A new fundraising sticker for Facebook Stories, a Donate button on Instagram nonprofit accounts, and charity livestreaming on Facebook Gaming are among the new features Facebook rolled out ahead of Giving Tuesday.
Facebook announced the new features and products during a press event this morning in Manhattan, where it gathered a panel of executives and users to share their stories and success on the platform.
More than $125 million was raised via Facebook on Giving Tuesday last year, officials said. In all, Giving Tuesday raised some $400 million for charities. Giving Tuesday is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which this year will fall on Dec. 3.
Facebook again will match up to $7 million in gifts made on its network but the amount that a single nonprofit can receive was decreased this year to $100,000, down from $250,000, in an effort to get more organizations and donations matched. Donations will be matched dollar for dollar on a first-come, first-served basis until the match is met, which last year took minutes.
Any U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit is eligible to receive donations on Facebook that can be matched. There is also a $20,000 per donor cap on Giving Tuesday. Facebook Fundraisers has generated $2 billion for causes during the past four years, half of that total from birthday fundraisers, according to Naomi Gleit, vice president of product management. About 45 million people have donated or started a Facebook Fundraiser. Donate buttons and fundraisers on Facebook do not take fees to process the gifts.
Changes such as the fundraising sticker on Facebook Stories were developed and informed by nonprofit partners and as well as people who use the products themselves, according to Emily Dalton Smith, product management director at Facebook.
A beta for 25 game creators raised $180,000 during the past year, according to Brittni Liyanage, product manager, Facebook Gaming. “Gaming at its core is something that builds connection between two human beings. At some point, it becomes not about the game at all,” said Joshua DiMezza, a Facebook Gaming creator and cancer survivor who has helped raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Facebook Fundraisers has been a game-changer with the amount of revenue it can drive, said Luke Franklin, vice president of membership at ASPCA, which has raised $7 million since it started. The option to give monthly has been revelatory, said Geriann Wiesbrook, founder of the Military Mama Network. “Our population is very middle class, working class, so to be able to give $5 and know that it matters” is a big deal.
Giving Tuesday’s growth has been almost entirely organic, according to Asha Curran, co-founder and CEO of Giving Tuesday. “People are not being told to do something. They’re being invited,” she said. Giving Tuesday was born digital and one of its biggest experiments has been social media, an “incredible source multiplier” that can harness participatory giving. “The fascinating thing about giving is that it’s changing so much. Our job, in the social sector, is to adapt to those changes, and rapidly,” Curran said.
Online giving is still in the minority compared to other giving but it’s growing faster, she said. “We do everything online, we want to incorporate giving in a way that makes giving part of our daily, weekly, annual rituals,” she said, adding that online giving yields more granular data that can show how giving changes over time.