Best Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software: How to Pick Yours
Last year, America’s 20 largest peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns raised $1.1 billion! The nonprofits and schools that engage in peer-to-peer fundraising owe part of their success to the cutting-edge technology powering their campaigns.
In this guide, we’ll explore the process of locating the perfect peer-to-peer fundraising software, so your organization can grow its network, develop deeper donor relationships, and increase fundraising revenue. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Key Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software Features
- Popular Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software Platforms
- Examples of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software In Action
- Smart Tips for Choosing Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software
Now, let’s explore how to choose the best peer-to-peer fundraising platform for your nonprofit.
Key Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software Features
When it comes to buying software, it’s essential to enter the process with a solid understanding of your organization’s needs and priorities. Keep these top considerations in mind as you explore various providers and locate the right peer-to-peer fundraising platform for your team.
Integrations
By choosing a peer-to-peer solution that integrates with the rest of your fundraising software, you can keep donor data moving smoothly between your various tools. While you can always hire developers to create middle-ware solutions or manually move data yourself, built-in integrations get your new technology up and running fast.
For example, your organization likely has a donor management or CRM system to track supporter information and engagement history. Opting for peer-to-peer fundraising software that integrates with your donor database can streamline data collection, reduce errors, and simplify your team’s efforts.
Accessibility & Ease of Use
Peer-to-peer fundraising increases your organization’s reach and allows you to connect with new donors. To make the most of this opportunity, your nonprofit needs accessible fundraising tools that all supporters can use.
Not only do accessible platforms increase funding for nonprofits, but they also ensure positive experiences for all donors and supporters.
Here are a few areas to consider in your search:
- Web accessibility standards. Ensure everyone who lands on your giving pages can use them, including those with disabilities. Seek out peer-to-peer fundraising software that meets accessibility standards, such as sufficient color contrasts and custom image alt text.
- Mobile optimization. You want the giving process to be quick and easy, regardless of whether donors complete the transaction using a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. Be sure to communicate this need to your peer-to-peer fundraising software provider, especially since a quarter of donors give from mobile devices.
Matching Gift Functionality
Multiply peer-to-peer donations with corporate matching gifts. Many peer-to-peer fundraising platforms have built-in solutions to simplify the process and amplify individual and corporate giving. With the right matching gift tools working smoothly alongside your peer-to-peer fundraising software, your organization can tap into the power of corporate gift matching.
For example, Double the Donation’s leading donation-matching platform. Nonprofits and higher education institutions can tap into our database of over 24,000 matching gift companies to raise more money, engage donors, and locate valuable matching opportunities.
When buying peer-to-peer fundraising software, keep matching gift functionality in mind! After all, 84% of donors are more likely to donate if a match is offered.
Payment Processing Capabilities
Optimizing the peer-to-peer giving experience involves diversifying accepted payment types. This ensures donors have multiple options for giving and increases the likelihood that they’ll complete the transaction.
Make sure your peer-to-peer software can process the following types of payments:
- Traditional forms of payment like debit cards, credit cards, and ACH bank transfers
- Innovative payment methods, like digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay), financial services like Venmo and PayPal, and even cryptocurrency
Your peer-to-peer fundraising software should offer plenty of payment options, so keep an eye out for these capabilities!
Support Availability
Technology support consists of two categories: initial onboarding and ongoing support. Each can play a significant role in your organization’s success with a platform. After all, there’s no point in purchasing software for your nonprofit if you don’t have the resources to set it up and keep it running.
Each company has its own tech support offerings, so locate a provider with the right assistance levels for your team. For example, if your nonprofit has its own built-out tech department that can set up and maintain software usage on its own, you might choose a provider that offers minimal external support at a lower cost. On the other hand, an organization without dedicated technology experts may opt for additional assistance at a higher price point to ensure they have the necessary support.
And don’t forget to consider the ROI of your support offerings either! Selecting a provider with high levels of support can help your organization maintain high fundraising success. In this case, opting for hands-on tech support can ultimately result in elevated revenue, making the cost well worth the investment.
Popular Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software Platforms
With plenty of great peer-to-peer solutions on the market, we’ll briefly cover a few of our favorites. Each of these solutions integrates with our industry-leading matching gift software, so you can drive higher donations with matching gifts. You can explore our full partner directory to find the solution that’s right for you!
Blackbaud
Blackbaud provides cloud software, services, expertise, and data intelligence that empowers nonprofits to drive impact for social good. Among Blackbaud’s offerings include peer-to-peer solutions for individual fundraisers and enterprise-size organizations alike.
