Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: A Step-by-Step Guide for Nonprofits
Plan a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign: recruit and coach fundraisers, set up pages, follow a 12-week timeline, pick incentives, handle receipts and measure.
Picture a community swim club in Minnesota where, every February, 70 swimmers swim as many laps as they can in an hour. Each has a personal fundraising page, a goal and a list of grandparents, neighbors and coworkers to email. Together, those pages can raise more than a season of bake sales and car washes, and many of the donors have never given to the club before.
That's peer-to-peer fundraising: your supporters raise money on your behalf by asking their own friends, family and colleagues, usually through personal or team pages connected to one central campaign. Your organization runs the campaign and receives every gift. Your supporters do the asking, which lets you reach people you could never reach on your own.
This guide shows how peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising works, how to plan the numbers, recruit and coach fundraisers, set up pages, run a 12-week timeline, choose incentives, handle tax receipts and measure results.
How Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Works
A P2P campaign has four groups of people:
- Your organization sets the goal, tells the story, provides the tools and thanks everyone.
- Fundraisers (also called participants) create personal pages, set a goal and ask their networks.
- Team captains recruit and motivate a small team of fundraisers.
- Donors give through a fundraiser's page. The gift goes to your organization, not to the fundraiser.
Every personal page rolls up into the campaign total, so a donor sees both the fundraiser's progress and the overall goal.
Common Formats
| Format | How it works | Best for | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event-based | Participants register for a walk, run, ride, swim-a-thon or dance marathon and fundraise beforehand | Organizations with an existing event or an active community | High |
| Challenge-based | Participants commit to a goal, such as 100 miles in a month or 20 books over the summer, and collect pledges | Dispersed supporters, members in several states | Medium |
| Giving day teams | Teams of board members, volunteers and members compete during GivingTuesday or your own giving day | Short, intense campaigns | Medium |
| Occasion-based | Supporters dedicate a birthday, wedding or memorial to your cause | Year-round, with little staff time | Low |
| Do-it-yourself | Supporters invent their own activity, such as a bake-off or a head-shave, within your guidelines | Creative, motivated supporters | Low to medium |
P2P Versus Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding uses one central page where your organization asks the public for gifts toward a goal. Peer-to-peer fundraising uses many personal pages, each run by a supporter who asks their own network. Crowdfunding depends on your own reach; P2P multiplies it by the number of active fundraisers. Many campaigns combine both: a central page for general gifts and personal pages for fundraisers.
Is P2P Right for You?
P2P works when you have:
- a group of committed supporters, ideally at least 20, who are willing to ask friends for money,
- a goal people can picture, such as 60 scholarships or a new accessible van,
- someone with time to recruit and coach fundraisers for about three months, and
- a plan for the new donors the campaign brings in.
If you don't have those yet, start smaller: a team of board members during a giving day or birthday fundraisers by a handful of volunteers. Our list of fundraising ideas for nonprofits includes simpler options.
Plan the Campaign: Goal, Math and Structure
Build your goal from the bottom up, based on how many people will actually fundraise and what they can realistically raise. Here's the plan for the fictional swim club, Northside Aquatics, a 501(c)(3) youth swim program:
| Group | Fundraisers | Average raised | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team captains (coaches, board members, parent leaders) | 8 | $1,200 | $9,600 |
| Committed fundraisers | 35 | $400 | $14,000 |
| Light fundraisers | 27 | $90 | $2,430 |
| Gifts on the main campaign page | $2,500 | ||
| Business match, pledged in advance | $5,000 | ||
| Gross | 70 | $33,530 |
Costs: pool rental $450, shirts for all 70 swimmers at $10 each ($700), incentives $600, printing $150 and online giving and payment processing fees, estimated at $1,300 (check your own provider's rates). That's $3,200 in costs and about $30,330 net, just over the club's $30,000 goal.
Then translate goals into asks. If the average gift is about $50, a fundraiser aiming for $400 needs eight gifts. Since not everyone asked will give, that fundraiser should plan to ask 20 to 25 people. Putting this math in front of fundraisers early makes the goal feel concrete rather than intimidating.
