Social Media—it is how you stay connected with family and friends, follow the latest trends and news, and watch all those cat videos. It is also where you can make a difference by giving back. As our online social media communities have become as active as our communities in real life, social media provides an ideal opportunity to amplify the causes we believe in.
Our cause is providing life-saving care ForHearts in need. You can support our work and encourage others to give through social media fundraising. How and where you are able to give back all depends on your social network and the channel(s) you are most active on. Here is a look at some of the most popular, and easiest, ways to start fundraising on social media.
Host a Facebook Fundraiser
The original social network, Facebook is also the biggest, with 2.9 billion monthly active users. From Friends to Groups, we are connecting with our (real life) friends, family, and even strangers through common interests. When that common interest is making a difference for a common cause, hosting a Facebook Fundraiser can be another way to connect with others while raising money for an organization you are passionate about.
You can set up a Facebook Fundraiser in honor of a loved one, as an alternative way to celebrate your birthday or anniversary, or even as a monthly event that makes giving back second nature.
Create a Facebook Fundraiser in four easy steps in your Facebook app:
- Go to “Fundraisers”
- Select “Raise Money”
- Choose “Nonprofit” and type in ForHearts Worldwide
- Hit “Create” and your fundraiser is live!
You can follow the steps here. When your Facebook Fundraiser is ForHearts in need, be sure you’re following ForHearts Worldwide on Facebook and tag us in your fundraiser posts.
Use Your Influence for Good on Instagram
Along with Facebook, Instagram is part of the Meta universe and also a billion-user platform, with 2 billion monthly active users. Instagram is arguably the platform where individual users can have the greatest sway over cultural trends, politics, and philanthropy, “influencing” their followers into action. Even if you do not have 10,000+ followers hanging on your every post and Reel, you can still use your Instagram influence for good.
Similar to a Facebook Fundraiser, you can create a fundraiser on Instagram for your favorite nonprofit organization and host it for up to 30 days. It is great for celebrating your birthday month, or to promote a nonprofit during an awareness month, such as a fundraiser for ForHearts during American Heart Month.
Start your Instagram Fundraiser from an Instagram post—an image or graphic that announces your fundraiser. After creating or choosing your image for the post, follow these steps:
- Tap “Add fundraiser.”
- Choose ForHearts Worldwide as the nonprofit you want to fundraise for from the “Fundraiser Details” page.
- Enter the details for your fundraiser (description, fundraising goal)
- Tap “Done.”
Your fundraiser will be visible in the post and you will have a link to it in your bio. You can also create donation stickers for your fundraiser to add to your Instagram Stories and Lives, so anyone who sees your story or watches your live video can tap the sticker to donate.
Love sharing video content with Instagram Reels? You can add your fundraiser to your Reels as well. Just tap “Add fundraiser” under the image after you create and caption your Reel.
Be sure you are following @forheartsworldwide on Instagram to tag us in your fundraiser posts.
TikTok Taught Me to Give
The newest kid on the social media block has quickly become the fastest growing and the most talked about. TikTok exploded during the pandemic, as people stuck at home during lockdown flocked to the platform to post and watch videos. In just five years, TikTok has reached 1 billion active users and more than 3 billion downloads.
And every one of these users can display their favorite nonprofit on their profile, with a link to donate to the organization they support. To add a nonprofit to your TikTok profile, just go to “edit profile” and choose the organization you’d like to add from the nonprofit section. The link to donate to your chosen nonprofit will then be displayed on your profile. Unlike Facebook or Instagram fundraisers that are set for a limited time, the nonprofit link to donate stays on your TikTok user profile for as long as you want.
Your nonprofit of choice can also be part of your TikTok content when you add a donation sticker to your videos or live streams. Here’s how:
- Choose your video content (Create, Post, or Go LIVE)
- Add a donation sticker from the sticker options
- Choose the organization you’d like to support
- Place the sticker on your video
- Add your caption and post, or continue live streaming
Adding the donation sticker to your videos is a great way to integrate a relevant cause into your content and can make fundraising for you chosen nonprofit part of your creator persona.
Are you a burgeoning foodie sharing video recipes? A ForHearts donation sticker could be the perfect fit for that video of your heart-healthy recipe. Going live with your cardio challenge? Challenge others to give ForHearts in need with a donation sticker.
Live Streaming for Charity
While TikTok has become the hot platform for social media video content, it is one of several that allows you to stream live video. Promoting a social fundraiser with your posts or making a nonprofit part of your social media profile are great ways to keep your cause in your connections’ feeds. But live streaming allows for immediate engagement where you can encourage your viewers to give in the moment.
Charity streams started with the online gaming community, where gamers with large followings on platforms like Twitch or YouTube will play for a nonprofit, with a live audience cheering them on. With every level, milestone, or win achieved, their audience is prompted to donate to the charity through on-screen pop-ups and verbal shout-outs from the gamers.
But you do not have to be a gamer or “professional” streamer to live stream for charity. You can go live on any platform to raise money for a cause. Go live on Facebook to promote and rally people around your Facebook Fundraiser. Set it up as an “Event” and invite your Facebook Friends to attend.
Similarly, you can host an Instagram Live around your fundraiser on that platform, making sure your donation sticker is up throughout your live broadcast. Be sure to promote your Live in posts ahead of time to gather the largest viewing audience for the greatest impact.
Ready to get social with your fundraising? Connect with us across our social channels and support life-saving care ForHearts in need.