
People are likelier to do something if invited, asked, or referred by a friend. It’s simply human nature. This principle is often put to work selling products—who doesn’t love using a good referral code?—but it’s also evident in the power of peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. We’re more trusting when an activity is backed by or requested by a friend, including when that activity is donating!
The power of word-of-mouth marketing can’t be overstated, and it’s one reason peer-to-peer campaigns work. In this article, we’ll guide you, step by step, through how to launch a successful peer-to-peer campaign that taps into the generosity of your community’s networks.

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What Is a Peer-to-Peer Campaign?
A peer-to-peer campaign (or “P2P”) is a type of fundraising where individuals organize and host a campaign on behalf of a nonprofit organization and collect donations from their friends. Peer-to-peer fundraising relies on supporters reaching out to their family, friends, and colleagues and utilizing their network of connections to help meet the fundraising goal.
Peer-to-Peer Campaign FAQs
If you’re considering a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign for your nonprofit, you may have questions about the what, why, and how of it all. Here are a few answers to help fill you in before you start planning your own P2P campaign.
How Does P2P Work?
Typically, launching a peer-to-peer campaign begins with recruiting some of your most fervent supporters to organize personal campaigns on your organization’s behalf.
This often involves setting up landing pages for each donor (or donor team) and providing them with resources (such as pre-written social media templates) they can use to spread the word.
For example, for the Neon Fundraise-powered campaigns below, individual donors have a page that explains why they’re raising money for the cause, shows fundraising progress, and features suggested donation amounts.
Peer-to-Peer Campaign Examples
Individuals and teams fundraised for The National Kidney Foundation’s 2024 Twin Cities Kidney Walk.

On behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, supporters raised money for the organization’s Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. Each person had a fundraising page they could share with their networks, and top fundraisers were listed on the campaign’s main page.

