This is a big deal. A really big deal. Do I really need to say it again? Fine, I won’t, but Facebook may have just changed the game for non profits and how they go about gathering donations.

Essentially what Facebook is offering is a Kickstarter-like experience, but all in one place. There is no clicking on a really neat campaign you saw on Facebook, then getting linked off to another site where you click the donate button, then add credit card information, and finally hit the confirm button. Facebook has created an opportunity with minimal friction to donate to a cause you care about, or in reality, didn’t know you cared about until you saw your friend donated to the organization. The ease of transaction, combined with the incredibly powerful targeting product that Facebook has, makes this something that will draw much attention to our non profit friends. 

So you’re probably asking, “I don’t see this donate option on our page right now. Why not?” Currently Facebook is only testing this donation feature with 37 partner organizations like Mercy Corps, World Wildlife Fund, Alzheimer's Association, etc., but will make it available to U.S.-based 501(c)3 non profits over the coming months. 

Since you don’t have access to the Facebook fundraising feature just yet, here are some things we thought were interesting: 

• Setting up a fundraising campaign is very similar to setting up an event for your Facebook page.
• It looks like you have the ability to share the fundraiser with a select group of friends or all of them, just like you do when sharing your organization’s page with all your friends.
• When your friends share the fundraiser with their friends, it will create a call to action on the share that allows their friends to donate to the organization.
• You will have the ability to thank individual donors who give to your cause.
• There is a progress bar that will show all followers how close you are to reaching your goal and how they can help you reach it.

I don’t know about you, but I am so excited to see how organizations like yours use this feature to its fullest potential. My biggest advice for you and your organization is to experiment...a lot. Run mini campaigns that allow you to see what worked and what didn’t work, what spoke to your audience and moved them to action.

As marketers we must adapt our story to fit the platform; if you’re good at what you do, then this new fundraising feature should excite you. If you’re a marketer stuck in your old ways then, uh, you should probably subscribe to our blog. ;)