It might take a village to raise a child, but it takes a community to support your organization. And one effective way to accomplish that is through peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising.
In their session “Peer-to-Peer (Community) Fundraising for Beginners” at the 2016 Resource Alliance International Fundraising Congress in The Netherlands, Katie Simmons, assistant director, engagement and partnerships, at Diabetes UK in London, and Jillian Stewart, co-founder and senior consultant at PeerWorks Consulting in Amsterdam, pointed out that more evolved fundraising markets (such as the United States and the U.K.) have paved the way for P2P. Charities soon will move from “piloting” P2P to managing a portfolio of P2P and competing for fundraisers the same way they currently compete for donors.
For your P2P programs to succeed, keep in mind the following:
- Your P2P road map: What types of P2P programs will help you achieve your financial and organizational goals? Of those, which ones make sense for you to develop in the short-term and in the long-term?
- Your P2P business case: What staff time, skills/training, tools and budget are needed to develop (and maintain) these P2P programs? What level of revenue, community growth and return on investment (ROI) can you expect in the short- and long-term?
- Your P2P action plan: What specific “next steps” will set you off on the right track toward success? What training will you need to do to “get all noses pointed in the right direction”?
Furthermore, is your P2P program concept unique and appealing, can it be easily copied by competitors, does it have alternatives, does it leverage your strengths, does it have year-over-year appeal, is it scalable and is it set up to maximize ROI and achieve your goals?
However, a good concept is only half the battle. Do you have the proper operational strategy/plans, staff time, calendar time, skills/training, tools and infrastructure and budget to properly execute your P2P program?
