Facebook launches fundraising tools for nonprofits

Facebook first introduced the Donate button almost 2 years ago and upgraded it in August to enable contributions through Pages and advertisements for a particular cause.

Since most of you are here on this site because you share an interest in learning about environmental issues, news and ways you can do your part to help, I’ll bet that you follow a few environmental organizations on Facebook too.

Nonprofit organizations can run real fundraisers on their respective Facebook pages now.

“Adding a Donate button to a Page will give a nonprofit a consistent place to collect donations, even as they update their Page’s content. Including a Donate button on a post will give people an easy way to donate directly from News Feed”, Gleit said. The company suggests that charities can use the fundraiser tool to “rally supporters, collect donations, and visibly track progress toward a goal for year-end drives, themed campaigns, and special projects”. Users on the social network will be able to contribute an amount from the News Feed, after filling and submitting a single page form to process the payment through debit cards, credit cards, or PayPal account.

As of Wednesday, fundraisers and the new Donate button are being used by at least three nonprofit partners – Mercy Corps, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and World Wildlife Fund.

Currently, the tool is launching while still being tested only in the United States, without charging partners in this beta phase. Any fundraiser shared by a user in a post will display the new Donate button as well, allowing users to contribute through the post itself.

The addition of this feature could make Facebook a central hub for nonprofits. Interested organizations can find out more at donations.fb.com; right now, Facebook is focusing on U.S.-based 501(c)3 organizations, but plans to expand internationally next year. Registered nonprofits who wish to try out this tool can sign up for it on the company’s donations page.

Other Facebook social good products include safety reports, which was recently deployed after the attacks in Paris, and amber alerts.

This isn’t Facebook’s first attempt into charitable giving. The new fundraising tool looks pretty straightforward and doesn’t appear to have any business prospects.