The end of Facebook fundraising in Europe

Is your charity based in the European Economic Area (EEA?) 

Do you rely on Facebook and Instagram to collect donations online?

If you answered ‘yes’ to both, it’s time to revisit your social media fundraising strategy, as Meta is pulling the plug on charity fundraisers across Europe from the end of June.

In a post on its site, Meta says that from July 1st, ‘charities will need to direct users to their respective websites for fundraising purposes instead of using fundraising products on Facebook and Instagram platforms, as Meta will no longer provide these services in the EEA.

The change affects Facebook Donate ads, fundraisers created through Meta’s platforms, the fundraiser API feature, and PayPal Giving Fund Ireland.

Charities will also lose access to past data from fundraising activity through Meta platforms, including lists of supporters.

The company is also restricting who can donate money between now and June 30th.

Citing ‘regulatory requirements’, Meta says supporters that have previously used an e-money account to donate will be able to do so until June 30th. But those who have not used an e-money account will no longer be able to create or donate to fundraisers.

‘Evolving approach’

Meta doesn’t explained the rationale behind its decision, but says the company ‘remains committed to supporting nonprofits by connecting people to the causes they care about’, and that this year, it is ‘evolving its approach to help more nonprofits reach more donors’.

It also says that Meta’s Social Impact team is exploring new approaches to drive donations to charities ‘via their fundraising platform of choice’. 

One option they’re testing is for charities to use the ‘donate’ button to link users to their website so users can donate directly.

Time to act

UK-based charities won’t be affected by the current changes, but the chances are we’ll be next.

So it pays to be prepared.

Here are four things you can do to set your charity up for the inevitable.

1.      Enhance your digital infrastructure

Maximise your pages on third-party donation platforms and invest in your website donation page to ensure it can handle increased traffic and facilitate easy donations.

2.      Diversify your fundraising channels

To mitigate the risk of over-reliance on social media, diversify your fundraising strategies to include multiple channels such as email marketing, crowdfunding platforms, and events.

3.      Explore alternatives

Utilise and optimise other existing digital fundraising platforms, such as JustGiving and Enthuse, and think about how potential donors can move from a Facebook ad to a third-party donation platform as seamlessly as possible.

4.      Test campaigns

Meta’s fundraising products may be going the way of the dodo, but it doesn’t spell the end of Facebook Fundraisers.

Encourage participants to set up their fundraising pages through third-party providers to see what impact it has on donor retention and the number of donations they receive.

 Looking for a digital fundraiser? We can help. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get the conversation started.