GoFundMe has been the source of both comedy and genuine charity during its relatively short existence on the internet. And all that good hasn’t gone unnoticed. Now, Facebook is getting into the personal fundraising game.
Announced by the company today, Facebook isn’t going to allow a free-for-all. For the moment, personal fundraisers are limited to medical expenses, pet costs, education, personal emergency, funeral, and crisis relief. Donating is as simple as clicking a few buttons, and, uh, giving Facebook your credit card information, which may throw people off a bit considering its privacy record. The idea behind this new form of personal fundraiser is that by being able to look at Facebook profiles, you’ll be able to verify that you’re giving money to a human being, not an Estonian scammer (although you’ll still have to trust that donation will be put to good use). Pages will be able to set up fundraisers as well.
If you’re wondering what Facebook gets out of this, every fundraiser has 3% skimmed off the top to cover payment processing and another 2% taken for “nonprofit vetting, fraud protection, and payment support.” That’s about in line with what GoFundMe collects, and also in step with what other payment companies charge charities and non-governmental groups to run cards. Although to be fair, Facebook has a market cap of $400 billion as we write this, so maybe sacrifice a pool table for the puppies, guys.
(Via The Verge)