Peer-to-peer fundraising can be an effective way to maximize support for your nonprofit. Unlike other traditional fundraising styles where you reach out to donors, peer-to-peer fundraising places the power in your supporters’ hands. Your most loyal volunteers and donors will create unique campaign pages and share them widely throughout their personal networks, helping to build your nonprofit’s brand visibility and raise significant funds. 

However, peer-to-peer fundraising can only be effective if you have enough avid supporters taking charge. Although your nonprofit will have less work to do on the fundraising side, your team will still need to encourage supporters to get involved and guide them with peer-to-peer fundraising best practices. 

Use these engagement strategies to empower your supporters and volunteers to take the reins in your peer-to-peer fundraising campaign and maximize support:

• Invest in peer-to-peer fundraising software.
• Market your peer-to-peer fundraiser widely.
• Create engaging peer-to-peer events.

By optimizing your peer-to-peer fundraising, your nonprofit can build stronger relationships with existing supporters and reach new audiences. Let’s begin.

Invest in peer-to-peer fundraising software.

Before you can execute a peer-to-peer fundraiser, you need to ensure your nonprofit is working with a solid tech foundation. According to Donately, peer-to-peer fundraising software will set your nonprofit up for success by giving supporters everything they’ll need to carry out an effective fundraising campaign. By equipping your volunteers with comprehensive technology tools, they’ll feel more confident leading their own fundraising campaigns and getting the word out about your nonprofit. 

Invest in peer-to-peer fundraising software with the following key features:

• Customizable fundraising pages. Your fundraising volunteers should be able to easily create unique fundraising pages that they’re proud to share. Ensure that your software enables drag-and-drop functionality so volunteers can add meaningful images, display their fundraising goal, and post why they’re fundraising on behalf of your mission. 
• Social shareability. Your main fundraiser website and supporters’ individual fundraising pages should come with sharing buttons for social media. This way, supporters can easily broadcast your fundraiser among their friends and family members with the simple click of a button. 
• Automated data reports. After your campaign ends, you should be able to measure how well it performed and track new donor acquisition, donor retention, and other important metrics. This will provide your nonprofit with invaluable insight on how you can improve peer-to-peer fundraising strategies to foster even more engagement. 

Partner with a peer-to-peer platform that works within your budget and offers comprehensive features to support your nonprofit’s goals. The right software will make it as easy as possible for peer-to-peer fundraising volunteers to boost revenue. 

Market your peer-to-peer fundraiser widely.

To make your peer-to-peer fundraiser a success, motivate volunteers to get involved. After all, if you don’t have an engaged volunteer base that is willing to put in the time and effort towards raising funds, your peer-to-peer fundraiser won’t be as effective. 

There are several ways you can bring attention to your peer-to-peer fundraiser and recruit volunteers. Consider sharing information about volunteering through the following outlets:

• Email. Before your fundraising campaign, send segmented emails to your supporters explaining the purpose of your peer-to-peer fundraiser and your need for fundraising volunteers. Make sure to provide clear directions about how peer-to-peer fundraising works and the time commitment involved. This way, supporters can understand what this role entails and you can ensure the volunteers signing up are ready for the task. 
• Social media. Create an engaging graphic design about your peer-to-peer fundraiser and develop a catchy hashtag to help expand your reach. If you’ve hosted a peer-to-peer fundraising event in the past, consider posting an image or video to boost excitement and encourage people to get involved. Advertise your peer-to-peer fundraiser on social media platforms that best appeal to your audience’s demographic. 
• Your nonprofit’s website. Develop a strong event landing page dedicated to your peer-to-peer fundraiser. Here, you can post resources for peer-to-peer volunteers like steps to set up a fundraising campaign page and how to make a strong case for your organization when asking for support. Check out some of the best free marketing and design tools to help your nonprofit’s website and social media presence soar.

You can also conduct outreach to top nonprofit influencers to act as ambassadors for your organization. Well-connected individuals are great peer-to-peer fundraisers because they can easily and quickly get the word out about your campaign to drive donations. 

Create engaging peer-to-peer events.

An easy way to increase participation in your peer-to-peer fundraising is to pair them with events that appeal to your audience’s interests. Because of peer-to-peer fundraising’s flexibility, you can incorporate it into any event. 

Here are some event ideas that are guaranteed to attract volunteers, boost donorship, and maximize fundraising: 

• Walk-a-thon. As one of the most popular peer-to-peer fundraising events, a walk-a-thon is a tried and true fundraising event to get people feeling passionate about your mission. This event brings your supporters together to create a strong sense of community and gets them up and moving for a great cause. Each participant can create a fundraising page and collect pledges based on how many laps they walk, how long they walk, or other relevant metrics. 
• Concert. A concert energizes your supporters and gets them excited to give. To make your concert as cost-friendly as possible, consider asking the local school band to perform or invite musically talented volunteers to take the stage. This event can easily be modified to take place virtually with live streaming technology. Add in extra opportunities to raise money, such as asking for donations in exchange for song requests. 
• Auction. With a silent or live auction, your donors can win fun items and your nonprofit earns significant revenue, making it a win-win scenario! To collect items for your auction, reach out to local businesses. According to Double the Donation’s corporate sponsorships guide, local businesses may choose to sponsor your organization by providing in-kind donations and funding to cover the costs of expensive items or packages. In your outreach, highlight your nonprofit’s needs and how the company’s support will make a difference. 

Add incentives to motivate your peer-to-peer volunteers to raise as much money as possible leading up to your event. For example, you can offer your volunteers nonprofit merchandise, a spotlight in your next email newsletter, or a shoutout on your nonprofit’s social media page. 

By increasing volunteer support, your nonprofit can lead an impressive and lucrative peer-to-peer fundraiser. Even though your supporters will be the ones in charge, your nonprofit needs to do everything possible so volunteers feel engaged, enthusiastic, and ready to spread the word about your fundraising campaign. Use these strategies to energize volunteers so you can boost online donations and advance your nonprofit’s mission. Good luck!