Decide on the Structure
- Individuals, teams or both? Teams add friendly competition and accountability. Captains are your most valuable recruits.
- Registration fee or not? A fee helps cover event costs, but it can discourage people. Some organizations waive the fee and ask participants to commit to a personal goal instead.
- Fundraising minimums? Requiring participants to raise a minimum can raise more but also shrinks participation. A suggested goal with incentives at milestones is gentler.
- Hybrid or virtual options? Let people participate remotely, for example by swimming laps at their own pool or walking in their own town, so that supporters who've moved away can still join.
Recruit Fundraisers
Recruitment determines most of your result. Start with your inner circle and work outward.
| Source | Approach | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Board members | Personal ask from the board chair | "Lead by example: be our first eight fundraisers." |
| Members, families and program participants | Email, then personal asks at practices or meetings | "You know what this program does. Help us share it." |
| Volunteers | Ask from their coordinator | "You already give your time. Will you also ask five friends?" |
| Last year's fundraisers | Personal email with their results | "You raised $640 last year. Will you captain a team?" |
| Alumni and former participants | Social media and alumni email | "Come back for one day and swim for the next generation." |
| Local businesses | Visit from a member who knows the owner | "Field an employee team and we'll put your name on the leaderboard." |
Recruit captains first, about eight to ten weeks before your event or deadline, and ask each to recruit four to six team members. Use volunteer recruitment habits here too: a personal ask, a clear role, a time commitment and a reason why you chose that person.
A recruiting message from a captain might look like this:
Hi Alex, I'm captaining a team for the Northside Swim-a-Thon on February 20 and you were the first person I thought of. It's one hour in the pool, and we each set up a page and ask friends to sponsor our laps. My team's goal is $2,000 for scholarships so no kid misses a season because of cost. Will you swim with me? I'll help you set up your page in ten minutes.
Coach Fundraisers So They Actually Raise Money
Some people sign up, set up a page and then never ask anyone. Coaching closes that gap.
Give Everyone a Fundraiser Kit
Send every registered fundraiser a short kit within 24 hours of signing up:
- a suggested personal goal and the math behind it,
- three prompts for their personal story ("Why I'm swimming," "What this club did for my family," "What your gift pays for"),
- ready-to-edit messages for email, text and social media,
- a checklist for their page: photo, story, goal, first gift,
- answers to common donor questions, including how receipts work,
- key dates and the name of a person to contact for help.
Our fundraising email templates can help you write the kit's sample messages.
A Sample Ask for Fundraisers to Send
Subject: Sponsor my laps?
Hi Aunt Carol,
On February 20, I'm swimming for an hour to raise money for scholarships at Northside Aquatics. Swimming changed my life, and some families in our club can't afford the season fee.
My goal is $400. Would you sponsor me with $50? Here's my page: [link]
Thanks for cheering me on!
Jamie
Coaching Rhythm
| When | Coaching touch |
|---|---|
| Day 1 after registration | Welcome email with the kit and a link to their page |
| Week 1 | "Give first, then ask your five closest people" challenge |
| Every week | A short email with one tip, one story and the current total |
| Halfway point | Personal call or text from their captain to anyone who hasn't raised a dollar |
| Two weeks out | "Second ask" reminder: follow up with everyone who hasn't responded |
| Final days | Last-chance message template and a celebration of milestones |
| After the campaign | Thank-you to every fundraiser with their personal result |
Two habits matter most. First, ask fundraisers to make their own gift, however small, so their page never shows $0. Second, encourage a second, friendly follow-up to people who didn't respond. People often miss the first message.
Set Up the Campaign and Fundraising Pages
The Main Campaign Page
Your central page should show the goal and progress, explain in a few sentences what the money will do, list teams and top fundraisers, and answer common questions. Include a general "give now" button for people who don't know a specific fundraiser. Our guide to the donation page covers the elements that help people complete a gift.
