fundraising
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Instagram brings its fundraiser tool to Reels
The feature is being rolled out in more than 30 countries as part of Meta's Earth Day efforts.
Instagram launches live fundraisers for nonprofits
Instagram just moved one step closer to in-app tipping.
Spotify’s COVID-19 Music Relief page makes it easy to donate to artists
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, forcing music venues to close and cancel shows, the music industry has been looking for ways to adapt. Several streaming giants have pledged to contribute to the MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund, entertainers have pivoted and platforms like Bandsintown and Twitch are helping artists make money via streaming. Now, Spotify wants to make it easier for everyone to donate to the organizations supporting the music community.
Kickstarter wants projects to be more transparent about their budget
Crowdfunding is great in theory, but many projects fail to meet their fundraising goals, end up asking for more money or fall apart entirely. In an attempt to help creators avoid those fates, Kickstarter is launching a new tool called Project Budget.
Facebook users have raised over $2 billion for causes
Facebook frequently finds itself in the news for harm done to the public, but there are moments when its platform is put to good use. The social network has revealed that people have raised over $2 billion for causes through its Fundraisers system, or about twice as much as they'd raised 10 months ago. More than twice as many people, 45 million, have either started or contributed to a fundraiser since then. And yes, birthday fundraisers played a big role -- half of those funds came from people marking another spin around the Sun.
Kickstarter has fewer video game projects, and that's a good thing
Video game projects may have found their stride in the crowdfunding world. According to ICO Partners, fewer games are being pitched on Kickstarter, but a greater percentage are reaching their goals. And the total amount raised by gaming campaigns is up year-over-year.
Instagram will support fundraisers using Story stickers
Facebook's fundraising tool has raised over $1 billion for non-profits and personal causes since its launch, and now it looks like a similar feature will be rolled out to Instagram later this year. As TechCrunch reports, engineers Jane Manchun Wong and Ishan Agarwal have been digging around in the code of Instagram's Android App and have found a donation sticker, which will let users search for non-profits and add a donate button to their Instagram Story.
Facebook fundraisers have raised over $1 billion
Facebook announced today that it's expanding its nonprofit fundraising tool to Canada and Australia, and it also shared that it recently reached a major fundraising milestone. Since it launched the tool that allows users to raise money for nonprofits and personal causes, over 20 million users have raised over $1 billion by starting or donating to a fundraiser. The company also said that over 1 million nonprofits across 19 countries are now eligible to receive donations through the tool.
YouTube makes it easier for non-profits to raise funds
YouTube has launched a handful of fundraising tools non-profits can use to collect donations from their kind-hearted followers. You'll now be able to catch glimpses of the beta version of the "YouTube Giving" suite on select non-profit channels, including Hope for Paws, an LA organization known for rescuing homeless and abused animals. Hope for Paws is using the new Fundraisers tool, in particular, which embeds a fundraising campaign with a visible Donate button right next to creators' videos and live broadcasts.
Facebook birthday fundraisers earned over $300 million for charity
A year ago, Facebook launched its birthday fundraiser feature through which users can celebrate their big day by raising money for a good cause. And it appears to be a pretty popular tool. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post yesterday that so far, Facebook users have raised over $300 million for over 750,000 nonprofits -- which include food banks, animal shelters and Alzheimer's research -- with the birthday fundraiser feature. "Thanks to everyone who has dedicated their birthday and to everyone who donated," Zuckerberg said.
Fundraiser to reunite immigrant families is largest in Facebook history
In the last six weeks, the Trump administration's strategy to separate children while criminally prosecuting parents for attempting to cross the southern US border illegally has led the government to take almost 2,000 youth from their families to camps and foster homes across the country. This has ignited a furor over the last week, and people have voted with their wallets. A Facebook fundraiser dedicated to reuniting these families is the largest in the social media platform's history and has raised $10.5 million to date since launching on June 16th.
Facebook adds donation matching to its fundraising tools
In 2016, Facebook began allowing its users to raise money for 501c3 nonprofits and it expanded that tool last year, giving users the option to create fundraisers for personal needs. Today, the company has announced a few changes to its fundraising platform. First, nonprofit fundraisers will now feature a donation match tool so that the individuals who create the fundraiser can pledge to match donations up to any amount between $5 and $2,500. Currently, this feature is only launching in the US, but it will expand internationally sometime soon.
