Facebook announced a new range of fundraising and community support initiatives in lieu of the upcoming Giving Tuesday (11/30). Interestingly enough, Facebook has also announced the expansion of its Nextdoor-like ‘Neighborhood’ feature – a feature that, until now, had only been available to Canadian users.

Facebook explains:

“People are increasingly using Facebook to help the vulnerable in their local communities, support small businesses and share information in local groups. So, we’re expanding tests of Neighborhoods, a single destination to build and strengthen local communities on Facebook, to an additional 132 cities in the United States.”

When In The ‘Hood’

Neighborhoods is a separate element  within Facebook, enabling users to join specific local groups in order to build higher connections with those in your immediate vicinity. It’s like a profile within a profile, with users able to set up a Neighborhoods profile, including a separate Neighborhoods bio, and your Facebook name and display picture. Neighborhoods then enable users to connect with local community groups and advocacy groups, while simultaneously seeking new interactions and connection tips.

The first Neighborhoods tests were launched in Calgary back in October 2020. The Canadian expansion soon followed in May of this year (2021). Now, US cities can finally be part of the ‘Neighborhood’, which only spells well for Nextdoor, especially now that it has become a key connection tool for many.

Especially during the initial stages of the pandemic, Nextdoor saw an 80% increase in users, with people constantly looking for ways to connect with local communities in order to better support local businesses, as well as their neighbors. Facebook Groups also experienced significant surges and, by putting two-and-two together, Neighborhoods thus stood to be a rather powerful local connection tool indeed. Top top it off, Facebook is also adding a new ‘Giving Exchange’ element, essentially sleeker versions of local ‘Buy and Trade’ groups.

It’s a pretty logical expansion honestly. Groups alone already have 1.8 billion monthly active users, with a lot of them being related to local news and events. With numerous local publications being forced to shutter by the pandemic, this feature is likely to gain more favor, seeing as how an increasing number of people will be even more reliant on Facebook for local news and connections.

In addition to the Neighborhoods expansion, Facebook has also announced the following initiatives for Giving Tuesday:

  • Matching up to $8 million in donations made to eligible nonprofits in the US.

  • Matching the fundraisers of seven Instagram creators, up to $50,000 each, through Giving Tuesday.

  • Expanding the range of nonprofits that people can fundraise for on Instagram.

  • Running a Warzone tournament on Facebook Gaming, with funds raised going to charities as chosen by Gaming creators. 

Facebook will also be once again hosting its #BuyBlackFriday campaign, helping to raise awareness and funds for Black-owned businesses.

The Wrap

While many regions are now transitioning to a recovery phase, it’ll likely be sometime before things are totally back to normal, making initiatives like Giving Tuesday doubly important. These are charitable causes at the core and they highlight needs that require more focus and attention, something that strikes a strong contrast to the otherwise attention-hungry and egotistical nature of social media imagery and internet self-validation.

With all the noise being generated by backlash on Facebook’s algorithms, it’ll be interesting, at the very least, to see how Facebook intends to outmaneuver the opposition, all while pushing a broader rollout, whatever that means, to achieve higher local community engagement within the app.

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Sources

https://bit.ly/3ceh00T