Peer-To-Peer Fundraising Ideas: Tips To Attract & Mobilize Supporters

 

Whether you’re new to peer-to-peer fundraising or looking for some fresh ideas to rally community support for your nonprofit, you’ve come to the right place. 

 

In this article, we’ll cover a range of peer-to-peer fundraising ideas and tips, plus seven inspiring examples from real nonprofits. After reading, your organization can create a campaign that moves supporters to raise some serious dough for your cause.

 

7 peer-to-peer fundraising examples to get your gears turning

Peer-to-peer fundraising (also known as “P2P”) is fundraising that’s accomplished by a team effort. Friends, family, and supporters come together to raise money for a cause they care about. 

 

Instead of asking individuals to donate directly, P2P fundraising encourages them to call on their own networks and raise funds. 

 

To better understand P2P fundraisers and get inspired, let’s dig into seven creative ideas and examples from real nonprofits. 

 

1. Run, walk, roll 🏃

Charity runs and walks can mobilize huge groups of people. Whether it’s a 5K in your local park, or a large scale virtual event, this kind of peer-to-peer fundraising is a solid way to motivate a much larger pool of participants while fostering friendly competition.

 

 

🤩 See it in action: The Advisory Council for Blythedale Children’s Hospital hosts (and livestreams!) an annual virtual 5K run/walk/bike event with peer-to-peer and team fundraising built-in. 

Through their most recent campaign, they’ve raised over $50K for their programs from hundreds of new donors. 

 

2. Online gaming 🎮

The gaming community is gigantic. When you add P2P fundraising into the mix, you can motivate a donor base from all over the globe. They can showcase their skills while bringing in much-needed dollars for your programs. 

 

🤩 See it in action: ATX Game Makers hosted a Hibernation Game Jam-A-Thon, which combined peer-to-peer team fundraising and gameplay with an in-person gaming event!

 

3. Giving days 📅

With the right engagement strategy, giving days like Giving Tuesday can make an excellent peer-to-peer fundraising opportunity. 

 

Equip your supporters with social media graphics they can share to spread the word and bring in more donations.

 

 

🤩 See it in action: Darlington School raised more than $60K through their independent school giving day by asking supporters to promote P2P campaign pages far and wide.

 

4. Birthday fundraisers 🎂

Instead of asking for traditional birthday presents, supporters can ask friends and family to make donations to a cause. 

 

Encourage those who want to create a birthday fundraiser on your organization’s behalf share a personal story of why the cause is meaningful for them. This can boost the campaign’s impact. 

 

🤩 See it in action: The Live Like Lou Foundation encourages individual supporters to ask for donations for families impacted by ALS through birthday campaigns. 

 

5. DIY 🎨

One of the best ways to mobilize and rally a large crowd for a fundraiser is by allowing participants to be creative! 

 

Instead of setting all the rules, let your participants choose how they’d like to raise money. After all, they know what will motivate their friends and family the most!

 

🤩 See it in action: Supporters of Bread and Roses Missouri hosted a in-person event along with their peer-to-peer campaign. This helped raise funds for their arts and social justice programs—an innovative solution to rallying peers around shared interests. 

 

6. Social media challenges 🤳

There’s nothing quite like social media for spreading the word and engaging large numbers of people. But the trick is catching their attention! With channels like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and those we haven’t even heard of yet, the opportunities are endless!

 

Talk to an expert about reaching your engagement potential on social media!

 

When giving peer-to-peer fundraisers the opportunity to participate in fun and shareable events, you’ll grow your potential for audience contribution. 

 

🤩 See it in action: Inspired by the ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge,” Hope for PDCD launched an “Eat Butter, Save Kids,” challenge. They encouraged participants to share videos and pictures of themselves eating butter on social media to raise awareness and money to further ALS research.

 

7. Holiday campaigns 🎁

Holidays are a great time to encourage supporters to give back and encourage their friends to do the same. In fact, many nonprofits plan out an entire year-end giving strategy to make the most of the generosity of the season. 

🤩 See it in action: “Because everyone deserves to be home for the holidays,” Done For DiDi launched a “Rent for Moms” peer-to-peer fundraising campaign that brought in over $100K. This helped single Black moms retain housing during the holiday season. 

 

Peer-to-peer fundraising tips and best practices

Now that we’ve covered some of the best peer-to-peer fundraising ideas, let’s dig into peer-to-peer fundraising tips and best practices.

 

• Set clear goals 🎯 Define SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) fundraising goals to motivate your P2P participants and give them something to work towards.

 

• Provide easy-to-use tools ⚒️ Offer a user-friendly (and mobile-optimized) online fundraising platform. With this, participants can create their personalized pages and start fundraising with ease. 

 

• Craft a compelling narrative 💛 Explain why your mission matters and how the funds raised will make a difference. Share that language for your P2P participants to adapt for their own messaging. 

 

• Offer incentives 🏆 Consider offering prizes for top fundraisers or achieving specific milestones. Team leaderboards and fundraising thermometers can keep everyone in the know and boost competitive spirits.

 

• Use regular communication 🤳 Maintain contact with participants throughout the campaign by sharing updates, celebrating success stories, and offering support.

 

• Prioritize appreciation 🙏 Acknowledge and thank your fundraisers frequently through emails, social media shout-outs, or handwritten notes. Encourage them to share gratitude with their family members, friends, and acquaintances who contributed. 

 

• Offer training and support 💪 Provide training sessions or webinars to help participants become effective fundraisers and rally your team together.

 

• Track data 📈 Use analytics to monitor campaign performance so you know what’s working and what you can improve next time. 

 

• Don’t forget to follow up 👋 Continue engaging with your fundraisers after the campaign ends with a meaningful thank you campaign. Best practice is to share updates on how the funds are being used. 

 

Put your peer-to-peer fundraising ideas into action

A successful peer-to-peer fundraising strategy depends on the ability to harness the power of communities. turning individual supporters into advocates for a shared cause. Whether it’s a birthday fundraiser or virtual event, the right inspiration, tools, and best practices can help your nonprofit reach your fundraising goals. 

 

Looking for the best P2P platform? With Givebutter, nonprofits and supporters get world-class peer-to-peer fundraising software and team fundraising tools—completely free. Sign up today to get started.