Posted: 24 November 2020
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How to set up a Facebook fundraiser

Setting up a Facebook fundraiser is a simple and safe way to raise money. This guide will show you how to do it!

With social media fast becoming the main way to stay updated with each other, it’s no wonder Facebook fundraising has become a popular and easy way to raise money for the causes people care about the most! Whether you’re wanting to raise money for Prostate Cancer Research on your birthday, or whether you’re wanting to use Facebook as a tool to help you hit your fundraising target, setting up a Facebook fundraiser is a fantastic way for you to raise some money and spread the word about our research.

The benefits of a Facebook collection

Setting up a Facebook fundraiser is quick and simple, and using this method has so many benefits including:

All the donations made are received directly by Prostate Cancer Research, so you don’t have to worry about sending in any donations to us.
Facebook does not charge any fees on donations, so 100% of the donation is received by Prostate Cancer Research
You can easily track your target and see how close you are to smashing it!
Being on Facebook, it is super easy to share your fundraiser with friends and family, directly invite people to donate and write up different posts to let people know why you’re fundraising for us and to talk about the essential work that we do to help create a better future for anyone affected by prostate cancer.

How to set up a Facebook fundraiser in four simple steps

1. Log in to Facebook.

2. Follow this link to automatically connect your fundraiser to Prostate Cancer Research

3. This will then open a draft of your fundraiser. Here, you’ll be able to make any edits you want to the post. You can make any edits in the left-hand side tool bar where it says ‘edit’. On the right-hand side, you’ll be able to preview your edits and see what your post will look like on your friend’s newsfeeds! You can edit things like your fundraising target, the end date of your fundraiser and the title of your collection.

4. Click ‘create’ when you’ve finished making your edits – and there you have it!

Top tips

Consider these top tips when setting up your Facebook collection

Set a goal that will inspire your supporters to donate. You could base your target from our PCR Shopping List; for example, £250 could fund essential laboratory consumables (like test tubes, Blotting units, Power Supplies and Pipettes) for 6 months; the bread and butter of research.

Make your title short and snappy to get the attention of your supporters. If this is a birthday fundraiser, use the title to let people know – ie. ‘John’s birthday fundraiser for Prostate Cancer Research!’

This is the perfect chance to share why the work PCR does is important to you. We’ve written a short paragraph for you which will automatically appear when you make your fundraiser, but we think you should personalise it and tell your story – THAT is what your supporters are interested in and want to hear and support, so make sure you tell it!

Boosting your Facebook fundraiser

A few things you can do to boost the reach of your fundraiser and raise as much as possible.

Invite your friends: You can directly invite friends and family to donate to your fundraiser by sending them an invitation to donate. People who invite friends are four times more likely to reach their goal!

Share in your News Feed: Write a post to share in your newsfeed to let your friends know why PCR is important to you and why they should donate.

Donate to your own fundraiser: You can make a donation to your fundraiser to get the ball rolling. Other people are more likely to donate when they see that someone else has already contributed, and it helps to show your commitment to helping fund our vital research.

These are actions you can take in the time leading up to the end of your fundraiser, to keep momentum going and keep spreading the word!

If you have any questions or want help setting up your Facebook fundraiser, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Events Team. Amy or Josh will be more than happy to help you out however they can!

Set up your Facebook fundraiser Got questions? Get in touch!