Facebook to grant up to $10m to help people build and lead communities

Facebook has announced a global initiative that will invest in people building community. The Facebook Community Leadership Programme will receive "tens of millions of dollars", including "up to $10 million in grants that will go directly to people creating and leading communities".  The announcement was made today at the Facebook Communities Summit Europe, held in London. More than 300 community leaders from across Europe attended the event, including blind Veterans UK, Donna Mamma (France), Girl Skate UK, and Berlin Bruisers, Germany's first gay and inclusive rugby club. Facebook will also be introducing new tools for group admins, and expand its London-based engineering team that builds technology "to help keep people safe on Facebook".   Facebook Community Leadership Programme The Facebook Community Leadership Program has been created "to empower leaders from around the world who are building communities through the Facebook family of apps and services". It is a response to requests from community leaders who "often tell us that with additional support they could have more impact".  It includes: Residency and fellowship opportunities These include training, support and funding for community leaders from around the world. Up to five leaders will be selected to be community leaders in residence and awarded up to $1,000,000 each to fund their proposals. Up to 100 leaders will be selected for Facebook's fellowship program and will receive up to $50,000 each to be used for a specific community initiative. The final sums might be slightly different depending on potential exchange rate fluctuations. Community Leadership Circles Three Community Leadership Circles were piloted in the US in 2017 and are expanding globally this year. They bring local community leaders together to meet up in person to connect, learn, and collaborate. Groups for Facebook Power Admins Groups for Facebook Power Admins will expand to more members. Facebook currently operates them with more than 10,000 group admins in the US and UK. They will support members by helping them share advice with one another and connecting with Facebook's team to test new features and share feedback. Applications are now open for the residency and fellowship.     New tools for Facebook group admins and members To help group admins in keeping their communities, safe, organised and engaged, Facebook announced four new features to help them. Admin tools Admins can now find member requests, Group Insights and more together in one place. This should make it easier to manage groups and free up more time for admins to connect with members. Group announcements Group announcements will let admins post up to 10 announcements that appear at the top of their group. Facebook had heard many requests from group administrators who wanted this method of communicating with their members. Group rules Admins can now create a dedicated rules section to help them effectively communicate the rules of the group to their members. Personalised colour Because each community has its own identity, and people are typically members of multiple groups, admins can now add a specific colour that is displayed throughout their group, to help members notice messages from their favourite groups.   Larger engineering team for community safety Facebook will, by the end of 2018, double the number of staff working in London on keeping its community of users safe and secure. Community safety activity includes: Detecting and stopping fake accounts Protecting people from harm - reducing scams and harassment Improving ways to report inappropriate or illegal content    

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