Key Trends in Nonprofit Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Blackbaud has released two new groundbreaking research studies that reveal insights about peer-to-peer event fundraising. The research was unveiled at at the Run Walk Ride 2011 Fundraising Conference.

The first study is the “Peer-to-Peer Event Fundraising Consumer Survey” which was developed by Blackbaud and the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council.

An online survey of individuals who have participated in at least one walk, ride, or run event in the last two years was conducted. Here are just some of the key trends revealed in the study:

• 47% of participants support Health/Medical causes
• 39% of participants are between 30-39 years old
• 40% of participants between the aged 40-49 use online tools
• 69% of participants felt a personal connection to the cause
• 40% of team members exceeded their fundraising goals vs. only 29% of non-team participants.
• 80% of participants used in-person asks and 73% used email to raise funds

The second study is “Understanding the Value of Team Captains” based on research from the donorCentrics Events Benchmarking Group by Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company. In December 2010, Target Analytics brought together six national nonprofit organizations to discuss event fundraising and compare fundraising performance of team captains, team members, individuals (non-team participants), and donors.

The donorCentrics Events Benchmarking Group was the first time research of this kind has ever been conducted. Six self-selected nonprofit organizations agreed to contribute their fundraising performance data from 2007 through 2009, including: Alzheimer’s Association, Arthritis Foundation, Autism Speaks, LIVESTRONG, March of Dimes, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The research identified that while only 13% of event participants are team captains that they play the most important role in peer-to-peer event fundraising. Team captains raise 33% of overall participant revenue, get larger gifts, and receive more gifts than other participant types.

The report revealed on average 41% of participants who raised funds are retained from one year to the next. Across the group, retained participants account for about 53% of the current year revenue.

Multi-year team captains raise two to three times more than new team captains and retain about 86% of their prior year revenue. Team captains also help to lift the retention rates of their team members compared to individuals.

For more insights about peer-to-peer fundraising events check out Amy Braiterman’s blog Friends Asking Amy [defunct link removed].

Blackbaud continues to partner with organizations and groups serving the peer-to-peer fundraising needs of the nonprofit sector. New and important research like these studies is one way we can help nonprofits improve their results.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve MacLaughlin

Steve MacLaughlin is the Vice President of Data & Analytics at Blackbaud and bestselling author of Data Driven Nonprofits.

MacLaughlin has been featured as a fundraising and nonprofit expert in many mainstream publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, USA Today, The NonProfit Times, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Bloomberg, and has appeared on NPR.

He is a frequent speaker at events including the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), American Marketing Association (AMA), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association (DMFA), Giving Institute Summer Symposium, National Association of Independent School (NAIS), Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC), Institute of Fundraising National Convention (United Kingdom), Civil Society Conference (Netherlands), International Fundraising Congress (Netherlands), Ask Direct Fundraising Summer School (Ireland), and a keynote speaker at several conferences across the social good sector.

Steve previously served on the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) Board of Directors and is currently an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University.

He is a frequent blogger, published author of a chapter in the book People to People Fundraising: Social Networking and Web 2.0 for Charities, and is a co-editor of the book Internet Management for Nonprofits: Strategies, Tools & Trade Secrets. His latest book, Data Driven Nonprofits, became a bestseller in 2016.

Steve earned both his undergraduate degree and a Master of Science degree in Interactive Media from Indiana University.