Peer-to-Peer fundraising: The Definitive guide (2024)

What is peer-to-peer fundraising?

Peer-to-peer fundraising, (or P2P fundraising), is when individuals raise money on behalf of a nonprofit organization. Instead of an organization soliciting donations, P2P fundraising empowers its supporters to become fundraisers..

How does peer-to-peer fundraising work?

Peer-to-peer fundraising is a kind of communal fundraising technique. First, individual fundraisers create their own campaign pages with compelling stories and goals, typically on a peer-too-peer fundraising software. Then, participants share them through various channels to ask for contributions. 

Nonprofit peer-to-peer fundraising leverages personal connections to expand an organization's reach and inspire giving. And it’s one of the most popular ways to give. According to research, 2.2 million people took part in peer-to-peer fundraising programs in 2020.

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Peer-to-peer fundraising vs. crowdfunding

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising and crowdfunding are similar. But they have distinct differences:

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising

• Participants: In P2P fundraising, individuals or supporters raise funds on behalf of an organization using individual donation pages.

• Personal connection: Fundraisers reach out to their friends, family, and social networks to seek donations.

• Nonprofit involvement: Nonprofits are directly involved in P2P fundraising campaigns. They provide the tools, resources, and support for fundraisers to be successful. The funds raised are then collected and managed by the nonprofit.

Crowdfunding

• Participants: Crowdfunding involves individuals seeking funds for various causes. It uses one crowdfunding page.

• Platform: These campaigns are often hosted on platforms like Kickstarter or GoFundMe.

• Use: Crowdfunding serves a wide range of purposes, including for-profit.

Both involve reaching out to a network of people for financial support. P2P fundraising, though, usually has a nonprofit focus. And, it includes individual fundraising pages. In comparison, crowdfunding can cover a broader spectrum of projects and fundraising purposes.

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What are the benefits of peer-to-peer fundraising?

P2P is one of the best ways to mobilize supporters from all over the globe. And, it’s one of the best ways to fundraise. Peer fundraising offers:

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• Expanded reach: A P2P fundraising strategy leverages the personal networks of individual fundraisers. This allows your cause to reach a broader audience for donations, and brand awareness.
  
  

• Enhanced engagement: Fundraisers become ambassadors for your organization, creating a deeper connection between them and your nonprofit.
  
  

• Lower acquisition costs: Traditional fundraising methods can be costly. P2P fundraising has lower acquisition costs because it relies on supporters to start and promote campaigns.
  
  

• Peer influence: P2P donations tap into the power of personal connections. This peer influence works to encourage participants to start fundraising to bring in more money to a cause they, and their friends, care about.
  
  

• Sustainability: P2P fundraising is not limited to a single event or campaign. It's also an ongoing strategy to maintain a steady stream of donations and engagement. With the right stewardship and follow-up, it can lead to long-term donor relationships.
  
  

• Fundraising power: One of the biggest benefits of peer-to-peer fundraising is the potential to bring in lots of donations. In 2022, America’s top 30 peer-to-peer fundraising programs raised $1.05 billion. 

6 examples of peer-to-peer fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising is not a one-size-fits-all fundraising solution. Nonprofits can customize their peer-to-peer fundraising events to fit their exact goals and their organization's mission. Here are just. a few examples of peer fundraising campaign ideas:

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Disaster relief and emergency funds 

P2P campaigns are a great way to aid humanitarian crises. In these situations, nonprofits encourage donations to raise funds for affected communities.

The American Red Cross is a great example of emergency P2P fundraising in action. Their nonprofit invites supporters to create fundraisers on their behalf to aid crises.

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Birthday fundraisers 

Instead of asking for birthday gifts, lots of nonprofits encourage supporters to give back. To do so, supporters set up personal fundraising campaigns and ask their social networks for contributions.

Charity: Water allows people to celebrate their birthdays by creating peer-to-peer campaigns. Funds raised support clean water projects in developing countries.

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Charity walk/runs

In this peer to peer event, participants set up a personal fundraising page, which they often share via social media platforms. The walk itself is often a physical, in person event where participants gather to complete it.

AIDS Walk events are held in various cities worldwide. Participants create fundraising teams and complete the walk— the money raised goes to HIV/AIDS research.

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Social media challenges

In this kind of P2P fundraiser, supporters document their efforts on social media. They use relevant hashtags and tags to create a buzz and encourage others to join in. Perfect for amplifying a nonprofit's social media presence, this kind of social fundraising is a great way to actively promote your online campaign, raise awareness about your cause, and encourage participation.

