How to Run a Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaign from Scratch in 3 Steps
16 September 2021
by Brian Isaac
You’ve read that online giving has risen more than 20% in 2021.
You’ve seen campaigns go viral and raise millions of dollars in a matter of weeks.
You’ve heard that peer-to-peer fundraising is the fastest-growing fundraising method.
Now we’re going to show you exactly how you can launch an online fundraising campaign from scratch in three steps, even if…
- You’ve never done it before
- You have a $0.00 budget
- You’re extremely short on time
- You have no technical web-building skills
- You’re not sure how to start
Let’s get started!
1. Choose your Campaign Details
Log in to JustGiving® or create an account. Once you’re in, click ‘Campaigns’ at the top of the screen, then ‘Create a Campaign.’
Choose a title
Choose a title that’s easy for your fundraisers to associate with your organisation, like Motor Neurone Disease Association of WA did for its Dive For Dollars Rottnest campaign. Consider including the current year to make reporting easier. You can always update this later.
Define your campaign details
Add a brief description. This will appear in the JustGiving® search results, so keep it short and to the point. For example,
Go above and beyond for people living with Motor Neurone Disease and (Sky)Dive For Dollars. Every dollar raised from the event will go towards our specialised care and support services for people living with MND, their carers and families.
Select your fundraising target
This will help your community aim for a collective goal when raising money for your cause, and will show on your campaign’s landing page.
Opt to connect fundraising pages to your campaign
If you’re running a virtual fundraising event, you’ll want to select this option to ensure fundraisers can connect their pages to your campaign. Alternatively, if you’re running an appeal and simply asking for donations, leave this option unchecked.
2. Choose your Campaign Branding
Here’s where you can define the look and feel of your campaign using colours and images.
- Add your charity logo
- Select your charity’s (or your campaign’s) primary colour
- Choose an image or background colour to use as your campaign page’s background
3. Choose your Campaign Content
Here’s where you select the content that will appear on your Campaign’s landing page.
Choose a cover photo
This is the first thing your fundraisers and donors will see when they access your Campaign, so make sure it’s eye-catching!
Add a campaign story
Add a story to explain to your visitors what your Campaign’s all about. If you’re holding an activity on a certain date or within a range of dates, list the dates, as well as what fundraisers are encouraged to do and what the funds raised will do for your cause.
For example,
Go above and beyond for people living with Motor Neurone Disease and (sky)dive for dollars on Saturday, 6 and Sunday 7 March 2021!
Every dollar raised from the event will go towards our specialised care and support services for people living with MND, their carers and families. This includes our MND Advisory Service providing care coordination and emotional support, together with our support groups, equipment, patient transport service and specialised funding.
A contribution from all our fundraising efforts also gets donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia to support researchers in finding a cause, effective treatment and cure for MND.
Add images
Your Media Gallery will display any images you’d like your page visitors to see while learning about how to support you.
Set default fundraising page content
Choose the default page title, fundraising target, cover photo, and story that will display by default for anyone who chooses to raise money for you. This is helpful in case some fundraisers struggle to come up with their own. Your fundraisers can update these on their own later.
Your Campaign is ready! 🎉
Make sure you’re happy with your campaign link, then click Publish. Alternatively, Schedule your Campaign to go live on a specific date in the future.
Now your campaign is live and you’re ready to make good things happen!
Here’s what your published campaign will look like: