Crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, and other fundraising tools put your supporters’ networks to work by spreading awareness and building donation momentum during Giving Season! Keep reading to learn how to leverage these tools to boost your year-end donations.
As the end of the year approaches, your nonprofit may be looking for ways to hit your fundraising revenue, achieve new goals, or even attract new donors! With the clock ticking, giving season peer-to-peer and crowdfunding tools can help you finish strong with a great end-of-year campaign.
Online giving season campaigns have been a game-changer for nonprofits like yours, with many raising up to 40% of their total online donations in December alone.
In this article, we’ll share how to utilize crowdfunding and peer-to-peer tools effectively in your giving season campaigns to boost your fundraising drives, expand your donor base, and end the year with a sense of accomplishment.
The concept of the giving season has its roots in the early 1900s, when favorable tax policies encouraged businesses and individuals to actively support charitable causes. Because many businesses wait until the end of the tax year to make contributions, the holiday season evolved as the perfect time to give.
This tradition of giving was galvanized in 2012 with the launch of Giving Tuesday, a day of “radical generosity” held on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Under the #GivingTuesday, this worldwide movement is guided by the philosophy that “everyone has something to give and every act of generosity counts.”
Today, organizations like yours see Giving Tuesday as the perfect time to launch successful year-end campaigns, using tools like crowdfunding and peer-to-peer to quickly spread the word and build a wave of donor interest.
Crowdfunding uses the internet to raise money from a crowd of people in a short amount of time. You share your fundraising story on your campaign page and encourage others to discuss, share, and help bring in donations to your cause.
These campaigns typically have a fundraising deadline and work towards a specific goal. Crowdfunding focuses on a smaller goal, such as providing 100 holiday meals to needy families. With smaller donation asks, more people are likely to give – especially if it coincides with the giving season’s spirit of generosity!
Peer-to-peer fundraising encourages your supporters to fundraise on your behalf by creating their own dedicated campaign pages. By allowing your friends, family, and peers to help you raise funds and promote your campaign in their own networks, you’ll not only increase awareness of your mission but also maximize your fundraising potential.
Like crowdfunding, peer-to-peer campaigns also focus on a smaller goal, such as a 5k run to benefit cancer research.
There are several differences and similarities between crowdfunding and peer-to-peer campaigns.
Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer are similar because they rely on social sharing to spread the word. Both tactics also focus on attracting a larger number of smaller donations instead of fewer larger ones. From there, these platforms differ in important ways:
| Crowdfunding | Peer-to-Peer |
|---|---|
| Used by individuals, corporations, and nonprofits | Primarily used by nonprofit organizations |
| Often used to achieve moderate or short-term goals | Can be used to raise more money over the long term |
| Typically relies on an already-engaged audience of followers | Intended to increase donor numbers, expand awareness, and boost retention |
| Offers more control over brand and messaging consistency | Requires finding and training supporters to communicate your message |
| Promotes a single donation page that can be easily maintained | Uses multiple websites to promote and share with potential donors |
| A simple, effective solution when time and resources are limited | Requires more time, planning, and engagement with participants |
When used properly, these campaigns can build a wave of fundraising momentum that continues throughout the giving season.
Crowdfunding strategies encourage your supporters to give small donations over a short period of time while building contagious excitement and momentum.
A crowdfunding campaign features a dedicated landing page that clearly communicates your fundraising story and includes a direct ask, plus a set start and end date. It allows you to engage your donors and subscribers with tools like a donor wall to acknowledge gifts, a goal meter, and social sharing buttons.
Additionally, crowdfunding success hinges on the power of social proof – the idea that people are influenced by the actions and decisions of people they like or admire. As subscribers see their friends, family, and peers donate, they feel more inclined to contribute. This is how the Giving Tuesday movement generated $3.6 billion in 2024.
There are many ways to incorporate a crowdfunding strategy into your Giving Tuesday or giving season campaign. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
A successful crowdfunding campaign requires a flexible platform that gives you options to tell your story, encourage social sharing, and provide a seamless payment process.
Donorbox Crowdfunding keeps your subscribers informed and engaged with flexible features. Crowdfunding pages can be customized to align with your nonprofit branding, spotlight your donors, and accept multiple forms of payment. A goal meter, donor wall, and social sharing buttons engage your subscribers and build excitement around your cause.
See how the School of Imagination used Donorbox Crowdfunding to achieve 4x their fundraising goal for Giving Tuesday 2024!
Start Crowdfunding with Donorbox
Peer-to-peer fundraising takes a bit more planning than crowdfunding, as it requires more work mobilizing participants and training them to accurately represent your mission. However, this fundraising tactic can be highly successful when you put in a little work up front!
Nonprofits like yours often use peer-to-peer campaigns to support a fundraising challenge, such as a walk-a-thon, turkey trot, or Santa run – or as an alternative to an in-person event.
Once you create your “parent” peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, your supporters create personalized “child” fundraising pages and promote them in their individual networks. All donations collected flow directly to your main campaign account.
Peer-to-peer is particularly effective because people are more likely to contribute to a cause if they hear about it from someone they know and trust. This means you’ll access donors you may not otherwise have reached in your own social network!
Consider these ideas when creating your giving season peer-to-peer fundraising campaign:
A flexible end-of-year peer-to-peer campaign engages your supporters to reach new donors and build a strong base for your future campaigns.
Donorbox Peer-to-Peer campaigns are customizable, quick to set up, and provide your donors with a seamless giving experience.
Features include an easy peer fundraiser invite process, recurring giving options, social sharing links, and powerful data analytics.
See how Project Ropa created an effective peer-to-peer fundraising campaign using Donorbox. Find even more examples of impactful peer-to-peer campaigns here.
Can’t decide if you want to use crowdfunding or peer-to-peer fundraising during your year-end campaign? With the right tool, you can do both! Donorbox allows you to enable peer-to-peer fundraising on your crowdfunding campaigns.
Bonus resource: Check out our comprehensive tutorial on how to set up a peer-to-peer campaign in minutes.
Launching a giving season campaign is a great way to create buzz around your mission, grow your donor base, and end the year with a bang. Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising help you leverage other people’s social networks to scale support for your mission.
Donorbox Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer provide the tools you need to mobilize your giving season campaign. Explore all our features designed to help your nonprofit this giving season and beyond.
Looking for more nonprofit tips? Check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog for guides, templates, and actionable advice that will help you help others.
Milly is a freelance writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in the fields of content marketing, communications, and brand voice. Grounded in journalistic tradition, she develops messaging and communication strategies for nonprofits, startups, and businesses.
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Millicent Skiles