Happy to replace GoFundMe and
similar services, Facebook is branching out into the world of personal fund-raising. To date, the social giant has already helped organizations raise millions of dollars, according to Naomi Gleit, VP
of Social Good at Facebook.
“We are expanding those tools to include personal fund-raisers, as well as more options for people to continue to fund raise for nonprofits,” Gleit
notes in a new blog post.
With the new tools, users older the age of 18 can try raising money for their education, their own and their pet’s medical bills, crisis relief, personal
emergencies and funeral and end-of-life costs.
To keep people honest, Facebook plans to evaluate their respective campaigns during a 24-hour review process. For use of its platform, Facebook
will also charge individuals 6.9% on funds raised, plus a $.30 processing and fraud protection fee.
“Facebook’s goal is to create a platform for good that’s sustainable over
the long term, and not to make a profit from our charitable giving tools,” according to Gleit.
Additionally, verified Pages can now add donate buttons to their live broadcasts. As such,
people watching live broadcasts can now donate as they watch, or give once the broadcast has ended and is posted on the Page.
Catering to nonprofit organizations, Facebook began testing a
‘Fundraisers’ tool and a ‘Donate’ button back in 2015.
Throughout 2016, Gleit said those tools helped direct funds to more than 750,000 nonprofits.