When I talk about fundraising with leaders of small and midsize nonprofits, I frequently hear them tell me they want to increase their revenue either through grants or through fundraising events. Unfortunately, many of these nonprofit leaders don’t realize they’ve walked right past the low-hanging fruit, which is Peer to Peer Fundraising (also called P2P Fundraising). Whether you’ve tried P2P fundraising unsuccessfully in the past, you’re completely intimidated by the idea of asking your peers for money, or you just want to sharpen your P2P fundraising skills, you’ll love this week’s podcast episode on the Nonprofit Jenni Show!
What is Peer to Peer Fundraising?
First of all, let’s define what peer to peer fundraising (also called P2P fundraising) really is. Anytime you share your nonprofit’s mission with another person like a friend or family member and ask that person to donate toward the cause, you are engaging in peer to peer fundraising. Peer to peer fundraising can happen in person or online.
Why Nonprofit Jenni Recommends Peer to Peer (P2P) Fundraising for Every Nonprofit
Where should I even start?! Peer to peer fundraising may be the most effective fundraising method for your nonprofit because it:
Empowers your board, volunteers, friends, family, and other connections to do the work of fundraising for you
Leverages the trust your supporters have already built with their personal and professional networks to make a qualified ask
Forces your organization to standardize its story, elevator pitch, and calls to action
Can be done over and over again with a formula you only have to develop once
Helps set the stage for a powerful ambassador program
Offers your supporters countless avenues where they can direct their passion for your mission
Real Life Examples of Peer to Peer Fundraising at Helping Mamas
Jamie Lackey, the CEO of Helping Mamas, was kind enough to come on the podcast and share a behind-the-scenes look at how peer to peer fundraising works at her organization.
The Bachelor / The Bachelorette Viewing Parties
I actually learned about Jamie’s organization because I found these viewing parties of ABC’s TV show The Bachelor / The Bachelorette trending on Instagram which were benefiting Atlanta’s moms in need, and I decided I just had to learn more. Jamie told me the whole thing started when one of her organization’s passionate supporters with connections to the entertainment industry asked for permission to host a viewing party fundraiser to benefit Helping Mamas. Although Jamie helped this supporter nail down the language to use to describe Helping Mamas’ mission, the events were almost completely run by volunteers. The events are incredibly popular now, and cast members from the show regularly make guest appearances and live tweet the show from their official accounts.
Why the Viewing Parties Are So Successful
Creative events like The Bachelor/Bachelorette viewing parties are initially popular for one of two major reasons:
Either 1. People come to the events because the events are hosted by a friend, family member, or colleague and they want to be supportive,
Or 2. People come to the events because they have a strong connection to the theme of the event.
Once attendees come to the fundraising event or contribute to the online fundraiser, it’s up to you (the nonprofit’s leader) to convert that casual contributor into a passionate donor. You need to help them switch their giving mindset from supporting a friend to supporting your cause.
How Helping Mamas Developed Everyday P2P Fundraising Initiatives
As Helping Mamas has grown its local awareness, more and more supporters want to host small fundraisers (both online and in person) to fund the mission. In cooperation with her board, Jamie developed a peer to peer fundraising toolkit to make fundraising as easy as possible on Helping Mamas’ supporters. This toolkit includes:
Mission and vision statement
Key statistics and other messages which can be quoted to raise awareness about the mission
List of needed items, in case someone wants to host a drive for in kind donations
Premade graphics which can be shared on social media, through email, and through text messages
Step-by-step guide for planning an event or drive
Other tips which have made past fundraisers successful
This toolkit is also helpful in keeping branding consistent across all of Helping Mamas’ fundraisers.
Why You Need Peer to Peer Fundraising in an Online Giving Day
Dozens of large cities, regions, and states host twenty-four hour online giving days, sometimes called a “day of giving.” Examples include:
Give to Lincoln Day in Lincoln, Nebraska
The Big Give in South Central Texas
Colorado Gives Day in Colorado
Giving Tuesday, the worldwide giving day
Many nonprofits have a love/hate relationship with these online giving days, and I’ve learned one of the reasons is they believe it takes too much work and time to prepare for an online fundraiser which often doesn’t bring in a high donation amount. I loved interviewing Kathryn Bennett, the woman in charge of The Big Payback in Middle Tennessee, about how nonprofits should use P2P fundraising to experience a more successful day of giving.
How Peer to Peer Fundraising Works During The Big Payback
Kathryn loves to talk about “the power of the ten dollar gift!” She’s noticed that the nonprofits which challenge their supporters to ask for $10 (or another low gift amount) from their friends, family, and business connections often recognize the most success during The Big Payback. It’s very easy to ask people to contribute the price of lunch to a cause you care about, and it’s very easy for those people to sacrifice such a small amount to support their friend’s fundraising goal.
Giving Day Fundraising Tips
Kathryn offers this advice for nonprofits which host P2P fundraisers during 24-hour giving days:
Set a realistic goal. Take a look at your giving history to see what you’ve raised with similar types of campaigns in the past, and then set a goal you know you can meet. This way, you can celebrate an early win and set a stretch goal to take advantage of your momentum at the beginning of the giving day.
Put together some canned messaging (or sample messages) that each fundraiser can easily copy + paste or customize so they have a starting point when they’re writing social media or email messages.
Think about how you can turn peer to peer fundraising into a competition. Get creative with your competitive spirit, or find a way to “gamify” your fundraiser.
Don’t be scared of new technology! The Big Payback offers a free P2P fundraising platform for nonprofit campaigns, and so do lots of other giving day websites. The worst thing that can happen is you learn a little more about what you want to try differently next time.
Follow up with every new donor as quickly as possible to get them connected with your mission! Give them more information about your program and ask them to get involved by volunteering, hosting a drive, or in another way.
Get Help Creating Your Peer to Peer Fundraising Toolkit
Both Jamie and Kathryn emphasize the importance of equipping your supporters with a toolkit they can use to make fundraising super easy. I would love to help you develop your P2P fundraising toolkit, brainstorm giving day campaign ideas, or even create your annual development plan. Don’t forget that I offer a free initial consultation call so you can decide if we would work well together! You can also subscribe to the Nonprofit Jenni Show because I love talking about fundraising and marketing with other nonprofit leaders.
Also, we want to thank Little Green Light for sponsoring this episode! Little Green Light is our favorite donor management system, and they put together this free library of articles for Nonprofit Jenni Show listeners to help you learn about things like using online forms to simplify your work, how to ask for donations, and how to use Little Green Light at your school. Plus, you can get $150 off your first year when you use the discount code “Jenni” to sign up!
Another fundraising tool we love is DipJar, which lets people donate to your organization with a fun credit card machine. Seriously, it’s really fun! When someone dips their credit card to make a donation, it lights up and plays music. Hundreds of nonprofits trust DipJar for their events and everyday donations, and they offer a 5% discount to Nonprofit Jenni Show listeners.