Peer-to-Peer Fundraising for Giving Events

Peer-to-peer fundraising can be your secret giving event weapon! Learn about this fundraising technique and how you can use it to maximize your impact.

One of the reasons giving events are an effective fundraising tool is the sense of urgency they create. Instead of stretching a campaign out for months, it concentrates the giving on a single day. But, while that can lend a sense of immediacy to the importance of giving, it can also generate challenges. How do you reach all of your followers in a limited space of time?! And how do make a big impact when you have social media algorithms and people who don’t open their emails working against you?

The answer is incorporating peer-to-peer fundraising into your giving event strategy.

Giving Events

What is Peer-to-Peer Fundraising?

Peer-to-peer fundraising technique where you leverage your existing supporters to fundraise for you. Peer-to-peer fundraising usually entails asking your supporters to set up their own page to collect donations on behalf of your organization, but the specifics can vary. And it’s got some major benefits when deployed as part of a giving event.

Why It’s a Game-Changer for Giving Events

So, during a giving event, you’re basically running a fundraising sprint. And what peer-to-peer fundraising does is ensure that you’re not running alone. You’ve got your nonprofit’s biggest supporters alongside you as you rush toward the finish line. And those supporters have their own supporters, who cheer everyone on.

What is a Giving Event?

Instead of simply confining your fundraising efforts to your existing donor base, peer-to-peer allows you to step outside of it to garner more support. While your nonprofit is contacting your base of supporters, your fundraisers are reaching out to theirs. Their base of support includes friends, family, social media followers, and acquaintances. They ask those people to make a donation to your organization to support them. And it’s stunningly effective: Many people make their first donation to a nonprofit because someone they know asked them to, and studies have even found that seeing our peers give can encourage us to give more.

And the best thing about peer-to-peer fundraising is donor acquisition. Your nonprofit, in most cases, does not have access to your donor’s social network. But, when they sign up to do peer-to-peer fundraising, you do. 

So, the answer to the question about how to break outside of your existing donor list? It’s peer-to-peer fundraising. And the answer to how to generate as much activity and impact as possible during a giving event? It’s also peer-to-peer fundraising.

How to Incorporate Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

When you’re gearing up to participate in a giving event, your focus is probably on how best to solicit your donors for a gift. But there are some other strategies to getting them involved you should consider!

Ask People to Fundraise

This is one of the simplest ways to get some peer-to-peer action going: Just ask! It’s a really simple way for your supporters to get involved in your giving event campaign, show their support for your organization, and help out.

Mightycause is a platform with peer-to-peer baked right in. All someone needs to do to fundraise for your nonprofit is go to your organization profile and click the button that says “Fundraise.” Our platform walks them through setting up their page.  You can make it even easier by setting up Fundraiser Templates to pre-fill key parts of you fundraisers’ pages. With a Fundraiser Template, you can add a photo, text and set a goal for their campaign. Some of your fundraisers may want to customize their page with more personal information, but for those that don’t, they can fast-track right through the process.

Introducing Fundraiser Templates

Sending out an email, posting on social media, and working it into your communications with donors is all you need to do. (Just be sure to send them to your Mightycause page to associate it with the giving event you’re participating in!)

Utilize Events

If you’re looking to proactively organize a peer-to-peer fundraising element for your giving event campaign, the Events product is just what you need. It sounds a little confusing (an event inside of a giving event?!) but here’s what Events allow you to do:

  • Create a separate page where you can invite individuals and teams of individuals to fundraise toward a collective goal
    • Set a group fundraising goal
    • Create a landing page where people can learn more about fundraising for your cause during the giving event
    • Have teams of fundraisers working together to raise money. Having your board of directors or volunteers form teams is a great way to up the ante!
    • Pull together resources for your fundraisers in one location
  • Manage your fundraisers more closely with our Participant management tools
    • See who is raising money and who may need help getting their page published
    • Create templates

Events also allow you to manage registration for in-person events through an integration with Eventbrite. So, if you’re planning an in-person component to your giving event fundraising, Events allow you to go even further by adding a peer-to-peer element!

picture of someone joining a team on mightycause on a smartphone

Create a Toolkit

The key to making peer-to-peer fundraising a successful component of your campaign is making it as easy as possible. A lot of the ease is built right into the Mightycause platform. But, to make fundraising even easier, you can put together a simple toolkit for your peer-to-peer ambassadors. Here’s what it should contain:

  • Logo and images they can use on their fundraising page and on social media
  • Some talking points about what you do and why you do it
  • Some fundraising pointers
  • Sample email or social media post copy
  • And a link to our Resource Center for a support library, ebooks, webinars, and more!

