Soapbox Engage Blog

Peer-to-Peer fundraising is one of the fastest-growing forms of crowdfunding in the nonprofit world! Nonprofits who start Peer-to-Peer (P2P) fundraising campaigns can raise money, expand their donor base, and mobilize their current network of supporters all at once!

There are many reasons you should consider launching a P2P fundraising campaign for your nonprofit. Here are some basics and a quick-start guide to help you launch your first Peer-to-Peer crowdfunding campaign.

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What Is Peer-to-Peer Fundraising?

Peer-to-Peer fundraising is a type of crowdfunding with multiple "tiers." Each person creates their own fundraising page to raise money toward your cause or organization. Whether you are raising money for a specific initiative or for your organization as a whole, P2P fundraising campaigns are an excellent option.

Benefits of peer-to-peer fundraising

Peer-to-peer campaigns take time and rely mainly on building momentum from your current network of supporters. Still, the potential benefits are worth the effort. P2P fundraising lets you connect with your supporters' networks, which increases donations and expands your own network of donors and advocates.

In 2018, 46% of "Millennial" donors and 45% of "GenX" donors gave to crowdfunding campaigns. One of the unique benefits of P2P fundraising is that you are giving your supporters the chance to connect their own stories, values, and experiences to your cause. Their fundraising campaign becomes an avenue for them to share why your organization matters to them personally. This increases their own buy-in and makes you more visible to their network of friends.

Peer-to-peer fundraising is dramatically shifting the fundraising environment Previously, the focus was on raising money from individuals directly, emphasizing major donors with deep pockets. P2P fundraising allows organizations to leverage more resources like social media, dedicated websites, and personalized giving pages to reach more groups of people with relatively low overhead costs. It’s so effective and affordable that many nonprofits are beginning to move peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns to the center of their annual fundraising strategies.

Examples of successful Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

The American Cancer Society was an early-adopter of crowdfunding with their Relay for Life. They learned how to mobilize individuals, groups, and communities to rally around a common cause to raise millions of dollars annually. In 2017, each Relay for Life participant raised an average of $115 for the American Cancer Society!

You don’t have to be a big organization like the American Cancer Society to benefit from P2P fundraising. One of the benefits of peer-to-peer fundraising is that small nonprofits can easily enter the scene, aided by social media and other resources.

P2P fundraising success depends less on the size of your organization or campaign and more on your ability to connect with and mobilize your key audience. Smaller organizations that focus on catering to the interests and tastes of their supporters can find excellent fundraising success with peer-to-peer campaigns.

Extra Life

The Extra Life crowdfunding campaign unites video gamers around the world to play their favorite video games and raise money for their local Children's Miracle Network Hospital. Since its inception in 2008, Extra Life participants raised over $50 million to cover medical expenses for sick and injured children in their own communities.

Video gamers already enjoy connecting and playing together. Extra Life allows people to do what they already enjoy, but for a great cause. Broadcasting platforms and online gaming means almost anyone can join or start a virtual "team" and participate in the fun. Overhead costs are very low for the Children's Miracle Network, and participants love being able to design and manage their own fundraising page.

Charity:Water

Charity:Water basically challenges their supporters to come up with weird, wacky, surprising, inspiring, and even "regular" ways to raise money.

Charity:Water seeks to tap into their supporter's own creativity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness instead of offering "pre-packaged" campaigns like a walk or video gaming event. One of their slogans is, "You can ___ for clean water," and their donors do not disappoint in coming up with unusual ideas to fill in the blank. Whether it's riding a rickshaw across India, teaching yoga, growing a mustache, or asking for donations instead of wedding gifts, people are excited to set up their own creative peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.

Dressember

Dressember is a unique organization that started because of a P2P campaign. One woman decided to wear a dress for a month to raise money, then she inspired her friends to join her. It quickly became an international movement of women (and men) fighting for freedom and human rights--in dresses (and ties)!

Dressember partners with organizations that are fighting modern-day slavery and human trafficking, like International Justice Mission, A21, and the Freedom Story. Their unique crowdfunding campaign challenges all their supporters to wear a dress or tie every day for the month of December to raise money and awareness about the issue of modern-day slavery.

