Social fundraising is a model where nonprofits raise money by activating their supporters' personal and social networks, rather than relying only on direct appeals from the organization. Supporters share a cause, create their own fundraising pages, or invite their friends to give, and each share carries the trust of a personal recommendation.
In practice, social fundraising and peer-to-peer fundraising describe the same core idea: people give when someone they know makes the ask.
Why social fundraising works
Social fundraising works because of social proof and personal trust. A donation button from an unknown organization is easy to scroll past; a page launched by a friend, sibling, or coworker is far harder to ignore. The data backs this up: connecting a fundraising page to a Facebook fundraiser raises roughly 83% more than a page with no social integration, and social platforms drive a meaningful share of donations in most peer-to-peer campaigns.
| Page type | Relative amount raised (indexed) |
|---|---|
| No social integration | 100 |
| Linked to a Facebook fundraiser | 183 |
How nonprofits turn supporters into donors
Turning a casual supporter into an active fundraiser comes down to three things: make the ask easy, make it personal, and keep it moving. Equip supporters with ready-to-send templates and images, prompt them to connect their page to social media at setup, and send mid-campaign nudges so momentum does not stall.
Pair that with a fast, mobile-friendly donation experience, and more of the visitors who land on a shared page actually complete a gift. Online giving has become the dominant channel, and mobile now accounts for a large share of donations, per M+R Benchmarks and the 2025 donor survey.
To compare the tools that power this, see the leading peer-to-peer fundraising platforms.