How to Run Facebook Ads for Nonprofits

Only 3% of charitable giving happens through social media platforms, even though billions of users log in every day (Hootsuite, 2024). That gap represents an incredible opportunity for nonprofits to expand their donor base, amplify their cause, and convert everyday scrolling into real-world impact.

Whether you're hosting a fundraising event, launching a donation campaign, or simply trying to reach a wider audience, Facebook Ads can help you turn passive followers into active supporters.

But running donation ads effectively requires more than just boosting a post. You need a strategy that aligns with your donation goal, speaks directly to your target audience, and makes the donation process as easy as clicking a button.

Here’s what we’ll walk you through:

• How to match your message with the right types of ads

• How to create visual content that actually performs

• How to maximize your return on investment, even with a tight advertising budget

• And how to use AI tools like Averi to scale faster and smarter
  
  
  

These are the key elements to ensure your nonprofit fundraising campaigns deliver meaningful results across the world’s most active social media platform:

• Every dollar should drive action
  With the right campaign setup, even a small daily budget can generate a measurable boost in donations. Facebook’s targeting tools help you reach potential donors who actually care.
  
  
  

• Valuable content builds trust
  People don’t give to faceless brands. They give to people, missions, and movements. Your advertising campaign should tell a story that resonates and inspire future supporters to act.
  
  
  

• Consistency drives conversion
  From your cover photo to your donation posts, everything should work together to reflect your mission, voice, and brand values. Repetition equals recognition.
  
  
  

• Mobile-first is a must
  More than 98% of Facebook’s active users access the platform via mobile devices. If your donation settings, ad creative, or post content aren’t optimized for mobile, you’re leaving impact on the table.
  
  
  

In this blog, we’ll break down the steps you need to run effective Facebook ads that reach a larger audience, spark real engagement, and bring your fundraising efforts to life.

Why Nonprofits Have a Different Playbook for Facebook Ads

Running Facebook Ads for a nonprofit isn’t the same as promoting a product or service. You’re not selling sneakers or subscriptions, you’re inspiring people to care, give, and take action in support of something bigger than themselves.

That means your marketing strategy needs to be mission-driven, emotionally compelling, and crystal clear about the impact a donation can make.

You’re not just promoting an event or raising awareness. You’re rallying future supporters around your cause and giving them the tools to turn interest into impact.

Here’s what makes nonprofit advertising on Facebook unique:

You’re selling purpose, not product.
You need to spark an emotional connection, not just highlight features. Visual content that showcases real people and real outcomes consistently outperforms polished stock imagery.

Your budget is often tight.
Unlike traditional brands, most nonprofits don’t have massive advertising budgets. That means your daily budget must be used strategically, with an eye on conversion rate, post content performance, and cost per donation.

The goal is deeper engagement, not just clicks.
You’re not after vanity metrics. You’re building relationships with potential supporters who can become recurring donors, volunteers, or advocates. That requires nurturing, not just boosting.

Donor trust is everything.
People want to know how their donation will be used. Your fundraising ads should be transparent, showing how each gift brings you closer to your donation goal and why their support is crucial right now.

Every campaign is an opportunity to educate.
Use your ads to spotlight the issue, your impact, and how someone can help. Donation posts that inform and inspire often outperform pure asks.

Step 1: Set a Clear Goal for Your Advertising Campaign

Different goals require different strategies, so know exactly what success looks like before you spend a dollar.

Before you dive into Ads Manager, you need to define what you’re actually trying to achieve. Are you aiming for a boost in donations? Promoting a specific fundraising event? Growing your donor base for long-term impact?

Each goal maps to a different campaign objective within Facebook’s ad system, and aligning these early is crucial to making your fundraising campaigns successful.

Here are a few common nonprofit goals and how they match with Facebook’s campaign types:

• Raise donations: Choose the Conversions objective and direct users to a streamlined donation process on your site.

• Promote a fundraising event: Use Event Responses or Traffic to increase signups or ticket sales.

• Grow awareness: Select the Reach or Engagement objective to get your message in front of a larger audience.

• Increase followers or newsletter signups: Try the Lead Generation or Page Likes objective to build your future supporter base.
  
  
  

Each of these paths uses Facebook’s algorithm differently, so picking the right one ensures your advertising budget is spent efficiently and moves you closer to your donation goal.

