Peer-to-peer fundraising can unlock amazing results, but only if it’s done right. Many nonprofits jump in with high hopes, only to hit roadblocks that slow momentum. A great cause matters, but a thoughtful plan, strong tools, and engaged participants matter more when it comes to successful fundraising. If your campaign hasn’t taken off like you imagined, chances are you’re facing one (or more) of these common challenges.
Before we get into it, let’s quickly revisit what peer-to-peer fundraising is and why getting it right pays off.
What Is Peer-to-Peer Fundraising?
Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising empowers your supporters to raise money on your behalf by tapping into their own personal networks. Each participant creates a mini campaign, usually with a custom page and message, to share why they care and ask for donations.
This model is scalable and flexible, making it a strong fit for nonprofits at any stage of growth. Whether you’re running a grassroots event or a nationwide initiative, P2P extends your fundraising reach without requiring more staff or overhead. It allows your community to become your most effective fundraising force, whether you’re planning a walk-a-thon, giving day, or awareness drive.
Now, let’s talk about the top challenges and how to tackle them.
1. Motivating Supporters to Fundraise
It can be tough to get participants truly engaged, especially if they’re new to fundraising. Many people are enthusiastic about supporting your mission, but the idea of asking friends or family for money can feel intimidating or awkward at first. Others may sign up with good intentions but lose steam without clear direction, encouragement, or a sense of community.
Solution: Offer simple onboarding, recognition, and easy-to-customize pages. Start with toolkits, welcome messages, and regular encouragement to help people feel confident and involved. Participants are more likely to stay motivated when they understand their role and feel supported throughout the process.
Highlight small wins early and often. A quick email or social media shoutout for the “first donation received” or “fastest page set up” builds momentum and shows appreciation. Consider pairing new fundraisers with a “buddy” who’s done it before to help guide them. Add fun elements like weekly spotlight posts, participant milestones, or friendly team challenges to keep engagement levels high.
Pro Tip: Kick off your campaign with a live or virtual launch event. Set the tone, walk through the process, and get people excited from the start. Let them hear directly from your organization’s leadership or past fundraisers to create inspiration and connection.
2. Tracking Progress in Real Time
Without visibility, you can’t manage momentum or celebrate wins. If you’re unsure who’s actively fundraising or how close participants are to their goals, it’s hard to know when to step in with support or give a well-timed shoutout. Missed milestones can lead to missed opportunities, and fundraisers may feel forgotten or disconnected from the bigger picture.
Solution: Use a platform that offers goal tracking, leaderboards, and real-time reporting. These features let you see what’s working, where to pivot, and when to celebrate progress. For added efficiency, consider automated updates or alerts to keep everyone aligned without adding to your workload.
Prop Tip: Set up dynamic goal thermometers or leaderboards visible on each fundraising page. This kind of real-time feedback motivates supporters and gives them an instant sense of accomplishment.
3. Managing Multiple Fundraising Pages
Keeping tabs on dozens of mini-campaigns can get overwhelming fast. It’s easy to lose track of who’s participating, how much each person has raised, or which pages are underperforming without a centralized system. This can lead to missed communication opportunities, reporting errors, and ultimately a disjointed campaign experience for both organizers and supporters.
Solution: Choose a tool that allows centralized management. Look for dashboards that let you monitor multiple pages, generate reports, and communicate with participants all in one place.
Centralized access ensures you’re not bouncing between spreadsheets or platforms and helps you maintain campaign consistency. A unified system also makes it easier to onboard new team members or volunteers who need visibility into campaign progress.
Pro Tip: Being able to filter results by participant or team, export data, and send reminders quickly helps keep things organized and efficient. It also allows you to spot trends, identify who may need extra support, and act fast if issues arise.
4. Keeping Donors and Participants Engaged
People sign up with enthusiasm, but that energy can fade. As the campaign progresses, competing priorities or a lack of feedback can cause fundraisers to disengage. Without consistent touchpoints or motivation, even your most passionate supporters can lose momentum or forget key deadlines.
Solution: Stay connected with regular check-ins, fun updates, and challenges. Use email, texts, or in-platform messaging to encourage and inspire your participants throughout the campaign. A quick update or shoutout can rekindle excitement and remind supporters why they signed up in the first place.
Pro Tip: Build in weekly mini-challenges. Try things like “Most Shares This Week” or “Quickest to Hit $250” with small prizes. These light competitive nudges keep things fresh without extra work. Consider rotating challenge themes to spotlight different strengths so more participants feel seen and celebrated.
5. Reporting and Wrapping Up
You’ve raised the funds, so what’s next? If you skip post-campaign follow-up, you miss major opportunities. Closing the loop is just as important as launching the campaign. It shows donors and participants that their efforts had a real impact, reinforces trust, and sets the stage for long-term engagement. A strong wrap-up helps convert one-time fundraisers and donors into loyal advocates who are excited to support your next initiative.
Solution: Share impact stories, thank your donors, and celebrate your participants. Be specific, such as the amount raised, what it will fund, and how it makes a difference. Visual storytelling (photos, quotes, or a short video) makes your gratitude more meaningful. Robust reporting tools help you analyze what worked, identify standout fundraisers, and make smarter decisions for future campaigns. Use these insights to personalize your thank-yous and improve your strategy going forward.
Pro Tip: Create a wrap-up toolkit with thank-you templates, photo collages, and impact summaries that participants can send to their donors. This not only makes them feel proud, but it also keeps your campaign top-of-mind.
Why Cheddar Up’s Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Tools Work for Nonprofits
Cheddar Up’s peer-to-peer fundraising tools are designed specifically with nonprofits in mind, helping you stay organized, motivate supporters, and drive results with less manual work. From tracking progress in real time to keeping participants engaged and simplifying campaign wrap-up, these tools help solve the very challenges that often hold peer-to-peer fundraising back.
- Easy to Use: Cheddar Up’s intuitive interface makes it simple for anyone, regardless of their technical skill, to set up and manage a fundraising page.
- Built for Nonprofits of All Sizes: Whether you’re a volunteer-led team or a large organization with multiple fundraisers, Cheddar Up adapts to your needs, no steep learning curve required.
- Customizable Pages: Fundraisers can personalize their pages with images, goals, and messages that help connect with their networks. Each page comes with a unique share link that makes it easy to spread the word across email, text, and social media.
- Built-In Communication: Send reminders, share updates, and automate receipts to keep your supporters in the loop.
- Real-Time Tracking & Reports: Monitor campaign progress and participant activity as it happens, with exportable reports to help evaluate success.
- Support When You Need It: Get fast, reliable help through chat or email from a team that understands nonprofit needs. We also offer live learning sessions to guide you through setup, fundraising best practices, and platform features.
Whether you’re launching your first peer-to-peer campaign or scaling up a long-standing event, Cheddar Up gives you the flexibility and support to do it well and do it your way.
Ready to try it? Use code NPL40 for 40% off Team and Pro annual plans through December 31, 2025.
Want to see a Live Demo Cheddar Up with the experts? They are hosting a pressure free demo on NonprofitLibrary on October 8th at 3pm ET.
