DIY fundraising: How to activate supporters year-round

When someone joins your nonprofit’s peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, they show a deep passion for your mission and a willingness to take action. These dedicated supporters are motivated to reach out to their networks, rally donations, and raise funds on your behalf. 

With creative freedom and the right tools, their impact can go even further. That’s where do-it-yourself (DIY) fundraising comes in. DIY fundraising empowers supporters to raise money anytime and for any personal reason or occasion—even outside of a formal campaign. 

Below, we’ll define DIY fundraising and show how GoFundMe makes it easier to bring this powerful strategy to life.

What is DIY fundraising?

DIY fundraising—short for “do-it-yourself” fundraising—is a form of peer-to-peer fundraising that gives supporters the freedom to raise awareness and money for your nonprofit on their terms. 

It goes by many names: evergreen fundraising, year-round peer-to-peer fundraising, or DIY. At GoFundMe Pro, we call it DIY fundraising.

Like traditional peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, DIY fundraising allows supporters to create personal fundraising pages to collect donations on your nonprofit’s behalf. The difference? Traditional peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns have a set end date and raise money for a specific program. Once the campaign ends, all associated pages close, and the funds go to one predetermined area. 

DIY fundraising is always on. Supporters can start a fundraiser at any time of year and for any reason meaningful to them, such as birthdays, anniversaries, athletic events, or personal milestones. They can also choose which of your programs they want to support. 

Enabling your supporters to take the lead

Giving supporters this level of creative freedom often leads to greater revenue and stronger engagement. DIY fundraising is a powerful way to tap into wider networks and reach new supporters faster. 

In fact, the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer found that 48% of people trust recommendations from friends and family, reinforcing the value of peer-led fundraising. Similarly, one in four Gen Z respondents reported donating because of a social media creator, according to GoFundMe’s The Social State of Giving report.

By giving supporters more ways to evangelize your mission for you, you invite their communities to do the same. Here’s how GoFundMe makes it happen. 

How GoFundMe makes DIY fundraising even easier  

We’re entering a new era of supporter-led giving—one where supporters increasingly look to each other for guidance on where and how to donate. It’s a shift rooted in trust and community, and we’ve seen it firsthand on our fundraising platform.

GoFundMe has become a space where everyday people launch movements, rally communities, and build lasting support for the causes that matter most to them. We embrace this momentum by helping nonprofits tap into the growing culture of peer-to-peer, organic fundraising, making these moments more visible, more frequent, and more impactful.

Empowering supporters to raise more for your nonprofit on GoFundMe

One-click fundraising

Anyone can now create a fundraiser for a nonprofit on GoFundMe with a single click. Using AI-generated content, supporters can quickly review and publish fundraisers, removing barriers to getting started.

Live fundraising tools

To complement our popular DIY fundraising tools, we’ve introduced a livestreaming widget that integrates with major streaming platforms. This feature allows supporters to amplify their impact by raising money for their favorite causes directly from GoFundMe during live events like: 

• Gaming sessions
• Performances
• Interactive experiences 

One standout example: a Swiftie named Tess used it during a Taylor Swift concert to benefit a local nonprofit.

Birthday fundraising

We make it easier for people to turn personal milestones into meaningful impact, starting with birthday fundraisers. Supporters can now effortlessly launch fundraisers for nonprofits to celebrate their special day or other special occasions in their lives. 

Social integrations

Fundraisers perform exponentially better when seen and shared. GoFundMe’s social sharing integrations with Facebook, Messenger, LinkedIn, X, and WhatsApp make it easy for supporters to elevate their fundraisers across multiple platforms, helping you reach more people and achieve your goals faster.

Mobilizing your nonprofit’s peer-to-peer success on GoFundMe Pro

And let’s not forget GoFundMe Pro’s trusted peer-to-peer fundraising software—built exclusively for nonprofits to attract more supporters and put them in control. 

With GoFundMe Pro, you can: 

• Invite supporters to launch individual or team fundraisers in seconds. 
• Equip them with built-in tips and trusted coaching to help them reach their fundraising goals. 
• Keep motivation high with encouragement, recognition, and real-time support.
• Foster friendly competition with live leaderboards and fundraising thermometers. 
• Expand your reach with easy social and text-sharing tools. 

Additionally, GoFundMe Pro lets you carry your nonprofit’s branding across supporter pages and donation receipts while launching visually stunning campaigns with optimized templates. This way, you show up exactly how you want, and your supporters reflect your vision seamlessly.

The future of peer-to-peer is supporter-led

At GoFundMe, our focus is on supporter engagement and empowerment, not adding more to your internal team’s workload. We believe the future of peer-to-peer is in giving supporters the tools to do more for your nonprofit’s cause, personally and authentically.

The opportunity is massive: Last year alone, 70,000 nonprofits received a donation on GoFundMe’s consumer platform, and millions of dollars were raised through GoFundMe Pro. With a community of over 190 million, we offer nonprofits an unmatched chance to be discovered by new supporters—something especially valuable in today’s challenging donor acquisition landscape.

To ensure your DIY-fundraising strategy is successful, make participation as easy as possible:

• Provide simple instructions for supporters to get involved, like a fundraising toolkit or how-to guide.
• Offer inspiration and starter fundraising ideas to spark creativity.
• Celebrate their wins and show your appreciation along the way.
  

If you’re ready to tap into this new wave of supporter-led giving, GoFundMe Pro can help. Request a platform demo today to get started.

Copy editor: Ayanna Julien