Yelp is partnering with GoFundMe to introduce a way for independent businesses to accept donations through their Yelp pages.
“The impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been incredibly challenging for small businesses…
Many businesses have been required to temporarily close, making it seemingly impossible to continue to pay their staff and cover rent.“
In an effort to give loyal customers a means of contributing directly to local businesses, Yelp is rolling out a “Donate” button.
Users will see a donate button on the profiles of eligible businesses that they can click on to contribute funds.
The donate button will automatically appear on Yelp pages for the following types of businesses:
- Restaurants
- Nightlife
- Beauty and fitness
- Active life businesses
In addition to meeting the above criteria, in order to be eligible for donations the businesses must have fewer than five locations.
Note that only businesses claimed on Yelp as of March 22, 2020, are eligible to participate in this program.
Rolling Out Now Automatically
Other than claiming a Yelp page, there is no further action needed by the businesses themselves.
As Yelp states, everything is done automatically:
“Because businesses have enough to worry about right now, we’ll set up this fundraising opportunity for eligible businesses without requiring any action on your part.”
Yelp says this is a nationwide partnership that’s rolling out first to businesses in some of the hardest hit areas starting today. This includes:
- Seattle
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
Donate buttons will roll out to all eligible businesses over the next few days.
Businesses that remain open in a limited capacity, such as restaurants offering delivery and takeout and fitness studios with virtual classes, are also eligible for this feature.
Claim Your GoFundMe Page
As stated above, the ability to receive donations will be set up automatically.
However, in order to receive the funds that have been donated, businesses have to claim their fundraising page on GoFundMe.
That can be easily done by following the steps below:
- Find your fundraiser page on gofundme.com (either search for it on GoFundMe or click your own “Donate” button on Yelp).
- Click the “Claim here” link (near the bottom of the page).
- Follow the instructions in the online form and submit it.
GoFundMe & Yelp Are Matching Donations
GoFundMe, as well as the Yelp Foundation, will match donations up to $1 million and additional companies are expected to contribute over the next week.
Further, businesses that raise at least $500 will receive an additional $500 matching grant. This applies to the first 2,000 businesses that raise $500.
“It’s our hope that with the funds raised through this partnership, businesses will be able to support their employees and cover immediate expenses so that they’re in a better position to continue operating through this crisis, or able to reopen their doors once we overcome it.”
Additional Efforts From Yelp
This announcement comes hot off the heels of a similar announcement made last week.
In case you missed it, Yelp is offering $25 million in relief in the form of waived adverting fees, free advertising, and free use of products and services.
See: Yelp Launches Efforts to Help Local Businesses Impacted By COVID-19
Source: Yelp Official Blog
