With nearly 3.3 billion active Facebook users, this platform is a primary source for information for people all over the globe. Facebook users expect to not just keep up with their friends, but their favorite organizations through their Facebook News Feed. Nonprofits can use this communications vehicle to share more information about their organization and their issues in timely ways by setting up a Facebook page for the organization.
Creating a Facebook Page
Find a step-by-step guide for creating a nonprofit page here.
In order to create a Facebook page for your nonprofit, you will need to have a personal Facebook account. Once the nonprofit page is set up, you can access it by logging into your personal account and navigating to the nonprofit page. You can toggle between viewing Facebook as yourself and as your nonprofit’s representative by clicking on your profile picture in the top-right corner of the page and switching your view.
Multiple staff members can have access to the account–either full or partial access. We recommend that at least two staff members have access to the account.
For consistent branding, make sure your Facebook url matches your nonprofit’s name or website.
Fundraising Through Facebook
Facebook offers the option of fundraising through their platform. This may or may not make sense for your organization depending on your Facebook audience and your fundraising goals. In order to start fundraising, you first need to apply. After the application is accepted, you’ll have the option to add a ‘donate’ button to your page, as well as to your posts.
Learn more here.
Facebook Advertising
Facebook advertising can be an effective use of marketing dollars for nonprofits. According to Nonprofit Tech for Good, 53% of nonprofits utilize Facebook ads. You can either create your own ad, or ‘boost’ content that you’ve already posted. From there you can define your audience and set a budget for the ad.