{"id":13298,"date":"2019-04-09T18:01:36","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T22:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/?p=13298"},"modified":"2023-08-04T10:08:51","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T14:08:51","slug":"diary-peer-peer-fundraiser-get-participants-inspired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/diary-peer-peer-fundraiser-get-participants-inspired\/","title":{"rendered":"Diary of a Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser: How to Get Your Participants Inspired"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During my time at Qgiv, I\u2019ve spent loads of time using our peer-to-peer fundraising platform. Because we all help with QA tasks, I\u2019ve spent hours (and hours) testing different parts of the system. But I\u2019ve never actually used it as a participant in a real-life fundraiser\u2026 until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My husband and I are smack dab in the middle of a peer-to-peer fundraiser, and we\u2019re using Qgiv\u2019s peer-to-peer platform for all our fundraising. The event is put on by Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine (LVIM), and you can learn more about their signature event\u00a0right over here<\/a>. But, long before we ever logged into the system to start raising money, the nonprofit spent a lot of time getting us excited about taking part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking for ways to get your fundraising participants hyped about raising money, here are some ideas for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What they did to inspire us: made their mission real<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

LVIM\u2019s signature event involves a group of fundraisers raising money over a 4-week period of time. The month-long fundraising period culminates in the Lakeland Derby, where participants race across a local lake in swan-shaped  paddle boats. It\u2019s one of the biggest fundraising events in our hometown, so all of us knew what the Lakeland Derby entailed and who it supports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we didn\u2019t<\/em> know was the extent of the services LVIM offers to our community. To get us excited about raising money for them, the team at LVIM organized a tour of their facility for anyone who wanted to attend. We saw their offices, medical equipment, and patient facilities. We met their volunteers and heard their stories. We learned about how they work. And we saw their volunteers in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was so moving! Most of us had no idea about the scope of the services LVIM provides, and I don\u2019t think any of us had been inside their facilities. The tour made us aware that we were raising money for real-life people who got much-needed services from this organization. Being a participant wasn\u2019t about fundraising just for the sake of it. Being a participant now seemed much more real, much more urgent, and much more special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you can do: take your participants on a facility tour<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Please show your participants who they\u2019re supporting when they raise money! It makes a huge impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m gonna be super real with you: when the staff at LVIM asked me to participate in this fundraiser, I was mostly excited about racing a paddle boat with my husband. I knew of LVIM, and I knew what they did, but that knowledge didn\u2019t translate into real life. After the tour, I could quantify the effect our activities would make. I had seen the faces of people who got desperately-needed healthcare because of donors. My participation wasn\u2019t just theoretical: it was pointed, purposeful, and real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to inspire your fundraisers, take them for a tour of your facility. Show them what they\u2019ll support. Let them meet the people who benefit from your work. You\u2019ll make the act of fundraising feel much more significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What they did to inspire us: made us feel important<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The day of the tour, the LVIM staff held a press conference to introduce the participants and announce important dates. Because the Lakeland Derby is a major event in our home town, and because the nonprofit is such a beloved organization, they were able to attract a pretty decent crowd. At the press conference, they announced the year\u2019s theme and fundraising goal. They also introduced all of the participants and thanked event sponsors. At the end, they shared event dates and other important information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the event didn\u2019t stop the presses, it was a fantastic way to kick off the fundraising season. Attendees included everyone from sponsor representatives to board members to city commissioners. And, honestly, having a press release really reiterated that this peer-to-peer event is a big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you can do: organize a press conference<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Want to make you fundraisers feel important? Need to get them involved? An event like a press conference can impress upon them that your event is significant! Whether you have reporters from the New York Times or a smaller gathering of local figures, a press conference lends a sense of gravitas to your fundraising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holding a press conference is also a valuable way to get images, quotes, and promotional materials from your participants that can be used in social media and other outlets! For example, our group took a group photo of us posing around a paddle boat and used it in a social media announcement designed to get people thinking about the upcoming derby.<\/p>\n\n\n

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