After the death of George Floyd in 2020, a surge of P2P fundraisers emerged on social media. Funds raised supported racial justice organizations, bail funds, and the families of victims.

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Giving days or special occasions

Holidays or other special giving days are perfect opportunities for nonprofits to fundraise. Many nonprofits, for example, try and make the most out of Giving Tuesday.

Feeding America's Children runs a Giving Tuesday P2P campaign every year. The campaign encourages peer to peer fundraisers to ask friends and family to help raise money for hungry children.

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Specific mission-related initiatives

Sometimes, successful P2P events aren’t tied to a specific time of year or challenge. Lots of nonprofits run P2P fundraisers to help raise money to meet specific goals and to help further individual programs and initiatives.

The University of Montreal tripled its fundraising goal through a peer-to-peer campaign. The funds raised supported Multiple Sclerosis research.

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How to start peer-to-peer fundraising in 7 steps

When it comes to peer-to-peer fundraising nonprofits should follow a few basic steps.

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Step 1: Set organizational fundraising goals

Organizing a fundraising event always requires goal setting and resource allocation. 

Before launching your P2P campaign, be sure to answer the following questions:

• Fundraising: What are our fundraising goals? How much money do we want to raise? And what is the specific purpose of the funds?
  
  
• Time and resources: Do we have enough time, money, and staff to allocate to this campaign?
  
  

• Duration: What are the key milestones and deadlines for the campaign? How long will we run this campaign for?
  
  

• Timing: Is this the right time to launch a P2P campaign? Are our donors fatigued or ready to engage in a fundraiser?
  
  

• Key performance indicators (KPIs): How will we measure and assess the success of the campaign?
  
  

• Mission and branding: How does this P2P campaign relate to our overall mission and goals?

→ Check out our free fundraising calendar template.

Step 2: Choose a peer-to-peer fundraising platform

When it comes to peer based fundraising, it’s essential to have the right tools. When comparing what peer-to-peer software is right for your nonprofit, consider:

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• Your budget: Some platforms offer 100% free peer-to-peer campaign software. Others charge expensive platform and processing fees.
  
  

• Ease of use: Your chosen platform should allow fundraisers to create and customize personal campaigns. Plus, it should have an easy-to-use backend.
  
  

• Customer support: Be sure to choose a platform that offers free, unlimited customer support. That way, your nonprofit can navigate any bumps in the road when raising funds.
  
  

• Features: Great P2P fundraising requires lots of tools and gadgets. When choosing your platform, look for gamification, engagement, customization tools, and the ability to post on social media accounts.
  
  

• Shareability: A P2P campaign page must be easily shared. Your P2P platform should include easy ways to share peer to peer pages via text, email, and social media.

Compare Zeffy (100% free) to other top peer-to-peer platforms →

Step 3: Recruit fundraisers

Once you’ve set the right foundation for your fundraiser, it’s time to invite supporters.

Identify and recruit individuals who are passionate about your cause. These could be:

• Past or current volunteers or dedicated supporters
• Past or current board members 
• Recurring donors
• One-time donors 
• Past event attendees
• Social media followers 
• New supporters or new donors

When recruiting volunteers, don’t be afraid to step outside of the box, too. Advertise your P2P campaign at in-person events, or through a newsletter. Or, even consider an influencer partnership.

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Step 4: Create participant campaign pages and set goals

Once you've recruited fundraisers, individual supporters should create their own donation pages. Each individual fundraising page should include:

• Images or videos: According to research, 57% of people who watch nonprofit videos go on to make a donation. Encourage supporters to add photos or videos to their personal fundraising or team fundraising page.
  
  

• An attainable fundraising goal: In P2P campaigns, every fundraiser sets their own fundraising goal. Encourage supporters to set a goal that’s aspirational, but not too far out of reach so they don’t get discouraged.
  
  

• Personal stories: Emotional storytelling is one of the best ways to start raising money. Encourage supporters to write a message on their page about what the cause means to them.
  
  
• An easy way to collect donations: Personal fundraising pages should allow simple payment processing in order to bring in the most money possible.

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Step 5: Fundraisers share their campaigns

With custom fundraising pages published, it’s time to spread the word. Fundraisers can share their pages through:

• Social media 
• Email
• Text messages
• In-person conversations and events
• Through direct mail outreach

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Step 6:  Engage and motivate fundraisers

Your nonprofit should be in constant communication with fundraisers to keep them engaged and motivated. To keep your supporters excited and active in their efforts for your cause, be sure to:

• Use gamification tools: Use features like leaderboards to foster friendly competition among fundraisers.
  
