Thanking Your Peer to Peer Fundraisers

Saying thank you is one of the very first life lessons we learn. From a young age, we understand that the most important thing you can do is thank someone who used time and energy to help us. Flash forward to being adults running nonprofits, and that lesson still stands strong. Not just for the donors raising thousands of dollars, but the small grassroots peer to peer fundraisers helping our cause.

We love seeing every peer to peer fundraiser set up for our nonprofits. Regardless of donations made, they prove that people believe in our cause, and they organically raise organization awareness. Peer to peer fundraisers share passion and personal stories that add a human face to your organization. On top of the fuzzy feel-good stuff, they are beneficial for the organization in ways that surpass the financial gain. 

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• Peer to peer fundraisers are much less obtrusive than any campaign a nonprofit can set up.
• This form of word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most impactful ways to spread your cause. Individuals are much more likely to react to their peer’s Call To Action than yours.
• They are a great way to find supporters who are willing to stand for your cause.

Peer to peer fundraisers are a beautiful addition to a solid nonprofit marketing strategy. So, it’s important to recognize the individuals creating these campaigns in the name of your organization. Even small gestures of genuine thanks will make a big difference to the supporters of your cause.

So, how do you thank all of your supporters in a time-efficient way?

The process behind saying thank you for each organization can vary greatly depending on the size of an organization, the amount of audience engagement, and the size of the organization team. But regardless of the Thank You strategy you adopt, it should include these parts:

• Make sure the thank you is genuine. It doesn’t have to be a big to-do, just make it from the heart.
• Include a little bit of personalization. This can be as simple as changing “Thanks!” to “Thanks, Max!”
• Stay consistent with your Thank You’s – If you take the time to thank one campaign you should acknowledge them all, big or small.

Say thanks to existing campaigns on both a micro and macro level 

Highlight individuals who set up a peer to peer campaign and let them know how much you appreciate the support. It is important to communicate how each effort helps your nonprofit long-term.

Saying thank you on each fundraiser may seem like a  time-intensive project, especially if you have high audience engagement. Regardless of organization size, there is a realistic process that assures everyone receives the thanks they deserve.

CREATE THANK YOU VIDEOS TO PROMOTE

If you have a smaller nonprofit, it may be possible to personally thank each audience-created fundraiser in a weekly video. You can post thank you social videos and Instagram stories that mention and tag all of the week’s donors. These don’t need to be a whole production, just a genuine thank you from a nonprofit employee.

ADD DATA OR STATISTICS TO YOUR THANK YOU

These shoutouts are a great way to show your appreciation as well as keeping constant and consistent promotion of peer to peer fundraisers. Including details such as “Peer to peer fundraisers this week raised enough money to send 15 children to school with new uniforms. Your fundraisers make a true difference.” Taking this time to circle back to the true reason these fundraisers are happening can stimulate more involvement.

ENGAGE IN EACH FUNDRAISER ON SOCIAL

Larger organizations that don’t have time to create weekly videos can still personally thank each fundraiser. Make a point to like and comment on every fundraiser posted with a template (but genuine) thank you message. It only takes a few seconds per fundraiser, but it means worlds to the individuals growing support for your cause.

PROMOTE CURRENT FUNDRAISERS FROM ALL PLATFORMS

On top of a genuine message of thanks, reacting to and promoting successful or well-planned fundraisers is free word-of-mouth marketing. Saying thank you and promoting this audience-created content acts as an awareness campaign. These highlights promote the peer-to-peer fundraiser opportunity without being overly sales-y. 

CHOOSE THE RIGHT CAMPAIGNS TO HIGHLIGHT

To maximize the impact of these fundraiser promotions, highlight campaigns that have high-quality images or videos, a personal story, or campaign that has a compelling emotional aspect. It is important to highlight campaigns of all sizes, to reiterate how no matter how small a fundraiser is, it makes a difference to your organization.

HIGHLIGHT MULTIPLE TYPES OF CAMPAIGNS.

Fundraisers can be found on many platforms from Facebook and Instagram fundraisers to platforms made specifically for fundraising, like Classy or GoFundMe. Make sure to promote your fundraisers wherever they are found, your audience knows all of the possible options for their own campaigns.

Because we are in the business of compassion, having a consistent Thank You strategy should be at the top of your list. Taking the time to send a simple thanks will have a butterfly effect on how your supporters and audience view your nonprofit brand.

Do you need help setting up a nonprofit strategy that doesn’t drain your team’s limited resources? Reach out to our team and we can discuss solutions for your nonprofit today!