Personal Pages
A good personal page has a real photo, a personal reason in the fundraiser's own words, a goal, a progress bar and updates during the campaign. Make the default text good enough that a page still works if the fundraiser never edits it, but encourage everyone to personalize it.
What to Look for in a P2P Tool
You don't need the most expensive platform. Look for:
- personal and team pages with progress bars, created in a few minutes on a phone,
- a mobile-friendly donation form,
- a way to enter offline gifts, such as checks, so they count toward a fundraiser's total,
- email tools or templates for fundraisers,
- automatic emailed receipts with your organization's name, the date and the amount,
- clear fees, including whether donors can choose to cover them,
- data export, so donor and fundraiser records end up in your own database.
Offline Gifts
Some donors will hand cash or a check to a fundraiser. Ask that checks be made payable to your organization, never to the individual, and give fundraisers a simple form to record each donor's name, address, email and amount. Without those details you can't thank or acknowledge the donor.
A 12-Week Peer-to-Peer Timeline
| Weeks before the deadline | Your organization | Fundraisers |
|---|---|---|
| 12 to 10 | Set goal and budget, choose the tool, write the story, recruit captains, secure a business match | |
| 9 to 8 | Open registration, finish the fundraiser kit, hold a captain kickoff call | Captains recruit team members |
| 7 | Launch fundraising with board gifts already on the leaderboard | Set up pages, give first, ask the five closest people |
| 6 to 5 | Weekly coaching emails, first story spotlight | Email and text their wider network |
| 4 | Announce the business match | Share the match: "Every gift is doubled this week" |
| 3 to 2 | Leaderboard updates, celebrate milestones, call inactive fundraisers | Second asks to people who haven't responded |
| 1 | Final push, event logistics | Last-chance messages |
| Event day or deadline | Live total, photos, thank participants publicly | Post from the event |
| 1 week after | Thank every donor, send acknowledgments, announce the final total | Thank their own donors personally |
| 2 to 4 weeks after | Report results, survey fundraisers, close the campaign | Share the impact with their donors |
| 3 months after | Invite first-time donors to give again, with an impact update |
If you're running P2P during GivingTuesday, compress this to four or five weeks of recruitment and one week of fundraising; see our GivingTuesday ideas for the shorter format.
Incentives That Motivate Without Eating the Budget
Start with recognition, which costs almost nothing, and add small rewards where they help. Keep incentive costs small compared with what fundraisers raise.
| Incentive | Cost | Works best for |
|---|---|---|
| Public recognition: shout-outs, leaderboard, spotlight posts | Free | Everyone |
| Milestone rewards: shirt at $100, cap at $250, hoodie at $500 | Low | Individual fundraisers |
| Team trophy or traveling banner | Low | Team competitions |
| Experiences donated by partners: a lesson with the coach, front-row seats at the season finale | Free to low | Top fundraisers |
| Challenge matches: "the first ten fundraisers to reach $200 unlock a $100 bonus from our sponsor" | Sponsor-funded | Kick-starting early momentum |
| Personal thank-you from someone you serve | Free | Every fundraiser |
Incentives reward fundraising rather than a donor's gift, so they generally don't change what donors can deduct. If you give donors something in return for their gift, that's a different matter, covered in the next section.
Tax Receipts and Acknowledgments: The Basics
P2P raises a few receipt questions. Here are the federal basics for 501(c)(3) organizations; this is general information, not tax advice, so check with your tax advisor for your situation.
- Your organization acknowledges the donor, not the fundraiser. A gift through a personal page is a gift to your organization. Each donor can deduct only their own gift, if eligible; the fundraiser can't deduct money their friends gave.
- Every monetary gift needs a record. To deduct any cash gift, a donor needs a bank record or a written communication from you showing your organization's name, the date and the amount (IRS Publication 1771). Automatic emailed receipts cover this for online gifts.
- Single gifts of $250 or more need a written acknowledgment. It must include your organization's name, the amount and a statement about whether you provided goods or services in return, with a description and good-faith estimate of their value if you did. Separate gifts under $250 aren't added together for this rule.
