Peer to Peer Fundraising: Where to Begin
Peer to peer fundraising, also known as p2p, team, social, or personal fundraising, is a way of fundraising that involves your supporters raising money on your nonprofit’s behalf. At GiveGab, we call these folks Fundraising Champions because of their commitment to go above and beyond for a cause they love.
Why Use P2P?
Your supporters each have their own social networks they can tap into that expands beyond the reach of your organization.
When a supporter is involved as a p2p fundraiser for your cause, they must develop an interest in getting their close social circles involved in order to successfully reach their fundraising goals.
Your supporters are essentially volunteering to raise money for your nonprofit and doing so by reaching out to their personal contacts; people you would otherwise not have access to or influence over.
How to Begin
There are a number of ways you can begin to incorporate p2p fundraising, but a helpful component is having established close relationships with a set group of supporters that you feel would be happy to fundraise for you and promote your campaign.
People who are already actively involved – who have volunteered and/or donated to you in the past – should be contacted about becoming personal fundraisers or Fundraising Champions.
You can contact these supporters by sending out personalized emails, requesting that they fundraise for you, and providing them with clear instructions on how they can do this. If you’re using a fundraising platform, there should be a functionality that allows you to do this more seamlessly.
On GiveGab, for instance, you can create your online campaign and invite your supporters to become fundraising champions on your behalf all in one place. You simply click on “Add a Fundraiser” when editing your campaign, and you’re able to invite anyone who has entered volunteer hours or donated to your cause through the platform to become a p2p fundraiser!
A Prime Example
Another great way to leverage fundraising champions is to include p2p fundraising as part of a volunteer opportunity or event. A prime example of this comes from a campaign created by Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland Counties (TCHFH): Women Build Weekend.
This exciting volunteer and learning opportunity encourages women to sign up as a group to help build affordable housing for those in need.
Although each group has a team fundraising page and collective goal, individuals are also encouraged to set personal goals with separate, individual fundraising pages that people can donate to.
Raising money for the nonprofit then becomes a healthy competition within and across fundraising teams, encouraging everyone to raise as much as they can individually and collectively.
The end result is more donations and more revenue for the organization!
