8 ideas for Peer-to-Peer fundraising to do from home

Unfortunately, a lot of non-profit organisations have been forced to cancel fundraising events, meetings and galas because of the Coronavirus. Events that took a lot of effort to organise and are a big source of income for fundraising organisations. Participants of the events are also disappointed because they were excited to be part of something meaningful.

Time for a different approach. Peer-to-Peer fundraising is a great way to participate in times of social distancing. In this article we provide you with 8 examples of fundraising challenges and creative Peer-to-Peer fundraising ideas that you can encourage your supporters to do from home:

1. Get sponsored to... stay at home, or better your lifestyle

Make the best of a bad situation. A beautiful example is Ninthe's fundraiser. A girl who locked herself up in her bathroom for 24 hours to raise money for the Dutch ALS association. 

It's also the perfect time to take care of yourself and help out an organisation at the same time. Quit smoking, eating unhealthy or drinking alcohol. A good example is the 0% challenge by the Dutch ALS association. The challenge is to quit drinking alcohol for a month and ask your friends, family and coworkers to sponsor you for it.

1. Make your campaign social media ready

Everybody spends more time online during this time. That's why organising a shareable social media campaign is a good plan. Leiden University started a campaign to crowdfund their Corona research project and also asked their supporters to take a picture in their pyjamas and share it on social media with the hashtag #wakeuptocorona. The hashtag is unique to their campaign which attracts more attention. #smart.

1. A cleaning/donation/donor campaign

A lot of people have started cleaning their house. This brings an opportunity for some organisations. People might want to donate things they don't need anymore, and we've even seen examples of a campaign where people donated tablets or computers for children who can't afford one. Another good example is donating the proceeds of an eBay sale.

1. Challenge people to be creative

Challenge your supporters to be creative with fundraising. Let them sell arts or crafts for charity. Like bracelets, pillowcases, paintings or let them be creative in the kitchen and have a bake sale.

1. Challenge your whole family

A lot of families are together at home now. Parents try their best to entertain their children. Think of some Peer-to-Peer fundraising ideas for the whole family. That way you can give something back to your supporters. Send them a colouring page to hang in front of the window. Let them show their progression on blogs so they can show their support. This will result in beautiful, authentic publicity on the internet and on the streets. 

1. Organise a fitness challenge

Exercise is important, especially now that a lot of gyms are closed. Organise a fitness challenge for your supporters. You can help your supporters get through these rough times and they can support your cause.

A good example is a challenge with burpees, planking, sit-ups or running up and down the stairs. Things you can do without equipment.

1. Challenge a friend

This is a challenge we found whilst scrolling through Instagram: Someone gets tagged to run 1 mile around their house and has to tag 3 other people on social media. A challenge that keeps you healthy and can spread easily on the internet. You can do this challenge for charity: do the challenge and make a donation.

1. Turn your group challenge into an individual party

There are a lot of sports events where people come together in the same place to participate in a challenge. This is not possible right now. What you can do, is cycle 80 km or walk 40 km alone. This makes the challenge even harder, who wouldn't want to donate for such an accomplishment?

Let your organisation turn the campaign into a fun event. With (live) training videos, pep talks from ambassadors, video calls with participants and of course a final party via live stream!

A good example of an oat already had this down to a tee even before Corona, is AlzheimerResearch UK. They organised Running Down Dementia. Have a look at the video and be inspired!