Over $200,000 has been raised from more than 600 fundraisers on Facebook to help flood victims in Australia, according to new data from Meta (formerly Facebook). The data comes as Meta has launched a Small Business Flood Relief program for Queensland and New South Wales small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) affected by recent flooding.

Flood-affected data

• Over 350,000 people marked themselves as ‘safe’ during the flooding in Eastern NSW using Facebook’s Safety Check tool since February 23, 2022
• More than 65,000 people in Australia have joined over 150 newly created support groups on Facebook to help flood-affected communities since February 23, 2022

To support SMBs affected by the 2022 flooding, Meta has established the Meta Australian Small Business Flood Relief Support Program, where eligible* SMBs can apply to receive AU$200 in Meta Ad Credits and tailored 1:1 business support mentorship, based on business objectives and needs. 

“We’ve already seen incredible community spirit as people came together to help one another across flood-affected communities in QLD and NSW. Many of these people were also small business owners and over the last few years have faced back to back crises from bushfires, to the pandemic, and now floods. Recovery is going to take a long time, and we wanted to offer businesses some support to help them adapt during these difficult times, and remain committed to supporting flood-affected SMBs get back on their feet.” said Harry Lowes, Director ANZ Scaled, Global Business Group, Meta

In addition to the relief support program, Meta is donating AU$100,000 to local organisations to aid in providing relief and response work to affected communities. An AU$50,000 donation will go to the Australian Red Cross in support of their QLD and NSW Floods Appeal, and an AU$50,000 donation will go to Foodbank Australia from the Meta Crisis and Disaster Response Fund. 

Meta has also provided free ad credits to the NSW State Emergency Service and QLD Fire and Emergency Services to help them further boost their crisis communications messaging and services, including situation updates, evacuation orders and weather warnings. Meta will also provide free training for affected small businesses, to register your interest please visit our website. 

How to apply for the Meta Australian Small Business Flood Relief Support Program

• Visit the Meta Australian Small Business Flood Relief Support Program webpage to apply: https://www.facebook.com/business/small-business/support/australia-flood-relief
• Please view the terms and conditions to check eligibility 

*Eligibility criteria: businesses must have less than 1,500 employees; have an active Facebook page; be located in one of the communities identified as flood-affected by the QLD government or the NSW government, and be able to demonstrate a negative impact on their business from the 2022 flooding.