You won’t believe how much charities have earned through Facebook’s birthday fundraisers

You’ve probably seen this on your Facebook feed: friends asking for donations to support a cause in particular to celebrate their birthday. These charities might help alleviate child hunger, illnesses, or another cause near and dear to your friend. And while you’ve likely come across these on your feed, you probably don’t yet know just how effective these campaigns are.

Facebook claims its birthday fundraisers feature raised $300M in its first year

Impressive donations

Interestingly, these campaigns have been quite beneficial to the charities they support. In its first year, Facebook’s birthday fundraisers feature raised a whopping $300 million. That’s a lot of goodwill!

Another important note about these fundraisers is that since November 2017, Facebook waived the fees on these donations. That means all the proceeds go to the nonprofits, which almost makes up for the Cambridge Analytica thing.

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Popular causes

You may be wondering what charities were the most popular for these campaigns. Some of the top beneficiaries include St. Jude’s, the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Cancer Society, Share Our Strength – No Kid Hungry, and the ASPCA. All of these are noble causes worthy of a birthday bump.

How to get involved

How does this feature work? Users receive a notification about two weeks before their birthday asking them if they’d like to invite friends to donate. At that point, the Facebook user gets to choose a charity that they want to support. As their big day draws nearer, they can promote their cause and solicit donations from friends, setting a particular goal they’re looking to reach for the charity.

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Celebrities have even participated in this socially responsible social media feature. For instance, Stephen Curry celebrated his 30th birthday on the platform by raising an astounding $82,512 for the charity, Nothing But Nets, which works to combat childhood malaria.

All in all, this is a fabulous feature that Facebook is only working to grow and refine. Consider using it on your next birthday to support a great cause, just as thousands of others have done.