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Facebook’s Shadowside and The Cookie Monster, Ep #31

Ben Johnson
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Episode 31

With Benjamin Johnson & Matt Hussey

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Facebook is making headlines again for all the wrong reasons and Matt and Ben are here to talk about it. On this episode, the guys dive into why Facebook isn’t the digital fundraising home it seems to be, how to cultivate generosity during the pandemic, and why pre-selected donation amounts can hinder online giving.

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

  • Pop culture check-in (because who ISN’T watching Ted Lasso?) [2:56]

  • What’s ahead for Frontier FM and recapping Joshua Harris [5:13]

  • Cultivating generosity during the pandemic [9:03]

  • Why asking for specific donation amounts may be counterproductive [12:43]

  • Why Facebook shouldn’t be a fundraiser’s primary digital home [15:37]


Engage donors to cultivate generosity

2020 was a difficult year for so many families and individuals from a financial perspective. Twenty percent of US households drained their entire savings account trying to stay afloat during the pandemic. With so much hardship, the need for generosity has never been greater. The struggle for fundraisers becomes marketing to a donor base that may have lost their capacity to give as much as they have previously. Or even at all. Rather than “just asking for money”, Matt recommends engaging donors with questions to build a stronger relationship with them. Use appeals to ask donors about what is important to them and then give them the opportunity to be part of the solution. 

Leave room for every audience

Most online donation systems use pre-selected giving amounts and most fundraisers don’t give it a second thought. But a recent talk by Brady Josephson at the NIO Summit is causing Matt and Ben to rethink this idea. The problem with pre-selected amounts is that it has the charity making decisions for their donors. It can be the right amount for some audiences, but too low or too high for others. Generosity should be celebrated at every level. Allowing for open-ended decision-making from your donors during their online giving experience often leads to an overall higher level of donors, thus a higher level of giving.

And that’s the way the cookie crumbles

It’s no secret that Facebook is awful. Especially now that whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed to the world that the company intentionally directs its users towards controversial and false information in order to make the platform more addictive. Not to mention how it points vulnerable demographics towards harmful content. While evidence suggests the social media site is terrible for just about anyone on a personal level, the question remains: Is Facebook still a good advertising investment for fundraisers? The answer is still no according to Ben. He believes the weakest link in the “Ad Industrial Complex” is the digital cookie. One study showed that as much as 64% of tracking cookies are blocked by browsers. No wonder Facebook is facing a class-action lawsuit claiming their targeting algorithm has an accuracy rating as low as nine percent. As the cookie continues to crumble, it begs the question: How long can Facebook continue to have its cake and eat it too?

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