Recently, Giving U.S.A released their 2023 report on giving trends in the U.S. Here is a helpful summary from BWF. There is a lot of useful data that can inform your nonprofit’s fundraising strategies.

Giving has declined over the last year. In 2020 and 2021, we saw historic highs in giving, due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and racial justice being a major national conversation. Charities received $499.33 billion in support in 2022, which is down from $516.65 billion in 2021. Fewer people are making charitable donations and Americans are now donating only 1.7% of their disposable income.

Peer-to-peer fundraising and crowdfunding are both effective fundraising strategies. However, because of their similarities, they are often confused with one another or thought to be the same fundraising strategy. As a result, these two powerful fundraisers are regularly misapplied.

Generally speaking, when discussing these strategies, crowdfunding refers to a process where an individual or organization collects donations directly from a large number of supporters for one specific project, while peer-to-peer fundraising refers to a process where supporters collect donations from their networks of family, friends, and colleagues on behalf of a nonprofit. But their differences also run much deeper, and this article will dive into five core ways these fundraisers are unique from one another:

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) fundraising is a powerhouse fundraising strategy for nonprofits. It combines the influence of social media with access to personal networks, easy online giving strategies, and sometimes a bit of friendly competition sprinkled on top. This strategy started with people going door-to-door collecting spare change and contributions, but today's digital tools and communication platforms make this one of the most popular fundraising strategies of the 21st century.

One of the secrets to the long-term success of P2P fundraising is that nonprofits who use this strategy are empowering their supporters to become advocates and partners. Not only does it help you reach your financial goals, but it can also expand your donor base and open up new networks. Peer-to-peer fundraising can also help boost donor retention rates.

Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns have practically become a staple in the nonprofit fundraising strategy "playbook." We can thank the rise of social media for the shift toward peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising, but COVID-19 only solidified it as a top fundraising strategy for nonprofits.

Here's a quick summary of how it works: Peer-to-peer fundraising allows donors and supporters to raise money on your behalf with personalized online fundraising pages. These individual campaigns can take many forms, but the goal is to mobilize your supporters to fundraise from their friends and family.

According to CrowdCrux, in 2020, nonprofit crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns raised an average of $9,237, and the average donation was $66.

Understanding the difference between crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns can be confusing. There tends to be a lot of overlap and similarities, but they are not one and the same. Have no fear! We'll unpack it for you and help you understand which one is right for you.