4 Steps to Successful Peer-to-Peer Team Fundraisers

While artificial intelligence might be on the rise in the nonprofit sector, personal, human connections still reign supreme when it comes to fundraising. Technology can certainly back up your efforts, but most major gifts are given based on one-on-one relationships, personal recommendations are more effective than algorithmic ads, and peer-to-peer campaigns remain one of the most promising types of fundraisers.  

Peer-to-peer fundraisers leverage individual supporters’ connections to earn funding on your behalf. However, participants don’t have to work alone through a peer-to-peer team fundraiser. 

Perfect for schools, sports teams, and advocacy groups, this guide will dive into tips for running a successful team peer-to-peer fundraiser. But first, let’s explain how this twist on a classic fundraiser works. 

What is a Peer-to-Peer Team Fundraiser?

Peer-to-peer fundraisers involve supporters fundraising on your behalf by asking their friends and family to donate to a personalized donation page. This fundraiser leverages supporters’ networks to bring in donors who might not otherwise know about your nonprofit but are motivated to give due to their relationship with the supporter who is fundraising. 

Peer-to-peer campaigns usually involve many individuals fundraising. In a peer-to-peer team fundraiser, a group of people leverage their personal networks and direct donors to a fundraising page shared by the whole team. 

For example, a school might host a peer-to-peer team fundraiser to raise money for the fifth graders’ annual field trip. First, the school would create a fundraising page for each fifth-grade classroom. Then, the school would challenge the classrooms to raise as much as possible and earn more than the other classrooms.

Peer-to-peer team fundraisers combine the effectiveness of peer-to-peer fundraisers’ reliance on personal networks and the motivational power of working as a group to bring in major funding. 

1. Determine Your Format

Peer-to-peer campaigns generally have two possible formats: 

• Rolling campaigns operate continuously, and supporters can jump in at any time to start their own peer-to-peer fundraiser. Rolling campaigns are easier to do for individual peer-to-peer fundraisers than team-based ones, but it is still possible to host a team fundraiser this way.
• Deadline campaigns have a specific endpoint, usually marked by an event. For instance, schools might pit classrooms against each other in a read-a-thon-based team fundraiser to earn funding and promote childhood reading. The read-a-thon lasts for a month, classrooms compare their fundraising totals, and the top-earning class earns a pizza party. 

Rolling campaigns inspire continued participation and are a good format for nonprofits running peer-to-peer campaigns where individuals or teams can participate. This format tends to be less competitive since there is no set endpoint where a winner is chosen. 

However, a deadline campaign will likely better serve nonprofits interested in capitalizing on the friendly competition peer-to-peer team fundraisers can inspire. 

2. Recruit Supporters

Peer-to-peer team fundraisers need supporters to fill out those teams. Normally, peer-to-peer campaigns recruit participants like you would recruit volunteers for any other type of initiative. 

For instance, you might send personalized messages to top supporters, share stories about the impact your past campaigns have made, or stress the benefits of participating, such as directly supporting a good cause. 

When adapting to a team fundraiser, your recruitment messages should instead focus on a sense of community and competition. For example, you might create messages like:

We know you care about homeless dogs and cats, and now’s your chance to make an impact! Gather five or more friends to form a team and fundraise for animals in need. All proceeds will support our local shelters, and top teams will be recognized at our year-end event. Prove you’re a true furr-end to pets in need!

Messages like this emphasize the agency of peer-to-peer fundraisers and issue a challenge to supporters, encouraging them to get competitive and do their best to fundraise for your cause. 

3. Host Onboarding Sessions

For the most part, peer-to-peer fundraisers run themselves, and this does doubly so for peer-to-peer team fundraisers, where supporters can work with their teammates to answer questions and overcome challenges. However, your nonprofit should still ensure all fundraisers start off on the right track by hosting onboarding sessions. 

During these training meetings, prepare your fundraising participants by:

• Walking through any software. Your peer-to-peer fundraising software should be intuitive, but participants will still likely benefit from a brief walkthrough of how your donation tools work. 99Pledge’s guide to team fundraising platforms recommends purchasing from a vendor who will set up your fundraising pages for you, so individual teams won’t need to worry about designing their pages. 

• Going over behavioral expectations. While individual fundraisers will operate independently, ultimately, they represent your nonprofit. As such, discuss how representatives of your cause are expected to conduct themselves and share brand assets so they can create content consistent with your brand identity. 

• Answering questions. In a peer-to-peer team fundraiser, participants can work together to brainstorm solutions and implement creative strategies. However, it’s still normal for new fundraisers to have questions, and your onboarding process is the perfect time to answer them. 

If your nonprofit is hosting a rolling peer-to-peer campaign, consider if any changes at your organization will impact the supporters who are fundraising on your behalf. For instance, if you’re changing CRMs and need to sync your peer-to-peer platform to your new software, implement a thorough change management strategy so supporters using your peer-to-peer tools won’t be interrupted or will only need to pause their campaigns for a short period of time.

4. Instill Friendly Competition

Peer-to-peer team fundraisers should encourage teams to compete to try to outraise one another. Supporters ultimately understand that rival teams are still raising money for the same cause, but they’ll also feel challenged to fundraise as much as they can knowing that others are trying to outdo them. 

You can encourage competition by:

• Naming teams. Give teams a sense of identity by letting them name themselves. You may even take this a step further by assigning them team colors or mascots. 

• Creating a leaderboard. Host a leaderboard on your website that teams can track to see their real-time progress. Every time a donation is made to one team’s donation page, your leaderboard will update to show who earns the most for your cause. 
• Offering a prize. While participants want to support a good cause, an award is also always appreciated. This might be a trophy, a pizza party, or free t-shirts. 

No matter how well teams performed, be sure to thank all participants for their hard work. eCardWiget’s donor recognition guide shares one memorable way to do this: eCards. eCards take typical thank-you emails up a notch by adding eye-catching visuals that represent your brand, like this one from the nonprofit Youth for Understanding: 

Additionally, thank those who contribute to your peer-to-peer campaign to boost donor retention. First-time peer-to-peer donors can be difficult to retain since they’re likely giving due to a connection with one of your fundraiser’s participants rather than your cause. Your thank-you message is an opportunity to invite them to explore your nonprofit and encourage them to continue donating even after your peer-to-peer campaign wraps up.

Peer-to-peer team fundraisers are an effective way to engage your supporters, raise funds, and spread awareness of your cause to new audiences. Of course, if it’s your first time running one of these campaigns, it may be overwhelming. If this is the case, consider working with a fundraising consultant to ensure your nonprofit is ready and implement the best practices for managing a successful campaign.