  

• Allow personalized gift messaging: Make peer-to-peer giving more personable by encouraging donors to write messages of encouragement using a donor board.
  
  

• Stay in touch: Remain in contact with fundraisers through email and text. You can check in on their progress and offer advice or feedback.
  
  

• Celebrate participant milestones: Give awards, and spotlight participants on social media or in newsletters.
  
  

• Create marking materials: Take the guesswork out of marketing by giving participants what they need. Supply participants with social media graphics, high-res logos, and approved language. Plus, consider creating and giving out printable materials like flyers.

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Step 7: Follow up

After the campaign ends, it's essential to thank your fundraisers. This practice is important for both stewardship and maintaining engagement for future fundraising.

Show appreciation for their efforts and the impact they've made by:

• Sending personalized emails and texts
• Highlighting stand-out fundraisers in newsletters or on your website
• Hosting a thank you event
• Posting results on social media 

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Best peer-to-peer fundraising tips and best practices 

Like any fundraiser, nonprofits should keep a few peer-to-peer fundraising best practices in mind. When launching your campaign, remember to:

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• Target your communications: Using a donor management solution, filter and sort your contacts. This helps ensure that your team is sending the right messages to the right supporters. This is essential for both recruiting and following up on contributions.
  
  

• Encourage fundraisers to give to their own campaign: Giving to one's own campaign helps encourage other donations.
  
  
• Host information sessions: Many people have never fundraised before and need a bit of coaching to maximize their efforts. Before your participants jump into fundraising, host an information session about best practices and create social media guides, communication templates, and FAQ sheets.
  
  

• Make giving as easy as possible: Donors might not give if the donation page doesn’t offer a few giving methods. To avoid this, choose a platform that accepts several different kinds of payment (like credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay).
  
  

• Use clear and compelling storytelling: Craft a compelling story that communicates your mission and the impact of donor gifts.

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• Track progress: Measure the success of your peer-to-peer fundraiser to make improvements where needed. This might include pulling reports about peer-to-peer donations, and participants.
  
  

• Promote matching gifts: A peer-to-peer donation can go twice as far. Many people work for organizations that match donations—but most don’t realize it. To make participants aware, ask them to inquire with their employer.
  
  
• Understand giving psychology: Giving makes people feel good. And, research shows that when people see their friends donating, they’re more willing to, too.]

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10 best peer-to-peer platforms for nonprofits

→ Check out our article on the best peer-to-peer fundraising platforms here.

Zeffy

Zeffy—the only zero-fee fundraising platform for nonprofits—empowers changemakers to make the most impact possible. With free, unlimited customer support, a full suite of fundraising tools like P2P fundraising, donor management, and even raffle and e-commerce capabilities, few fundraising platforms compare. 

Best features:

• The only 100% free fundraising platform for nonprofits
• Flexible payment options
• Customizable donation forms and pages
• Automated tax receipts
• Team and individual fundraising
• Team leaderboards and messages
• Reporting and analytics 
• Unlimited customer support
• Donor management
• E-commerce fundraising tools
• Raffle and lottery tools
  

Price: While every other platform takes fees away from your mission, Zeffy delivers 100% of it to your nonprofit.

Here’s how it works: When someone makes a donation on your fundraising form, they have the option (but are never obliged) to give to Zeffy. Not everyone gives every time and that's okay. Enough donors, though, leave a contribution that covers overhead and fees, so nonprofits never pay a cent.

In short: Customers never have to worry about paying for a feature or transaction with Zeffy—ever.

Classy

Classy is a comprehensive fundraising platform that includes some robust P2P fundraising capabilities. Used by several well-known nonprofits—like Livestrong and Hope for Haiti—Classy customers can use the platform to create branded P2P campaigns, engage supporters, and track donations all in one place. 

Price: Custom pricing plus 2.5% + 30¢ in processing fees

Pros: 

• Easy reporting
• Donors can cover fees
• Mobile flexibility
• Secure transactions
• Customizable features
• Donor and event management
• User-friendly 

Cons: 

• Price 

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GoFundMe

GoFundMe is a popular crowdfunding platform that allows both nonprofits and individuals to fundraise for causes. For peer-to-peer fundraising, their social integration and huge reach is key: individuals can set up and share pages easily online, and share with thousands of people who use and know GoFundMe. 

