What the latest updates to Facebook’s Giving Tools mean for your nonprofit
Meta has not slowed down in releasing new features. These tools help non-profits worldwide raise more money. They also improve supporter engagement on Facebook. Since Facebook Fundraisers launched in 2016, over $5 billion has been raised for non-profits and personal causes. We believe this is just the start. This is true despite recent changes to the Meta Social Impact Team. Therefore, let’s dive into the recent product updates. We will cover what these Facebook Giving Tools mean for your non-profit and upcoming campaigns.
📈 Enhanced Recurring Giving Tools
Recurring donors typically give more overall. They also have higher retention rates. Furthermore, they provide valuable community insights. So, does your non-profit focus enough on maximizing these recurring donors’ lifetime value?
Meta is giving US non-profits more engagement opportunities. These come through the first update: enhanced recurring giving tools. These tools include:
- Recurring donation insights and metrics.
- Changes to transaction reports that distinguish between recurring and one-time donors.
- Tagging and filtering in Nonprofit Manager’s supporters tab. This enables you to view and segment recurring donors.
- Automated welcome messages for recurring donors.
Recurring donations have existed for over a year. However, these new tools offer more insights into donor behavior. You can better segment donors for impactful stewardship. They also save time with automated welcome outreach. We think this is pretty cool.
What’s the catch? Currently, these tools are only available for US non-profits. Watch this space, as they may roll out wider next year.
Note: As a result of recent changes, the Facebook platform no longer supports new recurring donations for US charities as of September 14th. Read more via their help article.
✅ ‘Stay Connected’ Screen: Default Opt-in
You know that a supporter sees a prompt screen after a donation or fundraiser creation. This screen asks them to connect with your non-profit. Until recently, the default response for staying connected was ‘off. Your supporters had to physically click to “opt in” and tick the box.
Now, Meta introduces the second update. The options for page follow, email sharing, and Messenger are all turned on by default. (Messenger is only on if you enable it.) Consequently, supporters simply click “Save.” You can then communicate with them directly.
What This Means for Engagement
Page Follows: Expect your page follows to jump up. More fundraisers and donors will be default opted-in to follow your page. Therefore, dust off your content calendars. Get creative with your organic content. Engage them with amazing stories about your cause or mission.
Email Addresses: You will also receive more opted-in email addresses. Use these to engage donors in supporter journeys “beyond Facebook.” If you need guidance, check out our case study with Mental Health Foundation. It offers tips for an effective “beyond Facebook” messaging strategy.
But, beware! Fundraisers choose to support your cause directly. Donors to those fundraisers often do not. They are more likely supporting friends or family. They may not be directly supporting your cause. In this situation, we recommend erring on the side of caution. Be careful when sending direct outreach to those donors.
🗣️ Automated Thanking
The next update is Facebook’s automated thanking. You can now set up specific thanking messages for birthday and generic fundraisers. What was once a tedious task is now centralized. You can manage thanking from one area in your Nonprofit Manager.
“But we’ve been thanking our organic fundraisers forever,” you might say. The good news is that small non-profits should enable this tool. It is helpful if you have low volumes and limited resources. However, if you generate a reasonable amount of organic fundraisers, you need more advanced tools. You need tools that generate a significant ROI.
Did you know that GivePanel offers an advanced service for large volumes? We can handle advanced, personalized, on-page messaging for you. Get in touch to find out more.
🏃 Native Facebook Challenges
The final update is Facebook Native Challenges. These are here for non-profits brand new to Facebook Challenges. They allow for initial testing.
Fundraiser Challenges is Meta’s first peer-to-peer product built natively on Facebook. It is inspired by the existing Facebook Challenge model. Crucially, it uses the collective fundraising power of Facebook Ads and Groups.
Meta’s Fundraiser Challenges are built to:
- Attract new supporters to your organization.
- Let you easily connect with many supporters at once.
- Let supporters connect and share experiences in a Facebook Group.
GivePanel helped shape a comprehensive playbook with Meta. This guide offers best practice on Fundraiser Challenges. It also covers the step-by-step process of creating a Challenge page. Furthermore, it covers cultivating your Facebook Group. You can read more about this feature in our recent blog article.
❓ But Hey, What About the Meta Layoffs?
You likely saw the news this month. Meta had to let go of around 11,000 staff members globally. Read the open letter from Mark Zuckerberg on the Meta Newsroom.
So, what does this mean for the future of Facebook fundraising? GivePanel Founder CEO, Nick Burne, says:
“People may have seen on social media that Meta let go of their Social Impact team in the recent layoffs. This is only partly true. Most of the Social Impact Product team remain. Thus, as one of our Meta contacts put it, ‘The donate button lives on and will be supported.’ In addition, there are still partnerships staff in the Ads team. They will continue to support non-profits with their campaigns. As such, we remain very positive about the future of Facebook Giving Tools. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners and contacts at Meta. We will build Facebook fundraising as a long-term, scalable income stream for non-profit organizations around the world.”
📞 Need Support with Your Facebook Fundraising?
If you’re a GivePanel customer, contact your dedicated Customer Success Manager. They will help shape your 2023 plans.
Want to find out more about how GivePanel can support your non-profit? Book a demo with one of our Facebook Fundraising specialists today!
Related Resources
Native Facebook Fundraiser Challenges for nonprofits: what you need to know
https://givepanel.com/blog/native-facebook-fundraiser-challenges-for-nonprofits/
How to plan the perfect Facebook Challenge in 2023
https://givepanel.com/blog/how-to-plan-the-perfect-facebook-challenge-in-2023/
Quiz: Is your nonprofit the right fit for a Facebook Challenge?
https://givepanel.com/blog/is-your-nonprofit-the-right-fit-for-a-facebook-challenge-quiz/
Facebook Birthday Fundraisers: How do they work and can you get more of them?
https://givepanel.com/blog/facebook-birthday-fundraising/