Step 2: Know Your Target Audience

The more specific your targeting, the more meaningful your results.

Facebook gives nonprofits a powerful advantage: access to a vast audience of potential donors. But more reach doesn’t always mean better performance, especially if your ads aren’t reaching the people most likely to care about your cause.

Start by defining who your ideal supporters are. Ask yourself:

• Are they young professionals or retirees?

• Do they live locally or support global causes?

• Have they donated before, or are they brand new to your mission?

Once you know who you're trying to reach, use Facebook’s audience-building tools to narrow your focus:

• Custom Audiences: Upload your existing donor list or email newsletter subscribers.

• Lookalike Audiences: Let Facebook find people with similar behaviors to your best supporters.

• Location & Interest Targeting: Narrow by zip code, city, or specific causes (like education, climate action, or animal welfare).

This helps you speak directly to the people who are already aligned with your values, or close to becoming future supporters.

Step 3: Choose the Right Types of Ads for Your Campaign

Not all Facebook ads are created equal; match your format to your message and fundraising goal.

When it comes to engaging a larger audience, your ad format plays a significant role in whether someone stops scrolling or continues swiping.

Here are the most effective types of ads for nonprofit fundraising efforts:

• Single Image Ads: Great for emotional storytelling. Pair a powerful image with a direct call to action for donation ads or fundraising events.
  
  
  

• Video Ads: Use short videos to highlight impact, show beneficiary stories, or share a message from your founder. Videos boost average engagement rate and perform well across mobile devices.
  
  
  

• Carousel Ads: Showcase multiple programs or initiatives, letting people swipe through different ways they can get involved.
  
  
  

• Collection Ads: Ideal for mobile-first experiences, combine visuals and storytelling to create an immersive ad tied to your donation process.
  
  
  

• Boosted Posts: While limited in targeting options, they’re a fast way to give high-performing donation posts a second life.
  
  
  

Each ad type offers different ways to build awareness and drive conversions, depending on where your audience is in their journey.

Pro-Tip: Use Meta’s Ad Guide to preview each ad format and see what works best for your campaign goals. 

Step 4: Craft Visual Content That Inspires Action

If your ad doesn’t make someone stop scrolling, it’s not doing its job.

Nonprofits have a natural storytelling advantage, but it only works if your visual content is designed to capture attention and convert interest into support.

Whether you're creating a single image, video, or carousel ad, make sure your content is:

• Authentic: Use real photos from your fundraising events or volunteer efforts, not generic stock photos.

• Emotional: Show the people or causes behind your mission. Faces, emotions, and eye contact drive a higher average engagement rate.

• Clear: Pair your image with a strong headline and concise text that ties directly to your donation goal.

And remember: more than 90% of Facebook’s active users are on mobile devices, so your creative needs to be optimized for small screens.

Keep text minimal, avoid clutter, and make sure your calls to action (like “Donate Now” or “Join Us”) are front and center.

Pro-Tip: Need design support? Try Canva’s free Facebook ad templates, perfectly sized and mobile‑friendly, or try Adobe Express for Nonprofits for quick, on-brand templates.

Step 5: Set Up Your Advertising Budget and Schedule

Smart budgeting enables nonprofits to maximize every dollar toward their fundraising goals.

Deciding how much to spend, and when, can affect the success of your fundraising efforts as much as creative or targeting.

📊 Start With a Realistic Daily Budget

• Consider starting with a modest daily spend of $20 to $50 to test campaigns and track their performance.

• Facebook’s Daily Budget option gives consistent delivery; Lifetime Budget allows for more brilliant pacing across longer fundraising events.

⏰ Choose the Best Schedule

• If aligned with a specific fundraising event, run ads during peak engagement windows, typically 3–7 days before your event.

• Evergreen campaigns (such as donation ads) can run continually, but revisit them monthly to avoid audience fatigue.

💡 Optimize Ad Delivery

• In Ads Manager, select the “Optimize for Conversions” setting to focus spend on users most likely to complete your donation process.

• Use Delivery Insights to monitor pacing and ensure ads aren’t spending too quickly or stagnating.

Pro-Tip: Use Facebook’s Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO) for multi-ad set campaigns. It lets the algorithm allocate spend to the best-performing ad sets, delivering a stronger return on investment across your donor base.

