If you are looking for funding for a project or program, there are many potential sources to consider. Investors, banks, grantors, or sponsors could options for you. However, if there might be a groundswell of interest for what you do at an individual level, you might instead choose to leverage support from the masses. People often refer to this as “crowdfunding,” but actually there is a distinction to be aware of. If you want to cultivate support from individuals, you should know the difference between crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising – and which one would be better for you.
Let’s break down the difference.
Crowdfunding requires you to set up a central campaign and manage the marketing directly from that campaign. Usually this involves offering incentives or rewards for various levels of support. The platform you use for the campaign may give you the option to post videos or documentation about your project, and any partners you enlist to help you spread the word will ultimately send their audience back to your central campaign site to see the materials you created.
Peer-to-peer fundraising still gives you access to the support of a growing audience of individuals, but the mechanism it uses to do so is different from crowdfunding. You still develop a central campaign, however your objective is now to get people within your community to create their own pages and communities as offshoots of your central site. This creates a tiered structure, instead of the flat structure of crowdfunding.
For example, if you have ever seen a nonprofit fundraiser race that allows a runner to create a support page for their friends and family, that was a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. It enables an individual to create their own mini-fundraiser within the overall fundraiser, tracking the individuals’ progress and simultaneously adding their totals and their donors to the overall campaign.
#Crowdfunding gives you more control over your messaging. #fundraising #nonprofit #smb Share on XCrowdfunding gives you more control over your messaging. Everyone who supports your campaign is basically supporting the same thing, because no matter where they came from, they are landing on the site you created with the language and the promotional tools you uploaded. You can also create a common experience for supporters in terms of how they are acknowledged and informed.
Peer-to-peer fundraising allows individuals in your community to be your ambassadors in a more robust way, getting credit for the great work they do, but it also means that they are imposing their voice in your campaign. This can be wonderful or confusing, so it becomes your job to educate your supporters. Those who contribute should be given the tools or the training to properly share your message. You might also make recommendations for what to do when someone makes a donation to ensure that your ambassadors are aware of the importance of recognition and gratitude. Your ambassadors are working on your behalf, and this means you will spend more time preparing and communicating with them.
Peer-to-peer #fundraising allows individuals in your community to be your ambassadors. Share on XThere are so many platforms out there for crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising, and once you know which solution you want, you can start to look for the platform that will do exactly what you need.
No matter what method you choose, both crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising are strong ways to build an audience of new supporters and potential end users. Both are a great way to get your message out there, and it is up to you to pick a structure that will work best for the type of campaign you have.