As the end of the year approaches, many charitable organizations find themselves approaching a fundraising crossroads. Perhaps they haven’t reached their goal. Maybe they want to achieve new goals. Or, they might just want to attract new donors. With the clock ticking, many organizations turn to giving season peer-to-peer and crowdfunding tools to finish strong with a great end-of-year campaign.
Traditionally held in November and December, online giving season campaigns have been a game-changer for nonprofit organizations. Many have used them to raise up to 31% of their total donations in December alone, with some seeing 12% of their annual funding hit the books in the last three days of the year.
Successful giving season campaigns rely on tools like crowdfunding and peer-to-peer outreach to leverage supporters’ networks and bring in new donors. When used properly, these tools can help you boost fundraising drives, expand your donor base, and end the year with a sense of accomplishment.
Unleash the Power of the People This Giving Season
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 to make the contributions until the end of the tax year, 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 hashtag #GivingTuesday, this worldwide movement is guided by the philosophy that “everyone has something to give and every act of generosity counts.”
Today, charitable organizations see Giving Tuesday as the perfect time to launch successful year-end campaigns. They use tools like crowdfunding and peer-to-peer to quickly spread the word and build a wave of donor interest.
The Donorbox Giving Tuesday 2023 Resource Center is a great place to start when planning your Giving Tuesday and giving season campaigns. Find templates, actionable advice, demos, guides, and so much more to help you start your year-end campaign on the right foot.
Giving Season Peer-to-Peer & Crowdfunding Campaigns
Crowdfunding uses the internet to raise money from a crowd of people in a short amount of time. It functions as a dedicated platform page that tells the story of the campaign and encourages others to share and discuss the cause. These types of campaigns typically have a fundraising deadline and a goal to work towards.
The main difference between crowdfunding and a main campaign is that 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 platforms encourage supporters to fundraise on behalf of a nonprofit. Like crowdfunding, it also focuses on a smaller goal, such as a 5k run to benefit cancer research. Those running in the race will reach out to friends, family, and peers to ask them to support the organization hosting the event.
Comparing Crowdfunding to Peer-to-Peer
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, advanced planning, and direct engagement with participants |
When used properly, these campaigns can build a wave of fundraising momentum that continues throughout the giving season.
Put Crowdfunding to Work this Giving Season
Crowdfunding was first introduced in the 1990s when a British punk band took to the internet to successfully fund their reunion tour. Since then, it has been used to raise money for everything from health expenses to seed funding for startup businesses.
In the nonprofit world, crowdfunding strategies encourage lots of people to donate small amounts in a short amount of time. Successful drives build contagious excitement and momentum.
A crowdfunding campaign features a dedicated landing page that clearly tells the story of the drive and includes a direct ask, as well as a set start and end date. It also engages 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, social proof makes them more likely to donate themselves. This is how the Giving Tuesday movement generated $3.1 billion in 2022.
Giving Season Crowdfunding Ideas
There are many ways to incorporate a crowdfunding strategy into a Giving Tuesday or giving season campaign. Here are a few ideas to get you started –
- Create a unique hashtag to brand your campaign and use it on all social posts.
- Link to your campaign in your year-end appeal letter via a QR code.
- Give specific asks, i.e. “$50 provides school supplies for an entire classroom” to show impact.
- Use simple messaging and calls to action to clearly communicate your goal.
- Share stories with supporters so they can connect with the impact of their donation.
- Provide regular updates on your landing page and with your supporters.
- Regularly promote the campaign across all social channels.
- Reward supporters with a gift.
- Keep up regular communications throughout the giving season.
Donorbox Crowdfunding
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 subscribers informed and engaged with flexible features. Crowdfunding pages can be customized to match branding, highlight donors, and accept multiple forms of payment. A goal meter, donor wall, and social sharing buttons keep subscribers engaged and excited to promote your cause.
Check out this example of a successful Giving Tuesday crowdfunding campaign, built by Tapestry using Donorbox.
Start crowdfunding with Donorbox
Use a Year-end Peer-to-Peer Campaign to Bring in More Funds
Peer-to-peer fundraising gets supporters, board members, and volunteers involved in raising donations on behalf of a cause. It does take a bit more planning than crowdfunding, as it requires more work mobilizing participants and training them to accurately represent your mission. This fundraising tactic, however, can be highly successful when you put in a little work up front.
Nonprofits 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. After an organization creates a main – or “parent” – peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, supporters create personalized – or “child” – donation pages to circulate and promote among family and friends. All donations are then directed to the original 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. In this way, fundraising organizations benefit from the power of relationships to access donors outside of their own social network.
Giving Season Peer-to-Peer Campaign Ideas
Consider these ideas when creating your giving season peer-to-peer fundraising campaign –
- Provide peer-to-peer fundraisers with a “kit” to create their own fundraising pages.
- Share how-tos, email templates, social posts, and more with your fundraisers.
- Maintain momentum by updating your fundraisers and donors.
- Launch the campaign on Giving Tuesday and continue it throughout the giving season.
- Partner with local businesses or corporate sponsors to provide incentives to fundraisers and donors alike.
A flexible end-of-year peer-to-peer campaign engages supporters to reach new donors and build a strong base for future campaigns.
Donorbox Peer-to-Peer
Donorbox Peer-to-Peer campaigns are customizable, quick to set up, and provide a seamless donor experience. Features include an easy peer fundraiser invite process, recurring giving options, social sharing links, and powerful data analytics. Comprehensive tutorials like this one make it easy to set up a peer-to-peer campaign in minutes.
In addition, Donorbox’s peer-to-peer platform is a good alternative to Facebook Fundraising, which has significantly changed its donation processing system. Starting October 31, 2023, Facebook no longer covers donation processing fees. Payments are only accepted through PayPal Giving Fund, and recurring donations are no longer supported.
Eleanore Whitmore Early Childhood Education Center has created a beautiful and effective peer-to-peer fundraising campaign using Donorbox. Find even more examples of impactful peer-to-peer campaigns here.
Get started with Peer-to-Peer
Pro tip: 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 makes it possible for you to enable peer-to-peer fundraising on your crowdfunding campaigns.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, a giving season campaign can be 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 can be extremely effective in leveraging the social networks of board members, staff, and supporters.
The success of any giving season crowdfunding or peer-to-peer campaign requires advanced planning. These campaigns are goal-oriented and time-bound to build excitement and momentum. By attracting smaller donations from more people, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising are the perfect tools to grow and nurture a robust donor base this year and into the next.
Donorbox Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer offer the tools you need to succeed with these effective fundraising tactics. Plus, the platform features several other products and services designed to help your nonprofit this giving season and beyond. Sign up for free today!
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.
Millicent Skiles