Step 6: Build a Seamless Donation Process

Don’t just get people to click, make it easy for them to give.

You’ve attracted potential donors with compelling ads and strong messaging. Now comes the most crucial part: converting that interest into action.

A clunky donation process can tank your conversion rate, even with the best creative. Make sure every step, from click to confirmation, is smooth, mobile-friendly, and fast.

🧩 Optimize Your Landing Page

If your ad drives users off Facebook, your donation landing page should:

• Match the messaging and visual content of your ad

• Load quickly on mobile devices

• Include a short, secure form with minimal distractions
  
  
  

If your nonprofit uses fundraising tools like Classy, Givebutter, or Donorbox, take full advantage of their customizable donation settings to streamline the experience.

🔗 Or, Keep It On Facebook

Facebook now offers native fundraising tools that allow nonprofits to collect donations directly on the platform, ideal for donation posts or urgent appeals. Set up your page’s Facebook Fundraising Tools to activate features like:

• In-app donation buttons

• Fundraiser pages for events or campaigns

• Transparent donation tracking and reporting

Step 7: Track Key Donation Metrics That Matter

Data is your best friend, especially when every dollar counts.

Once your ads are running, don’t just set them and forget them. You need to measure how well they’re performing so you can make smart decisions that improve your return on investment.

Facebook’s Ads Manager gives you access to deep performance data, but the real magic happens when you know which metrics to prioritize.

📈 Focus on These Key Donation Metrics:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Are people engaging with your ad? A low CTR may mean your messaging or visual content isn’t resonating.

• Conversion Rate: Of the people who clicked, how many donated? This helps you gauge the effectiveness of your donation process.

• Cost Per Donation: How much are you spending to acquire each new donor? This metric is crucial for long-term budgeting.

• Post Engagement: Track reactions, shares, and comments, especially on fundraising ads or donation posts that build community momentum.
  
  
  

Use A/B testing in Ads Manager to compare versions of your campaigns:

• Try different images, copy, or calls to action

• Experiment with various target audience segments

• Adjust your ad schedule to find peak times
  
  
  

Pro-Tip: Create a simple dashboard using tools like Google Looker Studio or Nonprofit Megaphone’s Free Ad Tracker to keep all your key metrics in one place and make reporting easier.

Step 8: Repurpose High-Performing Content Across Channels

One great ad can fuel weeks of valuable content, don’t let it stop at Facebook.

If a fundraising ad performs well on Facebook, that’s a clear signal it’s resonating with your audience. Rather than starting from scratch for your next campaign, use that winning content across your broader marketing strategy.

🔁 Turn a Top Ad Into:

• An organic Instagram post with a call to donate

• A segment in your following newsletter

• A follow-up message to previous donors thanking them and showing the impact

• A short video reel for event promotion
  
  
  

This strategy maintains consistent messaging and helps increase awareness across your donor base without requiring additional ad spend.

You can also use Meta’s Crossposting Tool to easily share videos across linked Facebook and Instagram accounts, saving time while maximizing reach.

Ask Your Community to Share

Turn your fundraising campaign into a community-driven effort. Encourage followers to share donation posts and fundraising events with their networks for a powerful ripple effect.

Pro-Tip: Use Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule repurposed content across platforms and track engagement. This ensures you stay active even when your team is focused on larger initiatives.

Step 9: Embrace AI to Supercharge Your Fundraising Ads

Let technology do the heavy lifting, so you can focus on your mission.

Running Facebook Ads is a lot of work. From building campaigns to testing creative to tracking results, it’s easy for nonprofit teams to get stretched thin.

That’s where AI tools come in.

Artificial intelligence can help you streamline your ad workflow, uncover insights faster, and make smarter decisions without hiring a full-time marketing team.

🧠 Top AI Tools for Nonprofits Running Facebook Ads:

• Averi (Best Overall)
  Built specifically to help lean teams run smarter campaigns, Averi uses AI to suggest creative, optimize targeting, and flag performance opportunities in real time. Think of it as your mission-driven ads manager, only faster and more insightful.
  
  
  

• Smartly.io
  A powerful automation tool that helps large organizations test and scale Facebook and Instagram ads with data-driven optimization.
  