Who Should Be Doing the Peer-to-Peer Fundraising for You?

Usually the first question nonprofits want to know about peer-to-peer fundraising is, “Who?” But it’s not hard to find people to fundraise for your nonprofit — the best peer-to-peer fundraisers are the people who support your work year-round.

1. Your board

This one should be obvious, but nonprofits can be shy about asking their board of directors to get involved in peer-to-peer fundraising. But the financial well-being of your nonprofit is a key part of their commitment to your organization. So, it’s totally fine to ask! And it’s a great way to get them more actively engaged in fundraising, beyond paying dues or approving your budget.

Since board members tend to be busy people, using a fundraiser template or setting up an Event for your board can help make participation a lot easier for them. (Some nonprofits have even been known to fully set up board members’ pages and just give them a link to share. If you have an extra-busy board, this is 100% okay for you to do!)

2. Your volunteers

Your volunteers are your nonprofits’ rock. You can count on them to show up for shifts, do dirty jobs no one else wants to do, hand out fliers in the freezing cold and swampy heat. They’re there for your organization. And because of that, nonprofits can worry that asking them to fundraise is asking too much. But it’s one of the easiest things they can do! (Much easier than doing dishes and more fun than sorting in-kind donations!)

Running a peer-to-peer fundraiser can be done remotely, doesn’t require a huge time commitment, and most importantly, allows your volunteers to get public with their support! Most volunteers are happy to talk about your organization with their family and friends. It’s a fulfilling, meaningful way to them to help out. So don’t be afraid to ask! (Having an info session with interested volunteers is a great way to generate interest!)

3. Your staff

If asking your staff to get involved as peer-to-peer fundraisers didn’t cross your mind, you’re not alone! Lots of nonprofits don’t consider their staff when thinking about peer-to-peer. But think about it. Your staff knows a lot about your cause, already represents your organization, usually knows the primary talking points about your work, and are natural advocates for your cause. So, why not ask them to fundraise?!

Starting a staff challenge with an Event is a great way to get them excited about it. Consider offering an incentive to the top fundraiser. (Prime parking spot or an extra day of PTO, anyone?)

4. Your donors

This can seem paradoxical, right? But here’s why your tried-and-true donors are great peer-to-peer fundraisers. Most people make donations to their own fundraisers, and this allows them to do more than simply donate. Acting as a fundraiser gets them to talk to their friends and social network about why they invest in your cause, why they care about your nonprofit, and get them fired up about your work.

This is a powerful thing, because most people make their first donation to a nonprofit because someone they know asked them to. So, in addition to making a donation, they have the opportunity to help spread the word about your work and bring you new donors.

5. Social media followers

Social media followers are often people that nonprofits have a hard time figuring out how to engage. There is overlap with your donor list, obviously, but nonprofits also have a lot of social media followers who don’t ever make it onto your email list or make a donation. Peer-to-peer fundraising can be an excellent way to build a bridge to deeper involvement with your nonprofit.

Sometimes, a giveaway can help get your followers to make the leap to start a fundraiser. (Remember, raffles aren’t allowed on Mightycause, but offering a free bumper sticker or t-shirt to the first fundraisers to raise $100 or something along those lines is okay to do!)

Learn More About Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

If you want to know more about peer-to-peer fundraising and the different tactics that can help raise money during your giving event, we’ve got a whole ebook about it! Learn more in the Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Ebook, which is totally free in our Resource Library.

peer-to-peer fundraising ebook cover

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