Meta-owned Instagram is now adding the ability for users to create and donate to fundraisers directly from Instagram Reels. The feature that supports fundraisers was announced alongside a series of updates across Meta’s platform and services developed to celebrate Earth Day, including custom stickers for Instagram and Messenger, profile frames for Facebook, conservation-focused experiences for VR, and more.
Instagram Reels Will Support Donations to Over 1.5 Million Nonprofits
Fundraising on Instagram Reels is now available in more than 30 nations worldwide, the company notes and will support donations to more than 1.5 million nonprofits. Already, some high-profile users — including Dave Burd (Lil Dicky), Maggie Baird, and Zyahna Bryant — have used the feature to fundraise for environmental causes. While Meta takes a fee on transactions from private fundraisers, it covers the transaction processing fees for contributions to charitable associations, so they’ll receive the full amount of the user’s contribution.
Furthermore, the update follows Instagram’s launch of fundraising support for livestreams in 2020, as well as the rollout of a personal fundraiser feature that same year. In October, Instagram stated that it would start testing a new way for users to create fundraisers for nonprofits by including an option to initiate the fundraiser directly from the creation button. When this button is tapped, users would see the option to add a fundraiser to a Feed post, instead of just a livestream, as before.
The New Features Supporting Fundraisers Can Bring in Generous Amounts of Donations
The company states that over 4 million people have donated over $150 million through Facebook and Instagram fundraisers to fight climate change and support environmental protection. Typically, Instagram users’ donations clock in at less than $20, but these small figures add up. So far, the most famous nonprofits on Instagram, based on the number of donors, for environmental causes include The Ocean Cleanup, World Wildlife Fund, and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
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