Tap into features such as:
- Peer-to-peer event management for non-registration fee-based events, community projects, and virtual and hybrid events
- Gamification tools such as virtual fitness tracking and leaderboards
- Individual fundraising pages enhanced with personal goal-setting, in-memory capabilities, and birthday fundraising functionalities
Classy
Classy offers world-class online fundraising software to create a positive social impact. Peer-to-peer functionality is just one part of this provider’s suite of tools. With Classy, your donor acquisition can soar, as four out of every five peer-to-peer donors who give through Classy are new supporters.
Here’s a rundown of their peer-to-peer fundraising software features:
- Multiple accepted payment types, including credit cards, digital wallets, Venmo, PayPal, ACH bank transfer, and cryptocurrency
- Branded fundraising pages and receipts so you can strengthen brand awareness and increase donor trust
- An enjoyable fundraising experience that enables fundraisers to post photos, videos, and blog-style updates as well as leverage built-in social and text sharing
CrowdChange
Designed for charities, campuses, and Greek life, CrowdChange is a web-based, mobile-friendly fundraising software solution. Their award-winning technology makes it easy to set up events and empower supporters to fundraise on behalf of your organization.
They offer users features like:
- Peer-to-peer event setup and management, including QR code ticketing
- A branded mobile app to manage your fundraisers, empower team captains, and enable peer-to-peer health challenges for events like 5Ks via integrations with Apple Health, Fitbit, and more
- Unlimited technical support at no charge to keep everything running smoothly
DonorDrive
For 25+ years, DonorDrive has helped organizations like Children’s Miracle Network and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention raise more than $2 billion. Their innovative peer-to-peer fundraising software enables nonprofits to hand the megaphone over to their biggest advocates and amplify their personal stories. Here are some of this peer-to-peer fundraising software’s features:
- Team fundraising to enable supporters to team up and raise money for your cause
- Activity tracking via Strava, Apple Health, Fitbit, and Google Fit to enable health-related peer-to-peer fundraising challenges
- Easy sharing via pre-written emails, contact management, and social sharing
Engaging Networks
Trusted by The Humane Society, The Nature Conservancy, and other big-name organizations, Engaging Networks serves more than 400 nonprofits in more than 50 countries. They offer powerful peer-to-peer capabilities alongside marketing, membership management, and eCommerce tools. Elevate your impact with peer-to-peer fundraising features like:
- Personal and team fundraising pages hosted on a branded campaign website
- Goal setting and progress thermometers for both campaign and individual pages
- The ability to collect donations in any currency
Funraise
Funraise strives to make fundraising a piece of cake. Thanks to its comprehensive features, nonprofits using Funraise, on average, grow online giving by 73% annually! Tap into the incredible social power of your most dedicated supporters with these peer-to-peer fundraising software features:
- Customizable automated emails for hitting campaign milestones
- A fundraising website with custom colors, images, and content for telling your nonprofit’s story
- Fundraising commitments that enable you to set non-negotiable fundraising goals for peer-to-peer fundraisers
Givebutter
Established in 2016, Givebutter is a fundraising technology company that powers online donations, campaigns, and ticketed events for more than 15,000 charities around the world. Tap into your supporters’ networks by adding peer-to-peer fundraising to any Givebutter fundraising page or event. Doing so will enable these features:
- Gamification tools like a goal bar, countdown, leaderboards, and interactive supporter feed to drive urgency
- Personalized pages where fundraisers can tell their story, upload images, and use Canva graphics to make it their own
- Marketing tools like built-in social media sharing tools, automated email and text reminders, and trackable links
GiveCampus
Designed for educational institutions, GiveCampus is a popular digital fundraising and volunteer management solution. With the platform, Rhode Island College exceeded its donor goal by 55% and its dollar goal by more than double during its annual giving day. Know that Double the Donation is the only corporate matching gifts tool that integrates with the platform!
Reach, engage, and mobilize your community with these social fundraising features:
- Pre-filled giving forms that reflect donor interests, giving history, and preferred payment methods
- Real-time progress reports to inform supporters of campaign totals
- World-class support with an average response time of 11 minutes or less
GivenGain
Founded in 2001, GivenGain puts fundraising in your supporters’ hands. As a nonprofit itself, GivenGain is driven by purpose rather than profit. Through this peer-to-peer fundraising platform, your passionate fundraisers can champion your cause and drive action.
