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How-To: Facebook Donations

How-To: Facebook Donations

February 2, 2020 / Tom McParlane  >

$51.2 million in donations in 13 days. Celeste Barber might already be in the running for Australian of the Year 2020 thanks to her Australian bushfire appeal on Facebook this January.


Portrait of Celeste Barber, she is posed in front of a white background and smiling.

At the time of writing this, a total of 1,310,273 Facebook users have donated to Celeste’s fundraisers in support of bushfire services in New South Wales and other regional areas of Australia to help fight the fires currently devastating our country.

Screenshot of Celeste Barber's bushfire relief fundraiser. It shows that over 50 million dollars was raised.

These numbers go to show the power of social media beyond a marketing tool, with Facebook’s Fundraiser platform gaining large exposure due to this viral campaign.

Launched in late 2017, Facebook Fundraiser integrates right into your profile and Facebook feed, showing you not-for-profit organisations and personal causes that you can help support. The platform also shows if people on your friends list have donated to causes, making it attractive likely for you to jump on board.

Here’s a quick step guide to setup a fundraiser to support a specific organisation or a personal cause.

1. Search 'Fundraisers'

Don't be duped by other groups and pages - search for 'Fundraisers' in the Facebook search bar and find the shortcut below.

Screenshot showing how to search for Fundraisers on Facebook

2. Select Your Fundraiser

Facebook allows you to either raise money that will be donated directly to a not-for-profit organisation OR directly to you for a personal cause.

Raising money directly for a not-for-profit will give you a greater reach as your fundraiser will be shown when people want to directly donate to the same organisation.

Screenshot showing you can choose a not-for-profit or directly to you.

3. Select a Charity (if you're fundraising for a not-for-profit)

If you're raising money for you or a friend, skip ahead to Step 4.

If you're raising money for a not-for-profit, Facebook will give you automatic suggestions for organisations based on key words and the type of charity you want to raise money for. It will also give you a list of suggestions (below) that are currently trending and that people on your friends list have donated to.

Screenshot showing a list of charities to choose from.

Once you've selected your organisation, you'll need to set how much money you want to raise and the end date for your fundraiser.

Screenshot showing Facebook prompting you to enter fundraiser details.

4. Name Your Fundraiser

If you've selected an organisation to donate to, Facebook will automatically select a title and description for your fundraiser. You can always change this to whatever you'd like, as long as people know what they are donating to and why you are raising money for them.

The same goes for personal fundraisers, however you will obviously have to come up with all the details. You don't have to get too personal with the details - just give as much information so someone who is likely to donate will take the time to sympathise and read.

Screenshot showing Facebook prompting you to enter fundraiser details.

5. Choose a Cover Photo

Choose a photo to spearhead your fundraiser or create one in Canva.

Screenshot prompting you to choose a cover photo.

Yes, it's that simple.

Once your fundraiser is set up it will act in the same way as a Facebook Event does - you can add posts, photos and updates so that everyone who has donated can stay up to date.

Note that if you've created a personal fundraiser, you will be asked to add payment details if you haven't already added them to Facebook.

For more information about Facebook Fundraisers and Donations, you can visit Facebook's help center for a deeper look at fundraising tools, taxes and fees.

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