How to donate your birthday with a Facebook birthday fundraiser- WAVS

Your birthday can change lives!

This year, you can choose to unleash generosity by hosting a Facebook birthday fundraiser! Celebrate your big day by asking your friends and family to donate to an your favorite nonprofit in lieu of receiving gifts. Because Facebook does not charge any donation fees – 100% of what your friends and family donate will go directly to the cause and organization you have selected as the recipient of your fundraiser. Here’s how to set up a Facebook birthday fundraiser.

I Want to Donate My Birthday!

Step 1

Use link to generate fundraiser

Two weeks before your birthday, Facebook will send you a notification asking if you want to set up a fundraiser. Clicking this notification will generate a birthday fundraiser.

If you don’t receive the notification or you want to get a head start, you can click here to generate a birthday fundraiser.

Step 2

Choose which nonprofit you want to support

Click “Select nonprofit” or “Edit nonprofit” and search for the organization you’re interested in supporting. Most nonprofits are eligible as Facebook birthday fundraiser recipients.

After you select your nonprofit, images and information about the nonprofit should automatically populate for you.

Not sure who you want to support? Check out these fundraisers currently running for inspiration!

Current Fundraisers

Step 3

Customize your fundraiser

Set a goal

Research your organization and see if there is a specific need that you could contribute to – donors prefer to rally around a specific need rather than a vague fund. For example, WAVS supporters might set a goal of raising $120 to cover the tuition costs for a WAVS student to attend a 3 month skills course.

Select the date range

For best results, start your fundraiser a week before your birthday and schedule it to end 3 days after your birthday. You can extend your fundraiser for several more days if you still haven’t reached your goal near the end of the fundraiser.

Afraid you’ll forget to start a birthday fundraiser? We can help!

Remind me to start a fundraiser!

Name the fundraiser

Include the purpose of your fundraiser in the title – help your followers know what they’re supporting right from the beginning.

Share the “why” behind your fundraiser

In the “about” section – share why it is you’re supporting the organization you’ve chosen. Here are some examples of what information to include:

how you first got involved
why you are passionate about the work the nonprofit does
a story about how you relate to the purpose of the organization

Step 4

Share your birthday fundraiser to your page

Click the “share” button to make sure your friends and family see your birthday fundraiser! Share it to your page so that it will show on people’s timeline.