A Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Guide for Nonprofits
What is Peer-to-Peer Fundraising?
Peer-to-Peer fundraising is a fundraising method that leverages your supporters as advocates of your campaign.
Not to be confused with “crowdfunding”, the main purpose of peer-to-peer fundraising is to call on supporters to fundraise on your behalf, rather than simply make a one-time donation.
So how can your organization implement a Peer-to-Peer fundraising campaign? We connected with our partners at Salsa Labs to deliver our best practices on peer-to-peer fundraising — so if you’re looking to implement a fundraising campaign for your organization, we recommend breaking the process down into these three stages.
Stage 1: Plan.
In this stage, you’ll want to determine the purpose of your campaign and set goals that are specific, measurable, and attainable. Determine how much funding you’ll need to reach your goals and if these are reasonable for your supporters to accomplish. Specifically, you should be able to answer the question:
What are you trying to accomplish with this campaign, and where will the funds go?
Once you’ve decided on a goal, plan the content and platforms around the campaign’s purpose. Begin brainstorming types of content that will inspire supporters to get involved and remember your audience. Your content should inspire and educate two types of people: those who are already supportive of your organization and their family and friends who may be unfamiliar with your cause.
(Tip: Include guidelines/toolkits for your supporters within your content plan so that they can accurately represent your organization to others. For example: email scripts, suggested social copy, and more.)
When picking your platform(s), you might be able to take advantage of the donor management tools you already have at your disposal, or opt for a third-party or social platform – like Facebook, Classy, or GoFundMe. The key is making sure that these tools are integrative so you can follow up with your CRM.
Need help determining the types of content and platforms you’ll need for your fundraising campaign? Watch the webinar here.
Stage 2: Promote.
Now’s the fun part. It’s time to get started promoting your campaign.
But wait – before you start broadcasting your message, determine who this campaign is relevant to. Are you trying to reach a broader audience, or a specific audience segment (like event registrants)? In other words, you’ll need to make sure you’re speaking to the right people.
So you have started your campaign and are developing a list of supporters. At this point, it’s important to nurture these relationships. Make sure you’re keeping your supporters updated on the campaign progress.
Some other ways to maintain a relationship and encourage more advocate efforts is to: recognize top fundraisers, send emails with tips & tricks for fundraising, or create a sense of urgency towards the end of your campaign.
Stage 3: Celebrate Success!
You’ve finished your fundraising, but your job isn’t done quite yet.
Now’s the time to thank your fundraisers for all of their efforts! Consider publicly recognizing your top fundraisers, empowering your supporters to share their impact, and encouraging your fundraisers to individually thank the donors they reached out to.
It’s important at the end of your campaign to present your impact story. Let your supporters and advocates know that the work they did matters, by answering a similar question from your planning stage: Did we reach our goal and where will these funds go?