Instagram begins testing ‘Personal Fundraiser’ feature

San Francisco, July 21 (IANS) Facebook on Tuesday announced a new tool on Instagram that will help users raise funds for a personal cause, to start a small business or help a friend.

People can already raise money for personal causes on Facebook and this feature is now being rolled out to Instagram.

“We’ll begin with a small test to create a Personal Fundraiser in the US, the UK and Ireland. If you live in a country where you can donate to a fundraiser through our donation sticker, you are also eligible to donate to a Personal Fundraiser,” Facebook said in a statement.

Since January, people have raised more than $65 million for COVID-19 and racial justice fundraisers globally across Instagram and Facebook.

In the last 30 days, donations on Instagram have doubled in the US.

To create a Personal Fundraiser, tap Edit Profile, add Fundraiser and then Raise Money.

“Choose a photo, select a fundraiser category and add details to help tell your story and encourage others to donate,” said Facebook.

After this, the user will enter the information for Stripe, the payment processor for donations.

“When you’re finished, you’ll tap Send to submit your fundraiser for review. All fundraisers go through a review process to make sure they are for eligible causes. Once approved, you can start raising money,” informed Facebook.

Each fundraiser lasts 30 days, but can be extended as many times as you want and you must be at least 18 years old to create a fundraiser, said the company.

When people donate to your fundraiser, they can choose to keep their information hidden from the public, but you will be able to see their username, name on their profile and donation amount.

–IANS

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