Top 10 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Peer-to-peer fundraising can spark incredible momentum, but only if your campaign is built on a solid plan. Many nonprofits dive in without realizing they’ve skipped crucial steps. In the rush to launch, it’s easy to assume that a heartfelt cause is enough to generate support. But success depends on structure, clarity, and active engagement. If your campaign isn’t raising what you hoped, chances are you’re falling into one (or several) of these top peer-to-peer fundraising mistakes.

Before we dive into the most common pitfalls, let’s take a step back and define what peer-to-peer fundraising actually is and why it’s worth getting right.

What Is Peer-to-Peer Fundraising?

Peer-to-peer fundraising is a method where individuals raise money on behalf of an organization by reaching out to their personal networks. Instead of a single campaign hosted by the nonprofit, many mini-campaigns are run simultaneously by volunteers, board members, or supporters. These individual fundraiser participants share personal stories and drive donations through their own customized outreach.

When executed well, peer-to-peer fundraising multiplies your reach, taps into new donor pools, and builds deeper engagement. Each participant becomes an advocate, which increases visibility and trust. The model is scalable, flexible, and particularly effective for nonprofits with active communities or upcoming events like walks, runs, or giving days.

The benefits go beyond just raising money. Peer-to-peer strengthens relationships, creates a sense of shared ownership, and gives your most passionate supporters a tangible way to contribute. Tools such as Cheddar Up’s customizable pages and real-time reporting features help make this model more accessible and easier to manage at scale.

Common Peer-to-Peer Campaign Mistakes

While peer-to-peer fundraising offers huge potential, it also comes with pitfalls, especially for organizations new to the format. Too often, nonprofits unknowingly sabotage their own campaigns with avoidable missteps. These aren’t failures of effort, but gaps in planning, communication, or tools. The good news? Each one has a clear fix. Below are ten of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them next time you launch.

1. Launching Without a Clear Narrative
   A compelling campaign needs a clear story. Without a shared understanding of the cause and urgency, participants have little to anchor their messaging. Donors want to understand exactly what their contribution will accomplish and why it matters now.

What to do instead:
To make your campaign message stick, give participants a clear and compelling story to tell. Here’s how to build it:

• Develop a short, memorable narrative that defines what the campaign supports and why it’s urgent.
• Use consistent language across all platforms—email, social media, event announcements—and share it with all participants.
• Provide 2–3 story variations that they can personalize.
• Reinforce the message visually with strong images, banners, or a short video that participants can embed.
• Use multimedia storytelling to boost engagement and make your message more shareable.

A platform that includes branded pages, built-in video and image support, and simple page personalization, like Cheddar Up, helps you deliver a clear and consistent story across your entire campaign. For example, this plant sale fundraiser combines imagery, item details, and a personal message to bring the campaign to life for donors and participants alike.

2. Not Setting Specific Goals for Participants
   General encouragement isn’t a strategy. When participants don’t know what to aim for, they often underperform, or worse, give up.

What to do instead:
Assign measurable goals for each participant, tied to tangible outcomes. Whether it’s raising $500 or securing 10 donations, clarity helps people focus. Share average benchmarks from past campaigns to offer guidance. 

To reinforce progress, display a public goal tracker, leaderboard, or a thermometer-style visual that updates in real-time. These tools motivate participants and add friendly accountability to the process.

3. Forcing Account Creation for Donors
   Every extra click lowers your conversion rate. Mandatory account creation is one of the fastest ways to lose a potential donor, especially those unfamiliar with your organization.

What to do instead:
Choose a platform that lets donors give immediately, without creating an account, navigating multiple pages, or entering unnecessary information. A truly frictionless checkout experience should minimize steps, work seamlessly on mobile, and offer flexible payment options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or credit cards. The fewer the barriers, the higher the completion rate.

A platform like Cheddar Up checks all those boxes. It’s mobile-friendly, offers multiple payment methods, never prompts for tips, and removes login requirements to keep the experience fast and donor-friendly.

