Want to find out how to choose a suitable fundraising model for your nonprofit organization?

We wrote about the donation model, donation boxes, and crowdfunding in the previous blog. In case you missed it, you can read it on the link.

In this article, read about four (advanced) models: peer-to-peer fundraising, membership model, fundraising events, and partnership with the business sector.

  • Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising involves engaging supporters to fundraise on behalf of a nonprofit. This model is effective because it allows nonprofits to leverage the networks of their supporters and reach a wider audience.

So, how it works?

The organization launched a time-limited campaign like crowdfunding. Still, within it, there are many smaller campaigns launched by volunteer fundraisers who then reach out to their micro-communities for support.

Volunteer fundraisers are a crucial part of peer-to-peer fundraising because successful fundraising and greater recognition of the organization are possible thanks to their engagement and the trust they enjoy in their micro-communities. Supporters who learned about the organization through a peer-to-peer campaign often become its volunteer fundraisers, further deepening their connection and loyalty.

What is critical to the success of peer-to-peer fundraising? Preparation and planning, both at the level of the organization and with each volunteer fundraiser. The organization must set a monetary goal and determine the range during which the campaigns will take place. The organization's fundraisers prepare packages of materials that volunteer fundraisers will be able to use in their micro-campaigns. They guide fundraising and support volunteer fundraisers in promoting their micro-campaigns. The best results are achieved when one person from the fundraising team is dedicated to working with volunteer fundraisers to provide support or advice during micro-campaigns.

An essential advantage of peer-to-peer fundraising is that it raises the organization's visibility, thanks to micro-campaigns and the trust that volunteer fundraisers enjoy in their communities.

One of the ideas for peer-to-peer fundraising can be a birthday donation. Suppose the organization celebrates an anniversary or an important date. In that case, it can launch a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign in which a certain number of volunteer fundraisers will give their birthday to the organization and ask their micro-communities to donate to the mentioned organization instead of a gift. It has become a standard annual practice for charity: water.

Another example at the global level is the Movember Foundation. Every year during November, the Movember Foundation organizes a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign during which volunteer fundraisers grow beards and mustaches to draw public attention to prostate and testicular cancer and raise funds for research into these diseases.

When it comes to peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, there are plenty of ideas, and with good organization and community involvement, it is possible to achieve excellent results.

  • The Membership Model

The membership model is a globally prevalent fundraising model. It means monthly donor support for your programs and users. The main advantages of the membership model are:

  • Provides regular and stable income, usually monthly or generally periodically (unlike the crowdfunding model);
  • It requires a prominent level of engagement and interaction with your community (as opposed to a donation model);
  • It implies some added value for your community in addition to fulfilling altruistic needs and makes that community somehow exclusive.

We can say that this model is at the transition between philanthropy and entrepreneurship because you must know how you retain and constantly engage your members, that is, what value you give them.

But what does it look like concretely, and what can you offer your members, i.e., supporters?

Mission -  people must share your values and mission to support you. But only a tiny percentage of those who share your mission will join—and they are not only the biggest supporters but also the best ambassadors.

Development - people need to grow and develop - if you connect with them on a value level, they will want to grow with you, and you can provide them with numerous opportunities - webinars, pieces of training, access to databases and knowledge, etc.

Status - all people naturally want to gain some status - if you have built a strong brand out of your organization, it can become a kind of status symbol. Mainly if you include giveaways, such as badges, t-shirts, mugs, and the like, with your brand, or recognize them by giving them thank you notes and sharing them publicly on your site and social media.

Contribution – besides money, people can give you other things, especially their expertise and opinion. If you gather such supporters around you, give them space so they can additionally contribute with their advice and proposed solutions or by volunteering to do some work for you - proofreading the text, helping with the database, etc.

Community - the value you provide to your supporters can be community membership - if that community has a high level of interaction and utility. Especially in times of crisis, like today, people need to belong to a community with which they share problems and values - a place where they understand and find solutions. However, that community must be very well moderated; otherwise, chaos ensues and does not survive. Be sure to combine community membership with additional content and development - access to databases, behind-the-scenes stories, direct contact, and regular events.

Gamify the experience – you can make everything you do more fun by gamifying the experience and practicing making a game out of fundraising. For example, your supporters can have profiles on your site, collect points for seniority in your membership, badges for attending events, upgrade to new membership levels, etc. This is how you increase their engagement.

Discounts – as an organization, you can develop partnerships with local and other businesses to give your members exclusive discounts. It is a win-win situation - you promote that business that way, and they provide discounts for people who donate to you. Of course, this cannot be done with any business, but only with those whose mission matches yours.

