The world of social fundraising is changing fast. For nonprofits, that means staying ahead of trends and understanding what really works in campaigns.
This month, we partnered with the awesome Bluestep Solutions and Social AF to gather insights, testing strategies, and learnings from supporting nonprofits that run social fundraising campaigns in 2024 and presented them in a jam-packed webinar.
In this blog, we’re sharing seven key lessons to help you navigate this ever-evolving space. Whether you’re planning your next big Challenge or reviewing your approach for the year ahead, these insights can help you engage more supporters and raise more for your cause. And stick around for our bonus lesson—an important takeaway for anyone looking beyond a single platform!
7 lessons from 2024 social fundraising
Between Bluestep Solutions, Social AF, and GivePanel, we’ve helped hundreds of nonprofits achieve their fundraising goals through social fundraising campaigns over the past year. To say we’ve learned a thing or two would be an understatement! In an evolving market, where trends shift quickly, algorithms update constantly, and new tech emerges all the time, it can be overwhelming for individual nonprofits to keep up. That’s where we come in—to help you navigate these changes, stay ahead of the curve, and make the most of every opportunity.
Drawing on our combined experience, we’ve identified seven key lessons from the past year that can help you run even more successful campaigns in 2025. These insights cover everything from building stronger supporter engagement to maximizing results across platforms. Let’s dive in!
1. Ad creative: let the data do the talking
When it comes to ad performance, creativity matters, but data should always lead the way. Bluestep Solutions emphasizes the importance of analyzing results and focusing on what works, rather than relying on gut feelings or emotional responses.
Take a measured approach by testing different types of creative and "backing the winners." For example, data from Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity reveals the value of testing and refining ad formats:
- Incentive ads: 32.5% of leads came from ads promoting a t-shirt incentive, showing how a tangible reward can drive sign-ups.
- Short-form video ads: Dynamic, engaging formats delivered 44.1% of total leads, including a 16.3% increase in leads during the final push with medal-themed ‘Boomerang’ ads.
- Message alignment: Ads focused on the Challenge itself accounted for 78.6% of leads, compared to 21.4% from cause-focused ads, reinforcing the need to prioritize action-oriented messaging.
By letting data guide your creative decisions, you can focus your budget on the formats, visuals, and messages that truly resonate with your audience—and ensure your campaign delivers the strongest possible results.
2. The best day to start your marketing
Timing is key when it comes to launching a successful Facebook campaign. Based on insights from the Bluestep Solutions team, starting your ads strategically—not just early—can make all the difference in building momentum for your fundraiser.
Here’s what we’ve learned:
- Start slightly before your recruitment month: If your Challenge is set for March, begin your ads in late January or early February. Launching a few days before the new month allows your campaign to build traction and generate early engagement within your group.
- Aim for weekend exposure: Saturdays and Sundays between 4–9 p.m. are peak times for nonprofit Facebook engagement. If the first of the month falls on a Monday, launch ads the Thursday prior. This timing ensures your ads are live during the weekend when your audience is most active, giving your campaign a strong head start.
- Work with Facebook’s learning phase: Ads need time to move through Facebook’s learning phase to perform optimally. Starting slightly early means you can work out any issues by Friday, ensuring smooth delivery and solid data by the weekend.
Use data to guide your next steps: By the time you’re ready to make adjustments the following week, you’ll have valuable insights into what’s working. Back the ads performing well, shift the budget to “winners,” and refine your targeting or creative based on early results. - Maximize ad spend from the start: Casting a wide net early on helps you reach potential fundraisers who are likely to register and join your group. Early registrations generate group activity, which in turn drives more engagement and fundraising.
By starting slightly earlier and leveraging weekends for maximum exposure, you set your campaign up for success. This approach ensures a solid foundation for the recruitment month, giving you ample time to optimize and encourage strong participation.
3. The rise of the activation incentive
This lesson from Bluestep Solutions and Social AF highlights how tiered incentives are transforming social fundraising, driving behavior change, and boosting campaign results.
The Three-Tiered Incentive Model
- Participation Incentive (No Fundraising Target)
- Participants receive items like t-shirts or welcome packs upon registration, creating excitement and acting as conversation starters. Open to all, this step encourages sign-ups and builds early momentum.
- Activation Incentive (£25–£30 Fundraising Target)
- A low-level target with a reward, such as a beanie or bucket hat, motivates participants to start fundraising quickly.
- Impact: Charities using activation incentives saw 33% active fundraisers versus 25% without.
- For 5,000 participants raising £219 on average, increasing active fundraisers to 33% adds an extra £87,600.
- Stretch Incentive (£150+ Fundraising Target)
- Higher-value rewards like medals encourage sustained effort, driving additional funds.
