If you manage a charity organization, you can empower your supporters to launch their own fundraising campaigns directly on your website, helping to raise funds and increase awareness for your cause.
Integrating peer-to-peer fundraising into your WordPress site allows you to leverage your donors’ networks, boost engagement, and generate more funds for your mission.
However, establishing this system can be challenging without the appropriate tools and guidance.
That’s why we have tested all the leading donation plugins available. After careful assessment, we determined that WP Charitable is the top choice for easily setting up peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns on your website.
In this article, we will guide you through the simple process of creating peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns in WordPress, step by step.
Why Implement Peer-to-Peer Fundraising on Your WordPress Site?
If you operate a non-profit organization, you can build a WordPress site that enables users to initiate peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. This strategy encourages individual supporters to raise money on behalf of your organization.
This allows users to establish their own fundraising campaigns on your website, helping to generate additional funds for your charity while increasing awareness among their friends and family, significantly expanding your outreach.
For example, if your non-profit organization focuses on several endangered species, individuals can initiate separate fundraisers for each animal, such as the Blue Whale, to gather donations specifically for that cause.
This approach can enhance user engagement and increase the chances of your campaign going viral on social media. Additionally, it can attract new supporters and potential donors who may be interested in protecting a specific animal or who were previously unaware of your mission.
What Do You Need to Implement Peer-to-Peer Fundraising on WordPress?
To set up a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign on WordPress, you will need to:
- Purchase a web hosting plan
- Register a domain name
- Build a WordPress website
- Select a non-profit theme
- Install a donation plugin
If you don’t have a WordPress site yet, you can easily create one by selecting a hosting plan and registering a domain name. Web hosting provides the online space for your website, while the domain name is the address that users will enter to access your site.
While WordPress itself is free, you will need to budget for additional costs such as a domain name, which typically costs around $14.99 per year, and hosting services that start at approximately $7.99 per month.
Fortunately, Bluehost is offering an incredible discount exclusively for CanadaCreate readers, along with a complimentary domain name and SSL certificate.
Bluehost is a leading hosting provider globally and is officially recommended by WordPress. To take advantage of this special offer, simply click the button below.
After purchasing your hosting plan, refer to our beginner’s guide for detailed instructions on how to install WordPress.
Next, select a nonprofit organization theme such as Astra to build a professional and visually appealing website.
For further guidance, check out our tutorial on how to install a theme in WordPress.
Once your basic website is operational, refer to our tutorial below to set up peer-to-peer fundraising.
How to Set Up Peer-to-Peer Fundraising in WordPress
Now it’s time to begin creating your peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.
We suggest using WP Charitable, the leading donation and fundraising plugin for WordPress. It features an easy-to-use interface, spam protection, and an Ambassadors addon that enables you to launch peer-to-peer and crowdfunding campaigns.
Begin by installing and activating the free Charitable plugin, as it serves as the foundation for the premium version. For step-by-step instructions, refer to our guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
Important Note: To install the Ambassadors addon, you will need at least the Charitable Pro plan.
After activation, navigate to Charitable » Settings in the WordPress admin sidebar to enter your license key. You can find this information in your account on the Charitable website.
Next, click on the ‘Payment Gateways’ tab at the top. Charitable provides Stripe and PayPal as the default payment options.
Here, click the ‘Enable Gateway’ button next to the payment methods you wish to activate for peer-to-peer fundraising.
Once you do this, you will be directed to a new screen where you need to enter the gateway label, email address, and API credentials.
After that, simply click the ‘Save Changes’ button to apply your settings.
Now, go to Charitable » AddonsNavigate to the ‘Charitable Ambassadors’ addon on the page.
Once located, click the ‘Install Addon’ button beneath it.
After activating the extension, create a new page using the block editor. This page will direct users when they want to start a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.
Click the ‘Add Block’ (+) button to insert the shortcode block into the page. Then, input the following shortcode and click the ‘Publish’ button to save your settings:
[charitable_submit_campaign]
Next, go to the Charitable » Settings page in your WordPress dashboard and scroll to the ‘Pages’ section.
Select the newly created page from the dropdown menu next to the ‘Campaign Submission Page’ option. Then, click the ‘Save Changes’ button.
