How Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Empowers Nonprofit Organizations

By Daniel Guerriero
05:00 PM Wed September 22, 2021

A key aspect of all nonprofit organizations is fundraising efforts.

How Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Empowers Nonprofit Organizations

A key aspect of all nonprofit organizations is fundraising efforts. Organizations will employ a variety of fundraising strategies to support their programmatic activities. Some organizations rely on grant funding to support specific programs and activities that support their mission. Grants can come from a variety of sources including private foundations and even government funded grants. Others rely heavily on major gifts from individual donors. In fact, according to donorsearch.net, studies have shown that over 88% of all funds come from just 12% of donors! The amount of money to which a donation is considered a major gift varies by each organization. For larger organizations, a major gift can be a $100,000 donation, whereas for smaller organizations a donation of $2,000 can be considered a major gift. A third source of fundraising for nonprofit organizations is something called peer-to-peer fundraising. Simply put, peer-to-peer fundraising is a method of fundraising that utilizes individuals within an organization’s network to help raise money on the organization’s behalf. But that’s not the only thing that peer-to-peer fundraising does to enhance organizations’ missions.

Peer-to-peer fundraising has become increasingly popular amongst nonprofit organizations due to its unique approach to not only fundraising, but its ability to to grow an organization’s network of supporters while engaging in a fun and meaningful activity. Looking at the statistics available through the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum, in 2019 peer-to-peer fundraising was ranked as the “number one tactic that prompted donors to give to charity.” One of main reasons for this is that donors are far more likely to donate to a cause that somebody they know and trust is advocating for. In fact, from the same 2019 study, “39% of Americans polled said they’ve donated to a charity based on a request from a friend or family member”. According to the 2020 Blackbaud Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Survey, peer-to-peer fundraiser participants raised an average of $391 and the average gift made through the participants’ fundraising pages was $91. It’s no wonder that so many organizations are now utilizing this method of fundraising. But as we said earlier, the donations are not the only reason for utilizing a peer-to-peer fundraising method.

In addition to the obvious benefits of additional donations, peer-to-peer fundraising helps to grow an organization’s network of supporters by creating greater awareness of an organization’s mission and the impact it can have on the populations they serve. By utilizing peer-to-peer fundraising, organizations can theoretically grow their network exponentially when participants reach out to their network for donations to support the organization. New people can then join the organization as donors, volunteers, and supporters for many years to come. Those who do participate in peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns can also end up becoming stronger supporters of an organization because they feel as though their success directly results in greater success of their chosen organization. Of all of the great benefits that we’ve discussed regarding peer-to-peer fundraising, perhaps what sets peer-to-peer fundraising apart from other types of fundraising is that it’s FUN! Some of the most notable peer-to-peer fundraising events in the United States are American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, American Heart Association’s Heart Walk, and National MS Society’s Bike MS. Each of these events have a fun component added to the fundraising such as a walk or bike ride that incentives participants to fundraise even more!

So if you think you’d like to join a peer-to-peer fundraising event, you’re in luck. LIG Global Foundation will be hosting our Fall Mission to Move starting on October 1 through October 31, 2021. In our event we will be utilizing the Kilter app to get our supporters up and moving during the month of October with any activities of their choice to help raise money to support our mission of transforming the lives of those we serve. Our two featured projects that we are seeking to fund through our Mission to Move are to support the Prairie Heights Elementary School (PHES) in rural Colorado and the Hospital Ramon Matias Mella de Dajabón (HRMMD). PHES is a new partner of LIG Global and we will specifically be supporting this underserved community by fundraising to purchase bicycles that will be used to reward children for being stand-up citizens and incentivizing outstanding youth leadership. Our partner hospital in Dajabón is somewhere we are constantly working to help improve patient outcomes. The hospital is currently in need of a new cautery unit to ensure our local doctors can safely perform a variety of procedures that cannot currently be completed.

For more information on LIG Global’s Mission to Move, visit https://www.kilterrewards.com/events/lig-fall-mission-to-move and join us today!