Unlocking peer-to-peer fundraising potential

“People seldom give serious sums without being directly asked to do so. And this goes even for trustees and all others at the very heart of causes. They give because people at their own or a higher level ask them to give—usually more thoughtfully when asked with good reasons, more proportionately when the giving requirements are explained, and the worker [volunteer] himself has helped set the standards and more regularly and dependably when the contact is personal and influential.”—Harold J. Seymour, Designs for Fund-Raising, 1966

Harold (“Si”) Seymour wrote these words at a time when the accepted norm for fundraising was personal visits and face-to-face discussions. Direct Mail was still in its infancy, advertising was an emerging powerhouse (remember Mad Men?), and the ideas of computers, networks, and advanced technology were just dreams.

Si Seymour is known as one of the founders, really, of modern fundraising. He was among the first to actually write about the work of fundraising and codify what successful fundraising looked like. 

If you read Designs for Fund-Raising, you’ll find that many of the concepts and ideas he lays out are just as true today as they were nearly 60 years ago:

“People give because someone asked them to.”

This is the core of peer-to-peer fundraising (sometimes shortened to “P2P”). It’s our modern, technology-driven way of fulfilling relationship-based fundraising; having core volunteers and donors ask others to join them in supporting a nonprofit’s mission.

What is peer-to-peer fundraising exactly?

It’s recruiting people who are close to your organization to run personal campaigns to share with their network of colleagues, friends, and family to raise money for your nonprofit—usually via social media and email.

There are many CRMs and tech platforms that create the technology to support P2P. It typically consists of a unique website for each volunteer fundraiser, along with customized email templates and social media posts to help them publicize the campaign. Many of the platforms will also allow any visitor to create their own fundraiser.

P2P is a fantastic way to engage key volunteers and your community in fundraising and advocacy. Done well, they can be tremendously successful. 

The power of social proof

Humans are social creatures. We, in general, find comfort in being in groups and, indeed, take our cues on how to behave based on how others like us do things. We like to belong. (And, yes, it’s true even for the most stalwart introverts.)

The great marketing writer and teacher Seth Godin describes it as “People like us do things like this.” In other words, in order to feel like we’re a part of something, we look to how others behave and then copy that behavior. 

This tendency of mirroring others’ behavior to inform our own actions is a cognitive bias known as “social proof.” Also called informational social influence, “social proof” is exactly why peer-to-peer fundraising is so powerful—the key is in the term “peer.” The invitation to give coming from a recognized and valued peer, friend, neighbor, or community member is a powerful influencer in encouraging others to give. 

It’s at the heart of what we mean in that old fundraising adage, “People give to people.”

(p.s. Social Proof and peer influence is why it’s often more beneficial to have a community member or fellow donor serve as a solicitor or letter signer than a big-name celebrity or person with a fancy title.  We’re far more inclined to want to act the way our friends and neighbors do than someone with a lot of money, power, or position.)

Expanding reach and building brand awareness

Peer-to-peer campaigns tap into the networks of fundraisers, amplifying awareness and driving donations. Each supporter shares their personal connection to the cause, reaching new audiences through friends, family, and social media. This organic, viral potential boosts both visibility and engagement, with fundraisers becoming active ambassadors, not just donors.

Beyond fundraising, peer-to-peer campaigns foster a strong sense of community and build awareness of the mission and the organization in an authentic, impactful way. Supporters are more than just donors; they become advocates, personally invested in the nonprofit’s success. 

This deeper involvement leads to stronger relationships, turning one-time donors into lifelong supporters. The sense of camaraderie and shared purpose enhances the nonprofit’s brand, as fundraisers share their personal stories, humanizing the organization and boosting its authenticity.

A truly successful Peer-to-Peer fundraising campaign requires a mindset of seeing fundraising as a mission—inviting people to be a part of the work together—rather than just revenue generating.

Focus on long-term relationship-building

Before we get into the details of conducting a successful peer-to-peer campaign, let’s begin with the end in mind.

The goal of any really successful fundraising appeal is to build long-term, sustainable relationships with donors. From an ROI perspective, it is much more advantageous to renew a donor than it is to acquire a donor.

Multiple studies point to the fact that the likelihood of making a major gift, or a planned gift is higher amongst engaged, regular, ongoing donors than it is when just looking at wealth or capacity. In other words, a donor who’s been giving to your organization for multiple years is far more likely to make a major or planned gift than the wealthy person you haven’t met yet. 

