Facebook expands its fundraising tools with a 'personal fundraiser' for Pages

Walking on the lines of its CEO Mark Zuckerberg's statement that Facebook is “a platform for all ideas”, Facebook seems to have found a new 'inspiration' for ideas. After doing all it could with Snapchat's Stories, Zuckerberg team has now announced a new feature adapted or inspired from crowdfunding site, Gofundme.

Facebook has announced that it is expanding its charity giving tools that will allow users to create personal fundraiser pages to raise money for themselves, friends, and people or things through its platform. Initially, this service was available only for a registered nonprofit on the platform.

"We’re constantly inspired by all the good done by people on Facebook and are committed to building tools that help build a supportive and safe global community," Naomi Gleit, VP Social Good, Facebook said in the blog post.

The company new feature is slightly different from the cause-focused site GoFundMe. Unlike the latter, Facebook users will have their Facebook profiles attached, which can let people know who they’re donating to.

Facebook's fundraising tool will currently cover only six categories: Education expenses, medical bills, pets’ medical bills, crisis and disaster relief, personal emergencies, and assistance for families after death. New categories may be added in the future, Facebook says.

The “personal fundraiser” feature will roll out over the next few weeks to users in the US, only for those aged 18 and up. The function will be displayed at the top of your News Feed where you can tap the "Fundraisers" button that will bring you to the fundraiser hub. The "Discover" section lets you find out about new and famous fundraisers, while the "Manage" tab allows you to keep track of fundraisers friends have invited you to in the past.

Verified pages can also add a Donate button to their live videos. This will allow public figures, brands, businesses and other organisations beyond nonprofits to fundraise, too. People watching the live video can choose to either donate as they watch or after the video ends and is posted on the Page, says Facebook.

All the applications will be under the review process for 24 hours in which Facebook ensures all fundraisers meet its policies and community standards. "We are starting somewhat conservatively. We do want to ensure the fundraisers are high-quality, meet the categories, meet the fundraiser policies and are legitimate," Gleit said.

Once a fundraiser is approved, users can display a cover photo, a "beneficiary card" showing the person receiving money, a "thermometer" that fills up according to how much money is raised in real-time, the story behind the fundraiser, and information about the creator.

Facebook is currently not making any profit from its charity giving tools, as per the company. However, the fundraiser doesn't get all the raised money. They lose 6.9 percent of the total, plus $0.30 per donation, to “payment processing fees, fundraiser vetting, and security and fraud protection.”