  
  

• AdEspresso
  User-friendly A/B testing platform that integrates with Facebook Ads Manager. Great for campaign experimentation without feeling overwhelmed.
  
  
  

• HubSpot Ads Software
  If you're already using HubSpot for donor engagement or email campaigns, their AI-enhanced ads tools can help unify your messaging across the funnel.

By leaning on AI, your nonprofit can run more effective donation ads, find new fundraising tools faster, and uncover insights that would typically take days to surface manually.

Common Facebook Ad Mistakes Nonprofits Make

Even with the right tools and intention, it’s easy to misstep and undercut the impact of your fundraising campaigns. Here are five common mistakes and how to avoid them.

• Focusing only on reach

Getting your ad in front of a wider audience is a great start, but awareness doesn’t always equal donations. Ensure your campaigns are designed to drive meaningful actions, such as sign-ups, shares, or contributions.

• Sending users to a slow or clunky donation page

If your donation process isn’t seamless, especially on mobile devices, you’ll lose interested donors before they complete the gift. Optimize landing pages and consider using native Facebook fundraising tools when possible.

• Ignoring key donation metrics

Tracking likes and shares is nice, but it won’t improve your return on investment. Prioritize metrics like conversion rate, cost per donation, and post-click engagement to measure real success.

• Using the same content over and over

Running the same image or copy across multiple ads can lead to audience fatigue. Even minor tweaks, such as changing a single image or updating your call to action, can refresh your performance.

• Forgetting to follow up

The donation process doesn’t end with a thank-you screen. Retargeting previous donors or creating lookalike audiences based on high-value supporters helps sustain momentum beyond a single campaign.

How Averi Helps You Run Smarter Facebook Ads

A great campaign idea is just the beginning. Turning it into results? That’s where Averi comes in.

We combine AI-powered tools with expert support to help nonprofits run Facebook Ads that move the needle. From building audiences to generating ad content to tracking performance, Averi enables you to simplify every step, without sacrificing strategy.

You don’t need a full-time digital team to launch effective fundraising campaigns. You need a platform that does the heavy lifting:

• Smart automation that targets the right donors

• Creative recommendations tailored to your mission

• Real-time insights that improve performance and return on investment

It’s like having a digital ads team in your corner, minus the overhead, time drain, or guesswork. With Averi, your message reaches the right people, your budget works harder, and your fundraising efforts go further.

FAQs: Facebook Ads for Nonprofits

How much should a nonprofit spend on Facebook Ads?

Start small; many nonprofits see results with a daily budget of $20–$50. Test, learn, and scale based on performance and return on investment.

Do Facebook Ads actually lead to donations?

Yes, if they’re targeted correctly and drive to a straightforward, simple donation process. Use compelling content, optimized landing pages, and track key donation metrics to measure success.

What types of ads work best for fundraising?

Single image and video ads perform well for donation posts. Carousel ads are great for showcasing multiple initiatives, and boosted posts can give high-performing content a second life.

Can I use Facebook Ads to promote an upcoming fundraising event?

Absolutely. Use the “Event Responses” or “Traffic” objective to drive RSVPs or ticket sales, and retarget people who’ve engaged with your event page.

Is it better to use Facebook’s native donation tools or link to our website?

Both work. Native tools reduce friction and are ideal for quick mobile donations. External donation pages give you more control and branding. Test both to see what converts better for your audience.

What if we don’t have a design team?

No problem. Free tools like Canva and Adobe Express offer templates specifically designed for nonprofits, with no design skills required.

Can AI really help a small nonprofit team?

Platforms like Averi automate the most complex parts, ad creation, optimization, and performance tracking, so you can run better campaigns with less effort.

Ready to Stop Planning and Start Executing?

Most non-profits don't fail because of bad strategy. They fail because of poor execution.

While others are still perfecting slide decks and debating which hashtag to use, you could be launching campaigns, testing messaging, and driving real growth, all within days, not months.

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1. Book a 15-Minute Demo — See how Averi's AI-powered platform works specifically for your business

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Don't waste another month on marketing that never leaves the planning phase.

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"We accomplished more in two weeks with Averi than we did in three months with our previous agency. The combination of AI speed and expert execution is exactly what we needed." — Sarah Chen, Founder at TechScale