According to communications from Meta, the Facebook and Instagram parent company is moving their donation features from Network for Good to PayPal Giving Fund (PPGF) as of October 31, 2023. Here’s what’s happening and how it could affect your nonprofit.

• What is Meta doing with its Facebook fundraising tools?
• How are Meta and PayPal changing Facebook and Instagram fundraising?
• Actions to take and dates to pay attention to
• Updates to Meta Charitable Giving Tools by feature
• How Meta and PayPal's partnership will affect your nonprofit
• How Funraise can support you in switching to PayPal on Facebook

Quick answer: Meta is switching from Network for Good to PayPal Giving Fund to process their donations.

Which means... Meta, including Facebook and Instagram, will no longer process donations through its licensed payment entities (Meta Payments Inc. or Facebook Payments International Ltd) or other partners (e.g., Network for Good, which is now Bonterra). This change will affect both Instagram and Facebook Charitable Giving Tools such as the Fundraiser API, Charitable Giving API, fundraisers, and donation options, including recurring giving.

If you raise money through Facebook or Instagram, you probably got this email on August 30.

Due to upcoming changes to Meta's fundraising tools, there are actions you must take by October 31, 2023 at 5 PM PT to avoid disruptions to your fundraising tools.

We are partnering with PayPal Giving Fund (PPGF) to support donations benefiting nonprofits in the United States and will no longer support directly onboarded nonprofits through Meta Payments Inc. (Meta Payments), starting October 31, 2023. Separately, Meta will no longer be covering processing fees on donations.

Here's our opinion:

At first, we thought our response to this Meta + PayPal collab would be a pessimistic cautionary tale full of warnings and worries. As we researched, though, we couldn't keep it up. We kept seeing ways that this change would kind of, maybe, possibly be good for people we care about.

But how could this be a net positive? Well, first, it's just a backend change. Once you make a few updates, it shouldn't change your everyday process very much. And it might even be easier for your donors.

Second, while Meta won't be covering third-party payment processing fees, they're jumping on the "donors pay the fees" option that we're seeing all over the nonproftsphere. Which means that even more of your fees may be covered and also that we're normalizing donors covering fees.

Third, recurring donors through Meta will be a thing of the past (at least for the present.) That opens a bright, shiny door for your nonprofit to take your recurring program in-house.

Finally, this is PPGF's wheelhouse! Let's give them some grace and see what they can deliver that Meta couldn't. We've already got a head start with the fact that PPGF is the default payment processor for Meta in other countries. It's not the big unknown that it may seem.

So, TL;DR: Overall, Funraise has high hopes that Meta's marriage with PPGF will be a good thing for the nonprofitsphere and the generosity movement.

What is the PayPal Giving Fund?

PayPal Giving Fund (PPGF) is a charitable arm of PayPal that receives and processes donations through eBay, GoFundMe, Nextdoor, and now Facebook and Instagram to thousands of nonprofits globally. 

PayPal is one of the world's most commonly used online payment systems—more than 173 million people use PayPal across 200+ countries with dozens of different currencies, so it's likely that potential donors will feel safer than ever giving through social media platforms.

And the Meta-PPGF partnership isn't new; for charities in other countries, including Canada and Australia, PayPal Giving Fund is the current payment processor for Facebook Charitable Giving Tools, so we're not walking blind into something untested. 

What's happening with Network for Good and Facebook Fundraising Tools?

If you were getting your payouts from Network for Good, you should know that they were bought by Bonterra, which also owns Salsa Labs, EveryAction, GiveGab, and others. This is just the latest indicator that Network for Good will be sunset sooner than later—and another reason it's more important that Network for Good customers move to Funraise with a quickness.

Meta is streamlining extraneous projects so that they can focus on the larger metaverse and high-value endeavors like short-form video and AI.

The good news is that for most charitable organizations, Facebook and Instagram social fundraising practices using Meta Charitable Giving Tools will stay mainly the same; it's just the backend payment processing for donations on Facebook and Instagram that will change. Meaning... you got this!

