Step by Step Guide
for Planning a Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaign

You must have a fair idea about peer-to-peer fundraising by now, if not click here to know the fundamentals. If you do already, let’s trod right on to understand what actually goes into making a peer-to-peer fundraising strategy.

The success of peer fundraising or social fundraising depends on how well you have planned it. There are many ways to strategize your P2P fundraising efforts, & the most effective approach will vary depending on your organization's goals and resources. Here is what we have learned from facilitating 15000+ campaigns so far.

1. Define Clear Goals

The first step is to identify your organization’s goal. What are you hoping to achieve by running a P2P fundraiser? Once you know your goals, you can narrow down your search to volunteers & platforms that offer the features you need to meet your goals.

While setting realistic fundraising goals for your campaign. Be sure to consider these points-

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   1. Identify the urgency - Determine the cause's urgency to figure out how much & how fast you need to fundraise. Consider your target audience for the fundraiser and identify why they might be giving to your cause.
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   2. Time Duration - After knowing your fundraiser goal amount, set a time duration for your campaign. You can also consider important awareness dates/weeks and find out the best time of the year to fundraise.
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   3. Volunteer Bandwidth - Volunteers are the backbone of P2P. Can someone from your current volunteer base help or are you working with a new cohort from schools, universities, or the local community?
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   4. Donor Profile - Check your past donor profile - their giving potential, language, preferred communication & payment methods. This will also inform your volunteer recruitment strategy.
   
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2. Choose P2P Fundraising Type

Are you going for Online, In-person, or Hybrid peer-to-peer fundraising? Each has its own set of pros and cons and the time and effort that go into planning event types under each will vary.

1. In-person Peer-to-Peer fundraising
2. In-person Peer-to-peer fundraising is the practice of having a nonprofit’s supporters organize and take part in an in-person activity, such as a walk, bicycle ride, fundraising galas, and other types of offline events to reach out to their network of friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues for donations.
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4. Online Peer-to-Peer fundraising
5. Fundraising is done entirely online - donations are collected online using a fundraising platform, website, or social media. Similarly, peers use online communication channels & organize virtual events (webinars, galas, online campaigns) to reach out to their network.
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7. Hybrid Peer-to-Peer fundraising
8. Hybrid fundraising leverages both online & offline fundraising methods in a single fundraising campaign. This could be a mix of webinars, email outreach, & in-person events (bake sale, awareness drives, experiential installations at malls, & galas). Hybrid P2P gives 47% better results than traditional P2P.

3. Find your Champions

When it comes to peer-to-peer fundraising, one of the most important elements is finding volunteers who are passionate about your cause and willing to spread the word in their network. Most organizations choose their most loyal supporters & people who have shown commitment to the cause. Likely, these people will already be aligned with the campaign's purpose and will give 100% to the campaign.

How to choose a volunteer

As a fundraiser, you know that volunteers are essential to the success of your peer-to-peer campaign. But where can you find volunteers who are passionate about your cause and willing to put in the time and effort to make your campaign a success?

There are a few different places you can look for volunteers.

1. Existing Network - First, try reaching out to your existing network of supporters. Ask them if they would be interested in volunteering for your campaign.
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3. Local Organizations- You can contact local organizations related to your cause & see if they have any volunteers who would be interested in helping out.
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   Social Media- There are different platforms where your ideal volunteers can be present. Put out the word on social media to reach them.
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   Community groups - Almost every cause has a group of supporters, you can reach out to those communities for support.
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   Volunteer Recruitment post - Reach out to job portals and post volunteer opportunities. Tell them how volunteering with your organization can be effective for their portfolios.
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8. Think schools, colleges, universities, and even corporates. With a little bit of effort, you should be able to find volunteers who align with your cause and can drive your peer-to-peer campaign.

4. Find the right P2P platform

Selecting the right P2P platform is essential to ensure the success of your P2P program. A good P2P platform is meant to aid your fundraiser by saving manual time in follow-ups, sending tax receipts, and maintaining excel sheets to track performances.

Consider the following while choosing the platform.

1. 1. What are the team features the platform offers - is it just a crowdfunding platform or has team fundraising features
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   2. Ease of creating a campaign - can a 10-year-old create a campaign? Intuitive platforms are built for great user experience
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   3. Donor Experience - Does it reduce donor friction - find out what features does it offer to ensure a smooth donor experience.
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   4. Compliance & Reporting - Are they built to meet your local tax compliance laws regarding reporting, caps on donations, etc.?
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   5. Safety & Privacy - Donor and Volunteer data safety and privacy features that the platform offers.
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   6. Price - Does the price fit your budget and does the cost-benefit ratio justify the donor money being spent?
   

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5. Create Compelling Content

When it comes to peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising, content is key. The first step is identifying the campaign story; tell your donors what are you raising funds for, how many lives it will impact, and your utilization plan. Give them all the information they need to make an informed decision. Use visuals - posters, videos, etc of your team, beneficiary, etc in the campaign.

Create the following content before your campaign goes live:

1. 1. Campaign Content/ Landing Page
   Based on the P2P platform, you can design the content for the campaign’s landing page. Include these points in the content:
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3. - Campaign title
   - Campaign Vision
   - Campaign Organizer
   - Fundraising Goal
   - Fundraising Appeal
   
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5. 2. High-Quality Visual Content
   Both written content and visual content affect the viewer differently. It is essential to include both in your content strategy to make your campaign more authentic and appealing.
   
   Include real high-quality visuals related to the campaign. It can be images of beneficiaries, previous fundraisers, testimonial videos, fundraising appeal videos, etc.
   
   3. Marketing Content
   Decide where you would like to market the content. What is the budget? Would you like to run paid ads? Would you like to conduct webinars? Ensure the collaterals you create for email marketing, social media posts, and paid ads are on brand - this includes the font, colors, layouts, tone, etc.
   
   4. Communication Content
   Plan and create content that the volunteers may need at various stages during fundraising - whether it is an FAQ document, brochure, email and text message scripts, social media posts, or captions. It is essential that the messaging is consistent no matter who is using the content.

6. Training the Volunteers

During onboarding & volunteer training, ensure that the volunteers become comfortable with using the fundraising platform & know how to create and share their sub-campaigns. Provide them the relevant marketing & communication content so they can address important concerns that prospective donors may have.

7. Engage your Volunteers

Have regular get-togethers with your volunteers to resolve any issues, come up with solutions, and keep their motivation high. Celebrate their milestones by way of shout-outs, sharing their success story, and tagging on social media to recognize their efforts.  Make sure your volunteers have a great time fundraising with you.

8. Thank them All

Recognize the efforts of your peers by thanking them and acknowledging their work. There are many different ways to thank your supporters. You can send them a handwritten note, an email, or even a postcard. You can also give them a shout-out on social media, or send them a gift.

No matter how you choose to thank your supporters, always be sure to express your sincere gratitude. A small gesture can go a long way in showing your appreciation for their continued support.

If you are organizing a webinar to thank your supporters, grab our free webinar template here.

9. Analyze and Adjust

Peer-to-Peer is a great opportunity to understand your donors and volunteers. Make sure to analyze each peer campaign and overall fundraising journey- collect donor data and spot patterns on what worked and what did not. Use the findings and learning to inform your next campaign strategy.

Crowdera helps nonprofit organizations build sustainable fundraising strategies & leverage their network to raise funds using customized, simple & smart AI-enabled platforms.

Interested in building a sustainable Peer-to-Peer Fundraising strategy?