Facebook's 'Crisis Response' provides info during a disaster
Last year, it was reported that Facebook was working on an always-ready crisis hub that would bring together its Safety Check feature with posts and videos relating to an ongoing emergency. Today, it announced that the tool is going live.
Facebook helps you celebrate birthdays with videos and fundraising
Whether you're a fan of Facebook's birthday-centric features or not, it's still pretty handy to know when your buddy's next celebration day is so you can mark the occasion. The social network keeps adding new ways to celebrate, with recap videos that extend your birthday another few days to simple text-based wish-sending. Facebook has just added two more ways to celebrate: fundraisers and personalized videos for your close friends.
Anyone in the US can use Facebook for personal fundraising
You no longer have to be part of a privileged few to try out Facebook's personal fundraising. The social network has just made its do-it-yourself donation campaigns available to every adult in the US. If you'd like help with a medical bill and don't mind Facebook taking a cut (6.9 percent plus 30 cents), a donation campaign is a quick hop away on your phone or the web.
The charity that wants video game karts in every hospital
In many ways, Jonathan Watson is like other 11-year-olds. He does his homework, dreams of becoming a doctor and plays video games when he can. Depending on the day, his favorite is either Minecraft or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Unlike most kids his age, though, Jonathan is at the hospital every three weeks for blood transfusions -- a procedure that can take up to six hours at a time. When I visited him at Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he wasn't slaying dragons or building a pixelated fortress; he was replaying the opening levels of Rayman Legends on a kart that had just been wheeled in. The kart was donated by a local Eagle Scout who raised funds through the Gamers Outreach Foundation (GO), a nationwide charity that puts medical-grade gaming equipment in hospitals around the country. The "GO Kart" Jonathan was using included everything needed to play video games: a modest Samsung television, an Xbox 360 (though any console will fit) and a pair of gamepads. The kit itself is hardly revolutionary, but anyone who's schlepped their gear to a LAN party can appreciate the simplicity of this rolling, self-contained setup. At Mott and 19 other hospitals around the country, they're the most popular "toy" available. And when you're a kid with a medical condition like Watson's, it's easy to see why.
Twitch Creative streamers to raise funds for kids in need
From July 21st to July 31st, you might come across some Twitch streams raising funds for non-profit org Save the Children. Twitch Creative, the streaming website's portal for artists, has invited broadcasters to take part in its #CreateForKids charity drive for children in need. Interested artists are encouraged to sign up for a campaign page where their viewers can donate, as well set up digital rewards for donors. They can also auction off one of their original pieces to raise additional funds for the drive.
Facebook's new tool will help you raise funds for charity orgs
It's now much easier to raise funds for your favorite causes and charity organizations on Facebook. The social network has begun rolling out a tool that'll enable you to create personal fundraisers for 501c3 nonprofits verified by the company, including The Nature Conservancy, Alzheimer's Association and Oxfam. Best thing about these campaigns is that they'll allow your friends to donate money within Facebook itself -- it won't send them to an external website.
MIT is raising $5 billion to make the world a better place
MIT's new fundraising initiative called "Campaign for a Better World" seeks to tackle some of humanity's (and our planet's) biggest challenges. Since that's no easy feat, its goal is just as lofty: $5 billion. The institute lists its various projects under the campaign's six priority areas. First is basic research, which includes studies on the aging brain, exoplanets and protein interaction. Second priority covers environmental research, such as the quest for sustainable consumption and viable climate change solutions.
Wikipedia fund gives the site a long-term future
Wikipedia just turned 15 years old, but you wouldn't know it from the nigh-on inescapable donation drives -- the crowdsourced encyclopedia often seems as if it's months away from extinction. The Wikimedia Foundation (its parent organization) may have a way to keep the site around for the long haul, however. It's launching the Wikimedia Endowment, a "perpetual" support fund for Wikipedia and other Foundation efforts. The goal is to raise $100 million over the next 10 years, or enough to both improve its independence and give it room to grow.
