However, the biggest challenge in any peer-to-peer fundraising campaign is definitely recruiting the right fundraiser volunteers to make it a success. Having the right fundraisers on your side is especially important today, when in-person involvement is still not feasible for many organizations.
Here are our top tips for recruiting the best peer-to-peer fundraisers for your next campaign:
- Look in the right places.
- Illustrate your mission when possible.
- Make engagement easy.
- Develop clear expectations.
- Provide incentives and community.
When planned well, country email list peer-to-peer fundraising is an extremely flexible and scalable strategy that has long-term value for your organization. And it all starts with your volunteer fundraisers! Let’s dive in.
1. Look in the right places.
For some types of peer-to-peer fundraising, such as individual, DIY-style campaigns, allowing all supporters to get involved is the right approach. However, for more targeted or time-limited campaigns, casting a wide mark silman atm project engineer net isn’t necessarily the best move.
A more targeted digital strategy will yield the greatest benefits for large-scale peer-to-peer fundraising. Look at specific segments of your support base to find your fundraisers . For these peer-to-peer campaigns, we recommend exploring these groups of supporters:
- Individual repeat donors. These donors show passion and commitment. Serving as a fundraiser is the perfect way for them to increase engagement and increase their impact on your mission.
- Committee members and volunteers. Those who have demonstrated responsibility in past campaigns or projects and have active community networks are ideal recruits.
- Board members who consistently meet their fundraising goals. Your board members are more invested in your nonprofit’s success than anyone else, so gauge their interest in peer-to-peer campaigns.
- Anyone else who actively expresses interest. If a supporter proactively volunteers to serve as a fundraiser, chile business directory this is an excellent sign of their dedication to your cause and you should not ignore their interest.
- Community and Social Influencers . Look for individuals with a broad social media reach and networks. These networks are the backbone of successful peer-to-peer campaigns and will help amplify your results.
Be sure to keep another key attribute in mind:
Even the most passionate and well-connected fundraiser can struggle to reach their goals if they don’t have the time to dedicate to promoting your campaign. Think about a potential recruit’s age, parental status, and career history when recruiting. When in doubt, simply ask potential fundraisers if they have enough free time.
Think about any additional qualities you would like to see in ideal recruits, such as:
- CSR Opportunities and Connections. Eligibility for corporate philanthropy programs and connections with corporate CSR leaders are great examples.
- Employee Matching Programs. Matching gift programs and volunteer grants can help your volunteer fundraisers increase the impact of their donated time or money , but your recruit must work for a participating employer. For example, according to Double Your Giving Guide , ExxonMobil will donate $500 for 20 hours volunteered by an employee of an eligible nonprofit. In a month-long campaign, your most dedicated volunteer fundraisers could easily spend 20 hours or more promoting your mission to their networks.
- Personal foundations, family foundations, or donor-advised funds. If you know of other philanthropic opportunities in your support base, try targeting them with your recruiting efforts. For example, supporters with DAFs are great people to focus on building stronger relationships with.
While you shouldn’t recruit someone solely because they might qualify for a large corporate grant, it doesn’t hurt to identify these opportunities ahead of time, especially if you already know that many of your supporters work for large companies.
2. Illustrate your mission when possible.
One of the most effective ways to motivate potential fundraisers to participate in your next peer-to-peer campaign is to let them see your mission in action.
Keep looking for opportunities to share “mission moments,” such as testimonials and videos that highlight your nonprofit’s on-the-ground work in the community. For example, you can choose to share reports on the impact of your programming and stories directly from constituents.
Build these mission moments into your virtual events and ongoing marketing efforts. Let everyone see the real-world impact of your nonprofit and its supporters. By focusing on the impact and roles your volunteers and donors play, your audience is more likely to want to increase that impact and get involved in new ways.
For a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, be sure to define specific campaign goals and a vision statement that links these goals to tangible impacts. How will this campaign benefit your mission and your constituents? How will a supporter’s involvement directly impact the community? Once you’ve identified the ideal segments of your supporter base to recruit, show them content that answers these questions and highlights your mission in action.