Use GivenGain’s tools to access:
- Event-based fundraising so supporters can collect donations linked to their participation in marathons, bike races, and more
- Recurring gifts to inspire ongoing support
- Multi-currency support to ensure organizations can receive funds from a global donor base
GiveSignUp
GiveSignUp is free peer-to-peer fundraising software that provides tools for event planning, fundraising, and managing volunteers. The platform only charges processing fees and is well-suited for organizations that host races, walks, and other event-based fundraising activities. Some of GiveSignUp’s primary features include:
- Team and donor recruitment tools like auto-join fundraising team URLs, social sharing, and a fundraiser email hub
- An event day app with options to check in by fundraising team and show fundraising totals
- Free marketing tools like a custom website builder and automated referral rewards to encourage sharing
GiveWP
If your nonprofit uses WordPress, this may be the peer-to-peer fundraising software for you! GiveWP is an open-source WordPress plugin that simplifies fundraising. Trusted by 100,000+ fundraisers worldwide, GiveWP can transform your supporters into enthusiastic advocates. Leverage the peer-to-peer fundraising add-on for GiveWP to involve your community in peer-to-peer and team fundraising. Then, use features such as:
- A custom donor experience with fund designation options, tribute capabilities, and a marketing newsletter opt-in option on peer-to-peer donation forms
- Donation forms that can be hosted directly on your own website, no coding knowledge needed
- The ability to showcase sponsors on your main campaign page or peer-to-peer pages
haku
Create powerful peer-to-peer fundraising events with haku, an all-in-one partnership and technology ecosystem. haku is a comprehensive event management platform that nonprofits can use to organize participatory fundraising events like races and bike rides. In fact, they even helped the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raise $1 million in just one month with a virtual fitness challenge.
The platform offers a suite of peer-to-peer fundraising tools, such as:
- One-step registration and fundraising account creation, enabling your supporters to start fundraising immediately
- Mobile-optimized public fundraising pages that can be personalized with images, videos, and custom messages and then easily shared
- Integrations with popular platforms like Salesforce and Double the Donation, making it easy to gather and share data in real-time
Neon Fundraise
Neon provides purpose-driven technology to further your mission. As part of Neon’s technology ecosystem, Neon Fundraise is a modern social fundraising platform that is fresh, powerful, and easy to use. Take your fundraising to new heights and drive registrations for your peer-to-peer events with features like:
- Individual and multiple event registration and management tools, including ticket sales, registration forms, and participant tracking
- Endurance challenges with activity tracking (like miles run or walked) via manual input or fitness app integration
- One-click donations to create a frictionless experience for returning donors
OneCause
OneCause delivers nonprofits comprehensive fundraising solutions for auctions, text-to-give, events, and online fundraising. Among its many helpful tools, you can find peer-to-peer fundraising software. Whether you want to host a run/walk/ride event, host a giving day, or enable tribute fundraisers, OneCause has you covered.
Activate supporters with powerful social fundraising features, such as:
- Motivation and rewards such as leaderboards, milestone badges, and head-to-head competitions
- Social media integration to help supporters recruit and fundraise via social channels
- Configurable event registration that enables different registration types, custom discount codes, and custom form questions
Qgiv
Qgiv offers nonprofits a variety of tools to power everything from peer-to-peer fundraising and text fundraising to auctions. Its comprehensive platform enables nonprofits to give donors a modern and personalized giving experience while keeping costs low. Enable your peer-to-peer fundraisers (or P2Peeps, as Qgiv calls them) to participate in 5Ks, bowl-a-thons, cycling events, or any other peer-to-peer fundraiser with these features:
- Easy event and fundraising page setup with drag-and-drop tools to get supporters fundraising faster
- Team fundraising where captains can recruit members and people can cheer each other on
- Gamification like custom fundraising badges, leaderboards, an activity tracker, and a thermometer to create friendly competition
raisin
Make meaningful connections and grow your network with raisin. This peer-to-peer fundraising software is perfect for individual, team, and corporate fundraisers. Whether you’re launching a national walk or DIY fundraising campaign, inspire supporters to join your nonprofit, fundraise, and build awareness for your cause.
Use raisin’s peer-to-peer module to leverage these features:
- Multi-location events so your campaign can unite multiple events for greater fundraising power
- Mobile-first fundraising so supporters can fundraise across any device
- Email, social, and follow-up tools to engage their networks and drive donations
Examples of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software In Action
Each peer-to-peer fundraising platform has a unique donation flow that impacts how donors and fundraisers interact with your organization’s efforts. To make the most of your upcoming initiatives with optimal technology, consider these three sample social fundraising pages.