There are also specialized platforms for this model. Globally, the most popular membership platform is Patreon. Although many mistakenly define it as a crowdfunding platform, Patreon is intended for people and organizations who seek continuous monthly support for their work and mission. However, you can also develop your mechanism on your site.

This model is used for professional membership associations but has recently been extremely popular with the media. However, other organizations with strong and stable relationships with their community can also use it, especially if they produce a lot of content or are humanitarian organizations.

The membership model of UNICEF is probably the best known to everyone. Their volunteers talk to citizens on the street and at stands and enroll them in the children's friends club for a monthly donation. UNICEF sends occasional action reports to its members via email, but the real value here is identification with UNICEF as an international brand.

SOS Children's Villages use a similar model – an international organization with membership clubs for individuals and businesses.

  • Fundraising Events

A fundraising event can be a gala dinner, a charity ball, an online or offline auction of various items, or basketball, futsal, tennis, or bowling tournaments. Do not forget about the gaming tournament. You can also organize a donor cocktail party with an auction, a stand-up evening, a classical music concert, or a local club gig.

The possibilities are numerous, and which format you decide on depends primarily on you, i.e., your resources, the amount you want to raise, and the community you are reaching out to.

Concerts allow individuals in your community to get involved and support your work, especially if it is one of their favorite artists. Sports tournaments are an excellent way to introduce yourself to the business sector because companies can simultaneously support the organization's work and provide their employees with the opportunity for team building and a fun day outside the office.

A formal dinner, ball, or cocktail party allows individuals and company representatives to gather in one place and support your organization's work. In addition to ticket sales, you can raise funds by offering companies additional visibility at the event through sponsorship packages. These can include a logo on printed and digital materials, a certain number of posts on social networks, placing roll-ups at the event, and of course, a certain number of tickets or seats at the event itself.

Events that offer all participants quality content can support your organization regularly, especially if a company commits to a multi-year sponsorship contract.

What makes a fundraising event successful? First, the set amount collected costs less than one-third of the funds collected and excellent organization.

How to reach the goal and reduce costs?

Start planning your fundraising event early and ask about other events so there are no overlaps. Research what items and services you can receive as a donation in goods or services; form a volunteer team that can help you in many segments of event organization; create partnerships with local entrepreneurs; above all, be creative because you know your community and its possibilities best!

An example of a fundraising event in Kosovo is Let's Dance for Mothers and Children, a traditional annual fundraising event in Kosovo organized by Action for Mothers and Children, with the primary objective of supporting and improving the health of mothers and babies in Kosovo.

Throughout its history, Let's Dance for Mothers and Children has successfully raised funds to address critical healthcare needs, promote education, and enhance the overall well-being of mothers and their babies.

Photo credits: Driton Paçarada

  • Partnership with the Business Sector

Developing this advanced fundraising model requires a significant investment of your organization's time and resources.

Indeed, the first step is receiving one-time support from a company or entrepreneur through donating money, goods, or services, participating in an event, volunteering by employees, or some other form of support. It is imperative that after this first step, you thank the company and clearly state what the donated funds will be used for. You can report this to them on your social networks and website.

When you start implementing your idea for which you have received the company's support, it is a great moment to inform them about it and, at the same time, provide more information about further steps and deadlines. Depending on how long it takes you to implement the idea successfully, you can schedule periodic reporting for one, two, or three months, focusing on the impact that donation has had.

Regular reporting aims to inform backers, justify their trust and demonstrate that their support is being used as intended. Companies often use these reports for internal communications, especially if their employees participated in an event or volunteer action.

One of the advantages of regular reporting is that you can further deepen communication with the company and get to know its employees better. This information can make planning the next events easier, preparing donor or sponsorship packages and new fundraising campaigns.

At the same time, you allow the company to get to know your organization, its work and results better, and perhaps most importantly - to get to know your team. This contributes to the creation of mutual trust, which is an essential prerequisite for developing a partnership. If your organization decides to hold regular fundraising events, it can be a fantastic opportunity to partner with the business sector.

In that case, the partnership can also be through the donation of space and services, which does not prevent you from further deepening that partnership in the following years and turning it into financial support.

Partnerships with the business sector are an advanced fundraising model and are most often found in organizations that have already developed their fundraising activities.

  • Conclusion

All over the world, many nonprofit organizations rely on community fundraising to support their work.

Community-based fundraising models can be an effective way for nonprofits and community organizations in Kosovo to raise funds and build strong and resilient communities. By engaging with the community, promoting civic engagement, and fostering collaboration, nonprofits can create sustainable fundraising models that help support their mission and positively impact the communities they serve.


Cover photo: Let's Dance for Mothers and Children (photo credits: Arben Llapashtica)
 

This article is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Catalyst Balkans and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

The Citizen Engagement Activity in Kosovo is a five-year initiative implemented by Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).