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A Missed Opportunity for Facebook Causes?

By Scott Stadum.


Photo from Beth Kanter via Creative Commons About a month ago, the effectiveness of Facebook Causes was the focus of bloggers and journalists alike. Of the 179,000 nonprofits registered with Causes, only a tiny fraction raised anywhere near $1,000 and the median gift through the Facebook application is about $25 – while through traditional means, it's $50.

Of course there is no "magic bullet" for online fundraising and there are a number of reasons people are hesitant to give. From donor fatigue to organizational transparency issues to feelings of general disengagement, raising money online isn't so simple.

I agree that a lot more could be done to promote online giving. For example, Facebook could provide a micropayment system to help supporters evenly distribute donations to their favorite causes. Causes could provide nonprofits with the tools necessary to report the numbers behind donations so supporters could gauge the effectiveness of their donations.

But maybe donations aren't really the problem with Facebook Causes.

As much as I wish I could, I'll never have enough money to give to all the causes I care about. What I do have is time and a number of skill sets that a nonprofit might need. Facebook might have better luck providing tools that would allow nonprofits to post related volunteer opportunities and social actions.

Donating to your favorite Cause doesn't bring about the same feeling as being a part of a movement. It doesn't instill the same sense of "ownership," which means the Cause misses out on the chance to build a loyal group of followers and friends. I care about the work of Ashoka and promote corporate responsibility, but if I wanted to do more than send in $25, what are my options?

Where should Facebook start? Integrating a tool to list volunteer opportunities would be useful but starting smaller—perhaps by integrating Social Actions listings into each Cause to show related opportunities and actions—might be more realistic.