12 Ideas for Powerful P2P Fundraising

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising is not new. Church World Service’s CROP Hunger Walk, widely regarded as the first true P2P fundraising event, was founded in 1969. American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, perhaps the best-known event, was founded in 1985. The Girl Scouts have been selling cookies since 1917.

But P2P has exploded of late. Yearly revenue for the top 30 events alone now exceeds $1.5 billion, and while that’s but a fraction of, say, individual giving’s $264 billion yearly total, it’s still billions. It’s a legitimate fundraising stream, and one with immense draw for the coveted younger demographics. And nonprofits large and small are adopting it in greater numbers—it seems everyone wants in on the P2P action.