Raise Money for Charity With Instagram's New Live Donations

You already spend your days scrolling through Instagram posts and watching ephemeral Stories. Why not give back while you're at it? Live Donations allow users to raise money for the nonprofit of their choice during a livestream video.

To get started, simply tap the camera in the top left or swipe right from your Feed, then navigate to the Live option at the bottom, select Fundraiser, and choose a charity. The United Nations Foundation, UNICEF, and CDC Foundation are among those responding to the COVID-19 crisis; 100 percent of proceeds go directly to the organization.

Once the broadcast begins, you'll be able to see, in real time, how many people are supporting the cause and how much money you've raised. Click "View" to see a breakdown of donors and contributions, and thank individuals with a digital "wave."

But what's a good deed without recognition? To help fuel users' egos, Instagram partnered with Brazilian illustrator Leo Natsume to create a custom "I Donated" sticker. After you've made a pledge via Live or Stories, look for the decal—available for only a brief (yet unspecified) period. Any account you follow that uses the "I Donated" or "donation" sticker will automatically be added to a shared story at the front of your queue, so you can see how your friends, family, and random follows are helping support their communities.

"We previously shared how we're expanding nonprofit fundraising on Instagram to additional countries to support global relief efforts, plus the ability to share Facebook personal fundraisers to Instagram," a company blog post said. "We're continuing to look at more ways we can help our community in this time of need. We look forward to sharing more updates soon."