0

How to Turn Your Donors into Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers

Shot of a group of young designers starting a small business. Selective focus.

By: Steve Page, Web Marketing Manager, MobileCause

When it comes to fundraising, there’s no such thing as too many donations.  But as you likely know “too many donations” is, unfortunately, not a common issue.  That’s why nonprofit organizations are constantly seeking solutions to fundraise smarter, better, and easier than before.

Peer-to-peer fundraising is a simple way to do just that.  By definition, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns leverage the networks of supporters to fundraise on your behalf.  That means instead of your organization asking supporters for donations directly, you instead recruit fundraisers to raise donations from their networks of friends, family, and peers to amplify your impact.

However, the opportunity poses a unique challenge: How do you get supporters to fundraise for your cause?

The answer lies in Principle 5 of The Eight Principles: Work from the Inside Out™.

Instead of launching your peer-to-peer online fundraising campaign publicly and hoping fundraisers will sign up, first reach out to your most dedicated donors and supporters directly to see if they would be interested in volunteering to raise money on behalf of your cause.

These people can be staff members, volunteers, past donors, vocal advocates, or active social followers.  The important part is that they are people who are enthusiastic supporters of your organization and are willing to dedicate some time to fundraising on behalf of your cause.

Simply send them a message explaining the goal of your campaign, what you’re hoping to accomplish, and what their commitment will involve. Many people will be happy to help!

By doing this, you’ll be able seed your peer-to-peer campaign with fundraisers who will spread the word and start raising donations before you launch it to the public, creating the initial momentum necessary for a successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.

A good rule of thumb is to reach out 2-3 weeks before you’re planning on going live with your campaign, so be sure to schedule enough lead time on your nonprofit’s fundraising calendar.

Once you have these volunteer fundraisers in place, you can unveil your campaign to the public.

Ask your initial group of volunteer fundraisers to encourage people in their networks to sign up to become fundraisers too, and you’ll begin to expand your reach as each fundraiser receives contributions from individual donors in their personal networks, helping you move closer to your goal.

Remember Principle 1: Donors are the Drivers®!

Even though you have a team of volunteer fundraisers raising donations on your behalf, it is still up to your organization to drive that philanthropic spirit by giving them the means to inspire these donors to give.

This brings us to the next point: You must give your fundraisers the tools they need to effectively fundraise on your behalf.

The most important component of this is mobile and online fundraising software that allows them to create their own fundraising page where people from their personal networks can go to make a donation, either online or by text message.

By empowering your fundraisers with the proper technology, you allow people to donate to your peer-to-peer fundraising campaign any time, anywhere, on any device, whenever the moment of generosity strikes.

The secret is by making it easy to give, you are creating a positive experience for both donors and fundraisers, encouraging further participation and donations for your campaign.

The best part about peer-to-peer fundraising is that your impact is amplified exponentially through each of your fundraisers’ individual networks, leading to more donations for your cause with less effort than a traditional fundraising campaign.

Plus, those who volunteer to fundraise on your behalf are more likely to give to your organization in the future.

Think about it this way: Turning your existing donors and supporters into peer-to-peer fundraisers equals more donations, now and in the future.

And that’s something everyone can get on board with.

SP-head-shouldersSteve Page is a marketer and webmaster for MobileCause, mobile and online software for the next generation of fundraising.  MobileCause helps organizations of all sizes strengthen traditional and digital campaigns across mobile, social, and online channels.  When he’s not at MobileCause, Steve can usually be found helping organizations with their websites, learning the latest marketing trends or working on his golf game.