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Make Fundraising Easier with This (Free!) Peer-to-Peer Ask Email Template

8 min read
January 30, 2025
Shannon Whitehead headshot
Shannon Whitehead
Content Strategist, Neon One

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising is a great way to introduce more people to your cause and allow your most fervent supporters to participate in your work on a deeper level. However, it’s important to remember that, while you’re a professional fundraiser, your fundraising participants are not. Peer-to-peer ask email templates are just one resource you can equip them with to help them fundraise successfully! 

Here’s the why and how of creating peer-to-peer ask email templates for your participants—plus a bonus template you can use.

Why Is a Well-Written Peer-to-Peer Ask Email So Important?

Email remains one of the most effective fundraising tools. In fact, 48% of donors prefer to receive updates and appeals via email. Nailing the peer-to-peer ask email is crucial for making a great first impression on potential donors and establishing a personal connection that will make them want to get involved. 

But let’s face it: Your P2P fundraising participants are busy with their non-fundraiser lives, and writing fundraising emails likely doesn’t come naturally to them.

Writing a compelling ask can be challenging for even the most seasoned fundraiser, so pre-written templates are a welcome reprieve for newbies like your P2P participants. The templates you give them can help them overcome any anxiety they may have about how to ask their friends and family to donate.

With well-written peer-to-peer ask email templates in hand, they’re empowered to personalize these communications and use them to build connections between their network and your organization’s mission.

The Benefits of Providing P2P Ask Email Templates

It’s tempting to leave peer-to-peer participants to their own devices—they’re communicating with their own family and friends, after all! But taking the time to create participant resources like P2P ask email templates yields rewards for both your participants and your nonprofit.

For P2P Participants

Email templates can help P2P fundraising participants by:

  • Providing structure and guidance: First-time fundraising can be intimidating, but having a template gives participants a clear path to follow.
  • Ensuring clear messaging: The best fundraising communications are clear and compelling. Templates help your participants send emails that “wow” their friends and family, not confuse them.
  • Increasing confidence: When they don’t have to write ask emails from scratch, P2P participants can feel more confident sending communications about the campaign. Well-equipped, confident participants do more outreach!

For Nonprofits

Peer-to-peer ask email templates also benefit nonprofits by:

  • Ensuring consistency: Providing email templates helps ensure consistent messaging and branding that represents your mission accurately and aligns with your overall brand. 
  • Boosting engagement: When P2P participants can send persuasive emails written by a fundraising pro like yourself, these emails are more likely to increase engagement and donation conversion rates.
  • Including the essentials: Your participants may not think to include important campaign details such as deadlines or donation match opportunities, but you can ensure they do by adding them to the email templates you provide.

By equipping your peer-to-peer participants with well-crafted email templates, you empower them to fundraise more effectively while ensuring the campaign’s messaging stays clear and consistent.

5 Best Practices for Creating Effective Email Templates

Creating great peer-to-peer ask email templates is key in helping your participants reach out to their networks and secure donations confidently. But what makes a template “great”? 

Here’s how to craft email templates that drive engagement and set P2P participants up for success.

1. Allow Room for Personalization

One of the best parts of peer-to-peer fundraising is that the asks come directly from someone with whom a potential donor already has a personal connection. That personal connection should be able to shine through, even in a pre-written email.

When crafting peer-to-peer ask email templates for participants, leave space for personalization. Encourage participants to add their own stories and share why they’re passionate about the cause. Messages with an authentic personal touch are much more compelling than vague, generic ones that stop at stating the campaign name and asking for donations.

2. Highlight Essential Campaign Details

What are the most critical elements of your campaign? Donation deadlines? A big fundraising goal? The name and story of a family that will directly benefit? Ensure important information like this is included in the email templates.

Providing email templates also helps guarantee that these critical details are consistently and accurately communicated to everyone.

3. Keep It Clear and Concise

Long-winded messaging is one way those important details are overlooked. You only have the length of our very short (and getting shorter) attention spans to land your message. Create ask email templates that get to the point quickly!

Include all of the necessary information and nothing beyond it. Briefly explain your cause, why the P2P participant supports it, why the recipient should donate, and how they can take the next step.

4. Use Clear Calls to Action

You can write the most captivating peer-to-peer fundraising email mankind has ever seen, but it is all in vain if the recipient isn’t sure what to do next. A strong, clear call to action gives the recipient an unmistakable next step and a path to taking it quickly. 

Use action-oriented language (such as “Students in our community urgently need our support. Join me in making an impact!”) that clarifies what the recipient is being asked to support and motivates them to follow through. Make sure your calls to action are supported by direct links that make donating easy.

5. Provide Multiple Versions

Like any fundraising campaign, peer-to-peer campaigns have different stages of outreach. There’s the initial ask, follow-up messages, reminders, and thank-yous. Maintaining communication helps keep recipients engaged and in the loop!

Create email templates for every stage so that participants are equipped with the tools to reach out to their network throughout the campaign. Multiple communication touchpoints mean multiple opportunities for the participant’s friends and family to join in and help them make the most impact!

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Here’s a Peer-to-Peer Ask Email Template You Can Use

Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of providing ask email templates to P2P participants and best practices for creating them, let’s take a look at an example!

Where you see green is where you’ll insert the information. You’ll leave the blue parts for your participants to fill in.


Hi [Recipient’s Name],

I hope you’re doing well today! I’m reaching out because I’m participating in [Organization Name]’s [Campaign Name] campaign, and I’d love your support. 

I care deeply about [Organization Name]’s work to [insert mission/impact statement]. This cause means a lot to me because [insert personal reason for supporting the cause].

[Campaign Name] will support [Organization Name]’s incredible work by [briefly explain the campaign’s purpose and goals]. My goal is to raise [insert fundraising goal]. Every donation—big or small—helps make a real difference.

Would you consider donating to my fundraising page? Your generosity will help [insert specific impact]. You can donate here: [insert fundraising page link].

Thank you so much for your support! If you have any questions or want to learn more, feel free to reach out. Together, we can make a meaningful impact!

Best,

[Your Name]


Once you’ve filled out your part of the template, it should look something like this:

Hi [Recipient’s Name],

I hope you’re doing well today! I’m reaching out because I’m participating in the Agloe Research Foundation’s golf tournament fundraiser, Fund the Find, and I’d love your support. 

I care deeply about Agloe Research Foundation’s work to advance cancer research and enhance the lives of those affected. This cause means a lot to me because [insert personal reason for supporting the cause].

Fund the Find will support the Agloe Research Foundation’s incredible work by providing much-needed funding for life-saving cancer research and the search for a cure. My goal is to raise [insert fundraising goal]. Every donation, big or small, helps make a real difference.

Would you consider donating to my fundraising page? Your generosity will help the passionate folks at Agloe Research Foundation make more life-saving discoveries this year. You can donate here: [insert fundraising page link].

Thank you so much for your support! If you have any questions or want to learn more, feel free to reach out. Together, we can make a meaningful impact!

Best,

[Your Name]

Providing participants with a well-structured yet flexible peer-to-peer ask email template—like the one above—can help them feel more comfortable making the ask.

If you like this template, we encourage you to use it! You can add it to your fundraiser packet to give your participants a solid starting point for their asks.

Your Next Step: Dive Deeper Into Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Providing your peer-to-peer participants with well-crafted ask email templates is a simple yet powerful way to boost engagement, increase donations, and ensure clear, consistent messaging. By putting the right tools in their hands, you empower them to reach out to their networks effectively and make their stint as fundraisers a grand success!

Want to learn more about building a strong peer-to-peer fundraising strategy? Check out this comprehensive guide for more insights:

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