As someone who has been involved with not-for-profits and charities for many years, I've seen firsthand the power of participatory fundraising. There's something special about bringing people together to support a common cause and make a real difference in the world.
But let's face it, traditional peer-to-peer fundraising models have their limitations. Many participants struggle to raise much money, especially if they have small networks.
In fact, many people struggle to raise significant amounts of money for the causes they care about, despite being committed and proactive. As a result, charities and not-for-profits may notraise the level of funding that could make a real impact.
Everyone loves a story
Many charities are great at telling their brand story. Why do they do what they do? Self-promotion is, after all, the most intuitive form of communication.
However, a P2P campaign requires a different approach. The NFP is not the protagonist...that role is played by the participant. Or, it should be.
The easiest way to ensure this is to take inspiration from a reliable storytelling structure called...
The Hero's Journey
The hero's journey is a narrative structure that is commonly used in literature, mythology, and popular media to describe the protagonist's journey from their ordinary life into an extraordinary world. The hero's journey is often divided into 12 stages, which are as follows:
- The Ordinary World
This is where the protagonist begins their journey. It is their everyday life, where everything is familiar and comfortable. - The Call to Adventure
The hero is presented with a challenge or an opportunity that forces them to step out of their ordinary world and into the unknown. - Refusal of the Call
The hero may be hesitant to accept the call to adventure due to fear or uncertainty. They may resist the call and attempt to return to their ordinary world. - Meeting the Mentor
The hero encounters a wise figure who provides guidance and support on their journey. - Crossing the Threshold
The hero leaves their ordinary world and enters the extraordinary world. This is a significant step that requires courage and commitment. - Tests, Allies, and Enemies
The hero faces a series of challenges and obstacles in the extraordinary world. They may encounter allies and enemies who help or hinder their progress. - Approach to the Inmost Cave
The hero prepares to face their greatest challenge or ordeal. They may need to confront their deepest fears or weaknesses. - The Ordeal
The hero faces their greatest challenge and is forced to undergo a transformation. This may involve physical, emotional, or spiritual pain. - Reward
The hero emerges from the ordeal transformed and empowered. They may receive a physical or spiritual reward for their efforts. - The Road Back
The hero begins their journey back to the ordinary world. They may encounter additional obstacles or challenges on their way. - Resurrection
The hero faces a final challenge that tests their transformation and newfound abilities. - Return with the Elixir
The hero returns to the ordinary world, bringing with them the lessons and rewards they gained on their journey. They may use this newfound knowledge to help others or to improve their own life.
Naturally, this structure is built for telling compelling, engaging stories. So, let's rewrite it to better illustrate how it applies to P2P fundraising.
The Participant's Journey
For simplicity, a couple of the stages can be combined. However, the essence of the structure remains:
The regular world
The participant is living their life, potentially oblivious to the issues a charity would like to raise money to address.
The call to participate
The participant is presented with the challenge of the campaign, and the compelling reasons for participation.
Reluctance
They may be reluctant to participate, due to time or other constraints, or potentially not feeling up to the challenge.
Meeting the mentor
The participant interacts with the NFP directly, and is presented with ways to engage with the campaign.
Crossing the threshold
The participant signs up for the challenge, creating their fundraising profile. This is a significant step that requires courage and commitment.
Tests and supporters
The participant is likely to face a series of challenges and obstacles, such as work and family commitments, illness, poor weather and so on.
Deep in the challenge
The participant may struggle with progress towards their goal, feeling disheartened.
The ordeal
The participant may feel discouraged by their perceived lack of progress, potentially feeling that they overcommitted. This may involve physical, emotional, or spiritual pain or discomfort.
Reward
The participant emerges at the end of the challenge victorious, having achieved their fundraising and/or challenge goals. They may receive a reward for their efforts, such as a medal, badge or certificate.
Return enriched
The hero returns to their ordinary life, bringing with them the lessons and rewards they gained on their journey. They may use this newfound knowledge to promote the cause or issue, and encourage others to participate.
The role of the mentor
In this context, the charity plays a critical role; that of the mentor.
