By Deepti Doshi and Nicole Schneidman, Community partnerships at Facebook
Today, there are tens of millions of Facebook groups and over 200 million Facebook users all over the world who are members of Facebook groups that they consider to be a meaningful part of their lives. These groups cover a range of topics from parenting to rare diseases to fitness, but they all enable people to build relationships with the communities that matter to them, no matter where they are.
Over 7 million of the Facebook groups that users have identified as meaningful are local groups that are bringing together the people and places that make up local communities, whether that be a neighborhood, a city, or a region. The connections and information these groups foster among local communities has meant that when crisis strikes, local groups have proven themselves to be critical sources of support and assistance for their members.
Lack of resources and recognition are the main challenges faced by these groups, which are entirely based on civic engagement and the personal commitment of their leaders. To overcome these limits, Facebook launched in 2018 the Facebook Community Leadership Program to empower community leaders from all over the world.