After that, switch to the ‘Ambassadors’ tab at the top.
From this section, choose ‘Fundraisers for existing campaigns’ as the campaign type.
You can also uncheck the ‘Require Account Before Submission’ option if you prefer not to require user registration for creating a peer-to-peer campaign on your site.
You can set both minimum and maximum durations for user-created campaigns. For instance, you might allow users to host a peer-to-peer campaign on your website for one week.
Afterward, you can either keep the remaining settings as they are or customize them to your preference. Once you finish, simply click the ‘Save Changes’ button to apply your settings.
Next, navigate to the Charitable » Campaigns page to initiate peer-to-peer fundraising on WordPress.
Once there, click the ‘Create Campaign’ button.
This will prompt you to enter a name for the fundraising event, which will serve as the main campaign through which users can set up their own peer-to-peer fundraisers.
Click the ‘Create Campaign’ button to proceed.
This will display a new screen featuring a selection of pre-designed templates provided by WP Charitable, including options for disaster relief, animal sanctuaries, medical causes, school trips, and more.
From this selection, click the ‘Create Campaign’ button for the template that best matches your cause.
After doing so, WP Charitable’s drag-and-drop builder will appear on the screen, allowing you to add, remove, or rearrange blocks for the form.
Enhance your form’s appeal by adding an image and a detailed campaign description. For more information, check out our tutorial on creating a recurring donation form in WordPress.
Next, navigate to the ‘Settings’ tab in the left column and select the ‘Ambassadors & Peer-to-Peer Fundraising’ option.
This action will reveal additional settings on the right side, where you need to toggle the ‘Allow peer-to-peer fundraisers for this campaign’ option to ‘On’.
Following this, you can decide whether to permit only your team members to create peer-to-peer fundraisers or if you want to open it up for user participation as well.
You can also choose whether users can set their own fundraiser title, goal, content, and image, or if they will only have access to the default options you provide.
Once that’s complete, return to the ‘Design’ tab and insert the ‘Shortcode’ block where you want the ‘Fundraise’ button to appear.
This will display the block settings in the left column. Here, enter the following shortcode in the designated field:
[charitable_fundraise_button]
Additionally, you can add a headline for the button. This button will lead users to the form submission page you created earlier.
Next, click the ‘Save’ and ‘Publish’ buttons at the top to save your settings. WP Charitable will automatically generate a page for your fundraising form.
Now, access the donation form on your WordPress site.
On this page, you will see the ‘Fundraise’ button that allows users to initiate a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign on your website.
When users click this button, they will be directed to the Fundraiser submission page that you previously created using a shortcode.
Here, users can fill in their campaign details and click the ‘Submit Campaign’ button to launch their peer-to-peer fundraiser.
Once users submit their campaign, it will be automatically approved and displayed on your site.
This is an example of how a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign appears on our demo website.
Tip: Transfer Payment Processing Fees to Donors in WordPress
After setting up a fundraising campaign, you might notice that most payment gateways, such as Stripe or PayPal, charge fees for each transaction.
For instance, if a user donates $50 using Stripe, you will receive only $48.55 in your account due to Stripe’s fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.
Fortunately, Charitable offers a Fee Relief extension that enables users to cover payment processing fees, allowing you to receive the entire donation amount.
To transfer the payment processing fees, navigate to the Charitable » Addons section in the WordPress dashboard and install the ‘Charitable Fee Relief’ extension.
Next, go to the Charitable » Settings section and select the ‘Extensions’ tab.
Here, enable the ‘Opt-in checkbox, checked by default’ option to activate the fee relief mode. This will add a checkbox to the donation form for fee recovery.
If the donor prefers not to cover the processing fee, they can simply uncheck this box.
Then, click the ‘Enable Fee Relief’ button next to the payment gateways to activate fee recovery for processing fees. After that, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to apply your settings.
You have now successfully transferred the processing fees to the donor. For more information, check out our comprehensive tutorial on how to pass payment processing fees in WordPress.
We trust this guide has equipped you with the knowledge to set up peer-to-peer fundraising on WordPress. Additionally, you might find our beginner’s guide on crowdfunding in WordPress helpful, along with our top recommendations for the best tip jar plugins available for WordPress.
If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel for insightful WordPress video tutorials. You can also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.
