Although it can be scary to try something new, the potential benefits of peer-to-peer fundraising, such as being able to reach your fundraising goals more quickly, make it worth considering.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a great way to raise money for a cause, especially when you combine it with other methods. It’s easy and fun, and you can get your family and friends involved to help you raise even more money.
We’ve gathered a few methods to help you develop new ideas. People need to be inspired by your idea in order to want to share it with their loved ones.
If you do it right, the results can be absolutely inspiring! When you have a campaign that your donors can rally behind, it is an amazing experience full of excitement and enthusiasm.
People are more likely to give if they know the person asking, and if they feel that the cause is worth their time and effort. What is the combination of factors that will make your donors excited to raise money for your cause?
Check out these list of fun peer-to-peer fundraising ideas to get you started:
1. Run. Walk. Swim
Most people think of athletic events when they start thinking about peer-to-peer fundraising. T-shirts with team logos are a popular way to show support for a run and to raise extra money for the cause.
Include a “fun walk” to include families with children. Consider holding your event annually and inviting sponsors to set up tents at the finish line. There, they can provide water and sports drinks to the participants, as well as craft beer for the finishers.
This article is about how The Education Cooperative raised more money than their goal with their “Walk & Roll” event. It was a family friendly event that was a lot of fun.
Once you have set up your event and arranged the details, invite your supporters to create fundraising pages. Their page can be shared with friends and family, who can be encouraged to donate or register.
2. Bowl-a-Thon
This is a great way for teams to bond and compete in a fun and social environment. You can get the competition going by suggesting that the teams come up with team names and offering a prize for the most creative ones.
You can also make the prize for something like getting the most “gutter balls” be something that was donated, to take the pressure off of your participants.
This is a great chance for teams to compete against each other in a friendly way!
If your nonprofit is looking for ways to get involved with the local community, consider reaching out to businesses to see if they have employee groups interested in forming a team.
This is a great opportunity for your nonprofit to build relationships with businesses while providing a chance for employees to bond with each other.
3. Honor a Special Someone
Starting a peer-to-peer fundraiser in someone’s honor is a powerful way to focus your fundraising on sharing a very personal story that your organization supports.
Include the opportunity to win artwork made by a child that needs help for the most money raised in their honor or other incentives. If the person you are honoring with your peer-to-peer fundraising is passionate about the same cause, it can be very effective.
Hold a event where people can make pages in memory of their loved ones. They should have the means to share their page, but ultimately it should be up to them how they go about doing it.
4. Pub Crawls in Your Local Community
See if you can get a group of locals together to go on a crawl around your town to different pubs, coffee shops, and dessert places. You should contact businesses in advance to see if they can provide any discounts for your event.
A theme and costumes can make any holiday more fun, especially holidays like Halloween, Valentine’s Day, or the 4th of July!
This is an excellent incentive for peer-to-peer fundraisers. It’s also the perfect opportunity to recognize top fundraisers! Announcing the winners for each fundraising category at each new spot will help to keep people motivated. Some examples of categories include the top team, top fundraiser, and best fundraising page.
5. Exchange Charity Donations for Wedding Gifts
Instead of having wedding guests buy the couple things they don’t need, have them support important charities. Having puppies available for adoption instead of flowers for bridesmaids is very cool.
Couples can create a fundraising page for their wedding instead of having a registry. People can donate money and leave well-wishes for the couple on the fundraising page.
A fundraiser for a loved one can be a similar setup. Design a peer-to-peer event that allows people to create a page for a specific life event, such as a wedding.
Make sure the happy couple has the tools they need to explain why they support your organization on their big day.
6. Hold a Bake Sale
Bake sales never go out of style. There’s nothing better than buying something delicious while also supporting a good cause! You can make a difference by offering more healthier gluten-free and low sugar choices. Exchange yummy treats for donations at schools and churches.
Ready for more friendly competition? Each fundraiser should bring in their favorite baked good for donors to sample.
Donors then give money to the person whose fundraiser page they liked the most. For every vote, $1 will be given and any leftover food can be sold to people who didn’t have enough.
7. Share Love at Your Holiday Party
Throw an annual holiday peer-to-peer event! Participants can create their own pages to share with friends and family as the event approaches.
Then, acknowledge outstanding participants and donors at your party! You can make your party more entertaining for your guests by including auctioned items and special “live” auction items.
This can be approached a number of different ways. Run the event as a traditional peer-to-peer fundraiser, and hold the holiday party as the culmination of the fundraiser.
You could also try getting people to donate to get into your party. This could work by having people get sponsors, or by having a set price for admission. Get creative!
8. Game Night
Casino nights can be a fun way to raise money for your chosen cause. Ask your guests to register for a donation fee and exchange “funny” money with each other. Give out prizes to the people with the most money at the end of the night.
Consider adding a donation button to your online peer-to-peer event, and incentivize donors by giving them chips or “funny money” after they donate.
You can promote your New Year’s party in the same way that you would promote a holiday party. You can use tools like text fundraising to collect donations from participants’ friends and family by having them text a unique keyword to your number.
