Individual fundraisers are supporters who create their own personal fundraising pages and raise money for your nonprofit from their friends, family, and coworkers.
Each person tells their own story, sets a goal, and shares their page, while every gift rolls up into your central campaign. It is the building block of peer-to-peer fundraising, and it is one of the most effective ways to bring in donors you would never reach on your own.
Why individual fundraisers drive more donations
The reason is reach through trust. When a supporter asks their network, the request carries a personal endorsement that an organizational appeal cannot match. That is why individual fundraisers are such a strong acquisition engine: roughly 80% of donors who arrive through these pages are brand new to the organization.
| Donor type acquired through individual fundraisers | Share |
|---|---|
| New to the organization | 80% |
| Existing donors | 20% |
A few more numbers worth knowing:
- The average individual fundraiser raises around $244, and totals climb when supporters connect their page to social media.
- Pages linked to a Facebook fundraiser raise about 83% more than pages without social integration.
- Peer-to-peer campaigns can help retain up to 50% of the donors they bring in, when paired with a deliberate follow-up plan.
How individual fundraising pages work
The 5 part process is short enough that a motivated supporter can launch in minutes:
- The supporter creates a personal page tied to your campaign.
- They add a photo, their own story, and a fundraising goal.
- They share the page by social post, email, and direct message.
- Donations roll up into your overall campaign total in real time.
- The supporter tracks progress and thanks donors as gifts come in.
How individual fundraisers fit into peer-to-peer fundraising
Individual fundraisers are the unit that peer-to-peer programs are built from. One supporter raising money is an individual fundraiser; many supporters doing it together, rolling up to a shared total, is a peer-to-peer campaign.
The same trust mechanics apply at both levels, which is why equipping each individual well is the difference between a program that grows and one that stalls. For the setup that supports them, see the must-have peer-to-peer fundraising features and a comparison of peer-to-peer fundraising platforms.
Turn supporters into individual fundraisers with Fundraise Up
Fundraisers is Fundraise Up's tool for exactly this. The name is deliberate: it puts the individual supporter, not a large campaign structure, at the center. With Fundraisers, supporters can:
- Launch a personal page in minutes, with their own story, images, and goal.
- Share across 23 languages and global payment methods, so a supporter anywhere can give.
- Track results in the Donor Portal, including who gave and how close they are to goal.
- Add teammates to a page and rally a group toward one shared total.
- Drop in website Elements like the Fundraisers Button, Top Fundraisers, Goal Meter, and Social Proof to drive sign-ups and conversions.
Because Fundraisers runs on the same highly optimized checkout as the rest of the platform, more of the visitors who land on a shared page complete their gift, which is where the extra donations come from.
Commonly asked questions about individual fundraisers in 2026
What is an individual fundraiser? An individual fundraiser is a supporter who creates a personal fundraising page and raises money for a nonprofit from their own network of friends, family, and coworkers. The supporter tells their own story, sets a personal goal, and shares the page, while every gift counts toward the organization's overall campaign. It is the core building block of peer-to-peer fundraising.
How do individual fundraisers work? Individual fundraisers work by turning one supporter into a channel to dozens of new donors. The supporter creates a page tied to your campaign, adds a photo, story, and goal, shares it across social media, email, and direct messages, and watches donations roll up into your central total in real time. Because the ask comes from a trusted person rather than an institution, response rates are higher than a standard organizational appeal.
What is the difference between an individual fundraiser and peer-to-peer fundraising? An individual fundraiser is one supporter's page; peer-to-peer fundraising is many of those pages running together and rolling up to a shared campaign total. Put simply, peer-to-peer is the program, and individual fundraisers are the people who make it work. The same trust mechanics drive both.
What is the difference between individual fundraisers and crowdfunding? Crowdfunding is usually a single page run by one person or organization to reach a wide audience, while individual fundraisers activate many supporters, each with their own page tied to one campaign. The key difference is reach: individual fundraisers tap each supporter's personal network, which is why so many of the donors they bring in are brand new to the cause. For a deeper comparison, see peer-to-peer fundraising vs. crowdfunding.
How is an individual fundraiser different from a Facebook fundraiser? A Facebook fundraiser keeps the donor, the gift, and the data inside Facebook, while an individual fundraiser hosted on your own platform routes donors to your campaign and gives you their information for follow-up. The strongest approach uses both together: pages connected to a Facebook fundraiser raise roughly 83% more than pages without social integration, so you get the social reach while still owning the donor relationship.
Why do individual fundraisers drive more donations? Individual fundraisers drive more donations because the ask carries personal trust that an organizational appeal cannot match. People give when someone they know makes the request, and around 92% of people trust recommendations from people they know.
That trust is why roughly 80% of donors acquired through these pages are brand new to the organization, making individual fundraisers one of the most effective acquisition channels available.
How much can an individual fundraiser raise? The average individual fundraiser raises around $244, though totals vary widely based on the cause, the size of the supporter's network, and how actively the page is shared. Supporters who connect their page to social media and send a personal note to their contacts consistently raise more than those who simply create a page and wait.
How do you set up an individual fundraiser? Setting up an individual fundraiser takes only a few minutes on the right platform. The supporter creates a personal page tied to your campaign, adds a photo, their own story, and a fundraising goal, then shares the link by social post, email, and direct message. From there, donations roll up into your campaign total automatically, and the supporter can thank donors as gifts arrive.
How do nonprofits recruit individual fundraisers? Nonprofits recruit individual fundraisers by asking their most engaged supporters first: board members, long-term volunteers, recurring donors, and event participants who already feel personally connected to the mission. A clear invitation, a ready-made page, and a specific reason to start, such as a birthday, a memory, or a challenge, all lower the barrier to signing up. Quality of fundraiser matters far more than quantity.
What makes an individual fundraiser successful? A successful individual fundraiser combines a personal story, a clear goal, and consistent sharing. The supporters who raise the most connect their page to social media at setup, send a direct personal ask to their closest contacts early, and post progress updates as they approach their goal. Nonprofits can support this by handing every fundraiser ready-to-send templates and a short list of next steps.
Where does the money from an individual fundraiser go, and is it tax-deductible? Donations made to an individual fundraiser go directly to the nonprofit the page supports, rolling up into that organization's campaign rather than to the supporter personally. When the recipient is a registered charity, gifts are tax-deductible, and platforms like Fundraise Up send a receipt to every donor automatically.
How much does it cost to start an individual fundraiser? With Fundraise Up's Fundraisers tool, supporters can create and run an individual fundraiser at no added platform cost; standard payment processing applies to donations. Costs vary by platform, so when comparing peer-to-peer fundraising platforms, check both the platform fee and the per-transaction processing rate.
How do you retain donors acquired through individual fundraisers? Retaining donors acquired through individual fundraisers is the most common challenge in peer-to-peer fundraising, since many first-time givers do not convert to recurring donors on their own. The fix is a deliberate follow-up plan: a prompt thank-you, a clear next step, and an invitation to give monthly. Done well, peer-to-peer campaigns can retain up to 50% of the donors they bring in.