Why Facebook's New 'Donate' Feature Isn't All That Charitable

…for nothing.

Earlier this month The Big Blue Monster made some changes destined to annoy everyone who organizes a charity or works with nonprofit clients by making it harder for fans to see unpaid posts. This week the company followed that move with the announcement of its new “donate button” feature, which seems generous on its face but probably won’t minimize the backlash.

Why? It’s a classic case of “If a tree falls in the forest…”

The basic issue is that most charities don’t have the money to pay for sponsored posts, which seriously limits the number of people who will see their donate buttons.

While it’s good to know that Facebook won’t be giving users’ email addresses to the charities that accept their donations, the company will be adding those users—and their credit card info—to yet another database.