Straight from Meta, here are the changes to make and dates to do 'em by.

Steps to take to keep on Facebook fundraising

You probably already received the above-referenced email from Meta with a link to review and accept the new terms. If not, try looking in your Nonprofit Manager. Once your nonprofit is onboarded with PayPal Giving Fund it should be easy to just start receiving payouts from PPGF instead of Meta or Network for Good. 

Time is of the essence, though; start the review and changeover process as soon as possible to so you don't lose access to the fundraising and donation tools you rely on and your jam up your ability to collect donations on Facebook and Instagram—some of your Meta fundraising tools (donation buttons on posts, Facebook and Instagram fundraisers) will only support campaigns built after you make the switch. Don't stress; we've got all the details below.

While you're making these changes, keep in mind that you might encounter some Facebook challenges: data reporting, incorrect fee charges, donation buttons or fundraisers disabled unexpectedly. Keep your eyes peeled for updates from Meta, engage your IT and Support teams, and just be ready to be surprised.

Lucky for Canadian, Irish, and Australian charities, we came across this nugget:

It's important to note that if your nonprofit is based in Australia or Canada, the changes you and your donors encounter will be minimal as PayPal Giving Fund is already the payment processor for Facebook Charitable Giving Tools in these countries. Ireland will also not be affected by this switch.

Claiming outstanding funds

Meta's current guidance has no timeline for claiming outstanding funds, but we say this is not the time and you are not the one to let money linger instead of making the difference the donor intended—especially when it's being held by a kajillion-dollar corporate behemoth. Get your goods, friend!

If you've got outstanding funds being held, it can be a headache to get them released. So gather your patience, start early, and follow up often. Start by having your already-approved financial admin check the current payout method in the Payouts section under settings, and if that doesn't do the trick, submit the Payouts contact form and cross your fingers.

Dates to keep in mind

• September 14, 2023: September 14 is the last day donors can start a new recurring donation or create a recurring campaign. Existing recurring donations will continue through October 31 and be distributed by Meta Payments. 
• October 31, 2023, 5PM PT: Any payments received via Meta Charitable Giving Tools to nonprofits that have moved to PayPal Giving Fund will be processed by PayPal Giving Fund. 
• After October 31, 2023, 5PM PT: Any nonprofit not switched to PayPal Giving Fund by this date will have their Meta fundraising tools disabled.

What happens if I don't make the switch to PayPal Giving Fund?

Effectively, you won't be able to raise money on Facebook or Instagram. Specifically, your Facebook and Instagram donate buttons won't work. Your Facebook and Instagram fundraisers will be disabled. That's all she wrote.

Except for recurring revenue for nonprofits, this is mostly good news. Read on!

Donation processing fees

This has the potential to be a biggie—but maybe not the way you think. Yep, Meta's no longer covering third-party payment processing fees, but...

But... they're giving the donor the option to cover the processing fee. And while Meta may not have the 90% opt-in rate that Funraise's Donors Cover Fees model does, with the way that we're all waking up to the hidden costs of... everything, donors covering fees is becoming a new normal.

According to both Meta and PayPal, for donations in the United States, the payment processing fee structure is 1.99% + $0.49.

Donation receipts

Within Facebook and Instagram fundraising tools, donations will still be treated as orders, with donors able to view donation confirmations in Meta properties. The official donation receipt that donors will need for tax purposes will now be sent to donors from PayPal Giving Fund. 

Facebook Donation Ads

Organizations will still be able to bring in online donations through On-Facebook Donation Ads through ads set up after the organization makes the move to PPGF. All On-Facebook Donation Ads that you set up before your nonprofit makes the switch will be disabled on October 31, 2023. Meta's guidance here is as follows:

Once nonprofits switch to PPGF, they should set up new On-Facebook Donation Ads to avoid disruption.

Reporting API

While we're not 100% on what's gonna happen here, we hear through the grapevine that Meta will maintain the API but change up the sent and received fields, so keep a lookout for those updates and adjust accordingly on your end.

