Beyond the gala: What peer-to-peer challenge fundraising can do for your nonprofit

I recently did something so outside of my comfort zone for a charity. It required everything I had to offer physically and emotionally. It required a personal financial commitment and a large time commitment, which, as a mother of three young children, is no small task. I did it to raise money for a charity I have been supporting for years, Many Hopes. The trek was organized and led by the founder of Pothawira, Many Hopes' local partner in Malawi — so the challenge itself came from within the mission, not from an outside adventure company. I traveled to Tanzania and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, and I’m so glad I did it! It changed me and my relationship with the charity forever. It also got me thinking about fundraising strategies and the incredible power generated when a donor’s personal story merges with an organization’s mission. What happened to me as a donor, and to the charity I support, is worth learning from.

Challenge fundraising is a form of peer-to-peer fundraising in which a supporter takes on a physical or personal challenge — a climb, a marathon, a fast — and raises money by inviting their own network into the story of preparing for and completing it. Unlike a standard appeal, the ask travels through the participant's relationships, not the organization's.

Charities know that their influence lies in their ability to storytell well. You hook your donors by inviting them into a compelling story and showing them they have a role in its success. In my case, though, I started with a different story: my story of training to climb to the “Roof of Africa”. I started sharing my story long before the actual hike, and soon my inner circle became interested. Then the circle outside my inner circle was piqued. I began sharing videos from Many Hopes orphanages and schools, and now people were not only interested in my hike but also becoming more invested in the cause I was hiking for. My story and the mission of my charity were piggybacking on each other, creating a whole host of interest and opportunities for emotional and financial investment.

What makes challenge fundraising different from a standard appeal?

My next question was, “Well, who is going to donate?” I was skeptical about whether people would want to donate money to a charity just because I wanted to hike a mountain. I was blown away by how many people contributed to our fundraising efforts. By the end of the climb, 72 people had donated to my campaign alone. Multiply that across the 20 of us on the mountain, each with a $10,000 fundraising goal and most clearing it, and the scope of what one hike generated becomes clear. I expected my inner circle, my family and close friends, but what I found was I accumulated donors from the far periphery of my life. My out-of-the-ordinary personal challenge drew in people who may never have received a personal ask from me.

This type of personal-adventure fundraising works because it invites people into your organization’s mission through a different route. It works because it greatly expands the reach of an organization’s usual circle, to friends of friends, periphery networks, and people who may not respond to the standard appeal. If your organization has a compelling story, you may just need to find a story to piggyback on to open more doors. An adventure or physical challenge is a gripping one to use.

What does it take to run a challenge fundraiser?

To create an effective challenge fundraiser, you need a few key ingredients. The challenge doesn’t need to be the highest peak you can find, but it does need to be physical, time-bound, or personally meaningful. This could be a marathon, a fast, a skills challenge, or a local event, i.e., a polar bear plunge. And the participants should be given easy access to collateral materials (giving page, storytelling materials/videos, updates during the challenge) to integrate into their training and preparation stories. This way they can create a clear link back to your organization’s mission. And it’s okay if their storytelling is not as polished as your website’s. Their authenticity is actually an asset.

How does challenge fundraising change donor retention?

Another profound thing I observed was how a group of strangers became a tribe with a shared mission. Each hiker in our group had their own reason for climbing, each a varied personal story. There were newlyweds, sisters, best friends, parents and children, cancer survivors, avid trekkers, novices, and teens about to launch into adulthood. On the mountain, when things got rough - and boy did it - we all rallied behind one goal. The mission not only united us but also bound us so strongly to our charity and its purpose. It was powerful to be a part of and links me forever to Many Hopes and my fellow hikers. A shared goal can unite people with completely different personal motivations — this diversity of "why" is a feature, not a complication.

If you can’t tell, by the end of the trek, we were no longer merely fundraisers but part of a family. This is the deeper shift that challenge fundraising can create. Participants and their networks move from transactional donors to feeling deeply immersed in the tribe and its story. This matters for retention because donors who feel known by an organization, not just solicited, are more likely to stay engaged long term. That's what makes this type of fundraiser so different from one-off campaigns or appeals.

How to apply this: Practical takeaways for nonprofits

• Identify a challenge, event, or experience your supporters could rally around (ours was organized by our partner on the ground — yours might be, or it might be donor-led; both work)
• Build in easy tools for participants to tell their own story (social templates, a simple donation page, prompts for their "why")
• Create small-group or cohort structures so participants form bonds with each other, not just with the org.
• Follow up post-challenge to convert participants and their networks into longer-term community members, not just one-time donors.
• Let go of a single messaging script — allow multiple entry points/motivations into your mission.

A hike like mine wasn’t just a fundraising tactic; it was a donor-relationship strategy. My experience on the mountain forever changed me, and my fellow hikers. My devotion to Many Hopes has only increased, and so has its followers via my story. I would highly recommend finding a challenge and giving your supporters a story worth sharing too.