Facebook is removing a step from your crowdfunding efforts. Now, instead of creating a campaign on a site such as GoFundMe and posting the link on Facebook, you can create your formal plea right on the social network.
The new Facebook feature, called "Personal Fundraisers," is basically a replica of GoFundMe; it lets you set up a campaign to (hopefully) raise money for yourself or someone else in need, like a friend, relative, or pet. Facebook plans to roll out this feature for people aged 18 or over in beta over the next few weeks.
To start, the feature will support six categories for financial needs, letting you raise money to cover costs related to:
- Education: including tuition, books, and classroom supplies
- Medical problems: includingprocedures, treatments, or injuries
- Pet medical: including veterinary procedures, treatments, or injuries
- Crisis relief: including "public crises" or natural disasters
- Personal emergencies: like a house fire, theft, or car accident
- Funeral and Loss: including burial expenses, or living costs after losing a loved one.
"Personal fundraisers allow people to reach friends where they already are to quickly build momentum for their cause," Facebook's Vice President of Social Good Naomi Gleit wrote in a blog post. "Friends can donate in a few taps with secure payments, without leaving Facebook. Since you can see real profiles on Facebook, donors will see how they are connected to the person who created the fundraiser, the person benefiting and others who are supporting the fundraiser."
Campaigns will go through a 24-hour fundraiser review process. Facebook said it hopes to add more fundraising categories in the future and automate more of the review process.
Facebook is slightly undercutting GoFundMe's fee of 7.9 percent plus $0.30 per donation.
On Facebook, "personal fundraisers will have a 6.9 percent + $.30 fee, that will go to payment processing fees, fundraiser vetting, security and fraud protection," Gleit wrote. "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."
For more on the feature, check out the video below.
Meanwhile, Facebook also this week announced that verified Pages can now add donate buttons to their live broadcasts. People watching the live broadcast will be able to donate as they watch, or after the broadcast has ended.
"This gives public figures, brands, businesses and organizations new ways to fundraise on Facebook for the nonprofits they support," Gleit wrote.
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