Which means that P2P acquired donors need to be engaged with a strong, intentional, ongoing engagement and stewardship plan after they make their gift.

When asked why they give to nonprofits, most people will say, “Because I believe in the cause.” When we look at donors acquired through a P2P appeal, while they may indicate belief in the mission, it’s far more likely that they gave because a friend asked them to. 

Which means that your job—the job of the fundraiser—is not only to set up an engaging peer-to-peer appeal, but also to create a very strong, post-appeal stewardship plan.

So, working with your volunteer fundraisers, if you want to engage these donors beyond the P2P appeal itself, design and create a specific stewardship plan that includes:

• A warm and fuzzy thank you for the gift (not just the auto-generated receipt email);
• Acknowledgement and recognition of the person who asked them
• Opt-in and permissions for further communications
• A story-driven introduction to your organization—sharing the mission, vision, and case-for-support
• Personalized and specific donor journey plans to engage them more deeply in the overall mission

In working with your volunteer fundraisers, though, you’ll want to confirm with them that you have their permission to continue to engage the donors they solicit and share with them what the plans are for after the P2P appeal. For various reasons, they may tell you certain people they do not want you to follow up with, such as family members, co-workers, or other very close relationships they prefer to steward and engage themselves.

Remember, too, that your volunteer fundraisers are doing this for you because they do care about the mission—enough to invite others to be a part of it—so regular engagement of these key volunteers with thank you emails, status reports on their campaign, lists of the donors who gave to them, and celebrating the successes is a key part of keeping them engaged and feeling valued.

Learn from past efforts and peers

One of the most powerful ways to ensure success in a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign is to reflect on previous efforts. Whether it’s your organization’s past campaigns or those from other nonprofits in your community, understanding what worked—and what didn’t—can provide invaluable insights. Look at past campaigns for trends in what motivated donors and fundraisers alike. Did certain messaging or a particular call to action resonate with supporters? Did specific social media strategies drive the most engagement? These data points will give you a clear picture of what needs to be replicated and what should be avoided.

Additionally, learning from your peers in the nonprofit sector can provide fresh ideas and strategies. Connect with other organizations or peer-to-peer fundraisers who have successfully run campaigns and ask them about their tactics. Did they use specific types of content (e.g., videos, stories, infographics) to boost engagement? Did they rely on certain platforms for higher conversions? By understanding what others have done right, you can apply their lessons to your own fundraising efforts and avoid common pitfalls.

How to launch a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign

There are a few tried and tested tactics you can use to ensure you have a successful peer-to-peer campaign. The following steps take you through the process from start to finish, looking at multiple facets of a full-fledged campaign:

1. Determine the structure

Are you raising money for a particular focus or project, or is the focus of the appeal general operating support? You may wish to limit the time that peer-to-peer appeals run, such as to meet a specific challenge or match or to coincide with a special event or time of year (e.g., year-end). Peer-to-peer appeals can also work very well for specific giving days, such as Giving Tuesday or a community-wide giving day.

2. Choose the right technology

Ideally, you want a platform that is both easy to use and has the right features for what you need. One primary question to determine is how it integrates with your CRM for importing donor data and gifts, as well as other information, such as who the volunteer solicitor is. The software should allow you to create individual giving pages for each volunteer and, ideally, allow visitors to create their own fundraising page, should they wish to. It should allow for customization so that you can create brand-related graphics and images, as well as clear case-for-support and compelling storytelling. 

Here are a few factors to consider when making your decision:

1. Ease of Use: The platform should be intuitive for both fundraisers and donors. If the user experience is complicated or difficult to navigate, potential donors might abandon the process before completing a donation. Look for a platform that provides an easy setup for fundraisers, allowing them to quickly create and customize their pages without technical expertise.
2. Customization Options: Peer-to-peer fundraisers should be able to personalize their pages to make them unique to their story and fundraising goals. Choose a platform that offers a range of customization options, from adding photos and videos to tweaking the design and messaging to align with your campaign’s theme.
3. Payment Processing and Fees: Review the platform’s payment processing system to ensure it is secure and seamless. Additionally, make sure you understand the platform’s fee structure. Some platforms charge a percentage of the funds raised, while others may have flat fees or additional charges for certain features.
4. Social Sharing Tools: Since peer-to-peer fundraising thrives on social networks, a platform that allows easy sharing of fundraising pages on social media is essential. Look for platforms that offer integration with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email to help fundraisers share their campaigns with their networks and reach as many potential donors as possible.
5. Reporting and Analytics: Effective tracking is key to monitoring your campaign’s performance and optimizing efforts in real-time. Choose a platform that offers robust reporting tools, so you can track how fundraisers are performing, where donations are coming from, and what messaging is most effective.

