Meta, the tech company behind popular social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram, is expanding its fundraising tools and making them available to 1.5 million nonprofits on its platforms.
Instagram to Expand Fundraising Tools
Starting on Tuesday, Apr. 19, Instagram users can attach donation buttons to their Instagram Reels, turning the short videos into fundraisers, according to CBS News.
As it does for donations on Facebook and other Instagram content, Meta will collect and forward the donations to the nonprofits at no charge, paying the processing fees itself.
More than $6 billion has been donated on Instagram and Facebook since fundraising started on the platforms in 2015, according to Meta's vice president of product management and social impact, Emily Dalton Smith.
Donations increased to $1 billion in nine months in 2021, with 100 million creators and donors taking part in fundraising on the social media platforms, according to APNews.
The majority of those gifts are from small donors, and most of the donations on Instagram in 2021 were under $20. Dalton Smith said that many people are coming together and giving whatever they can to different causes.
Effects of Expanding the Fundraising Tools
Expanding the fundraising to new platforms has created very surprising results. On Instagram, the environmental nonprofit that has received the most donations is not a popular one, according to US News.
One of the most followed nonprofit organizations is The Ocean Cleanup. It was founded in 2013 by an 18-year-old from the Netherlands, Boyan Slat.
Dalton Smith said that The Ocean Cleanup has succeeded because it is "Instagram-first," creating its communities on the social media platform.
The eye-catching images and designs, together with weekly updates on its plastics-removal missions and its partnerships with the popular band Coldplay, have helped the group build a following of more than 700,000.
Dalton Smith said that they do not have data to back all of this yet, but they do see early signs that this is actually going to help grow to give and help grow support for a more diverse set of organizations and help new causes.
Rue Mapp, the founder, and CEO of Outdoor Afro, an organization that connects people with color with nature, said that her group would not have grown as fast as it did without Instagram and Facebook connecting her with volunteers and donors.
And she has developed a strategy for how to use Instagram Reels to raise money for the organization's initiative to teach more people of color to swim.
The Oakland-based organization's new Instagram Reels campaign of videos shows people of color swimming, and it showcases the group's work and provides a reason for continuing it.
Mapp said that the organization was able to grow because they had people who had similar interests.
Outdoor Afro considers Meta's use of the platforms to raise funds for the group by charging any fee or another helpful donation.
Depending on what platform is used and whether other third-party apps are used, processing fees usually range from 5% to 15% of the donation.
Though some experts said that larger nonprofits might prefer social media to send people to the group's own sites to make donations, smaller organizations may find Meta's helpful system and easy to navigate.
Instagram Reels, which was launched in 2020, has since gone head-to-head with TikTok.
In 2021, Instagram added a Bonus feature for influencers and content creators with massive followers.
Related Article: How to Use Instagram Reels TikTok-like Feature Text-to-Speech and Voice Effects
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
