More Than Money: How Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Strengthens Your Nonprofit
Fundraising doesn’t happen in a vacuum. At its best, fundraising is a community effort—built on relationships, shared purpose, and collective action. But too often, nonprofit fundraising strategies focus inward: how we can raise money, how we can make our case, how we can bring in more donors.
What if, instead, we flipped the script? What if our fundraising efforts weren’t just about our organizations, but about our broader community? What if we saw fundraising as a tool to bring people together—to strengthen relationships, deepen engagement, and grow our impact beyond just dollars raised?
That’s where peer-to-peer fundraising (P2P) comes in. P2P isn’t just a strategy for bringing in funds—it’s a way to activate your community, give your supporters a voice, and invite more people into your mission. As a former community organizer, P2P is my all time favorite way of raising funds because it’s about activating your community to activate their communities.
What Is Peer-to-Peer Fundraising?
P2P fundraising is a method where your supporters raise funds on your behalf by reaching out to their own networks. Instead of your organization making direct asks, your community members become the fundraisers, leveraging their personal relationships to bring in new donors and deepen engagement.
This isn’t a new concept. Think back to childhood fundraisers—asking neighbors to sponsor your school’s fun run, selling cookies or wrapping paper, pledging donations per mile walked. The difference now is that digital tools make it easier, faster, and more effective than ever before.
Also, in my experience consulting with organizations that are just getting started with individual giving, P2P fundraising is something that I see work time and again to jump start individual giving programs. When you are just starting out with individual giving–whether you opened your nonprofit’s operations in the last week or in the last century–you start with the people you have. Usually people think “I want to ask the people with the most money.” But I say, “start with the five people you think are most likely to say yes. Then ask them to ask five people who are likely to say yes. You’ll probably grow faster than chasing the wealthiest person in town.”
To my mind, P2P works because it creates that feeling of coming together to support your own.
Why Should Your Organization Consider P2P?
P2P fundraising isn’t just about raising money—it’s about strengthening your community. When done well, it creates:
Deeper engagement: Your supporters don’t just give—they actively advocate for you.
New donor acquisition: Your supporters introduce your cause to people who might not otherwise engage, shortening the “cultivation” time to getting the gift.
A sense of shared success: Instead of celebrating an organization’s victory, you celebrate a community achievement.
For example, when my daughter’s preschool hosted a fundraising run, they historically raised about $1,000 through sponsorships and registrations in three months of fundraising. It was an uphill battle. Then I stepped in and introduced a peer-to-peer element. We raised $3,000 in just two weeks—quadrupling their scholarship fund with minimal extra effort. That’s the power of community-driven fundraising. (And that was just two weeks with a tiny, cooperative preschool!) But I share this story because no nonprofit is too small to give this a try.
Is Your Nonprofit Ready for P2P?
While P2P is a powerful strategy, it works best when your organization has an active, engaged community. Ask yourself:
Do your social media posts get comments and shares?
Do supporters respond to your emails—not just open them, but actually reply?
When you ask for volunteers, do people show up?
Do you have board members or donors who are passionate enough to fundraise for you?
If you answered yes to at least three of these, you’re in a good place to try P2P fundraising. If not, focus on strengthening community engagement first.
How to Get Started with P2P
Once you’re ready, here’s how to launch a successful P2P campaign:
Find the Right Rallying Point
Your campaign needs a compelling reason for people to fundraise. Some great options:A signature event (a run, a plunge, a volunteer day)
A capital campaign (e.g., I ran a "Save Me a Seat" campaign for an arthouse theater’s renovation–we raised $100,000 in $250 increments in six months via P2P fundraising.)
A challenge or goal (e.g., "Keep Winter Cold!" for a climate action fundraiser)
Equip Your Fundraisers
Provide an easy-to-use fundraising toolkit with sample emails, social media graphics, and fundraising tips. Make it as simple as possible for them to succeed. You think about your mission all day, they don’t. Tell your supporters what to say, and, my experience is, they’ll gladly do the outreach.Recruit Your First Five
Identify five passionate supporters who will commit to fundraising before your campaign launches. Their early momentum will set the tone and encourage others to join in.
Let’s Build a Stronger Community—Together
Fundraising should never be a solo effort. P2P gives your community a chance to be part of something bigger—to not just donate, but to own the success of your mission.
If you’re ready to launch a P2P campaign, join us on Friday, February 21, for a Fridays 4 Fundraising focus session on “Fundraising in Community.” We’ll talk about P2P fundraising and other ways to fundraising in community with others.
