2014, and a total of 17 percent of#GivingTuesday digital donations we made on mobile devices.
Click here to learn more about registering as a nonprofit organization with Facebook and gaining access to a donate button for a nonprofit Facebook page.