Facebook today announced the second edition of the Community Accelerator program in Thailand, Indonesia, and The Philippines, with the expansion to the three new markets including Singapore, Malaysia and India, as part of its ongoing investment in and support of Thai leaders.
The eight-month program will provide training, mentorship, and funding to each community leader to help them grow their communities – with applications now open until May 31.
Selected community leaders will spend five months learning from experts, coaches, and customized lessons – including community identity foundations and sustainability – to strengthen their community and meet their goals. Participants will then spend three months developing and executing their initiatives. They will collaborate with advocates and leaders in the community space and work with the Facebook team to bring their ideas to life.
Up to $7.5 million USD will be distributed to program participants through a series of grants up to $50,000 USD per participant, and Facebook encourages anyone who runs an impactful, established community, is ready to grow using Facebook’s apps, and can invest in this program to apply here.
“Online communities have been around since the beginning of the internet, but we’ve seen them grow tremendously in the last year, as a result of COVID-19. There are now more than 70 million admins and moderators running active Facebook Groups. Often, it is everyday people who start and run these groups as a labor of love – with no training or support,” said Grace Clapham, Director, APAC Community Partnerships & Programs at Facebook.
“Through the Community Accelerator program, we have helped community leaders from around the world and in Thailand, to build, grow and scale their communities. With the launch of this year’s Community Accelerator program, we look forward to discovering the next cohort of community leaders in Asia and helping them unlock their full potential and create meaningful impact.”
The Community Accelerator is part of the Facebook Community Leadership Program, a global initiative that invests in leaders building communities, which also includes Learning Labs that bring group admins into a digital classroom for structured learning; Power Admins Groups which bring over 40,000 community leaders together to share advice with one another and connect with Facebook to test new features and share feedback, and the Community Hub, where anyone can access product education and learn more about programs.
Since announcing the first edition in March 2020, 77 communities from 13 countries – including five from Thailand – have participated in the program. Further, the first edition of the Community Accelerator program saw two Thai communities – Local Alike/Local Aroi and Ooca – provided additional funding of USD $25,000 each to execute their growth plans and receive continued support from their network, and the team from the Facebook program.
Following her graduation from the program, Ooca’s Kanpassorn Suriyasangpetch stated, “Facebook provides knowledge and connections for communities to grow sustainably, while also providing funds to selected participants to allow our plans turn into reality. Furthermore, the program educated us about how to best use tools such as Facebook Ads, Facebook Groups, and Instagram to create an effective online community. It was an extremely valuable experience for me.”
“If your goals are to help people or communities, and if you have great ideas and are looking for support to make them a reality, you should join this program.”
The second edition of the Community Accelerator program is open to communities that have a presence in Facebook Groups with leaders in Thailand who are 18 years of age or older. Communities must have existed for over one year and must have a minimum size of 1,000 members, with applications open from now until May 31. Thai leaders can learn more and apply for the Community Accelerator program here.
