The temperatures are dropping, holiday carols are being sung, and we as a society are collectively eating more pie than during any other time of the year. This festive atmosphere can only mean one thing— year-end-giving has begun.

If you’re like most nonprofits, you probably started planning your year-end giving strategy months ago. However, there’s no denying that this year and all of its challenges may have called for an adjustment to those plans. Virtual fundraising, virtual donor stewardship, virtual events— these are the terms dominating this year’s fundraising season.

But, we’re here to present one solution that can tackle all of the above: Facebook fundraising.

As a nonprofit fundraising professional, you’re surely aware that Facebook fundraising is quite different from the digital efforts you conduct on other platforms. For one, it’s often largely supporter-initiated! So, we’re going to cover the top tips your team can use to be successful when incorporating Facebook fundraising into your year-end giving strategy: 

1. Educate supporters about the basics of Facebook fundraising.
2. Consider pivoting your year-end events to Facebook.
3. Thank donors and fundraisers for their participation.
4. Collect data about year-end Facebook fundraising.

Nonprofits have used Facebook fundraising to raise billions of dollars since the emergence of the platform’s fundraising tools in 2015. With that much success, it’s easy to see why your organization should use it for your biggest fundraising push of the year!

However, it’s also true that fundraising on Facebook requires quite different strategies than using, say, a simple donation page on your website. So, continue reading for our top tips to make the most of the platform.

1. Educate supporters about the basics of Facebook fundraising.

While you’re already familiar with Facebook fundraising— at least, enough to consider using it for your year-end fundraising strategy— the platform may still be a new concept to your supporters who aren’t immersed in the fundraising world 24/7.

Unlike other online fundraising efforts, Facebook fundraising is largely supporter-led. This means that in most cases (though we’ll walk through a few exceptions) your supporters start individual fundraisers on their own to raise funds on behalf of your organization. To use Facebook fundraising as a main platform of your year-end giving strategy, your first step should be educating supporters about fundraising through the platform.

Consider creating a page on your website or a post on your blog that covers the basics of Facebook fundraising. Answer questions such as:

• How do I start a Facebook fundraiser?
• How can I successfully raise more funds with a Facebook peer-to-peer fundraiser?
• How do I donate to a Facebook fundraiser?
• Does Facebook keep a portion of my donation?
• What personal information is available to the nonprofit about donors or users that start fundraisers?
• How do I access a donation receipt for tax purposes?

This page can serve two purposes. First, it educates donors and fundraisers about Facebook fundraising and can make them more comfortable with giving through the platform. It also provides a great opportunity for you to share your recommended messaging and imagery. 

Remember— many year-end fundraising efforts through Facebook will be fundraisers started by your supporters. So, share information about your mission statement, values, tips to raise funds successfully, and photos of the work your organization does. Encourage supporters to use this information when creating their own fundraisers, which can help protect your nonprofit’s digital brand (and, make the process easier for the users creating fundraisers!) Being inconsistent is one of the biggest mistakes a nonprofit can make on social media, but this simple strategy can help you overcome it.

2. Consider pivoting your year-end events to Facebook.

Remember how we mentioned that we’d discuss other uses of Facebook fundraising, beyond one-off year-end fundraisers? Virtual fundraising events are the perfect example.

Year-end fundraising is planned months (or more!) in advance. For your nonprofit, this may include hosting the same type of event each year, such as a year-end gala. If so, these beloved events were likely hindered due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying social distancing guidelines.

By now, you’ve probably watched your peers in the nonprofit space pivot their large year-end events to the virtual sphere. If you’re considering doing the same, we recommend you do so on Facebook. We provide a comprehensive list of reasons in this GoodUnited guide to virtual fundraising events, but let’s cover an overview of the highlights here:

• Facebook is a familiar platform. Not only do your supporters likely already know how to navigate the platform, but they already have profiles. That removes a massive administrative burden from your team!
• You can live stream and accept donations live. Whether a conference, a gala, or a trivia contest, you can live stream the event directly on Facebook. Then, with the platform’s live donate tools, you can collect donations— all without investing in a costly virtual event platform.
• You can create closed events. With Facebook groups, you can create a closed group for ticketed events. Then, you can add users to the virtual event experience as they purchase tickets.
• There is a sense of community already built-in. Facebook was created to connect people with one another. Your supporters can experience the event and interact with their friends and family near and far all at the same time.

Additionally, we can’t forget the digital marketing benefits. One tech-savvy tip to boost your virtual fundraising events is to use social media as part of your digital marketing strategy. Well, with Facebook, you’re marketing your event on the same platform that it’s occurring on! So, rather than sharing links to third-party pages, your supporters can discover your event and engage with it all on one trusted website.

3. Thank donors and fundraisers for their participation.

As you’re a nonprofit fundraising professional, we don’t need to cover the importance of thanking donors and fundraisers after you’ve completed your year-end campaign. If you’ve made it this far, expressing your appreciation for online participants is a best practice for your team already.

However, we do need to cover how to thank Facebook fundraiser users, as there are a few extra hoops for your team to jump through. This is largely due to Facebook’s privacy policy, which bars the platform from sharing certain personal information— such as user contact information— with your nonprofit.

But, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to thank those that support your nonprofit on the platform! Our team has outlined a few tips in this guide to thanking donors on Facebook, such as:

• Make the most of the information available to you. If your nonprofit signs up for Facebook Payments, one of the two payout methods available to North American nonprofits, you may receive donor email addresses (if the donors opt to share it) upon downloading the Daily Transaction Report. Then, follow up with them after the campaign with a thank-you. Check out the example template below for what this could look like:

The year-end giving season is already underway, so your team may not have the time available to craft a comprehensive fundraising strategy from scratch. However, that’s one of the benefits of Facebook fundraising— if your organization has a Facebook account, you can get started right now!

So, here’s what we recommend for your next steps:

1. Set up your nonprofit’s Facebook Donation Account.
2. Sign up for Facebook Payments.
3. Start spreading the word and educating your supporters about Facebook fundraising.

When it comes to using Facebook in your year-end giving strategy, the first steps are that simple. Then, you can use our tips to supercharge your Facebook fundraising to success. Good luck!