Your organization may be investing more time and resources into peer-to-peer fundraising than before, and for good reason. Peer-to-peer fundraising is growing in popularity—the top 30 programs activated 3.8 million participants in 2023, a 15.6% increase from the previous year.

To make peer-to-peer fundraising sustainable over the long term, consider your strategy comprehensively rather than event by event. Prioritizing community-building around your peer-to-peer fundraising efforts can create a successful long-term strategy that drives program retention.

As Bloomerang’s peer-to-peer fundraising guide states, “By bonding over your shared commitment to your cause, you can develop lasting relationships [with supporters] and secure continued support for your organization.”

Explore top tips for engaging your supporters by building a robust peer-to-peer fundraising community.

Train peer-to-peer fundraisers

Peer-to-peer fundraisers, especially newcomers to your program, will feel more comfortable participating when you provide a clear fundraising roadmap. Develop a training process for peer-to-peer fundraisers by taking these steps:

• Create a welcome packet for new fundraisers. Send an email to participants with everything they need to know about getting involved in your fundraiser. Describe how to create a personal campaign page, provide scripts and templates for promoting these pages, and offer best practices for starting their campaigns. You can also include free branded merchandise, such as a t-shirt or hat, to thank your supporters for getting involved.
• Host training sessions as needed. Some participants may benefit from hearing instructions and best practices directly from one of your nonprofit’s staff members. Host a brief training session, either in-person, virtually, or hybrid, to review the process and tips for getting started. Encourage fundraisers to ask questions to ensure they have all the resources and knowledge they need to run successful campaigns.

Emphasize storytelling strategies in your onboarding and training sessions. By incorporating their unique stories and connections to your organization, fundraisers can create much more compelling appeals for support.

Encourage participants to workshop their stories with one another, identifying the most captivating elements to spotlight on their fundraising pages. This collaboration can create a sense of camaraderie among supporters, building a stronger community.

Create a group chat or social media group

Create a text chain or social media group to maintain an open line of communication with peer-to-peer fundraisers. Use this communication channel to:

• Share tips, wins, and best practices. Provide tips for different stages of the fundraising process. For example, perhaps some fundraising pages saw an initial boost at the campaign’s kickoff but have since slowed down. Encourage participants to share an urgent campaign update to help spark more giving, such as “I only have three days left to reach my goal. Can you chip in $20 right now to get me closer?”
• Provide updates on how the campaign is going. Fundraisers can share individual progress updates, and your organization’s staff can share overall campaign updates.
• Offer words of encouragement. Actively engage with participants’ messages and updates to provide positive encouragement and push them toward their goals.

Encourage participants to engage with each other's messages to create a two-way communication stream between your organization and your fundraisers. Ask long-time participants to share their best fundraising secrets or new participants to discuss their challenges. Rather than just having your staff members speak to your supporters, this participant-to-participant communication will help create a stronger sense of community and generate more useful insights.

Plan events throughout the campaign

Use your organization’s event management system to plan an engaging event for peer-to-peer fundraising participants. Fundraisers can interact with each other and your organization’s staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders, building community bonds.

The event could be in person or virtual, depending on how spread out participants are. If you’re hosting a virtual event, use an event management tool that enables audience interaction via hand-raising or live chat to engage with other attendees.

We recommend hosting a:

• Kickoff event to start your campaign. For example, if you’re hosting a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign for your college in the fall, you could plan a homecoming kickoff event ahead of your university’s football game. Ensure your event includes fun activities, like a DJ, lawn games, and food and drinks, to give attendees a positive experience.
• Wrap-up event to thank participants and donors and share your fundraising total. Celebrate the end of your campaign by inviting fundraisers and donors to a fun event. You could host a themed party, like a summer block party or winter gala. Recognize top fundraisers at the event, such as those who raised the most money or brought in the most new donors.

Kickoff and wrap-up events give your campaigns clear start and end dates so participants know exactly when to start fundraising and how long they have to reach their goals.

Gamify your campaign

Gamification involves making your peer-to-peer fundraiser feel like a competition among supporters to encourage participation. Inspire friendly competition using:

• ‍A fundraising leaderboard that tracks top fundraisers, with their names and fundraising totals.
• A fundraising thermometer that measures your overall campaign progress and how much you have left to raise before reaching your goal.
• Personal fundraising goals and challenges to give each participant a clear target to aim for based on how much they think they can successfully raise.

Use modern communication and engagement tools to track participant progress and communicate updates to fundraisers. For example, leverage a peer-to-peer fundraising platform to keep track of everyone participating in your fundraiser and their fundraising totals. Use your text or social media groups to share updates about who is currently at the top of the leaderboard or who has reached their personal fundraising goals.

Incorporate mentorship opportunities

Developing a peer-to-peer fundraising mentorship program offers multiple benefits, allowing you to:

• Empower experienced fundraisers to take on a larger leadership role.
• Support fundraisers who are falling behind.
• Give participants opportunities to connect with fellow supporters and build friendships.

Automatically assign new fundraisers to a buddy or mentor or allow any fundraiser to opt into the program if they need more support. Depending on their location and availability, these pairs can meet in person or virtually. To help them make the most of their meetings, give mentorship duos guidance for topics to discuss, such as fundraising advice or storytelling strategies.

These strategies will help you create a peer-to-peer fundraising program that accomplishes two aims: raising necessary funds for your organization while providing participants with a fulfilling, meaningful experience and the opportunity to meet new friends. Participants will be much more likely to continue engaging with your fundraisers when they feel like crucial members of your organization’s community. As a result, you can set your organization up for long-term, sustained fundraising success.

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About the author

Ann Fellman

Chief Marketing Officer at Bloomerang

As the Chief Marketing Officer at Bloomerang, Ann is responsible for the company's overall thought leadership, brand, marketing, and community outreach programs that work to strengthen relationships with customers and the broader nonprofit community. Ann brings over 24 years of experience in business-to-business (B2B) marketing in the technology industry, including time spent working at a nonprofit organization.

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