When fundraising for a small organization with little money for start-up and no professional marketing team, you are competing with the bigger nonprofits and their donor networks and campaign structures. All of your supporters are in a very small pool and are subject to donation fatigue as the need of your organization’s mission continues to grow.
Set Clear Campaign Parameters Before Launch
Know the specifics of your campaign. We need to raise $5,000 for new equipment. What will $5,000 buy? Set a specific goal and time frame to reach it (3 months, etc.).
Setting the duration of your campaign is key. A good amount of time for a fundraiser to gain momentum and then dwindle is typically 3-6 weeks for small organizations.
Before launching a P2P campaign, an organization should write out the campaign story. Write a clear and concise explanation of the problem your organization is trying to solve and how the campaign funds will make a difference.Supporters will retell the campaign story to their own networks. Therefore, it is very important that an organization takes the time to write out a clear and concise campaign story before launching a P2P campaign.
Build Your Initial Supporter Base Strategically
Your Board, volunteers and staff are your best supporters. They know and love your organization’s mission. Ask each of them to set a fundraising goal and tell them how long you want them to raise that money by. For example, you might ask each of them to raise $300 by April 15th.
Ask natural connectors to promote your campaign. Your community includes individuals with large personal networks.These people may be business owners, school administrators, members of clubs and organizations, or others with large networks of acquaintances.Ask them to promote your campaign, set a personal fundraising goal, and work toward achieving it. For example, you might ask someone to raise $300 in new money for your organization by a certain date.
Make it as easy as possible for your supporters to start fundraising. This is why it’s so great to give them a ‘pack’ with everything they need. Include pre-written social media posts, a template email they can send to their network, and talking points for conversations with friends, family, and colleagues. If you make it too difficult for supporters to start fundraising, they are unlikely to do so.
Choose the Right Platform
You need to look at the platforms that you are going to use for fundraising through the eyes of your potential fundraisers. What are they going to be looking for in a good fundraising page? Look for platforms with low fees, good integration with your existing tools, and a simple setup process. There are lots of extra features available that look good at first but can be a turn off to potential fundraisers. It is best to start off with a simple platform and then add more features as you become more familiar with the process and the platform that you are using.
If you are a brand new organization to online fundraising, it would be a good use of your time to read the comprehensive guides available on p2p fundraising.These guides outline best practices and walk through campaign setup step by step. They will also provide a detailed analysis of the different platforms available to aid your selection of the most suitable for your organization.
Test out your fundraising platform before the campaign launch. Just as you would test and fix bugs on your website before launching, be sure to identify and troubleshoot any technical issues on your fundraising platform before you launch your campaign. You don’t want to be dealing with a disaster that could have been fixed in a matter of weeks while your campaign is suffering in the meantime.
Support Your Fundraisers Throughout the Campaign
For organizations who have a list of supporters who will be helping to fundraise for the organization’s campaign, the organization should send out a weekly check in to all active fundraisers. The supporter can receive an email, but a phone call is better. Use the call to update the supporter on the current state of the campaignAlso share how they can use this update to strengthen their own fundraising efforts. In the weekly check in to all fundraisers for the organization’s campaign, the supporter should be recognized for their efforts in fundraising for the past week. The organization should also thank the supporter for their efforts in fundraising for the organization’s campaign. Make the thank-you personal and deliver it within one week of the supporter’s fundraising efforts. This could be via phone or mail.
Provide your supporters with regular updates – new photos, new stories of change, new campaign progress reports, etc. Then they will have plenty of material to keep posting about your campaign to their networks of supporters.
Show your appreciation for the people who are promoting your organization by giving them recognition for their efforts. Some people may prefer to receive recognition privately, and others publicly on social media. Give recognition in the format each person prefers, and do so in a timely manner. The simple act of saying “thank you” to someone can go a long way in encouraging them to help promote your organization in the future.
Track Performance and Adjust Tactics
Keep an eye on both financial and engagement metrics to measure the campaign’s success. As mentioned earlier, the amount of funds raised, the number of active fundraisers, the average donation and social media shares are key metrics to track. Be aware of potential red flags like a decrease in daily donations or the number of active fundraisers.
After each weekly review, decide on specific actions to keep the campaign growing. For example, if donations are declining it may be time to post a mid-point incentive to the campaign. If there are not enough new fundraisers being recruited, the organization may need to personally call a supporter to ask for their help in fundraising for the campaign.
Do not confuse a peer to peer fundraising campaign with a direct mail campaign. As with any campaign, you will have to make lots of notes about what worked and what did not. Many tweaks will be required.
Close Strong and Maintain Relationships
Plan a campaign close. The last 48 hours of your peer-to-peer fundraising campaign will see the most activity as supporters meet their fundraising goals and donate.Send targeted emails to all donors and fundraisers who have not yet met their goals.
Wait to thank all of your supporters (donors and fundraisers) individually for a week after the fundraising campaign has closed.A generic thank-you email fails to capitalize on the strong relationships you built during the campaign.
Thank every single participant for their hard work helping to raise money for your organization within a week after the campaign has ended. This can be done by expressing your gratitude via email, phone call, or in person. The supporter did a lot of work to promote your organization and raise funds in support of it, so it is very important to thank each of them for their hard work.Send supporters an update within 30 days after the campaign ends. Describe how the funds will be spent and include a timeline of when they can expect to see the impact.