As we walk through each example, be sure to note what the organization does well and which pieces you can emulate!
The George Washington University
*Uses GiveCampus and Double the Donation
The George Washington University is a private research university located in Washington, D.C. This institution participates in a range of fundraising initiatives to support scholarship opportunities, student life, athletics, and more.
To power its peer-to-peer giving experience, the university uses innovative social fundraising technology from GiveCampus:
1. An individual navigates to a peer-to-peer campaign landing page.
The George Washington University hosts a wide range of peer-to-peer fundraising opportunities, and each one is provided with a campaign landing page from which to give, track progress toward objectives and deadlines, share the fundraising site, and more. Also, it features a brief video outlining the campaign efforts and goals.
2. The individual selects a donation amount on the giving form.
Once the donor navigates to the donation form from the campaign landing page, they are encouraged to choose their donation amount, determine recurring gift status, select a designation, and even add an additional gift.
3. The individual provides employment information and submits their gift.
On this final page of the GWU peer-to-peer giving process, donors are encouraged to enter their employer name to determine their matching gift eligibility using Double the Donation’s embedded search tool. From there, they are prompted to review their gift selection and finalize their contribution using their preferred payment method.
4. The individual is thanked and provided with matching gift information on the confirmation page.
Once a donor has submitted their donation via the peer-to-peer giving form, they are automatically redirected to visit a dedicated confirmation page. On this page, GWU thanks its donors for supporting the campaign and provides detailed matching gift information.
Breast Cancer Research Foundation
*Uses Classy and Double the Donation
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) is one of the largest nonprofit organizations dedicated to breast cancer research. It has discovered some of the most innovative advancements toward the prevention and curing of breast cancer.
Since its inception in 1993, BCRF has raised over $500 million for breast cancer research, funding nearly 300 researchers across 15 different countries, much of it through social fundraising efforts.
Here’s a brief overview of this organization’s peer-to-peer giving process using dedicated peer-to-peer fundraising software:
1. An individual chooses their donation amount on the P2P giving form.
Once an individual lands on a BCRF peer-to-peer donation form, they are met with a brief description of the organization, its mission, and how individual donors can help. From there, they are encouraged to select their gift amount from a number of suggested donation sizes (or enter a custom amount in the fill-in-the-blank box) and determine whether their contribution will be a one-time or recurring gift.
2. The individual assigns their gift to a particular fundraiser or team.
Next, the individual can credit their donation to a specific person or team participating in the campaign by typing a name in the auto-complete search box. Once they’ve selected a fundraiser, that individual or group’s progress is displayed using a real-time goal thermometer.
3. The individual provides current employment information.
At this stage in the giving process, the donor is prompted to “see if [their] employer will match [their] donation.” BCRF has embedded a matching gift search tool within their peer-to-peer giving form, which instructs individuals to enter their employing company in the search box below. The individual is also informed that they may receive follow-up emails from Double the Donation with detailed instructions regarding how to submit their match request.
4. The individual reviews and submits their donation.
From there, each donor is encouraged to review their donation information and select a payment method to complete their gift. BCRF currently accepts donations through PayPal, Venmo, credit card, and bank transfers!
5. The individual receives an email follow-up prompting them to submit their matching gift.
Mere minutes after clicking submit on their peer-to-peer donation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation donors receive a customized email follow-up providing matching gift information and communicating gratitude to strengthen that donor relationship. Since the donor previously provided employment data within the giving form, the email content is company-specific, providing targeted details on matching gift eligibility and actionable next steps for submission.
Soles4Souls
*Uses Fundraise Up and Double the Donation
Soles4Souls is a Tennessee-based nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting and redistributing shoes, clothing, and other apparel. By partnering with individual supporters, retailers, and community organizations, Soles4Souls gathers new and gently used shoes and provides them to people who need them worldwide.
While Soles4Souls greatly benefits from in-kind product donations, they also participate in additional fundraising activities such as peer-to-peer giving campaigns. Let’s take a look at the basic process using this organization’s peer-to-peer fundraising software:
1. An individual selects a donation amount on the P2P giving form.
Soles4Souls’ peer-to-peer giving process begins with selecting a donation amount. The individual donor is prompted to select a recommended gift amount or enter their preferred number. Then they’ll either opt to give once or make it a monthly donation. Donors can also dedicate their donation or provide an additional comment alongside their gift.
Meanwhile, in the left panel, the donor is met with compelling imagery and a brief overview of the organization’s mission.