Price: $0 platform fee,  2.9% + 30¢‍ in processing fees

Pros:

• Has a wide reach
• Nonprofit and individual fundraising pages
• Easy set up
• Social integrations

Cons: 

• Limited features outside of P2P fundraising 
• Limited customization

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DonorDrive

DonorDrive, a P2P fundraising platform designed specifically for nonprofits, offers a range of features, including customizable campaign pages, social sharing tools, and real-time analytics. Because the platform is specifically created for charity use, nonprofits have access to tons of tools and gadgets to help amplify their P2P efforts. 

Price: Not publicly available

Pros:

• Intuitive and user-friendly
• Great customer support
• Easy social sharing

Cons: 

• Lack of customization 
• Fees 
• Slow set up

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QGiv

Qgiv is a versatile platform that includes several fundraising tools, including P2P capabilities. With branded campaign pages, supporter engagement tools, and event registration features—and a lot more—the platform is a great choice for nonprofits that need a bit of everything.

Price: $259/month, up to 4.95% + $0.95 processing fees

Pros: 

• Gamification tools
• Social sharing
• Customization
• Donation tracking
• Branded campaign pages
• Event management
• Donors can cover fees

Cons: 

• Difficult set up
• Cost

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Givebutter

Givebutter is known for its user-friendly platform that supports a variety of fundraising campaigns, including peer-to-peer, crowdfunding, and event fundraising. It is designed to for highly social fundraisers, making it easy for donors to share campaigns on social media and engage with the community. Plus, supporters can see who the top fundraisers are on the built-in leaderboard.

Price: $0 platform fees, up to 2.9% + 30¢ processing fees

Pros

• User-friendly campaign site
• Donors can cover fees
• Great customer support 
• Gamification tools
• Automated receipts
• Supporter feeds
• Customizable team and individual campaign pages

Cons: 

• Fees

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CauseVox

Known for its user-friendly interface, CauseVox is a powerful fundraising platform that supports custom P2P fundraising campaigns for nonprofits. It provides tools for creating branded pages, setting fundraising goals, and tracking donor activity—all in one place. 

Price: $0 - $315 /month, platform fee up to 4.25%, processing fee up to

2.2% + 30¢

Pros: 

• Custom team and individual fundraising pages
• Donor management
• Donor tracking 
• User-friendly
• Triggered emails
• Donors can cover fees
• Custom fundraising notifications

Cons: 

• Cost
• Limited free features

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Fundly

Fundly is designed to make crowdfunding accessible and effective for a diverse range of fundraising needs—whether users are seeking support for personal causes, creative projects, medical expenses, or charitable initiatives.

Price: 0% platform, up to 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee

Pros: 

• Custom donation pages
• Mobile fundraising
• Social media integration 

Cons:

• Poor ease of use
• Poor support

Donately

Donately, an all-in-one fundraising solution, is designed to simplify the online fundraising experience for nonprofits of various sizes. The user-friendly platform offers a range of tools, including P2P software. Nonprofits can take advantage of social media sharing, customizable fundraising pages, and really nail visual storytelling. 

Price: 0$ - $49/month, up to 4% platform fee, up to: 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee

Pros:

• Custom fundraising pages
• Social media integrations
• Recurring giving

Cons:

• Fees
• Limited P2P features in comparison to competitors
  

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Bonfire 

Bonfire, an easy-to-use merchandise platform, allows individuals and nonprofits to design and sell custom apparel to support their causes. A unique take on P2P fundraising, the platform simplifies the process of creating and selling custom apparel so anyone can sign up and start designing and selling straight away.

Price: $0 platform fee, up to 8% processing fees

Pros: 

• Easy to use 
• Bonfire handles shipping and handling
• No upfront costs
• Social integration
• Donors can cover fees

Cons:

• Limited to merchandise only
• Lack of other essential fundraising tools

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Launch your peer-to-peer campaign for free with Zeffy

Peer-to-peer campaigns are a powerhouse of possibility. Whether your nonprofit is looking to raise funds for a particular program, or looking to establish an evergreen, year-round fundraising opportunity, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns are one of the best ways to bring in more donations and expand your reach.

With Zeffy, nonprofits can launch peer-to-peer campaigns with customizable campaign pages, gamification tools like leaderboards, flexible payment methods, and tracking and reporting tools — all for free. Plus, with free built-in donor management tools and ticketing software, nonprofits can accomplish all their fundraising goals without ever leaving Zeffy.