What Are the Benefits of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising?
A business can’t grow without eventually reaching new customers. People can’t expand their friend group by always hanging out with the same people. A nonprofit can’t broaden its donor base without bringing in new supporters.
Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns allow nonprofits to increase their reach and acquire new donors. A few other key benefits of peer-to-peer fundraising include:
- Amplifying awareness: The supporters who host a peer-to-peer campaign will share your mission with their networks, including people who will hear about your organization for the first time.
- More fundraising potential: With a wider reach through multiple supporter networks, the likelihood of increased fundraising revenue is high.
- Engaging supporters: Your current donors will feel more deeply connected to your mission when they use a P2P to share their story and connection with your organization.
- Lowering costs: Because individual fundraisers take care of most of the outreach by sharing their campaign on their own, you can cut many of the typical costs associated with marketing a campaign.
Peer-to-peer fundraising offers several benefits that allow your organization to raise more funds, reach more people, and engage current donors in a meaningful way.
Isn’t This Just Crowdfunding?
Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns resemble crowdfunding in a number of ways, but they aren’t exactly the same. Anyone—individuals and nonprofits alike—can use crowdfunding as a fundraising method, like collecting money through payment apps or a GoFundMe page to help cover someone’s medical bills.
A peer-to-peer campaign, however, is a fundraising method used only by nonprofits. With crowdfunding, an individual asks a broad audience to donate. Peer-to-peer campaigns are unique because multiple individuals solicit donations from their networks for a specific nonprofit’s cause.
How Can My Nonprofit Launch a Peer-to-Peer Campaign?
And now, the central question we’ve gathered here to answer! If you’ve been convinced to give peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns a try, the next section will walk you through how to launch it step-by-step.
8 Steps to Launch a Peer-to-Peer Campaign
Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns aren’t complicated, but they do require a bit of planning to get off the ground. Here’s how to start planning yours and what you need to launch it.
1. Outline Your Objectives
Before you launch a peer-to-peer campaign (or even ask anyone to join it), it’s crucial to define the campaign’s purpose. What are you asking supporters to do? What specific initiative will the funds raised go to support?
This is the time to set fundraising goals, create a strategy for pitching the campaign to potential individual fundraisers (why should someone organize a peer-to-peer fundraiser on your behalf?), and outline clear instructions for your staff and supporters.
2. Dig Into the Details
As with any fundraising campaign, there are logistics to consider with a P2P campaign.
For example, if the campaign involves an event such as a marathon or gala, what do you need to make it happen? A planning committee? To plan an in-person event, list what’s required, such as a venue, entertainment, and food. If you’re doing a virtual or hybrid event, consider software, technology, and website needs.
A few other details to think of: Who is in charge of which aspects of the campaign? How will you keep track of results? What’s your plan for thanking fundraisers and donors? What will you do to nurture relationships with the new donors you acquire through the campaign?
3. Set Up Your Software
Remember all those details we discussed in the previous point? Using peer-to-peer fundraising software can make accomplishing all of that much smoother and easier.
Finding and implementing the right software is an important part of launching a successful peer-to-peer campaign. Software tools help you with many details, such as monitoring fundraising activity, processing payments, building landing pages, and running online events.
4. Get Fundraisers on Board
Next, it’s time to reach out to your supporters who will participate! These could be individuals you’ve seen demonstrate a lot of passion for your cause or have a personal story that ties them to it.
Other potential fundraisers could include volunteers, recurring donors, and those actively engaging with your organization on social media.
Remember to be clear about what they’ll need to do and what you’ll provide to help them fundraise effectively.
5. Create a Campaign Brand
It’s common for fundraising campaigns to have distinct branding from an organization’s main branding and other campaigns. Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns are no exception.
Creating a visual brand gives your campaign an exciting, unique look, and writing official campaign messaging (theme, purpose statement, etc.) makes for a more credible and clear campaign.
This branding will show up within your campaign’s landing pages, graphics, and other marketing materials, presenting engaging visuals and messaging that will inspire your supporters.
6. Outline Your Marketing Strategy
While the individuals lending their names and networks for the peer-to-peer campaign will do much of the marketing, you’ll still need an overall marketing strategy for maximum visibility and engagement.
Outline a promotional timeline that builds in teaser posts to build anticipation, consistent progress updates to keep up your momentum, and post-campaign thank-yous to show appreciation.
Determine what you’ll share and when across your communication channels, including email, social media, text messaging, and your website.
7. Equip Your Fundraisers
One of the most crucial details to cover before launching a peer-to-peer campaign is equipping your fundraisers with the resources and knowledge they need to encourage their networks to be generous.
Doing this can include providing a toolkit with pre-written emails, social media posts, and text messages. Many peer-to-peer fundraisers involve creating a landing page for individuals who are fundraising, but remember to also give them customizable materials that will help them share this link and be effective advocates.
You can also host trainings or provide guidebooks that cover the campaign goals, how to share their stories about what the campaign and cause mean to them, and best practices for engaging their networks.
8. Launch and Engage
You’re almost ready to launch! During the campaign, maintain consistent communication with fundraisers and donors. Celebrate milestones, highlight top fundraisers, and emphasize the real-world impact of their generosity.
And perhaps most importantly, don’t forget to say “thank you”! Engaging with and thanking supporters throughout the campaign shows your gratitude to everyone involved and helps foster a sense of community among your loyal and new donors.
Technology That Takes Your Peer-to-Peer Campaign to the Next Level
Planning and launching a peer-to-peer campaign requires defining a clear and thoughtful purpose, recruiting passionate fundraisers, and incorporating software and other tools that will help you be successful.
Neon Fundraise, an innovative peer-to-peer fundraising software tool for nonprofits like yours, has built-in features like a site builder, payment processing, motivating badges and achievements, and much more that allow you to create a seamless experience for your donors, fundraisers, and staff.
Learn more about this powerful tool today—join us for an upcoming demo to see how Neon Fundraise can elevate your next peer-to-peer fundraiser to new levels!
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