Facebook stopping its fundraising pages is a big blow for Donegal charities

Facebook birthday fundraisers or individual pages set up by people participating in nationwide fundraising events are disappearing from our newsfeeds.

And leading Donegal animal rescue charity Animals in Need Donegal has expressed shock and concern about the impact of this decision.

A spokesperson said: “Facebook has sadly made the shocking decision to stop charity fundraising, which means there'll be no more birthday fundraisers or links for easy donations under posts, which is yet another blow for Irish charities.”

Like so much else in society, fundraising has changed significantly from the days of going house to house selling raffle tickets or holding flag days. The move to online fundraising was expedited by necessity during Covid-19. Platforms such as Facebook’s birthday fundraisers offering a choice of local, national and international charities helped many charities to stay afloat and continue their work during those particularly difficult few years. 

This has now become the most mainstream form of fundraising, and its sudden halt is expected to hit charities hard. 

Animals in Need has joined CharityApp and is encouraging its supporters to share details.

The spokesperson said: “We are excited to announce that we have a new fundraising page with @Charityapp where anyone can make an easy  donation!

“Click here to see all about it and donate: ttps://www.donors.ie/campaign/65/animals-in-need-donegal

“The link can be copied for private fundraisers, like birthday fundraisers.”

Animals in Need is run entirely by volunteers.