Peer‐to‐peer fundraising data show industry in transition

• Date: 01 May 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30451
• Published date: 01 May 2018

MAY 2018 NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

7

© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Nonprot Research

Peer-to-peer fundraising data show industry

in transition

The latest data about peer-to-peer fundraising

show that nonprots are transitioning away from one

or two national-scale signature events and introduc-

ing more, smaller-scale events aimed at giving new

and existing multiple points of engagement—and it

appears to be working�

The data—included in the Peer-to-Peer Fundrais-

ing Top Thirty Survey, conducted by the Peer-to-Peer

Professional Forum—show that the nation’s largest

P2P events lost ground again in 2017, continuing a

trend that began after a fundraising peak in 2012� The

top 30 brought in about $1�45 billion in 2017, down

6�6 percent compared with 2016� Many of the chari-

ties that showed the biggest year-over-year drop are

household names—including the American Cancer

Society, Susan G� Komen for the Cure, the March of

Dimes and the American Heart Association—adding

to concerns that large-scale national initiatives have

run their course, losing favor among the American

public� But, the data also show something else—

namely, that nonprots have scaled back these events

quite a bit, focusing on efciency and getting the most

“bang for the buck”—and while the overall totals

show declines in fundraising, the amount raised per

participant has actually increased�

An example of this highlighted in the report is the

ACS’s Relay for Life event, by far the largest P2P

campaign in the country� In 2017, Relay for Life raised

an estimated $230 million, down about $49 million,

or 17�56 percent, compared to 2016� But, according

to the ACS, the organization held 930 fewer Relay

for Life events in 2017 than the 4,500 it produced the

previous year� With that smaller footprint, the report

said, each Relay for Life participant raised an average

of $115 in 2017—up more than 11 percent from the

$103�33 the average participant raised in 2016�

Meanwhile, the report showed, the ACS has

launched a number of smaller, more targeted pro-

grams with specic audiences in mind, as opposed

to the broad appeal of Relay for Life�

For example, the Real Men Wear Pink campaign—

launched in 2016—asks men to wear something pink

every day for the entire month of October and raise a

minimum of $2,500 for the ght against breast cancer�

During its rst year, Real Men raised $5�5 million�

In 2017, it drew more than 2,600 men in about 200

communities who raised nearly $7 million, the orga-

nization said�

Explaining the changes taking place in the P2P

sector, Donna Wilkins of Charity Dynamics said the

size of a charity’s signature campaign is less impor-

tant than the overall direction of its P2P program�

“Today, success is measured by your strategy and

your ability to meet your key audiences where they

are with programs that connect with them,” Wilkins

said in a statement announcing the research� “Because

of that, we’re seeing a number of leading nonprots

move away from having one or two signature events

and toward a portfolio of campaigns that give their

constituents a variety of ways to participate and sup-

port the organization�

For more information, visit https://www�

peertopeerforum�com� ■

Top 10 U.S. peer-to-peer

fundraising events 2017

According to the Peer-to-Peer Professional

Forum, the top 10 American P2P fundraising

programs by total gross revenue in 2017 were:

1� The American Cancer Society’s Relay for

Life—$230 million

2� The American Heart Association’s Heart

Walk—$118�3 million

3� The Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End

Alzheimer’s—$89 million

4� The American Heart Association’s Youth

Programs—$79�1 million

5� The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light

the Night Walk—$74 million

6� The March of Dimes’ March for Ba-

bies—$73�9 million

7� The National MS Society’s Bike MS—$68�4

million

8� The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s

One Walk—$64�1 million

9� The American Cancer Society’s Making

Strides Against Breast Cancer—$62 million

10� Susan G� Komen for the Cure’s Komen Race

for the Cure Series—$61 million� ■