Transaction reports

PPGF will send enrolled nonprofits a donation activity report and Meta will send a transaction report, but the transaction report will be limited and will not include tax documentation.

Donation buttons

• On Facebook pages and Instagram profiles, the change will be seamless once you enroll with PPGF. Donors give, you get the payout from PPGF.
• Donation buttons on Instagram social media posts will work as usual once you make the switch. Donation buttons on Facebook posts, however, are a bit different: As of October 31, 2023, donation buttons on posts that were created before you switched to PPGF will be disabled. So make that switch ASAP.

Recurring donors

Once the switch to PPGF is made, recurring using Facebook & Instagram fundraising tools will be put on the backburner. Meta Charitable Giving Tools is disabling all recurring payments on October 31 and is being tight-lipped about the future of recurring on their properties. 

What this means is that there's more need than ever for your web-based recurring subscription program to draw donors in. Funraise has your back with the best donation forms, made to prioritize recurring monthly gifts—to the tune of 52% recurring growth year-over-year, which is what Funraise nonprofit organizations see on average.

Instagram and Facebook fundraisers for nonprofits

Another easy-peasy switch—mostly. On the front end, not much is changing with peer-to-peer fundraisers (aka birthday fundraising). There is one wrinkle, however: fundraisers started before you switch to PPGF will be disabled on October 31, 2023. So if you have ongoing campaigns, this may be the moment to check into 'em, clean 'em up, and set brand new fundraising goals.

This applies to the birthday fundraisers, personal fundraisers, peer fundraising, special occasion fundraisers, and all those other fundraising campaigns that basically have your supporters reaching out to their personal networks and social networks to send their birthday gifts to your nonprofit.

May we suggest hooking up your Facebook and Instagram campaigns to Funraise? An amazing giving experience, AI-assisted pre-written appeals, and an all-in-one CRM + fundraising platform.

1. Payment Processing Fee Structure. 

2. Recurring giving.

3. Donation data? (We're trying to manifest this one.)

1. Payment Processing Fee Structure

Meta used to cover all payment processing fees; no more. As we noted earlier, for donations in the United States, the payment processing fee structure is 1.99% + $0.49, but Meta Charitable Giving Tools is implementing a feature that allows donors to cover the fees.

Depending on your fundraising strategy, you may see a change in the revenue for your nonprofit, but a great story will encourage donors to cover the payment processing fees. Overall, we're hopeful that this will have a net positive impact on the nonprofitsphere and giving in general.

2. Monthly Giving Programs

This is the perfect opportunity to bring your monthly giving program in house because Meta's fundraising tools will only offer the option for one-time donations. 

Ultimately, taking control of your entire recurring portfolio is probably a good thing: when you've got it all under one roof, it's easier to engage directly with your recurring supporters, deliver content, swag, and impact reporting that they're interested in, and build strategies based on a full accounting of the depth and breadth of your predictable income program.

3. Donation data

PayPal Giving Fund prides itself on the donor and donation data it provides to nonprofits. Since Meta's delivered donor and donation data is known to be extremely limited, we can squint our eyes and believe that this new partnership will result in more info for fundraisers to work with. Here's hoping!

To the moon and back, same as always!

Regarding our Facebook and Instagram integrations: Funraise's team is working with Meta to ensure a smooth transition behind the scenes. This is what our dear developers are experts at—so let us worry about the small stuff, and we'll keep you in the loop when we get any additional information. In fact, here's what our team said when asked: "This update will not impact Funraise's integration with Facebook. Funraise's integration will continue to function as expected without any steps required on your end."

Don't forget, on average, fundraisers on Funraise raise $1220, 2x the amount of top P2P programs—and fundraisers who use our Facebook integration raise 83% more! So we can handle this one.

Regarding recurring: It's time you leveled up your subscription game; this is just the push you need to take your recurring program to new heights. 

Regarding support: You got it in spades! Funraise has won awards for our strong, dedicated support team. Just reach out and you'll get a human response. 

You can find more information on Meta's partnership with PayPal Giving Fund on the Facebook Help Center. Good luck!