- Registration fees are partly or fully payment for something. If a participant pays $100 to register and receives event entry and a shirt worth $35, only the excess over that value can be a contribution. For any payment over $75 that is partly a gift and partly for goods or services, you must give a written disclosure with a good-faith estimate of the value received (IRS on quid pro quo contributions).
- Don't fundraise for a named individual. Gifts earmarked for a specific person or family aren't deductible, even when they pass through a qualified organization (IRS Publication 526).
- Not a 501(c)(3)? If your club or association isn't a charity, tell donors that gifts aren't deductible as charitable contributions.
Our donation receipt guide covers the wording in detail. In campai, you can link incoming payments to donation records and create acknowledgments as PDFs from your own template, in batches; you remain responsible for the required wording.
Measure Results
Gross revenue is only one number. Measure fundraiser performance and donor performance separately, because they need different follow-up.
| Measure | Formula | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Net revenue | Gross minus all campaign costs | The real result |
| Registered fundraisers | Count of sign-ups | Recruitment reach |
| Active fundraiser rate | Fundraisers who raised at least $1 ÷ registered fundraisers | Coaching effectiveness |
| Average raised per active fundraiser | Fundraiser-page total ÷ active fundraisers | Planning next year's goal |
| Donors per active fundraiser | Donors ÷ active fundraisers | Network reach |
| New donors | Donors with no previous gift | Growth of your donor base |
| New donor second-gift rate | P2P first-time donors who give again within 12 months ÷ P2P first-time donors | Whether the campaign builds lasting support |
| Fundraiser return rate | This year's fundraisers who return next year ÷ this year's fundraisers | Your future recruiting base |
| Cost per dollar raised | Total costs ÷ gross | Efficiency compared with other activities |
The new donors are the campaign's hidden asset, and the easiest to lose. They gave because a friend asked, not because they know you. Send them a welcome message that introduces your organization, an impact update a few weeks later and an invitation to stay involved. Our guides to donor acquisition and donor stewardship cover that next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is peer-to-peer fundraising?
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a method in which supporters raise money for your organization by asking their own networks, usually through personal fundraising pages linked to a central campaign. Gifts go directly to your organization, and fundraisers' pages roll up into a shared goal.
How is peer-to-peer fundraising different from crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding uses one central page and relies on your organization's own reach. Peer-to-peer fundraising uses many personal pages, each promoted by a supporter to their own friends, family and colleagues. Many campaigns combine both.
Are donations to a peer-to-peer page tax-deductible?
Gifts made through a fundraiser's page to a 501(c)(3) can be deductible for the donor, just like any other gift to your organization. Your organization, not the fundraiser, provides the receipt, and a written acknowledgment is required for any single gift of $250 or more. Gifts earmarked for a specific individual aren't deductible.
How much does a typical P2P fundraiser raise?
It varies widely by organization, cause and coaching. Build your plan from your own data: if you have no history, plan conservatively, set a suggested personal goal such as $250 or $400, and track average raised per active fundraiser to set next year's goal.
How long should a peer-to-peer campaign run?
Plan for about 12 weeks from the first planning step to the deadline, including six to seven weeks of active fundraising. Short, focused campaigns such as GivingTuesday teams can run for a week or two, provided recruitment happens beforehand.
Can a small club run a P2P campaign?
Yes. A swim club, booster club or community choir with 20 committed members can run a modest campaign. Start with a simple format, such as a lap swim, a walk or a month-long challenge, and focus your time on coaching fundraisers rather than on elaborate event logistics.
Next Steps
- Pick a format that fits your community and set a bottom-up goal.
- Recruit eight to ten team captains before you open registration.
- Write the fundraiser kit with a story prompt, sample messages and receipt information.
- Set up the main campaign page and test a gift from start to receipt.
- Schedule weekly coaching emails and assign someone to call inactive fundraisers.
- Plan the thank-you sequence for fundraisers and donors, including a second-gift invitation for new donors.
Running a sports club or team-based program? See how campai supports sports clubs with member records, dues, events and communication in one place.