2. The individual provides current employment information.
In the next step of this multi-page peer-to-peer giving experience, Soles4Souls’ donors are encouraged to double their donation’s impact with a matching gift. To drive this process forward, the individual is asked to provide the name of their current employer. From there, the peer-to-peer fundraising software searches Double the Donation’s extensive database of corporate matching gift information to provide eligibility details.
3. The individual reviews and submits their donation.
Finally, donors reach the payment screen, where they can choose from multiple payment options, including credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, Venmo, and bank transfer. Individuals are also given the option to cover their transaction costs, ensuring 100% of the contribution goes to Soles4Souls.
4. The individual receives an email follow-up prompting them to submit their matching gift.
Once an individual finalizes their Soles4Souls donation using the organization’s peer-to-peer fundraising software, a personalized email is automatically sent to their inbox. These follow-up messages contain additional matching gift resources, including direct links to donors’ matching gift submission portals, as well as an easy way to communicate status updates with Soles4Souls’ team.
Smart Tips for Choosing Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software
Here are some final tips to evaluate your top peer-to-peer fundraising software picks and purchase the best technology for your cause:
Consider scalability.
Look to the future in terms of whether the software can grow alongside your organization. If your team is currently on the smaller side, it might be tempting to opt for a free or low-cost solution with limited functionality. However, you don’t want to be back at square one in the buying process a few years from now if the platform stops meeting your needs.
Consider integrations in your overall tech stack.
Before making any software buying decisions, consider your overall technology ecosystem. Ask questions like:
- Does the peer-to-peer platform offer a built-in payment processor, or does it integrate with one that you’re open to using?
- Does your fundraising platform have a native integration with your existing CRM, enabling peer-to-peer giving data to flow seamlessly into your donor database?
- Does the system integrate with your matching gift fundraising tools to identify and follow up with potential matches?
Consider these questions before making your investment. Otherwise, you may end up with limited functionality and have a difficult time expanding your tech system without easy, ready-built integration options.
Rate your highest and lowest priorities.
Unfortunately, you might not find a peer-to-peer fundraising tool that meets all of your organization’s desired criteria. Perhaps you’ll be drawn to Feature A from Provider B, though Provider C offers innovative Feature D. Meanwhile, Provider E has a significantly reduced price point.
Simplify your choice by determining your organization’s highest and lowest priorities. For example, you might prioritize things this way: functionality → accessibility → integrations → cost. Meanwhile, another organization might prioritize it this way: cost → accessibility → functionality → integrations.
Get personalized demos to see the tools in action.
Take the software for a test drive with a demo. A software demo allows your team to see the fundraising tools in action and ask questions before making a buying decision. We recommend narrowing your choices to two or three solutions and getting personalized demos of each one.
Keep your fundraisers and end donors in mind.
In a typical fundraiser, your giving platform tends to be used by your team and donors contributing through the platform. Peer-to-peer technology, however, must account for your organization’s internal team, the end donors contributing, and the new “middle-man” in the situation: your volunteer fundraisers.
As you go through the buying process, keep each of these players in mind. Consider the experience from each possible perspective by asking questions like:
- Is it easy to set up a fundraising page and share it with family and friends?
- Can you easily update the online hub with personal stories, images, and progress toward goals?
- How simple is it to make a donation to a specific campaign page?
Considering these questions beforehand can equip your team to make the best peer-to-peer fundraising software decisions, spot potential roadblocks, and troubleshoot concerns.
Resources to Kickstart Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Platform Search
Double the Donation works closely with over 100 of the sector’s top fundraising technology providers. When looking for a best-in-class peer-to-peer fundraising software platform, we recommend getting started with our integration partners.
Navigate to our integrations page to explore the solutions we work with, filter by industry and functionality, and determine whether one is right for your needs.
Want to learn more about nonprofit fundraising technology and how you can provide your team with the right tools? Check out these additional Double the Donation resources:
- The Comprehensive Guide to Fundraising Technology. Check out our free eBook to explore a wider range of fundraising tech solutions, what to look for in a provider, and how to make your buying decisions!
- How to Thank Donors: 22 Sincere Ideas To Win Donors’ Hearts. Inspire your peer-to-peer donors and volunteer fundraisers to stick around. Reach out with one of these heartfelt thank-you ideas.
- Database of Matching Gift and Volunteer Grant Companies. Elevate your organization’s peer-to-peer fundraising initiatives with our comprehensive workplace giving database and ensure your donors have access to the program information they need.
