The Power of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising and Its Impact on Next-Gen Giving

Community is the heartbeat of modern philanthropy, and peer-to-peer fundraising is a powerful way to cultivate it on a large scale. 

After nearly 20 years of innovation, nonprofit feedback, donor research, and philanthropic learnings, GoFundMe recognizes the immense power of peer-to-peer fundraising and its enduring influence on the new era of giving. So, how exactly is peer-to-peer fundraising changing, and what can your nonprofit do to unleash communities that stay and grow with you?

Keep reading to feel confident about:

• How effective peer-to-peer fundraising can be for nonprofits
• How to realize the value of community in online fundraising
• What’s ahead for the next generation of peer-to-peer fundraising
• How to accelerate your peer-to-peer fundraising impact

What is peer-to-peer fundraising?

Peer-to-peer fundraising is a multitiered approach to crowdfunding in which individuals create personal fundraising pages to raise money for a nonprofit organization. Each supporters sets a goal and calls on their community to help them achieve it. 

How effective is peer-to-peer fundraising?

Peer-to-peer fundraising has become increasingly crucial in recent years. When donor acquisition began to slow in 2020, nonprofits broadened their reach by inspiring supporters to champion their causes.  

Our platform data shows that 80% of people who donate to a peer-to-peer campaign on GoFundMe Pro are brand new to the organization. 

Peer-to-peer campaigns reach people through the sources they trust most: their close circles and community members. This helps dedicated supporters take action in a big way without bearing the financial impact alone. 

Amid ongoing economic fluctuations, increasing interest rates, and daunting cost-of-living expenses, this is a more realistic action for supporters to take.

Here’s a look at the results nonprofits experience with GoFundMe Pro’s peer-to-peer fundraising platform:

• God’s Love We Deliver achieved a 68% peer-to-peer conversion rate.
• wear blue: run to remember had 21% year-over-year growth in peer-to-peer fundraising donations.
• To Write Love On Her Arms saw 60%+ of online donation volume from peer-to-peer giving.
• Girlstart raised 22% more year over year per individual peer-to-peer fundraiser.

Read more success stories

Peer-to-peer fundraising and the next generation of donors

Younger donors want to make a difference and are eager to spread the word. GoFundMe Pro’s Why America Gives report found that next-gen donors (Gen Z + Millennials) are 2.7 times more likely to host an individual fundraising page for an organization and 3 times more likely to advocate than traditional donors. 

Peer-to-peer fundraising effectively taps into their growing passion with a simple yet impactful way to demonstrate their desired scale of impact.

The role of community in peer-to-peer fundraising success

Giving happens where community thrives. A strong community will directly impact the success of donor acquisition, fundraising, and relationship-building, leading to lasting donor retention. Connection in the new era of giving reflects how donors can participate in charitable behavior from anywhere, anytime.

Meeting the moment with a fundraising campaign that extends your reach globally can unite larger communities around a common mission. Supporters may take action to help a friend, peer, or family member initially, but stay for a deeper connection to a community that works to achieve something much greater.

Defining next-gen peer-to-peer fundraising

Community fundraising started when the world was different, and nonprofits relied on personal and in-person relationship-building within their local communities to engage potential donors. 

The coordination, infrequent touchpoints, and lack of data intelligence to tailor interactions made scaled connections nearly impossible. That often led to complicated donation processes, lapsed donors, and retention nightmares.

We’ve come a long way since then.

There’s a shift at play

We’re starting to see individuals put more trust in other individuals to help them decide where to make their next donation. In fact, the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer report shows that 48% of people trust recommendations from friends and family when making decisions, compared to 33% for ads and 17% for the news.

Similarly, GoFundMe’s The Social State of Giving report highlights the influence of social media creators, with most Gen Zers and Millennials following “impact creators” online.

Moving forward, we have to give individuals more ways to evangelize your mission for you, and invite their communities to do the same. 

What this means for nonprofits 

It’s time to shift your approach to supporter-led fundraising, inviting loyal advocates to take the lead. With the right tools and access to reliable insights, nonprofits can feel confident putting their supporters in the driver’s seat.

GoFundMe is home to 190 million people expressing their generosity, providing us with a first-hand look at how communities come together for the causes they care about. Based on those behaviors, we’re creating tools and technology that make fundraising easier and allow you to tell your story on a broader stage. 

Explore GoFundMe Pro’s P2P solutions

8 ways to accelerate peer-to-peer fundraising impact

Below, you’ll see tangible ways to take action for your next peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. 

1. Start with known supporters

Reaching your peer-to-peer campaign goal starts with the initial momentum that only a core group of supporters and evangelists can create. Those first few donations and participants showcase the true sense of community surrounding your campaign as it reaches more new donors.

Make it easy for anyone to fundraise by providing out-of-the-box, self-serve peer-to-peer tools, like GoFundMe’s social sharing integrations, streaming widgets, and birthday fundraisers. That initial spark of high energy and passion can naturally draw in like-minded fundraisers who will reach more donors on your behalf. 

