Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: How to Run P2P Events Online

Think back to when peer-to-peer (or P2P) events, such as walkathons or ride-a-thons, were all offline. In Canada, depending on your age, many people still remember the Terry Fox Run or Jump Rope for Heart, with paper pledge sheets in hand, going door-to-door and asking neighbours for support. Sometimes you’d even have to go back later to collect the cash. That was the norm.

Today, those events look entirely different. Most organizations have shifted online and taken their peer-to-peer (pledge and multi-pledge) fundraising with them. It’s changed everything. Registration happens digitally, donations flow directly into the organization’s bank account, and participants can share personal fundraising pages with links or QR codes. The reach is bigger, the process is faster, and donors don’t need to worry about carrying cash.

An example of a P2P event page hosted on raisin

Still, some groups with older donor bases continue to see a high percentage of offline pledges. For example, we have a nonprofit organization that still receives more than 50% of its gifts this way. They’ve adapted by managing both streams, but from an organizational perspective, online peer-to-peer fundraising is always preferred–it’s easier for accounting, reporting, and real-time tracking.

Three core elements of running P2P events online

The registration flow

The first thing to get right when hosting P2P events online is the registration flow. If it’s too complex, people drop off. Some organizations create long, confusing flows with multiple event types and distances to choose from. That might be fine for experienced participants used to complex registrations, but for most donor and participant bases, especially older ones, it gets overwhelming. The rule of thumb is “only ask what you really need, not what’s just nice to know.”

The fundraising story

The second core element is the story. In peer-to-peer fundraising, the story is often the most important thing you can control. For most participants, the default content you set will become their story. Many won’t customize their personal or team pages, so the images, messaging, and tone you provide are what donors see first. That’s a huge opportunity to frame the cause correctly and set the tone for the entire P2P fundraising experience.

But the story doesn’t stop at the page itself. It appears across every touchpoint: the emails from the participant center, the footers on automated updates, and even the reminders or thank-you notes that are sent along the way. When all of these pieces line up, every supporter, whether they’re donating through a friend’s page, opening a campaign email, or clicking into an event reminder, gets a consistent, meaningful impression of the organization and why the fundraising matters.

That consistency is what makes peer-to-peer fundraising powerful: the story doesn’t just live on the donation page; it’s carried across the whole journey, making every interaction feel connected to the cause.

Analytics and tracking

Tracking is the third piece. Weekly reporting is critical:

• How many participants have registered this week?
• How many of them have raised $0, and for how long since they registered?

With analytics, it’s easy to distinguish between someone who registered yesterday and hasn’t started yet and someone who registered a month ago and still hasn’t raised anything. That insight tells you when to nudge participants with follow-up emails or calls.

P2P events analytics dashboard

Five tips for successful P2P events

When it comes to setting nonprofits up for success with their peer-to-peer campaigns, here are a few things that have made (and will make) a difference:

1. Email and participant center tools. These tools create a significant opportunity for engagement. They’re not just for reminding people who haven’t started fundraising yet, but also for celebrating the folks who have. Automation lets you send reminders, build excitement, and congratulate top fundraisers.
   
2. Personal touches for top performers. If someone raises $10,000 or more, don’t just rely on an automated note. A personal email or even a phone call from leadership goes a long way. It makes them feel like a real champion for the cause, because they are.
   
3. Digital check-in. On event day, the paper lists with participant names just don’t cut it anymore. Having a smooth digital check-in system saves time, avoids errors, reduces the strain on the team and the participants, and, perhaps more importantly, makes swag distribution easier.
   
4. SMS for event-day communication. Being able to schedule emails about parking, logistics, or accessibility is really useful. And SMS is the next big thing here. Quick texts can reach people faster than email when they’re on the move.
   
5. Scale-friendly tools. As the number of fundraisers increases, consider adopting an online fundraising software with features such as AI fundraising assistants. Or mobile-first apps that combine check-in, messaging, and updates. As the P2P events continue to scale, these features will help participants and fundraisers self-serve, reducing the need for your team’s attention to the minutiae of fundraising event planning and execution.

Promotion strategies for P2P events

The whole purpose of peer-to-peer fundraising events is to grow an organization’s reach through network effects. The events that really thrive are the ones that go beyond logistics and think intentionally about promotion.

What nonprofits can do themselves

• Build a community. The best events aren’t one-and-done. They create year-round communities where participants know each other, feel connected to the mission, and keep coming back. That sense of belonging is what encourages people to share and recruit.
  
• Tell a consistent story. Make sure the event story shows up everywhere, on your website, in your emails, and in your social posts. When people see the same message echoed across touchpoints, it feels bigger than just a single fundraiser.
  
• Keep communication flowing. Use email and social updates throughout the campaign to celebrate milestones, highlight top fundraisers, and spotlight impact. It keeps energy high and gives participants content they can reshare.
  
• Leverage digital ads and retargeting. If the budget allows, consider promoting the event through Facebook or Instagram ads to reach beyond your existing audience. Retarget people who visited the event page but didn’t register or donate.

How nonprofits can empower participants

• Gamify the experience. Leaderboards, badges, and friendly competition — whether team vs. team or individual challenges — give people a reason to push themselves and recruit others.
  
• Give them ready-to-use content. Provide social media graphics, sample posts, email templates, and quick text blurbs. The easier it is for participants to share, the more likely they are to do so.
  
• Encourage storytelling. Remind participants to explain why they’re fundraising. A personal story about their connection to the cause is more compelling than just a link. This is the heart of P2P fundraising: participants become advocates.
  
• Make sharing effortless. Equip pages with one-click share buttons for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and email. Even small nudges like “Share your page now” in the participant center can make a big difference.
  
• Highlight peer influence. Showcase top fundraisers and recognize when participants bring in new donors. Public recognition motivates others to do the same.

How raisin helps nonprofits run P2P events online

raisin makes it easier for nonprofits not just to launch a peer-to-peer fundraising event, but to grow it sustainably. A few features stand out:

• Built-in referral program. P2P is all about network effects, and raisin gives participants the tools to spread the word. The referral program lets fundraisers earn badges and recognition for bringing in new donors or registrants. That built-in incentive encourages them to tap into their networks, making recruitment feel less like a burden.
  
• Super Starter onboarding. Getting participants to register is just step one; the challenge is getting them fundraising right away. raisin’s Super Starter sequence automatically guides new participants through key first steps: updating their page, making a self-donation, and sharing with their networks. Our research shows that nudging them in those first 48 hours increases the likelihood that they’ll stay engaged throughout the entire campaign.

• Support for admins and fundraisers alike. On the backend, staff get simple tools to track referrals, monitor who’s taking action, and identify where more support is needed. On the front end, fundraisers get a smoother, more guided experience that keeps them from stalling out.

Together, these tools make it easier to run p2p events online: participants start strong, they’re motivated to bring others in, and the organization can see which levers are working in real-time.

When both sides work together, with the organization setting the stage, and participants carrying the fire into their own networks, peer-to-peer fundraising events achieve what they’re designed for: multiplying reach and impact through the power of community.

Words by Sonia Amadi and Alicia Menzies