4. Treating Participants Like ATMs
   Too often, participants are left to figure things out on their own after signing up. This hands-off approach lowers motivation and limits your campaign’s potential.

What to do instead:
Create a simple onboarding process that includes a welcome email, starter toolkit, and a clear point of contact. Keep participants engaged with regular check-ins, success stories, and shoutouts.  Once the campaign is underway, maintain momentum with quick challenges, progress updates, or creative spotlights. 

5. Recognizing Only Revenue, Not Effort
   When a campaign wraps, what you highlight matters. If all the recognition goes to top earners, you risk losing the participants who showed up in quieter but equally meaningful ways.

What to do instead:
Make room to celebrate creativity, consistency, and team spirit—not just totals. Informal awards like “Most Shares,” “Best Fundraising Video,” or “Best First-Time Fundraiser” can help more participants feel seen and appreciated. During your wrap-up, share stories that capture the campaign’s heart, not just its headline numbers. That kind of recognition builds long-term loyalty and encourages people to return next time, no matter where they landed on the leaderboard.

6. Using Generic, Non-Personalized Pages
   A single generic fundraising page misses the point of peer-to-peer. Donors give to people, not just causes.

What to do instead:
Encourage your community to customize their pages with a message, image, and reason for participating. Provide examples and a quick-start checklist: upload a photo, write a personal note, and share a fundraising goal. Personalized pages create stronger emotional connections and typically result in higher donation amounts.

7. Overlooking Mobile and In-Person Donations
   Not everyone donates from a laptop. Some supporters will want to give—or buy—on the spot, especially during events, drives, or product-based fundraisers.

What to do instead:
Ensure your tools are mobile-responsive and work seamlessly on any device. Equip your team with QR codes that link directly to campaign or item pages, and make sure digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay are supported. If you’re hosting an event, set up a tablet or smartphone with the campaign page ready to go for in-person contributions or purchases. Platforms like Cheddar Up make it easy to accept card payments on-site with mobile tap and Bluetooth-enabled card readers, so giving or buying is quick and frustration-free, no matter where your supporters are.

8. Ignoring Donor Data Collection
   Collecting only the transaction means missing out on long-term donor value.

What to do instead:
Use your checkout process to ask a few optional questions, like email address, interest in volunteering, or communication preferences. Keep it short to avoid drop-off. Then, use those insights to segment your donors and inform future campaigns. Cheddar Up’s built-in tracking and reporting automatically organize responses and payment details so you can spot trends and follow up without digging through spreadsheets.

9. Relying on a Single Communication Channel
   If your campaign is confined to a single inbox or feed, you’re missing out on entire segments of your audience.

What to do instead:
Plan to promote across multiple platforms, including email, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and in-person events. Repurpose content to suit each format and schedule regular outreach. Make it easy for your participants to do the same by providing a kit with sample captions, graphics, and suggested timelines. Consistent messaging across channels increases visibility and engagement.

10. Ending the Campaign Without a Follow-Up Plan
    If donors give and never hear back, the experience feels incomplete. It’s one of the fastest ways to lose future support.

What to do instead:
Plan your donor thank-you strategy before the campaign even launches. Share how much was raised, what the funds will support, and the difference each donor helped make. Keep your message specific and sincere, not just a generic receipt. Include a clear next step, whether it’s joining your newsletter, attending an upcoming event, or giving again. When donors feel appreciated and informed, they’re much more likely to stay connected and contribute in the future.

Avoiding Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Mistakes for Long-Term Success

Every one of these peer-to-peer fundraising mistakes is avoidable with the proper planning, tools, and communication. Peer-to-peer fundraising isn’t just about hitting your goal, it’s about building a community that wants to support you long after this campaign ends. Put in the effort up front, support your participants throughout, and continue the conversation after it ends. That’s how you turn one-time gifts into long-term growth.

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