6 Ways To Make Peer-to-Peer Fundraising More Successful

One of the things that make P2P fundraising campaigns successful is the unique ability to mobilize your current supporters to do much of the leg-work and asking for donations on your behalf. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean you can just sit back and let your donors do all the work. A successful P2P campaign requires planning, communication, and a lot of organization on your part.

Learn about your own network

The most successful crowdfunding campaigns work because the organization understands how to rally their supporters. Don't be afraid to ask some of your loyal advocates what kinds of P2P campaigns they would be excited to participate in.

Of course, not every campaign will appeal to all your supporters. Not everyone likes to play video games, run, or cycle. That's ok! Don't be afraid to experiment and test some campaign ideas to learn what will get a large portion of your community excited.

Choose the type of peer-to-peer fundraising campaign

There are two basic types of peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, rolling campaigns, and time-based campaigns.

Rolling campaigns allow your supporters to connect their life events to your crowdfunding campaign. Birthdays, weddings, athletic events, growing a beard, whatever occasion they choose, can become a reason for your supporter to host a P2P fundraising campaign for your organization.

Rolling campaigns allow supporters to fundraise on your behalf year-round and at times that fit their schedule instead of being tied to your calendar or events.

Time-based campaigns happen during a specific period (as the name implies). Organizations usually connect time-based campaigns to a particular theme, activity, or holiday (like Dressember's challenge to wear a dress every day throughout December).

Because time-based P2P campaigns have a limited window to reach the fundraising goal, success really depends on your proactive marketing strategy and highly motivated supporters to rally around the campaign.

Create helpful resources to equip your campaigners

One of the essential parts of creating a successful P2P fundraising campaign is providing resources for fundraising success. It's critical that people feel confident as they share the story and ask for donations.

To attract motivated campaigners and help ensure their success, you should provide resources like the following.

• A step-by-step guide to set up their personal donation page
• Resources on how to set reasonable fundraising goals
• Email templates and sample asks for donations
• Sample social media posts
• Sample calendar for planning emails, social media posts, and other fundraising activity
• Graphics packages for social media banners, logos, etc

Even though the campaigners are doing the work of asking for donations, your job is to equip them for success and be their biggest cheerleader! The better equipped they feel, the more confidently (and effectively) they will work.

Set up the online platform

Whether you are raising funds for a specific cause or for your organization in general, successful peer-to-peer fundraisers have campaign-specific donation pages. Make it easy to read and share across the internet. Ideally, each of your supporters will be able to create their own fundraising page so their friends and family can help them reach their goal (and yours).

Write a compelling story, and help your supporters write one, too

People don't get excited about campaigns. People connect with stories. Humans love compelling stories with characters, narratives, and themes with which they can identify. It's essential to tell a compelling story and help your supporters communicate why the story matters to them.

Inspire your supporters to make videos, write poems, blog, take photos, create snapchat stories… the possibilities are endless for people to share about their campaign and why your organization matters to them.

Highlight P2P stories on your own website and social media page, too! It's inspiring to see ordinary, everyday people using their talents, time, and resources to make a difference in the world. The stories don't have to be grandiose; in fact, the more "average joe" they are, the better! Share stories that make people pause and think, "Hey, I can do that!" Then, give them the resources to join in!

Don't forget to thank everyone!

Don't forget to show your gratitude and appreciation to your supporters and donors. Peer-to-peer fundraising requires time, energy, and resources, and your supporters leveraged their network of friends to help you. Some of your supporters might raise thousands of dollars for your cause! It's essential to thank them for their generosity and hard work.

A handwritten note or a shout-out on social media goes a long way to express gratitude, build trust, and increase the likelihood that your supporters will continue fundraising on your behalf.

Now that you're ready to launch your own peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, here are a few resources to help you take the next steps!

• Level Up with Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software and Unrivaled Salesforce Integration: The right peer-to-peer fundraising software can make campaigns simple, affordable, and easy to manage.
• 5 Easy Ways To Maximize Your Fundraising On Facebook: Facebook is an important tool in peer-to-peer fundraising. Here are some practical steps you can take to boost your own presence on Facebook so your P2P campaigns can be more successful.
• 6 Cost-Effective And Creative Donor Thank You Gifts: A P2P fundraising campaign isn't complete until you take the time to thank your supporters who worked hard on your behalf. Here are some easy and affordable ways to show appreciation for your donors.