Facebook is launching a couple of new initiatives meant to help those in need. One of these efforts is called "Drives", a new way for people in the U.S. to gather food, clothing, and other basic needs for people who need them.
Drives is starting to roll out in the U.S. today and it will be live for all users in the country over the coming days.The new feature will be available via Facebook's Community Help center, where Facebook streamlines information about recent crises and provides quick access to crisis response services such as Safety Check and fundraisers. The center was introduced in 2017 and was later refreshed to provide users accurate and real-time information on COVID-19.
With the new feature, Facebook is letting users create and share efforts for collecting items such as a Canned Food Drive that seeks to gather food for local shelters. To create a Drive, you can go to Facebook's Community Help and click the “Request or Offer Help” button.
In addition to Drives, Facebook announced that it will match up to $7 million in eligible donations to nonprofits in the U.S. as part of the GivingTuesday event on December 1. Meanwhile, Instagram will soon add new fundraising tools designed to help users create and share nonprofit fundraisers directly within their feed. All donations will be processed via Facebook Pay and all proceeds will go to the recipient nonprofits.
