Trudy Technology

Dear Trudy Technology,

I have been using Facebook for a few months now and I enjoy using it to keep up with my kids, grandkids, and friends. I recently saw a friend do a fundraiser for her birthday using her Facebook page. I thought it was so neat and would love to do something similar for my birthday, which is coming up soon. How do I do this? Is this a secure way for people to make donations to a nonprofit of my choosing? Do you have any other tips?

Sincerely,

Fundraising in Freeland

Dear Fundraising,

What a fantastic question! Facebook fundraisers are a great way to support your favorite nonprofit organization. Facebook doesn’t take any fees and it doesn’t cost anything for nonprofits to be listed. You can host one at any time but doing a fundraiser for your birthday is the most popular timing, requesting donations for the nonprofit you choose in lieu of gifts from your Facebook friends.

Visit www.facebook.com/fundraisers/explore to get started. It’s important to know the legal name of the nonprofit organization you would like to support. For example, Island Senior Resources’ legal name is “Senior Services of Island County DBA Island Senior Resources.” Then you’ll choose the amount you hope to raise and share the fundraiser to your page, telling your friends why the nonprofit you’ve chosen deserves their support. Post a few times to reach the most people and don’t forget to thank those who donate! Facebook will take care of the processing and send the money to the nonprofit for you.

The folks at Facebook understand that not everything about their interface is intuitive, so they offer tons of help and advice for users at www.facebook.com/help if you have other questions. Good luck with your fundraiser!

Hope this helps!

Trudy

If you have questions for Trudy Technology, send them to feedback@islandseniorservices.org.