You may have seen people donate to causes using Face-book Fundraisers or Go-FundMe. These tools help individuals give to nonprofits, charities, and natural disaster relief. These sites allow friends and relatives to support a cause even when they can’t make it to the bake sale or canned food drive. They offer an opportunity to be a philanthropist on behalf of our communities. Facebook Fundraisers is getting a few upgrades to make it better than before. Charity organizers can pledge to match donations made by their friends and family. The organizers choose the amount they would like to match donations from $5 to $2,500. The website will automatically make the donation on your behalf when the fundraiser has closed. This is something we often see in the real world but don’t in cyber space. There are also new categories for personal fundraising. You could once raise money for everything from personal projects to mission trips. Medical expenses and memorial fund-raisers had to raise money through Go-FundMe. Now Facebook users can raise money for sports/competitions, community projects/ groups, education, medical, pets/animals, personal emergency, crisis relief, and memorial/loss causes. What is perhaps most exciting is the removal of platform fees. Facebook Fundraisers will not charge to use it. Payment processing fees and taxes still apply, but fee-free fundraising is a big deal for nonprofits and families in crisis.

Have a tech question? Email me at katie. lexchron@gmail.com