In most tales of adventure, the hero initially lacks the skills, knowledge or experience to successfully achieve their goal. The mentor provides guidance and support, giving them the tools to overcome obstacles and develop the capabilities to succeed. The key difference is, the mentor can provide support throughout the participant's journey.
Practical tips for mentoring the fundraising hero
It's easy to talk about stories and big lofty ideas, but how does this apply to the real world of fundraising?
Make them the hero of your brand's story
This may seem obvious, but so many non-profits get it wrong. By all means tell your story, but make it theirs to own. Without their participation there can be no success. Give them pride and purpose, but more importantly give them a narrative they can repeat. Help them craft their why, and communicate it to their donors.
When the participant has a connection to the cause – such as losing someone to cancer – their story is already personal. For those who are new to the campaign, it can be very helpful to give them a story they're already in and allowing them to customise it.
Create meaningful milestones they can use
Provide tangible markers along the way toward a goal for participants to motivate their donors. Beyond the initial ask for support, it can be difficult for participants to justify badgering the people they know over and over for donations. Instead of a single goal (ride 200km in 30 days) allow them to break it up into smaller landmarks they can tie to donation goals.
I want to ride as far as I can in support of this charity, but I am not that fit. If I raise $250 I will ride 50km. If I raise $500 I will ride 150km, even if it kills me! If I raise $1000 I'll commit to riding 5km every day the following month – rain, hail, or shine.
Better yet, allow them to make their own milestones, but guided by practical suggestions tied to the challenge.
Personal 'risk' is a powerful motivator
It may sound strange, but using the potential for a participant to face embarrassment, fear or ridicule can increase donations. After all, not everyone feels the same about important issues. In the context of P2P, the strongest link is to the participant.
Think of the bloke who's had a big bushy beard forever, and offers to shave it if he raises $2,000. Whilst the curiosity factor alone often drives additional support, he's likely to feel nervous about being clean-shaven.
Proactively offer support in tough moments
If you're running a primarily outdoor challenge and the weather is terrible where your participant lives, it's reasonable to assume they might be lacking motivation. A call, message, email or notification with tips, upcoming forecasts or even just encouragement can make a big difference.
Naturally it can be tricky to do this at scale. However, with the right systems, tools and data, this sort of hyper-personalised experience can be delivered. It's best to start with a series of hypotheses about likely problems and challenges the participants might face, then validate them through research and surveys.
Make their experience as frictionless as possible
If it's a physical challenge, make sure your platform integrates with the major tracking tools. It can be frustrating for participants to try and add your tracking into their own routine.
Don't force them into your ecosystem...become a part of theirs.
If the challenge is more mental – such as abstaining from alcohol or other vices – encourage them to enlist the support of their own networks, on their platforms of choice. Daily TikToks on their experiences can be tracked and amplified with the right tools.
Ultimately, it should be ridiculously easy to participate, share and donate.
Not everyone cares...and that's okay
When we put our hand up to participate in a challenge, we may not be directly motivated by the cause. For example, the 30-day pushup challenge may attract people who have little interest in the cause, but may be feeling unhealthy and looking for a kick-start.
Whilst you may not acknowledge this outright, it can be helpful to ensure the messaging, resources and tools also leverage other motivations.
Signal their virtues for them
A peer-to-peer campaign is ultimately about taking personal responsibility for addressing a big issue. The participant deserves to be recognised for this commitment, and it’s the major reason we consider them the hero of the story. Society loves to celebrate its heroes.
The great irony is that at best, virtue signalling is considered in poor taste. At worst, it’s seen as arrogant or even narcissistic. For most people, it can feel uncomfortable – or even downright wrong – to boast about our achievements or celebrate our own accomplishments.
The campaign must create a context that grants the participant social licence to self-promote. This can be achieved through tools, resources or sharing capabilities that create this context.
Heroes save the day, mentors don’t
In practical terms, the work of charities in the community is often genuinely heroic. They help the disadvantaged and vulnerable, provide shelter and support to individuals often overlooked or forgotten by society.
However, in the context of P2P fundraising campaigns, they will have much more success by putting the participant in the role of the hero.
