Best Practices for Implementing a 5k Peer to Peer Social Fundraising Event
Posted on 07/30/2017 by Wizathon Development Team in New Features
Cause based “Peer to Peer” Social fundraising campaigns, usually implemented as community 5k walk/runs and bike events, have grown in popularity by non-profit organizations. This is due to its ability to leverage an existing base of supporters to fundraise on the organization’s behalf. A central component for the participants to successfully raise funds for the organization is their use of social media to reach friends, family and colleagues. The key is for the participants to use social media to publicize their participation with a personal story of why they care so much about cause. This helps the organization overcome the challenge of working within staff resource constraints to reach a wider community of donors.
From experience working with non-profit organizations that hold participant based community fundraising events utilizing “Peer to Peer” social fundraising, we have compiled a list of 8 best practices to keep in mind.
Get an early start - Begin planning 3-6 months prior to the event date in order to give yourself time to sort out any issues and bring awareness of your event to your community
Gather the troops - Identify a core group of individuals who are passionate about your cause who can dedicate themselves to helping with your event.
Website design - Go with a design that displays your brand’s colors and themes. Make sure the site is mobile optimized and allows for a simple registration and donation process.
Be enthusiastic - Offer prizes, throw parties to launch your event and celebrate your success. The positive feelings will flow down to your participants.
Share - Encourage your participants to share a link to your site or to their fundraising page via email, Facebook, Twitter, and whatever other social media tools they are connected with.
Support your troops - Show appreciation to your participants by sending regular messages that include participant highlights, fitness and fundraising tips.
Keep track - Employ a platform that will allow for easy tracking and comprehensive reporting of your event.
Team Up - Include teams and strong team captains in your campaign to add motivation and healthy competition for your participants. Also, teams generally raise exponentially more than individuals.
