5 Nonprofit Peer-to-Peer Fundraising and Crowdfunding Trends for 2015
To get a handle on what’s in store for 2015, NonProfit PRO rounded up some of the nonprofit industry’s finest, who were kind enough to share their nonprofit trends for 2015. Here are five trends on peer-to-peer fundraising and crowdfunding.
PEER-TO-PEER FUNDRAISING/CROWDFUNDING
Miriam Kagan, senior fundraising principal, Kimbia
1. While this is the darling of the day, crowdfunding speaks to a large trend of donors grabbing the drivers’ seat in the fundraising process. Whether crowdfunding or an evolution of this, nonprofits have to plan for a fundraising status quo that offers donors increasing control in the giving relationship. At the same time, nonprofits will have to learn to focus limited resources where they are most worth it and understand how channels influence relationships. For example, for most, Facebook and Twitter
are not large drivers of donations, but are huge influencers and build other interaction relationships.
Jeff Shuck, CEO, Plenty
2. Organizations must recognize that peer-to-peer fundraising is here and full of untapped potential. One thing that became clear to us in 2014 is that we live in a peer-to-peer world. We get our news from Facebook, decide where to eat based on Yelp, share our lives on Instagram and experience parental inadequacy through Pinterest. The dramatic success of the Ice Bucket Challenge was the exclamation point on the end of a long sentence: Peer-to-peer is now mainstream.
That means that peer-to-peer fundraising leaders will increasingly find that their constituents expect sophisticated sharing, social and networking tools. We’re a long way past “ask three of your friends for a gift” — our constituents are often more aware of peer-to-peer tools than we are. In 2015, nonprofits will need to be more deliberate and more strategic in their efforts.
A few simple but powerful questions will get you on your way to leveraging your networks. What does our audience look like? Why are they engaging with our organization? How can we better inspire them to engage their friends on our behalf? These questions will form the core of successful programs in 2015.
