Important Update – 31 Miles in a Month fundraising challenge

Thank you so much for joining us for 31 Miles in May to support dementia care, we are delighted to have you with us for this important challenge!

We want to make you aware of some major changes just announced by Meta (owners of Facebook) that might affect your fundraiser, and how you can work around these changes to ensure that you can keep raising vital funds for our patients with dementia.

Effective immediately across Ireland and Europe; 

• Only people who have previously set up a Facebook or Instagram fundraising page will be able to create a new one for 31 Miles.

• As of 25th April, only people who have previously donated to a fundraiser on Facebook or Instagram will be able to make a donation on the platform.

Please be assured that donations already made through Meta will be received by us.

What this means for you and the 31 Miles in May challenge: 

If you have not yet set up your fundraising page for the challenge, we now recommend that you set it up through Just Giving. 

You can do this by visiting our dedicated Just Giving page for the challenge – https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mater31milesinmay  – and clicking the orange ‘Start Fundraising’ button and following the relevant steps.

If you have already set up your 31 Miles fundraising page on Facebook or Instagram, you may find that some of your supporters are unable to donate to you because of these new restrictions. If this is the case, they can:

• Visit the Just Giving page and click the green ‘Give Now’ button. This will allow them to make a donation to the overall fundraiser and they should mention the name of the person they are supporting in the accompanying donation note.  We can then allocate this donation to your overall total raised at the end of the challenge.
• If you set up your fundraising page on Just Giving, it will create a personalised link that you can share on your social platforms.
• If you are collecting your funds using a sponsorship card, you are unaffected by this change. If you need a sponsorship card, let us know by emailing fundraising@materfoundation.ie.

Got a question?

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at fundraising@materfoundation.ie using the subject line ‘Facebook Fundraiser – 31 Miles’, and a member of the team will respond to you as soon as possible.

We apologise for any inconvenience this causes to what should be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.  Unfortunately, Meta made this surprise announcement at short notice and charities and non-profits throughout the country are feeling the impact.