Before you start raising money from your supporters and their peers, you need to determine a few guidelines for your campaign.

First, set a financial goal. This number will vary from organization to organization, but in general, it should be realistic and achievable. You don’t want to discourage your donors by setting a goal that’s out of their reach.

Then, set up a timeline for your campaign. Most peer-to-peer campaigns last for at least a few months, but create a timeline that works for your nonprofit.

Finally, determine what event or date will signal the end of your peer-to-peer campaign. Most organizations choose a walkathon or marathon, but feel free to get creative!

Once you’ve set up the parameters for your peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, you’ll need to find donors and volunteers to fundraise on your behalf.

Look in your donor database or volunteer management software to identify supporters who regularly give to your organization, take part in your volunteer days, and attend your fundraising events. These people are your best bets for peer-to-peer fundraisers.

Then, reach out to these individuals! Depending on their relationship with your organization, you could send out a direct mail letter or simply shoot them an email.

Let them know why you’re raising money and why you want them to participate in your campaign. Give them a date to respond by to indicate if they’ll be fundraising for you.

Your nonprofit will need a great peer-to-peer platform if you want to successfully accept donations and help your fundraisers reach out to their networks.

Your peer-to-peer campaign will have two different components: your main campaign page and your fundraisers’ individual pages.

Your organization will be responsible for setting up the main page, uploading photos and videos, and telling your nonprofit’s story.

This page will be your campaign’s hub, providing people with valuable info and keeping them updated on your campaign’s progress.

Your individual fundraisers will also need to set up their own fundraising pages. Most platforms allow fundraisers to customize their pages to make them unique.

Creating your peer-to-peer page is a crucial step. Without it, your donors will have a hard time contributing to your nonprofit’s campaign.

Many of your fundraisers will have never asked anyone for donations. They might feel apprehensive or nervous at the thought of asking people for money.

It’s your nonprofit’s job to prepare them for their fundraising adventure! You can accomplish this in a few ways.

First, you can assemble fundraising templates or packets that explain how your fundraisers can ask for donations. These packets can include social media and email templates that your fundraisers can customize and then post or send to their networks.

Next, you can hold meetings for the fundraisers that live nearby and remote workshops for supporters that live farther away.

Finally, let your fundraisers know that your nonprofit is available to answer any questions and help them with any roadblocks that they might run into.

As your fundraisers go out and ask for donations from their friends and family members, you’ll want to keep track of their fundraising progress as well as your nonprofit’s overall peer-to-peer goals.

Keep your financial goal in mind throughout your campaign and adjust your strategies as needed.

It might help to have each of your supporters set their own individual fundraising goal to hold them accountable throughout the campaign.

Your peer-to-peer platform can generate reports to help you track engagement over the course of your campaign.

Check the numbers every week or so to see how you’re doing!

Once your fundraisers have reached their individual fundraising goals and your nonprofit has met your overall objective, it’s time to celebrate and thank your supporters for their hard work.

All of your supporters should attend the event, but they should also invite their friends and family members to participate as well.

You can use the event to thank your supporters all at once, but this should not take the place of personalized and thoughtful acknowledgements.

Within a week of the event, send out cards or emails thanking your donors for their hard work.

You should also send thank-yous to your supporters’ peers who gave to the campaign.

People don’t just throw money at fundraising campaigns; they often give because they have an emotional or personal connection to the nonprofit, the cause, or the campaign.

You can help donors and volunteers connect more closely to your campaign by telling a story of someone that has benefitted from your nonprofit’s work.

Perhaps it’s best to illustrate with an example. Let’s say that you are part of a nonprofit that helps underprivileged teens find scholarships for college. If you’re running a peer-to-peer campaign to raise money for your cause, you should tell the story of one of the students you’ve helped (with their permission, of course).

Use your campaign page and promotional materials to tell the student’s story, and encourage your fundraisers put their own personal touches to their individual campaign pages.

This tip may seem counterintuitive at first, but once we explain it will make sense. You don’t want to send your fundraisers off on their own without any guidance whatsoever.

But at the same time, your supporters probably aren’t going to be too happy if you control every single detail of their fundraising campaign.

The best way to go is to strike a healthy balance. Give your fundraiser the tools they need to be successful, but don’t impose strict guidelines or rules on them. Let them know that your nonprofit is there to support them should they need any help, but leave the bulk of the decision-making and fundraising up to them.

Over the course of the campaign, you’ll notice who among your supporters has a knack for fundraising. After the campaign, make an effort to get in touch with these people and steward them accordingly.

As new supporters come into your donor base, make sure that your organization is stewarding them properly. It’s easy to get caught up in the fundraising whirlwind of a peer-to-peer campaign, but don’t forget about your new donors!

Have a plan in place for when someone new gives to your campaign. Of course, you should always send out an acknowledgment email immediately after the contribution is made, but what about in the coming days and weeks?

Well, since your new donors obviously care about your organization’s cause, why not invite them to participate in your peer-to-peer event? Send out invitations via direct mail or email and watch as more and more people sign up for your event!

You can also provide new donors with other opportunities to get involved. Ask them to like your Facebook page. Direct them to information about volunteer opportunities. Or, ask if they’d like to buy merchandise from your online store.

Telling your organization’s story or the narrative of someone that you’ve helped is a critical part of a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Equally as important are the images and videos that you pair with those stories!

Media helps to liven up a peer-to-peer campaign. Your peer-to-peer campaign page should have different images and videos that capture the spirit of your nonprofit and show donors exactly what their donations are going toward.

The images you use should be crisp and professional; no fuzzy or blurry photos! Same principle goes for any videos that you choose to upload. Additionally, make sure that anyone featured in the videos or photos has given you their permission.

You should also encourage your fundraisers to upload their own media to their personal fundraising pages. Including photos and videos is a great way to show donors where their money is going and helps to connect them to your cause.