- Impact: Analysis shows 6–8% more funds raised, meaning an extra £15,000 for a £250,000 campaign.
By implementing tiered incentives, Diabetes UK increased active fundraisers from 14% to 40% across three challenges. This dramatic uplift significantly boosted total funds raised and demonstrated the power of this model. Meanwhile, Tommy’s adopted a four-tiered incentive model by including a hoodie for a £300 super stretch target and achieved a record £353 per fundraiser.
But why does it work? Breaking down targets into manageable steps makes fundraising less intimidating, appealing to participants who may not see themselves as natural fundraisers. Incentives also drive group engagement and inspire further participation, proving to be one of the most impactful strategies in Facebook Challenges this year.
By adopting these lessons, charities can unlock significant income potential while fostering stronger participant engagement.
4. The top of the funnel is key
Imagine seeing a compelling charity ad on Facebook, clicking "sign up," only to be met with a frustrating, multi-step form. Frustrated, you abandon the process entirely. Mistakes like these at the top of the funnel can drastically impact your campaign's success.
Many charities focus heavily on optimizing the bottom of the funnel—moments where supporters are already engaged and donating—while neglecting the start of the journey. However, the biggest opportunity lies in early engagement: attracting and nurturing the right audience from the beginning.
So why focus on the top of the funnel?
- Platforms like GoFundMe report that 84% of traffic comes from Facebook ads, but the conversion rate is only 13%.
- Small improvements at the start of the journey yield bigger impacts than equivalent changes at the end.
To maximize the potential of your top-of-funnel efforts, start by simplifying lead capture. Tools like Meta Instant Leads allow supporters to express interest with just two clicks, using pre-populated details for a seamless sign-up experience. Next, leverage data insights to refine your strategy. With GivePanel, you can match lead data with fundraising platforms like JustGiving or Facebook fundraising, identify which leads convert to fundraisers, and determine their average contributions. This enables you to focus on optimizing ad sets that attract active fundraisers rather than just generating leads. Finally, prioritize early nurturing. Begin stewardship immediately by creating email or SMS journeys that encourage leads to take the next step, fostering engagement before fundraising even begins.
By focusing as much on top-of-the-funnel activities as you do on later stages, you can transform casual interest into active participation and maximize the impact of your campaigns. Remember: Fundraising starts long before a page is created.
5. Say goodbye to the 'Featured' section
The disappearance of the ‘featured’ section on Facebook groups earlier this year was a stark reminder that Facebook can change its features unexpectedly. In the past, the featured section was a go-to spot to highlight key events or fundraising registration posts, but without it, the approach to guiding supporters through the registration process has shifted. With Facebook’s changes, fundraisers can no longer rely on this section to be visible on mobile devices. To adapt, nonprofits have focused on other ways to convert new members into active fundraisers.
To ensure a smooth registration process even without the featured section, consider these strategies:
- Update the Group’s Header Image: Add clear step-by-step instructions such as:
- Step 1: Join the Group
- Step 2: Click Featured to Complete Registration
- Use the "Add Everyone" Feature: On Mondays, when traffic peaks, remind group members to register by tagging everyone in a post. This will not only encourage action but also bring the post to the top of the group’s feed.
- Enable the New Member Intro Feature: Set up a brief welcome message that directs new members straight to the registration form or featured section.
- Update the Group’s "About" Section: Ensure that the registration link is prominently displayed, making it easy for new members to find and register.
- Post Daily Welcome Messages: Each day during the recruitment phase, post a midday message welcoming new members and encouraging them to complete their registration.
While Facebook may change its features again, these strategies—shared by Social AF—along with reacting quickly and having a plan in place, can ensure that your registration process remains smooth and that your supporters remain engaged, even if the ‘featured’ section does not return.
6. @Everyone for the win
The @everyone tag is a powerful tool that can significantly boost engagement in your Facebook group, especially when used strategically. Introduced at the end of 2023, it replaced the "announcement" feature, offering a more effective way to notify all group members. When you tag everyone, the notification appears in their feed, ensuring maximum exposure for important posts.
Here are some tips from the Social AF team for using @everyone effectively:
- Use it strategically: Review the group each week to identify areas needing more attention, such as engagement or registrations. Use @everyone to direct focus to posts that need extra visibility, such as a fundraising push or an incentive announcement.
- Don’t overuse it: Limit use to once or twice a week. Overusing it can cause members to disengage or unfollow the group. It’s best to save it for posts that need a big push.
- Engagement booster: For example, we used @everyone to ask group members to comment on a fun post, such as “What breed is your dog?” This garnered 635 comments and significantly boosted engagement.
In Social AF’s experience, the timing and content of your @everyone posts matter. For instance, for a fundraising challenge post, they added @everyone as a comment below the main post to encourage participation without disrupting the flow. This approach helped SocialAF get responses and engagement without overusing the tag.
