Facebook Fundraiser: Is Facebook taking on Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms with this JustGiving-style donation tool?
Is Facebook planning to give crowdsourcing platforms like Kickstarter a run for their money?
Looks like it. The social media giant has launched a new fundraising tool set to help charities and non-profits raise money through the social network.
The tool, similar to existing fundraising sites like JustGiving, lets charities easily set up a page for a campaign, where they can collect cash directly and include a video promoting their goal.
Facebook users can then share campaign posts as well as their own donations, making it easy for their friends to donate without ever leaving their news feed.
Naomi Gleit, vice president of product management at Facebook, said:
With more than 150 million people around the world connected to a cause, Facebook is a global community of volunteers, donors and activists coming together to make the world a better place.
The tool launched today is limited to non-profits, but the step to a crowdsourcing platform – with a potentially enormous user base – isn’t unthinkably large.
Crowdfunding continues to grow rapidly, with volumes totally £80.5m in the UK alone last year as equity crowdfunding soared by a staggering 420 per cent.
Facebook’s Fundraiser launches in the US today, with 37 partners signed up in the trial stage, but the tool is set to expand to more partners shortly.