Have you contemplated looking for a new peer-to-peer fundraising platform, but had difficulty getting started? Maybe your current platform works, donations are coming in, and things are moving along. Likely there are also small friction points that keep adding up, things take longer than they should, and reporting is sometimes a challenge.
Most people wonder whether there is something better out there, but switching platforms feels like a lot of effort. Of course, deadlines and organizational priorities take up most of your time. So you think to yourself, it's easier to just stay where you are. Daily, you focus on solving problems and meeting deadlines. Then a year goes by and you are still in the same position.
Sound familiar? I’ve been there.
It’s a hard place to be, working in between the tension of “it’s fine” and “I wonder if there is something better?”
After all, you’re not in crisis mode, there may not be anything urgent forcing the decision, and the idea of changing systems introduces risk. Should your team invest time and resources searching for a new platform? What if you disrupt campaigns that are already working “well enough”?
We can all see why it’s easier to do nothing.
The platform shapes more than you think
Selecting a peer-to-peer or DIY fundraising platform is an important decision for any nonprofit team. A platform influences how your campaigns are built, how your supporters experience fundraising, and how your team spends their time. It plays a role in whether you can confidently experiment and how clearly you can report on performance.
Great technology can energize your supporters, inspire donors, simplify operations, and enable fundraising growth. On the other hand, some platforms introduce friction for participants, add unnecessary workflows, and quietly limit what your program achieves over time.
When the fit is right, campaigns launch faster and participants stay engaged. When the fit is off, the friction adds up quickly. It shows up in small workarounds at first, then in bigger constraints that are harder to ignore.
When the stakes are high, it’s natural to hesitate. No one wants to make the wrong call and deal with the fallout later. But staying put without evaluating your options isn’t a neutral decision either. It comes with its own cost, even if it might be less visible.
Smart decisions come from clear priorities
Organizations that approach the decision with a focus on how a platform will support their strategy over time tend to feel more confident. They have a clear definition of what they specifically need going in and a structured way to evaluate their options. They align internally on shared goals, define what success looks like, and identify where their current setup is falling short. That clarity makes the process faster, more focused, and far less frustrating.
And all of this planning leads to better outcomes.
Why we want to help
After watching nonprofit teams struggle to evaluate platforms, we partnered with Raise HECK to create the Nonprofit Guide to Choosing Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software.
The teams at Raise HECK and Funraisin have decades of experience working for or with nonprofits on software technology. We have a wealth of knowledge and experience earned the hard way, including what works (and what not to do). We collaborated to freely share our experience with nonprofits because we genuinely want to see nonprofits succeed.
The guide is designed to help your team approach making a platform decision with structure and clarity, starting with your objectives and challenges, aligning the right internal stakeholders, establishing your goals, doing your homework, and organizing your findings in a way that makes tradeoffs easier to evaluate.
Nonprofit Guide to Choosing P2P Fundraising Software
If you're evaluating options, or even thinking about it for the year ahead, our guide is a good place to start. If you've checked it out and found it helpful, we'd love to hear from you!
