On September 25^th Veronica Peñaloza Wolfermann, Facebook Account Manager for nonprofits spoke to a group of nonprofit professionals from Texas Grants Resource Center

Social Media is a great way to get the word out about the work of your nonprofit organization. Facebook offers so many options for nonprofits: from outreach to fundraising. On September 25^th, 2018 Veronica Peñaloza Wolfermann, Facebook Account Manager for nonprofits spoke to a group of nonprofit professionals from Texas Grants Resource Center about how best to use Facebook for the good of the community.

Here is a selection of some of the info, tips and hacks that Veronica described:

• There are currently 2 million nonprofit pages on Facebook
• 150 million people are connected to a nonprofit page on Facebook
• If a nonprofit wants to get verified with Facebook this is the link to start: facebook.com/donate/signup
• Also it would be wise for a nonprofit to be registered and up to date with GuideStar
• Facebook will be participating in a coordinated effort for #GivingTuesday (this year it is November 27^th)
• 100% of donations made through Facebook payments to nonprofits now go directly to those organizations
• Suggestion: if you have an influencer who supports your nonprofit, ask that influencer to add a ‘donate’ button to a Facebook live video
• Some nonprofits that use Facebook well (to look at for examples): St. Jude Children’s Research Hosptial, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Save the Children.
• If a nonprofit has a donate button on a Facebook live feed, there is 10 times more engagement than other “non video” donation posts.
• Nonprofits can set up mentorships if their page has a group
• When deciding what to post on your nonprofit’s page, always ask: “will this translate into donations, volunteers or other support?” If the subject is not aligned with the nonprofit’s mission, the post probably won’t help much (even if it gets a lot of likes).

Here is a link to some of the Facebook offerings that Veronica described. Here is a link to info about future Texas Grants Resource Center presentations.

Image: Erler