Social media as an acquisition channel: Facebook + email = the winning duo

One of the first steps on your path to digital fundraising was probably an audit of your organization's existing contacts. You found out how many emails (or other contact details) for your supporters you actually have. Sometimes contacts hide in surprising corners; other times it is just a matter of looking at your database from a different angle. Very soon, however, you reach the point where you start thinking about how to acquire new contacts – ideally continuously and in as automated a way as possible. And this is exactly where the power of Facebook, followed by a pre-configured email machine, comes into play.

What does the data say?

🔹Email – according to a survey in the UK and Ireland, nonprofit organizations sent an average of 62 emails per recipient in 2024 and earned $2.63 (about CZK 55) per contact as a result. Email thus remains one of the main engines of online revenue (M+R Benchmarks 2025).

🔹Social media – according to the US-based Nonprofit Tech for Good, most nonprofits that advertise spend their money on Facebook. For fundraising ads, Meta delivers better results than TikTok; for lead gen campaigns, a lower CPL (cost-per-lead) is also reported on Meta.

👉 In other words: Facebook brings you relevant contacts, email turns them into donors.

Why Facebook Lead Ads?

Facebook Lead Ads shorten the journey: the form opens directly in the app, often pre-filled. Less friction = more completed sign-ups.

We know from experience that well-configured lead campaigns can bring in email contacts very cheaply, sometimes for a few dollars – or less. In the Czech environment, you can get down to a few tens of crowns per contact. What matters is to always calculate the cost of acquisition in the context of its return.

Trends for 2025 also show a shift from chasing quantity to quality. It is better to optimize for so-called conversion leads (audiences similar to your donors, CRM signals) and have your emailing ready than to pile up cheap but inactive data.

Email as the converter of a relationship into a donation

Acquiring contact details is the beginning of the donor journey, not the goal. In most cases, email will be the channel that brings in a significant share of your online revenue.

That is why it makes sense for new contacts from Facebook to immediately receive a relevant welcome series with added value: a story, impact, a clear CTA.

Once you have a donor's email address, you increase the likelihood that you will keep the relationship going and that the value of the contact will grow over time.

Try this approach (proven in practice)

1. Offer value (a lead magnet) – an e-book, a guide, a checklist, a webinar, a petition with a relevant follow-up.

2. Launch Facebook Lead Ads with the Leads objective.
   a. Retargeting (website visitors, IG/FB engagers)
   b. Lookalike audiences based on quality segments from your CRM (recurring donors, higher donations)

3. Automatically connect your lead forms to your emailing tool (Ecomail, SmartEmailing, Mailchimp…). Send the first email within 5 minutes of sign-up.

4. Welcome sequence (4–6 messages):
   a. Story + impact (photo, short video)
   b. “How you can help me” (a specific step)
   c. Invitation to the community/an event
   d. A gentle first fundraising CTA
   

5. GDPR & database quality – always link to your privacy policy, ideally use double opt-in.

6. Measure more than CPL – track opens, clicks, the first donation, the second-donation rate and overall return.

Launch a performance Meta campaign (on Facebook and Instagram)

On Facebook, you can also run a performance campaign. If you have a donation option or your own e-shop, with the right setup you can run campaigns where you see exactly how much each purchase / donation costs you. (Since October 2025, Meta has been restricting ads on political and social issues in the EU, but we have verified that many nonprofit ads, unless they are explicitly focused on such a topic, get approved and work).

To set this up, you need to:

1. Have the Meta pixel set up correctly. You generate it in Meta Business Manager. You insert the pixel code either directly into your website or e-shop, or on Darujme. You can find out how to set up the pixel on Darujme in the guide HERE (section 1 - Darujme.cz - Analytics).

2. Set up an ad in Meta with the “Sales” campaign objective

3. Select the right pixel, page, period, targeting (you can leave the so-called Adv+ targeting, where Meta itself chooses whom to target, but if you are a local organization, or if you have a small budget, definitely narrow it down and be specific) and budget. For conversion campaigns, we recommend at least CZK 500 per day.

4. Set up the ad itself - image / video, copy, link to the purchase / donation

5. Publish the ad. It then goes through Meta's review, and once it is approved, it starts being delivered.

Bear in mind that these days one purchase / donation usually costs hundreds of crowns. So make sure you have calculated and thought through where you are sending people, what margin you have on the product, or how much you ask for by default when requesting a donation.

These days (fall 2025), what helps most to lower your cost per purchase / donation is good creative; we recommend testing different messages and formats.

Tips and examples for organic acquisition (without paid advertising)

Not every organization wants to invest in advertising specifically for acquisition, and of course there are also powerful organic ways to gain new contacts:

• Ptačí hodinka (Bird Hour, ČSO)
  A perfect example is the annual citizen count of birds at feeders, which brings the Czech Society for Ornithology (ČSO) 4–6 thousand new contacts a year. People take part for free, they enjoy being part of the event, and thanks to them ČSO keeps expanding its emailing database over the long term. Of course, promoting the whole event through media partners is also important here.

• A petition as a magnet
  Signing a petition = a new contact you can keep working with. A great example is Sola pomáhá with its petition Toaleťák není vložka (Toilet paper is not a pad) – it collected 11,000 signatures that way.

• Groups and events
  Facebook events (webinars, volunteer work days, guided walks) bring in new participants who sign up to your database at the same time.

• User-generated content (UGC)
  When people share their own photos or experiences, it feels authentic and attracts more people who are interested.

💡Organic acquisition is slower than ads, but it often brings more loyal contacts who stay with the organization longer.

Courage and patience bring results

Acquisition is not a sprint but a marathon. Facebook and email are today's winning duo, which will help you build both your database and your donor base. It is just as important to have the courage to try new paths, not to be afraid to reach out to people directly, and to be patient.

Czech examples show that even a small team can build a huge campaign – all it takes is a clear story, authenticity and good work with your contacts.

👉 Remember: it is not just about collecting email addresses. It is about the beginning of a journey on which a new contact can become your recurring donor and loyal supporter.