Peer-to-peer fundraising is changing the way many nonprofits are structuring their overall outreach strategies. But what is it?

Peer-to-peer fundraising is a method of fundraising that leverages your supporters to fundraise on your behalf. It’s also known as social fundraising, personal and/or team fundraising, crowdfunding, or P2P fundraising. Unlike traditional fundraising, where someone from the nonprofit asks an individual for a donation, peer-to-peer fundraising can reach new networks of people who wouldn’t otherwise be aware of the cause or organization.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Brings People Together

Peer-to-peer fundraising has become very popular for charity athletic events where someone gets a group of their friends to donate or participate in supporting them. However, P2P can also be a great way to generate excitement and enthusiasm for a year-end campaign or project.

Instead of a traditional email appeal, why not consider getting a group of volunteers or donors to agree to raise a certain amount of money from their friends and co-workers on behalf of your organization? These types of campaigns can be fun and engage a large number of people. They can also be a great way to acquire new donors and volunteers.

One of the biggest reasons for the rise and popularity of peer-to-peer fundraising is donors are more likely to support someone they trust (friend, family member, etc.) over a stranger soliciting donations. Hearing about a cause from a trusted friend or family member also creates an emotional affiliation for potential donors to your cause. P2P fundraising then becomes an excellent tool to have while bringing new friends and donors to your nonprofit.

Benefits of a P2P Campaign

• You can leverage the power of your supporters to spread the word about your campaign to meet your year-end fundraising goals.
• By choosing to run a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, you’ll mobilize your current supporters. Engaging them in the process will help get your campaign before the eyes of a potential new prospective donor base.
• Peer-to-peer fundraising can be the perfect way to acquire new donors and retain the ones you already have.
• Encouraging peer-to-peer fundraising among your existing donors at the end of the year also motivates them to give more to your organization. When your supporters feel connected to your organization, they are more likely to stick around next year.
• It’s relatively easy to accomplish with off-the-shelf software.
• You can set it up to operate year-round.

So there you have it. Peer-to-peer fundraising is a pretty straightforward concept. When volunteer fundraisers share their stories about your organization, remember they’re taking ownership of the campaign and making the cause personal. Peer-to-peer is an excellent strategy to boost and enhance your year-end fundraising efforts while getting more people involved.

Free Recorded Webinar: Virtual Fundraising Tactics

Virtual events are less expensive to produce than in-person events, so you don’t need to budget as much for them. You can remove many barriers that allow more people to get involved with your cause. You can create access for people to participate from anywhere. They are an excellent way to tell stories about what your nonprofit is doing and build a community around your mission. Creating a larger online presence can foster more awareness about your organization, which can lead to you meeting or even exceeding your revenue goals. Not only that, but trends suggest virtual fundraisers could be standard moving forward.

During this webinar, you will learn:

• The keys to virtual fundraising
• Pros and cons of virtual fundraisers
• How to use the right tools and technology for successful events