Peer to Peer Fundraising

Posted by Emily Clare on 27 October 2022

If you haven’t heard of peer to peer fundraising we’d forgive you for that. It’s not exactly a buzz word which is thrown around. But we’re sure that you’ve had a family member or friend raise some money doing a personal challenge in aid of a worthy charity. Well, that’s peer to peer fundraising. That’s all it is.

Peer to peer fundraising is just a way for individuals to raise money for a cause they care about without having to wait for an event or expressed agreement from the charity in order to do so. Any funds raised then go through as a lump sum donation. Peer to peer fundraising provides charities with more donations than they could ever anticipate which is why it’s perfect if you want to do something for the greater good with your time.

How to get started with peer to peer fundraising

If you’re looking to get started with peer to peer fundraising it’s quite simple really. You need to figure out who you are fundraising for – that’s the biggest challenge. As soon as you’ve decided, you need to set yourself up with an online platform such as Givergy. It needs to provide you with an easy-to-share link and certain security so that people feel safe donating money through the platform.

After you’ve set up your donation page on your platform and decided who you are raising funds for. The next big decision is what crazy idea you’re going to come up with to encourage people to donate to your chosen charity. For years, peer to peer fundraising has been simply donations. Whilst this is a great way of raising money, platforms like Givergy can help you raise even more by hosting an auction and prize draw, alongside donations to ensure you exceed your fundraising target.

Our top peer to peer fundraising ideas

A sponsored run/walk

If you’re not an active person don’t immediately turn away from this one! It can still be a great option for you. Believe it or not, running isn’t the best form of exercise but getting active is a great way to grab people’s attention in order to get donations. If you haven’t ran 100 meters since track in high school you could probably get huge support with just running a 5km event.

Keep in mind that running and walking is less about how vigorous the activity is, but more about the distance or the challenge. Just because you say you are running 5km doesn’t mean you need to run the entire distance, you can walk where you need to. The only thing that matters is that you get it done and have evidence of doing so. Over the years we’ve seen everything from 100km walks to 1 mile sprints every hour on the hour. Get a bike involved, swim some lengths of a pool – whatever activity you do, make it achievable. People will be amazed no matter what you do.

Virtual scavenger hunt

If you’re looking to raise some money for a charity but you don’t have much time or energy then a virtual scavenger hunt is a great idea. You can create it throughout your home town or even in a nearby city. The better you know the area the easier this will be. It can be minimal on resources and because you’re hosting your event virtually you can keep costs low too.

Your scavenger hunt might be to find clues in the local area, leading participants across town to various well-known areas to find more clues. Then at the end they might find the password to enter online through a form submission to your page. The winner could get bragging rights, a family day trip or even some form of cash. Hosting a scavenger hunt might seem like more effort than your sponsored walk, but if you’re someone who loves puzzles – it’s the perfect peer to peer fundraising model.

Car wash

Peer to peer fundraising doesn’t have to be singular – if a group of people want to raise money for a good cause there’s no reason why you can’t get a bunch of people together for an event. We’ve found that over the years there isn’t a better activity than a car wash.

The thing about a car wash is that you can get people to donate online before they have their wash or alternatively they can pay in cash that you deposit into a bank before donating. Because it’s a very accessible event for everyone to donate to, it’s often very profitable.

However, payment processing is an option with Givergy and so are online donations services. 

Head shaving fundraisers

The final one on our list of favorite peer to peer fundraising ideas is the head shave. Most people have heard of this one and you might think it’s been done too much but we beg to differ. You can donate your hair to a wig charity and also raise money for another worthy cause! You won’t regret this one, especially as hair always grows back again. If you’re a man, why not throw in a back or chest wax too – that will definitely see your donations spike!

Emily Clare

Campaign Success Team Manager – North America

Emily is an experienced and passionate fundraising and events consultant, working with and supporting clients on their special events and fundraising campaigns all over the world.