Ever spotted one of those “Birthday Fundraisers” on Facebook? You know, your friend Helen says she’d like people to donate $250 to the local animal shelter in honor of her big day. Have you ever thought of doing something similar for your church? If so, you can register your parish with Facebook as a verified charity. Take the time to register as a charity on Facebook today and you won’t have to worry about it later.
But here’s the catch – Facebook is so backed up with requests from various charities trying to get registered, it will take 2-4 weeks for them to approve your application. So no, you can’t launch a fundraising campaign on Facebook for your parish with no warning. You need to plan.
As we turn the calendar over to fiscal year 2021, hopefully you have a few free hours to devote to this. If so, you can dive into the nonprofit FAQ on Facebook’s help page (see here: https://www.facebook.com/help/1640008462980459). And keep in mind there are some downsides. The most important is that you will NOT receive a direct printout of who donated, which means you cannot properly thank or acknowledge.
You may feel like you’re months or even years away from doing fundraising directly on Facebook, but trust us – you’ll want to have completed this registration process ahead of time so you can click a few buttons and begin receiving donations as soon as your pastor gives the word! So register as a charity on Facebook today!