9. Ambassador Fundraising
Ambassador fundraising is a type of peer-to-peer fundraising that is more competitive than other types of peer-to-peer campaigns. If a nonprofit highlights a few of its top supporters as Ambassadors, it can increase the amount of donations it receives.
The amount of money raised by each ambassador is revealed at the end of the campaign through a big party, which can be either virtual or in-person.
The top three keys to fundraising success with Ambassadors include:
- Selecting the right Ambassadors
- Creating an engaging campaign
- Motivating Ambassadors for ongoing success
10. Virtual Run / Walk / Ride
Many nonprofits have redesigned their peer-to-peer events to be virtual so that people can still join in during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the pandemic, fundraising walks that would normally be large gatherings have been changed to virtual walks, runs, or rides that take place entirely online. This brings fundraising and fun into the virtual world.
Everybody will take part individually, but these campaigns work in the same way as the regular walks and runs do. While supporting your mission, participants secure pledges, log their times, and have fun all online. This memorable experience is one that they will never forget.
11. Scavenger Hunt
Design a scavenger hunt in which people travel to predetermined locations via walking, biking, or driving, and answer questions at each site.
There are questions related to a different theme at each place. For example, there may be questions about the environment at one place, and questions about wildlife at another.
A nonprofit organization had people form teams and each person donated $40 to participate. After making 12 stops in three hours, the party continued outside with prizes. Their scavenger hunt raised almost $10,000.
There are many ways you can connect this idea to your mission.
12. Online Games and Activities
Online challenge campaigns are a great way to get teams to work together to complete activities, games, or hit fundraising goals. Choose a theme for your campaign and let the fun begin! You can increase engagement and achieve better results by harnessing the power of peer groups and competitive giving.
Prostate Cancer Foundation even did a push up challenge!
13. Awareness Campaigns
Awareness campaigns have become popular among nonprofits as they are a fast and effective way to spread a message. In today’s world where social media plays a big role, awareness campaigns are a great way to reach out to a wide audience.
An awareness campaign that is virtual is a great way to reach new potential supporters for your cause while also spreading the word.
Develop a multimedia awareness campaign that focuses on your mission or a specific project related to that mission. This will help increase public knowledge and understanding of what you do and why it matters.
14. Wishlist Drives
Organizations can generate support without asking for donations by hosting wishlist drives.
Make a list of the physical things your nonprofit needs and post it online. Include a link to the list on your nonprofit’s website to make it easy for donors to give you those things instead of money.
If you want your products to be effective, it is best to choose items that relate to your mission. However, even items that are not related to your mission can be helpful if you have dedicated supporters.
15. Viral Social Media Campaign
The goal of every nonprofit organization is to go viral, even though it may not be the easiest fundraising idea.
The Ice Bucket Challenge and Bottle Cap Challenge are examples of how social media can be used to promote a cause. One person started sharing information on social media, and then others started sharing it too.
Nonprofits can raise money without investing any overhead funds by creating a challenge on social media and using organic shares and networking to promote this campaign.
Bonus! Nonprofits can increase brand awareness and create new, dedicated supporters by creating successful viral campaigns.
16. TeleParty® Movie Night
Grab some popcorn! Movie nights are a great way to raise money and watch your favorite movie in a cozy setting. While you will have to secure the rights to the film of your choice, the rest of the planning for this fundraising event is relatively simple:
- Use Netflix Party
- Send the link to your team or peers
- Link to your donation page
Request that your team members contribute the cost of a movie ticket to your page, and you will have everything you need. If you’re an Ambassador looking to grow your network, this is a great option for you!
17. Car Wash
A car wash is a great way for a nonprofit organization to raise money. It’s great that this fundraiser is both easy to do and allows people to be outdoors!
You will need to purchase soap, sponges, and advertising. Your nonprofit’s employees and volunteers can wash cars on the day of the event. Competition among team members to see who can wash the most cars is a great way to raise funds.
Car washes are a great way to raise money because they are cheap and fast.
18. Viral Challenges
Everyone remembers the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge, right? The ALS Association’s viral challenge was a big success, raising over $115 million!
Viral challenges have been a popular way to raise money online in recent years. Since moving to virtual engagement, it has become easier to get donors to participate in online challenges that are funny or unique. Innovative ideas for a viral challenge campaign include:
- Challenge your donors to try something new like Movember
- Create a photo challenge like #NoMakeupSelfie
You could create a challenge for your supporters to complete and share online, along with a dedicated hashtag and clear instructions for donating to your cause online. This could help you raise awareness and funds for your cause.
19. Tributes and Memorials
Everyone has a reason for giving. Let your supporters express their love and appreciation by creating customized giving opportunities. Faith’s Lodge is a place where people can go to remember and honor their loved ones who have passed away.
The campaigns allow the community to come together and provide positive feedback while also helping those who have lost something.
These campaigns are more successful when using a peer-to-peer fundraising solution, as each participant can set up their own fundraising page. This allows each person to give their own tribute in honor of the loved one.
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