Peer to Peer

As nonprofit fundraisers, we use many of the same channels as corporate brands and political candidates to reach our intended audiences, including direct mail, telemarketing, social media, emails, and offline and online advertising. Yet, there is one, relatively new fundraising approach that is experiencing great success: peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms....

OK, I’ll just say it: I’m a nerd. Or maybe I’m a geek. Either way, I spend more of my personal time than I like to admit keeping up to date on all things peer-to-peer, social media, technology, marketing and fundraising. Many times, all of the resources and information out there start to sound a bit like…

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising has become an important element of nonprofit development, with more and more organizations recognizing the potential to increase their donations. The beginning of the year is a great time to strengthen and grow your organization’s strategy. Here are 10 ways to build on your P2P efforts as you head into the new…

I heard a client struggle today in trying to figure out her organization’s value proposition. “What is it that we do that makes interacting with us worthwhile, something people can’t do without?” Being something that people feel they can’t do without is a high bar, but attainable. But then I thought, if I were selling high-end sneakers, would my athlete buyer respond to the same value proposition as my fashion buyer? Sometimes yes, but sometimes no...

A recent study about donor engagement and nonprofit marketing shows there are critical areas where what nonprofits are doing is not what is optimal for donors.

Otis Fulton, my husband and Turnkey’s psychologist, leapt from his chair with a shocked expression on his face and social science book-of-the-day in hand. “The Ice Bucket Challenge was not peer-to-peer fundraising!” he said. “Don’t you see? Peer-to-peer is a closed loop. The Ice Bucket Challenge was an open loop...”

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising isn't new. For years, many organizations have engaged their supporters—from staff and volunteers to program participants and current donors—to raise funds on their behalf. Traditionally, these campaigns take the form of walk-a-thons or similar kinds of events at which supporters enlist sponsors from their own networks of colleagues, friends and family. Informally,…

In the early 2000s, we didn’t call it “P2P.” We called it “online event management solutions” or “online solutions for pledge-based special events.” Some of us had noticed that nonprofits gained a lot of their annual support through these pledge-based special events, and many were still using paper pledge forms to walk around and ask for donations. The world has changed significantly since then, particularly when it comes to communications technology...

Fact: It’s hard to get started. If you're a follower of Plenty, you already know that you should have a peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising program. The question is: Where to start? We work with many organizations that want to understand where to begin, what the next step should be and what a wider portfolio will look…

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is suing the man who organized this year’s “LoziLu” mud races as fundraisers to fight cancer, saying he has violated charity and consumer protection laws. The action targets Frederick Bradley Kellogg and a Minnesota company called Fresh New Taste LLC that were running women-only obstacle mud races around the country.…