A great example of @everyone’s effectiveness comes from a dog-walking Challenge for Samaritans. After using @everyone for a post about dog breeds, they saw a £2000 spike in income, demonstrating that fostering conversation in the group can directly lead to increased fundraising.
By using @everyone thoughtfully, you can create more engaging content, increase participation, and ultimately drive more donations.
7. The end of Facebook-only income
Since March 2024, income from third-party platforms like JustGiving has surpassed Facebook fundraising. This shift marks the beginning of a more diversified approach to social fundraising, where supporters have more choices about where they fundraise, resulting in greater income and flexibility.
We know that social fundraising is evolving. Supporters now have options like JustGiving, GoFundMe, and Instagram, giving them the power to fundraise where they feel most comfortable. Expanding to multiple platforms helps nonprofits increase funds and engage supporters in new ways.
In the Brain Tumour Research case study, fundraisers using JustGiving raised 84% more than those using Facebook alone, thanks to optimized fundraising pages and email journeys. Although JustGiving had a 12% lower activation rate compared to Facebook, the significantly higher amount raised more than offset this difference, highlighting the value of offering supporters the choice to fundraise on a platform that maximizes their potential for success.
By integrating platforms like JustGiving, Instagram, and others, nonprofits can:
- Raise More: JustGiving fundraisers raise 63% more than Facebook fundraisers.
- Greater Flexibility: Supporters can choose the platform that works best for them.
- Audience-Centered Journeys: Customize the experience for each platform.
- Diversified Growth: Reduces reliance on any one platform, ensuring more stable income.
Relying solely on Facebook for fundraising is no longer enough. Diversifying to other platforms like JustGiving ensures greater reach, higher funds, and reduced risk. Tools like nudge emails and activation incentives are helping close the activation gap between platforms, making it easier to encourage off-Facebook fundraising.
As you plan your 2025 strategy, include multiple platforms to tap into more consumer choice and raise more per participant. This approach ensures a safer, more sustainable fundraising model.
In short, the days of Facebook-only fundraising are over. By embracing a multi-platform strategy, you can raise more, reach more people, and secure your nonprofit’s future.
Bonus lesson: benchmarking multi-platform income
We like to under-promise and over-deliver, so we couldn't resist adding a bonus lesson—this one’s hot off the press, straight from Social AF's latest insights.
As fundraising moves to a mix of platforms, it’s critical to track and benchmark your income across them to ensure your strategy is data-driven. From 2023 onwards, platforms like JustGiving have started to raise more income than Facebook, with Challenges seeing a split of 60-40 or even 70-30 in favor of JustGiving.
But how does that income differ across the Challenge timeline?
Social AF found that during the recruitment phase, Facebook fundraisers tend to generate income earlier, as they immediately share on participants' timelines, encouraging faster donations. In contrast, JustGiving fundraisers typically start raising income on the first day of the Challenge, meaning benchmarks based on Facebook-only performance can lead to inaccurate expectations. For example, if a Challenge raises £400,000, a Facebook-only benchmark might predict £120,000 by the recruitment phase, while JustGiving may only bring in £30,000. However, by week five of the Challenge, income across platforms tends to align, with a slight spike in the final week for Facebook-based campaigns.
Key Takeaways:
- Revise Benchmarks: Don’t rely on Facebook-only benchmarks—adjust them for the platforms you’re using.
- Track Performance Across Platforms: Income from different platforms behaves differently during the recruitment phase, but it starts to even out as the Challenge progresses.
- Final Week Uplift: Facebook and hybrid campaigns often experience a larger income increase in the last week, whereas JustGiving campaigns tend to raise most of their funds earlier.
These lessons reflect the shifting landscape of social fundraising. From letting data guide your creative decisions to embracing multi-platform strategies, there’s plenty to learn from this year’s trends.
As we look ahead to 2025, the nonprofits that adapt quickly, test thoughtfully, and focus on supporter experience will stand out. Which of these lessons will you take forward in your next campaign?
Get in touch
Did you miss the live webinar? Email marketing@givepanel.com and we'll send you the link to watch!
If you’re interested in exploring social fundraising, now might be the perfect time to start. Find out how GivePanel can support you by booking a 30 minute, personalized demo with one of our team. We’ll show you the ropes, provide tailored advice, and answer any questions you may have.
Related resources
- Meta Leads Integration: Your New Tool for Managing Social Campaign Leads
- Unlock more social fundraising with GivePanel's expanded feature set for JustGiving
- New Feature: GivePanel’s GoFundMe Integration
- How to grow your Facebook Challenges with the Digital Fundraising Academy
- How nonprofits can succeed with Instagram fundraising Challenges
