Peer-to-Peer and Community Fundraising for Nonprofits

Updated: Jun 4

Part 5 of The Ultimate Guide to Digital Fundraising for Nonprofits

An illustration of people doing peer-to-peer and community fundraising

What is peer-to-peer fundraising?

Peer-to-peer fundraising mobilises your supporters to become fundraisers for your cause, creating their own mini-campaigns to raise funds from their networks of friends and family.

Peer-to-peer fundraising is typically done around events, be they organised by…

The charity, eg Movember, Steptember, Walk for Parkinson’s, Great Cycle Challenge
A third party, for example community fun runs like Sydney’s City2Surf or other community sporting events
An individual fundraiser or a team, like birthday fundraisers, cake stalls or other community-inspired ideas.

The latter two types above are sometimes referred to as “community fundraising”, and the third specifically as “DIY” (do it yourself) events. Whatever the name or classification, the peer-to-peer mechanic is the same across these three event types.

Screenshot of the Steptember event homepage — Steptember invites people to raise money for Cerebral Palsy Alliance by moving 10,000 steps a day during the month of September.

To me, the best thing about peer-to-peer fundraising is that it mobilises your community in a different and complementary way to donating in order to bring funds to your cause. Brian, 54, may have ample money to donate to you, but lack the time or interest needed to raise funds from his network. On the other hand, Sam, 24, may have little disposable income, but be an exuberant extravert with loads of positive energy, just waiting for the next adventure to throw herself into – and bring her friends and family along for.

In this way, a peer-to-peer fundraiser who can’t afford to donate to you may end up bringing you thousands of dollars in revenue. And many do.

The other great thing about peer-to-peer events is the wonderful community building and engagement they facilitate. These events give people who care about or are affected by an issue an opportunity for positive action and impact; an especially valuable aspect for people facing difficult and long-term illnesses or conditions.

The Great Cycle Challenge for example invites participants to cycle consistently for a month to “raise funds to end childhood cancer and save little lives”. Obviously cancer is a nightmare scenario for children, their parents and communities. Being able to get active, join other people facing a similar situation and together fight back against that condition gives people a positive outlet. And the stories and content are incredible.

Screenshot of a Great Cycle Challenge Facebook post and reactions — The Great Cycle Challenge is fantastic at rallying the community to celebrate its heroes – both the kids battling cancer and the fundraisers participating in the event.

To help your supporters optimise their fundraising for your cause, you’ve got to nurture their efforts, support them, keep them motivated and break down their barriers. You also need to help them reach milestones that we know are important for maximising their fundraising, such as:

Customising their fundraising profile page
Making a first donation to themselves
Sharing their page on social media with a clear ask to their friends to donate to their efforts.

You must create effective and responsive supporter journeys to help your fundraisers reach these milestones and their targets. Ideally these journeys are accompanied by personal, one-to-one calls and emails. For bigger events supported by your organisation, you also want to build social momentum throughout the campaign by sharing participant stories, giving social proof and celebrating the amazing work of your fundraisers and their teams.

Some of the most beautiful moments come through this community-oriented content. This is gold for achieving impact for your cause.

Most peer-to-peer donors are motivated to support their friend, colleague or relative taking part in the event, and not necessarily by your cause. This can make it hard to convert them to ongoing donors after the campaign, even if you have permission to contact them.

To give it your best shot, you should call them as soon as possible after their donation to try to convert them to monthly giving. But you also need to accept that most aren’t going to become ongoing donors. Either way, if you do a good job of supporting your fundraisers and make a great return on peer-to-peer events, it’s all worth it.

What platform should I use to run my peer-to-peer fundraising campaign?

Last but not least is the question of platform.

Various platforms have risen since the early 2000s to help nonprofits organise and facilitate peer-to-peer fundraising events. Over time, functionality has become more niche, offerings more advanced and user interfaces more attractive.

There are now several flexible platforms that serve all types of peer-to-peer fundraising events, with cutting-edge tools to help you and your fundraisers maximise money raised for the cause. Two such platforms that I know, trust and am impressed by are Funraisin and Raisely.

You should do your own research and assess a range of platform possibilities before committing to one for your peer-to-peer and community fundraising events.

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