2. Understand your fundraisers

Personalization is non-negotiable. The small shift to meaningful outreach with fundraisers can be the difference between someone feeling ready to get involved or feeling like another donor on your massive email list. 

Your donor management or customer relationship management (CRM) tools can make it much easier to personalize outreach at scale. Understanding who your fundraisers are, where to reach them, and what motivates them will help your messages resonate and inspire action.

How donor management scales peer-to-peer efforts

3. Meet fundraisers where they are today  

We talked about the effectiveness nonprofits already see from peer-to-peer fundraising, but what about the communities they have yet to engage? 

Individuals who directly donate to others through GoFundMe may be great supporters to tap for a fundraiser organized on your nonprofit’s behalf. Also, individuals who start GoFundMe fundraisers might enjoy creating a personal fundraising page on GoFundMe Pro for a cause that aligns with their personal values. 

4. Help supporters reach more people to raise more money

The initial support you offer supporters will allow them to take the reins on your peer-to-peer efforts. Focus on helping them feel confident crafting a message, sharing it authentically, and establishing trust between their communities and your cause.

Successful fundraising best practices:

• Provide a fundraiser’s toolkit
• Share email templates and sample posts for social fundraising
• Offer design resources for personal fundraising pages
• Supply statistics and testimonials that further emphasize your mission
• Grant access to video tutorials, webinars, and best practices from successful fundraisers
• Include engaging graphics to share with social networks in seconds
• Offer incentives for top fundraisers (like T-shirts or event access)

Think about hosting these resources on a dedicated webpage, like the National Breast Cancer Foundation did, or reach out at the start of a new peer-to-peer campaign to help them develop a fundraising strategy for success. 

5. Understand the advantages of timing

It’s crucial to time your peer-to-peer fundraising campaign around when people are most likely to take action. Your nonprofit has two main types of peer-to-peer campaigns to leverage:

• Rolling or year-round campaigns allow supporters to launch a personal fundraising page whenever they want. Supporters can host donation pages on GoFundMe Pro or fundraisers on GoFundMe around a life event, like a birthday, or get creative to respond to a heightened passion for making a difference.
• Time-based campaigns occur within a specific time frame, generally 6-8 weeks. They’re usually fixed around a particular theme and motivate advocates and their donors with a sense of urgency to reach fundraising goals within a shorter period. 

GoFundMe Pro’s State of Modern Philanthropy report found that time-based campaigns with a peer-to-peer element on GoFundMe Pro raised 3.8 times more than all other time-based campaigns combined.

To maximize your potential, consider running both simultaneously. Your year-round campaigns can offer a DIY fundraising component to capture every moment of generosity. In contrast, time-based campaigns rally communities around current events or build momentum on bigger giving days. 

6. Enhance team fundraising

Communities thrive on team-building, and peer-to-peer fundraising can provide a platform to foster this spirit. In fact, Why America Gives found that next-gen donors are 1.5 times as likely to become aware of causes through their co-workers compared to traditional donors.

Empower individuals to recruit help by creating team fundraising pages. Each team member creates a page to share their personal connection, contributing to the team’s goal. A sense of friendly competition on the leaderboards and fundraising thermometers can reach more people and bring in higher fundraising totals. 

7. Don’t overlook peer-to-peer fundraising events 

Every event is an opportunity to build deeper relationships with supporters and network with community members in a new way. Innovative event registration software for nonprofits helps you invite attendees to set up peer-to-peer fundraising pages in addition to (or instead of) a registration fee. 

You can prompt supporters to raise a specific amount before the event to participate. Successful nonprofits also use peer-to-peer events for informal gatherings, like races or walk-a-thons, and more formal gatherings, like a gala fundraiser.

8. Leverage donor trust in corporations to expand your reach

Peer-to-peer fundraising often appeals to corporate partners looking to expand workplace giving and initiate new corporate sponsorships. Team fundraising is a great employee engagement idea and helps your mission reach even more people.

Corporate giving is a prevalent strategy⁠, and it only continues to grow. In fact, surveys indicate that 94% of major U.S. corporations plan to heighten or maintain charitable giving in the next few years.

You can pair a corporate partner’s priorities for employee engagement and corporate social responsibility with a simple, co-branded fundraising campaign. 

Strengthen your corporate partnerships with GoFundMe Pro

A meaningful peer-to-peer fundraising example

Storytelling is what helps peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns stand apart and touch people in a more impactful way. 

Ruling Our eXperiences, an organization helping girls use their voices and embrace their confidence, experienced firsthand the impact of a single donor’s personal story. 

The organization grew 180% in one year when a supporter turned the tragic loss of his daughter into a greater purpose to fuel change. His desire to drive impact and a simple peer-to-peer campaign that helped showcase Ruling Our eXperiences’ work welcomed a wave of new supporters. 

Ruling Our eXperiences offers fundraisers thoughtful language and a video they can place alongside their unique reason for raising money that helps more people understand the true impact of their contributions and advocacy. That initial support empowers individuals to personalize the fundraising experience to invite communities in.

Copy editor: Ayanna Julien