The Chadwick Boseman Foundation for the Arts partners with creators on an Instagram fundraiser

Hollywood rallied around a fundraiser for actor Chadwick Boseman, demonstrating the power of creators who harness social media to come together to make a difference. Here are the fundraising tools they used that any creator can try to advance a cause they believe in.

Photo: Simone Boseman uses a Spark AR filter in Instagram Reels.

RESULTS:

• $64K raised in donations across Facebook and Instagram on #GivingTuesday
• 16 Celebrities and creators participated in the Instagram Group Fundraiser
• 10 Reels produced as part of the CBFA #GivingTuesday fundraiser
• 140% Instagram follower growth, November 1, 2022-December 31, 2022

*According to publicly available data, data from the partner and data from CrowdTangle. Results are not identically repeatable and generally expected individual results will differ.

On November 29, 2022, which was both Chadwick Boseman’s birthday and Giving Tuesday, Simone Ledward-Boseman set up a fundraiser to introduce The Chadwick Boseman Foundation for the Arts’ (CBFA) mission of “supporting the intellectual, spiritual and artistic growth of Black storytellers.” The tactics she and business partner LaQuishe 'Q' Wright deployed to raise $64K across Facebook and Instagram can serve as inspiration to any creator hoping to drive impact with their platform.

Start an Instagram Group Fundraiser

Simone and Q created an Instagram Group Fundraiser in which others were invited to fundraise with them. The 16 people who accepted her invitation had the fundraiser appear in their bio, their name appeared as part of the fundraising group and they were able to share the fundraiser across touchpoints.

Here’s how you can set up a Group Fundraiser:

• The organizer creates a fundraiser, choosing the nonprofit and the goal amount.
• Only the organizer can invite others to join the fundraiser by tapping the Share button and searching for accounts to invite.
• Any number of people can join as group members.
• Once an invitation is accepted, the fundraiser will show on a group member’s profile bio and sharing to Feed, Stories, Reels and Live is enabled.

Fundraise in Reels

With 1.5M nonprofits that you can create fundraisers for in Instagram Reels, leverage the short-form video format to share with your audience why you are passionate about a cause.

Simone, Q and team reached out to Chadwick’s co-stars and friends and encouraged them to, “post their own video sharing a memory of Chad,” said Simone. Reels proved especially potent in driving donations, with 10 produced as part of the #GivingTuesday fundraiser. “Creators and celebrities who posted their own reel got more views, impressions and engagement,” added Simone.

• Once you’ve created your reel, tap ‘Add fundraiser’
• Add fundraiser details, including your goal and any collaborators, then tap ‘Done’
• Once you share your reel, viewers will see a ‘Donate’ button where they can support your chosen cause
• The fundraiser will also be added to your profile bio and can be shared if you choose across future reels, posts, lives or stories.

Try a Spark AR filter

CBFA partnered with Girls Who Code to create a new augmented reality (AR) effect, “The Crown,” which draws ​​inspiration from the foundation’s logo as representative of the Global African Diaspora.

“[The foundation’s] goal is to establish a community around the idea of raising Black storytellers, showing Black people in a multidimensional way and telling stories from the Black diaspora,” said Simone. In partnering with Girls Who Code and Howard University (Chadwick’s alma mater), Simone and Q centered this creative collaboration on the community they are working to foster.

Use Instagram Collabs

Instagram Collabs allowed for Simone and her supporters to co-post about the fundraiser to increase awareness, expand their reach, grow their following and produce creative, dynamic content that resonates.

• The original author can tag a private or public account as a collaborator.
• Once the other account accepts, the post will show on both profiles and be distributed to both accounts' followers.
• The post's header will attribute the content to both accounts, and the nonprofit and collaborators will share views, likes and comments.

“Collaboration is really important,” said Q. “Whether it’s with people or similar organizations, collaborating and cross-promoting brings new followers. It’s especially important when you're new in the social space. Find people who believe in what you're doing and can amplify it organically and authentically.”

Learn more:

• Discover Meta technologies for nonprofits
• Fundraise on Instagram
• Fundraise on Facebook