Action 9 helps charity get paid after issue with Facebook fundraiser

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-based nonprofit said it raised money on Facebook but claims the social media platform wouldn’t pay out the funds.

Steve Parker is the executive director of Friends of the Central Highlands in the United States (FOCHUS). He said the group raised money on Facebook, but after two months the funds had not been received.

Action 9 looks into fee for ‘free’ COVID-19 vaccine

“We raised close to $1,000, which is good for a small nonprofit,” Parker said. “For two months, I would check with them and say, ‘Are we going anywhere with this?’ And I got nothing in reply.”

Originally, the group was called FOCUS but it recently rebranded, changing the name slightly. With the new name and mission, the group opened a new bank account.

Parker said he informed Facebook about the changes, however. “I sent them all the documentation before,” he said. “I showed them that we’re still the same organization and for some reason, they were not able to resolve this.”

One of the donors suggested he contact Action 9 for help.

Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke contacted Facebook about the situation, and a representative said, “We apologize for the delay that FOCHUS experienced and have resolved the issue. While we have a robust team in place to help nonprofits fundraise, we are always working to improve our processes to make the payouts more efficient.”

Action 9 helps car owners struggling to get reimbursed for safety repair

Parker said a few days after contacting Action 9, he received a message from Facebook apologizing for the misunderstanding and letting him know the funds were being disbursed.

“Man, I feel great. I’m so grateful for you. I’m grateful to Facebook for getting it worked out and, of course, to God. We spent a lot of time in prayer about it,” he said.

Parker said FOCHUS is building a church and training center in Vietnam and will put the money toward those projects.

Stoogenke offers these tips to groups that fundraise on Facebook:

- A real person reviews each campaign, which can take two weeks.

- If you need to submit new documents, those have to be manually reviewed as well to protect donors.

- Charities don’t have to enroll in Facebook’s fundraising program to raise money. Groups can enroll in programs that are faster but have fewer features such as Network for Good.