3. Recruit the right volunteers

Your P2P fundraisers are the heart of your appeal, and they will be much more successful and engaged the more you set up for them. The first step, though, is getting their agreement to participate with a clear understanding of what is expected of them. You may wish to create a “how to” guide showing them how to set up their giving page, giving examples of how to promote it and support the overall campaign. If your P2P platform allows, you should create sample or draft email solicitations, social media posts, and, of course, thank you emails and acknowledgments that will either automatically be sent when someone gives or by the fundraiser when they’re ready.

4. Set clear goals

Working together as a team needs a clearly defined goal so that everyone knows what they’re working towards. A set dollar amount by a specific time is a good motivator for fundraisers and can promote some friendly, engaged competition. In addition to the overall goal, each fundraiser should have their own specific goal that is achievable and measurable. You should plan on updating the entire team and each individual fundraiser on the status towards the entire goal and their own individual results.

5. Plan your encouragement

Your job during the appeal is, first and foremost, to support the volunteer fundraisers, make sure the technology is working, and that they have all the tools and resources they need. Please remember that they are donors and volunteers, too, so they need encouragement and nurturing from you to feel like their efforts are valued, important, and engaged. Send out regular updates and information to your fundraisers, make sure they’re aware of the status towards goals, and perhaps encourage some friendly competition with an internal “leaderboard” or challenges to hit shorter-term goals by certain deadlines (e.g., first one to $5,000 in the first week, first fundraiser to reach 100 donors, etc.)

6. Evaluate and adjust

Keep a close eye on individual fundraiser results and the overall status. Measure not only how many people are giving and responding but average and median gift size, how many people are accessing the fundraising pages, open rates for emails, etc. Based on the results, you may need to evaluate messaging, case-for-support, and even ask levels. A low average gift may tell you that your fundraisers’ ask amounts are too high; low open and click-through rates may mean that the case or messaging isn’t resonating with your audience. A P2P appeal can’t be “set it and forget it” but, instead, needs constant nurturing and updating.

7. Tell compelling stories

Stories inspire action. While the connection to the fundraiser may be what gets people’s initial interest, telling a compelling story that showcases your mission and how it affects an individual will create that connection of human-to-human engagement. Create a “story bank” so that you have several different stories of how your mission helps people and share them with your fundraisers. They may wish to tell the story of their own involvement with your organization and why it matters to them—in fact, sharing their own story of connection and why the mission is important to them can elicit a powerful response from the donors they hope to engage. Be sure that your messaging isn’t just facts and figures but also includes warm, interesting stories that connect and inspire.

8. Solicit feedback

Once the appeal is complete—or even at key points during it—ask your fundraisers how it’s working, what’s working well, and what resources they need. Use this fundraiser as an activity to learn even more about how your fundraising resonates, what adjustments you might need to make, and what you could do better or build upon in future campaigns.

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The importance of a clear, intentional “donor journey” for everyone who gives through your peer-to-peer fundraiser cannot be overstated. The reality is that these respondents aren’t “your” donors . . . .yet. It’s very likely that their allegiance is to the person who solicited them, but with a strategic structure of follow-ups, acknowledgments, and thank yous, they may become some of your most loyal and engaged donors in years to come.

(You may wish to run these donors through a wealth screening tool such as Kindsight’s iwave to gain invaluable insight into capacity, propensity, and ways to cultivate and engage these donors further.)

Peer-to-peer campaigns can be, and are, tremendously successful and an incredibly good way to engage volunteers and communities of donors. As with all fundraising campaigns, though, they should be approached with sufficient planning to use the tools and resources available to make them as successful as possible. Done well and with intention, P2P can be one more powerful tool in the fundraiser’s toolbox.

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T. Clay Buck

With over 30 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and fundraising, T. Clay Buck is the Founder & Principal of Next River Fundraising Strategies, a consultancy focused on individual giving, strategy, systems, and storytelling. He also teaches fundraising and strategic planning at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is the co-host of the #1 ranked fundraising podcast, Fundraising is Funny.