Peer-to-peer fundraising:
The Ultimate Start-up Toolkit
what is peer-to-peer Fundraising?
Peer-to-peer fundraising is any activity in which you as a supporter of an organization ask your friends, family, neighbors, and network (aka your peers) to join you in supporting a cause. The term is used in juxtaposition to professional fundraising in which people’s careers are to form relationships and source funding on behalf of an organization. As a result, peer-to-peer fundraising is defined less by the activities involved and more by the people involved - the peer-to-peer. The most common examples of peer-to-peer fundraising involve fun runs or charity races, dance marathons, bake sales, and lemonade stands.
Peer-To-Peer Fundraising Platforms
Peer-to-peer fundraising is any activity in which you as a supporter of an organization ask your friends, family, neighbors, and network (aka your peers) to join you in supporting a cause. The term is used in juxtaposition to professional fundraising in which people’s careers are to form relationships and source funding on behalf of an organization. As a result, peer-to-peer fundraising is defined less by the activities involved and more by the people involved - the peer-to-peer. The most common examples of peer-to-peer fundraising involve fun runs or charity races, dance marathons, bake sales, and lemonade stands.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Ideas
The wonderful thing about peer-to-peer fundraising is the options are endless! The key is to consider what your peers would be interested in giving to and how you can match that with your time, talents, and resources, to best tell an organization’s story and your personal connection to the cause. If you’re an incredible baker, have a bake sale.
If you have a big following on social media, share the cause there over a couple of weeks with some cool stories about what you’re learning and why you care. If you’ve got a business or a side hustle, include some donation cards with your product or service and give them to your customers with a quick note about why they should support the organization.
Peer-To-Peer Fundraising Tips:
Make it personal:
People will give first and foremost because of their relationship and connection to you. So however you choose to raise money, make it yours. Personalize the event or ask with insight into who you are and why you find the cause important. Don’t just tell the organization’s story, tell your story and how it intertwines with the organization. And be creative! We’ve listed some ideas for peer-to-peer fundraisers, but the opportunities are unlimited. The more creative and unique you are in your approach to fundraising, the more likely your peers will take notice and join in. Consider what’s been done before as a starting point and then figure out how to make it your own.
Consider your audience:
We all have different networks and, as individuals, we don’t often think about who makes up our network. But with fundraising, it’s important to consider any group of people as a potential market. If you’re in your 30s, odds are most of your closest friends and peers are also in their 30s and are young families or young professionals focused on their careers. What does it look like to share the organization’s cause with a 33-year-old mom with three kids versus a 76-year-old retired lawyer? Spend some time thinking about who makes up your peer network and then ask the organization you’re supporting for help creating a compelling story to tell them. They should be able to help you understand your peers as a market and share some stories that would resonate with them. For instance, if we at Water4 were helping someone peer-to-peer fundraise with this 33-year-old mom, we’d share the story of over 1,200 kids getting safe piped water at Kankalay School in Waterloo, Sierra Leone, and how it allowed students to stop missing school to walk for dirty water or miss out on lessons due to dehydration or waterborne illness! This mom would recognize how much she wants her kids to succeed with the opportunity for a safe and healthy school environment and desire the same for kids across Africa.
Leverage peer-to-peer fundraising platforms:
At Water4, we use Classy to help fundraisers quickly create great-looking pages with our custom branding and messaging that they can then update with their personal information and appeal to their peers. These platforms are a great way to make peer-to-peer fundraising faster and simpler while professionally representing the organization you’re raising money for.
Calculate the ROI:
Return on investment is a crucial consideration in peer-to-peer fundraising. Maybe you’re a talented artist and want to raise money for Water4 by creating and selling sweatshirts. How much do they cost you and how much could you sell them for? How much time does it take you to design it? Would you have better margins selling t-shirts, tote bags, or dish towels? Consider what you’re putting in and how much you could get in return for the organization you’re supporting before you settle on an idea. You want high margins on fundraising activities to make the most money for the cause.
Share often:
The Rule of 7 in marketing suggests that someone has to encounter a message seven times before taking action or making a purchase. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see results right away. People are busy and everything is vying for our attention at once, so you may have to share about your fundraiser a few times before someone takes you up on it and offers a donation. Share often, in different ways, and be persistent, and over time, people will become just as passionate about the cause as you are!
