Introducing a New Way to Fundraise for Personal Causes

Update: This feature is no longer available.

Starting today, we’re rolling out a new way to raise money for a personal cause, like yourself, your small business, a friend or a cause that’s important to you. We’ll begin with a small test to create a Personal Fundraiser in the US, UK and Ireland on Android, followed by iOS. 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 on Android starting today.

Since January, people have raised more than $US 100 million for COVID-19 fundraisers globally across Instagram and Facebook. In the last 30 days, donations on Instagram have doubled in the US. We’ve also seen a large wave of digital activism responding to the global conversation around racial justice. From people raising money to buy medical equipment for Black Lives Matter protesters, rebuilding Black-owned small businesses affected by COVID-19 and funding educational resources related to racial justice, people are eager to mobilize around causes they care about. Now, we’re making it easier to create fundraisers directly on Instagram that benefit such personal causes.

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. You will need to enter your information for Stripe, our payment processor for donations. Tap “Send” for review. All fundraisers go through a review process to make sure they are for eligible causes. Once approved, you’re ready to start raising money. Each fundraiser lasts 30 days and can be extended more than once for 30 more days. You must be at least 18 years old to create a fundraiser.

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. After your fundraiser concludes, the funds go to your designated bank account. To learn more about receiving payments from your Personal Fundraiser, view our Help Center.

In the coming months, we will expand Personal Fundraisers within the US, UK and Ireland and make it easier to share your fundraiser in Feed and Stories. We’re continuing to look at new ways to help our community raise money for both charitable and personal causes in times of need. We’ll have more to share soon.