Peer-to-peer campaigns are an effective way for nonprofits to leverage their supporters’ connections to reach new donors. Your supporters may have connections your nonprofit doesn’t, and a well run peer-to-peer campaign can put your nonprofit into contact with new audiences your team likely couldn’t reach without your supporters’ help. 

A successful peer-to-peer fundraiser empowers volunteers to campaign on your nonprofit’s behalf and encourage their friends, families, and social media followers to donate. However, to empower your volunteers, you’ll need to set them up for success with the right technology before launching your campaign. 

Peer-to-peer campaigns rely on multiple volunteers acting independently, which means that things can quickly get complicated. Investing in powerful peer-to-peer software can help your nonprofit keep track of each campaign’s moving parts, and knowing how to leverage that technology can take the campaign to the next level. 

To help your nonprofit make the most of your software solutions or peer-to-peer campaigns, follow these three tips: 

• Integrate your software. 
• Collect and manage key data. 
• Provide extensive onboarding and technical help.

Effective peer-to-peer software is one of the most important elements of a successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, so make sure you thoroughly explore your options and invest in a solution that delivers the features your nonprofit needs to succeed. Then, take the time to learn the software thoroughly, so your team can support your volunteers throughout your campaign. 

1. Integrate your software.

Your peer-to-peer software is the core of your fundraising campaign, and integrating it with the rest of your tech will save your volunteers (and your team) time and energy down the line. 

Whether your organization is using the Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or another CRM for your peer-to-peer campaign, look for integrations for the following software applications: 

• Payment processor. Be sure your donations will be securely transferred to your nonprofit’s account by integrating with your payment processor. Doing so lets your nonprofit easily keep track of incoming donations throughout your campaign.

• Donor database. Peer-to-peer campaigns often attract new donors. Make sure your software is integrated to collect data these new supporters provide on campaign pages and when creating donor profiles. Then, after your campaign, you can reach out to your new contacts to help cultivate relationships with potential repeat donors. 

• Matching gifts. Matching gifts provide your nonprofit with more donations, and encourage donors to increase their gift size. According to 360MatchPro’s matching gift database, 84% of donors say they’re more likely to give if a matching gift is available and one-in-three indicate that they would increase their donation if they were eligible for a matching gift. 

Research and invest in an adaptable peer-to-peer platform that integrates with many other software solutions. Or, save time by researching platforms with multiple features already available. Look for comprehensive fundraising software, then add the last few integrations you need to complete your tech stack. 

2. Collect and manage key data.

Peer-to-peer campaigns can produce large amounts of data that your nonprofit can gather and leverage for future fundraising efforts. Make sure your software and analytics tools are set up to track your data before launching your campaign. 

You should collect the data relevant to your nonprofit’s growth and campaign goals. Jackson River’s guide to Salesforce donation processing recommends a few key metrics that most nonprofits can benefit from tracking during their peer-to-peer campaigns:

• Gift size. Average gift size can indicate how successfully your volunteers are fundraising for your nonprofit and provide insight into the amounts they are asking their friends and family to contribute. You can help your volunteers increase the average donation by setting up suggested giving amounts on the campaign pages they share when promoting your nonprofit. 

• Gift frequency. Gift frequency can refer to two things: when you receive a donation and how often you receive recurring donations. The first metric can indicate if there is a particular time of year in which your campaigns are more effective at driving donations. 

• Geographic information. Online peer-to-peer campaigns allow supporters across the world to fundraise on your nonprofit’s behalf. Keeping track of locations with high donation rates can help your team plan future outreach campaigns. 

Because data errors of all kinds can accumulate over the course of a fundraising campaign, it’s important to take steps to clean campaign data and ensure data integrity. Common data issues include duplicate profiles, incorrect data entry, and trivial or unnecessary information. While the “human touch” may sometimes be needed to resolve data issues, all nonprofit CRMs including should support a variety of ways to ensure data integrity. 

3. Provide extensive onboarding and technical help. 

Your volunteers dedicate their time and energy to fundraise on behalf of your nonprofit, and they deserve technical help to succeed with your peer-to-peer fundraising software. Volunteer fundraisers typically need to know how to customize their donation pages and leverage them effectively to encourage donations. 

Because donors in peer-to-peer campaigns give due to their connection to your volunteers, providing your volunteer fundraising team with the tools and knowledge to build effective donation pages can greatly impact the number and value of the donations they generate on behalf of your nonprofit. 

Here are a few tips that can help improve your volunteers’ success at peer-to-peer fundraising:

• Create an onboarding program for peer-to-peer fundraising. Even the most enthusiastic volunteers need proper training before they can create their own campaign pages. A thorough onboarding experience will help orient your volunteers to the campaign, ensure that they know how to present your nonprofit while fundraising, and train them on creating, managing and updating their campaign pages. 

• Provide design templates. Empowering your fundraising volunteers to customize their peer-to-peer pages can generate more donations. However, some of them might need guidance about what kinds of information they should add to their pages. Provide design templates, pre-written text blocks, logos and photos that represent your nonprofit’s messaging and branding to help them get started building out their pages. 



• Offer technical support. Make sure your volunteers are always able to reach out to someone at your nonprofit for technical assistance during your peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Making your volunteers feel supported and valued while they fundraise will help them raise more money and create a positive experience. 

Creating positive experiences for your volunteers can also benefit your nonprofit in the long run. Volunteers may choose to return for your next peer-to-peer campaign, reducing the number of new volunteers you’ll need to recruit. Better yet, returning volunteers that have already been through your onboarding process should be able to hit the ground running with their next campaign, and perhaps even mentor novice peer-to-peer fundraisers. 

After working a certain number of hours, some of your volunteers may qualify for employer grants. If their employer has a volunteer grant program, and if they qualify, help them fill out the necessary forms. Most employers will require a log of hours volunteered, proof of work at your nonprofit, and forms that document your legitimacy as a registered nonprofit. Make sure you have these documents ready for your volunteers!

The right software can elevate your peer-to-peer campaigns by providing a streamlined data collection system and empower your volunteers with the tools they need to fundraise on your behalf. Research a number of peer-to-peer software solutions to find a solution that meets your needs, and make sure that your choice integrates seamlessly with your existing fundraising infrastructure. To help ensure your volunteer fundraisers’ success, be sure that your training materials, supporting collateral, and your data collection tools are readily available throughout your campaigns.

About the Author

Seth Merritt

Seth comes to Jackson River having served the nonprofit sector for over 20 years at agencies, software companies, nonprofits, and social enterprises. He had a nomadic childhood, following his father’s foreign service career, living in India and Kenya and visiting many other places. This deeply informed his world view, and inspires him to support the work of those on the front lines of social change. Seth has firsthand experience with nonprofit fundraising and advocacy, including leading software implementations and digital fundraising campaigns.