Dollar Dash: The Behavioral Economics of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

by Katrina VanHuss, Otis Fulton

Peer-to-peer (P2P) events raise more than $1.5 billion for the top 30 U.S. nonprofit programs annually. This amount could be much greater if nonprofits better understood the fundamentals of human behavior and its effect an organization’s ability to fundraise. Why do people volunteer and fundraise for causes?

Dollar Dash is a study into the psychology behind P2P fundraising and the fuel that drives volunteer behavior. This book will teach you the keys to acquiring, retaining, and maximizing the support of donors and volunteers.

Dollar Dash takes the findings of behavioral economics and applies them to the nonprofit world. Some of what you will learn is counterintuitive:

- Incentives don’t work – rewarding supporters with valuable gifts is demotivating
- It’s not “all about the mission”
- Great events don’t often raise great money

This book chronicles the stories of some of the most successful P2P fundraisers, from Relay For Life and the March of Dimes to the Ice Bucket Challenge. Along the way, there are interviews with some of the world’s greatest nonprofit thinkers. Dollar Dash is guaranteed to change forever the way you approach your P2P fundraising strategy. The result will be in your organization’s bottom line.

Genres: Nonfiction

164 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2017

Reviews

[John Tatum Grice]

A great read that addresses the emerging trends in philanthropy laced with concepts we continue to learn about human nature through the lens of behavioral psychology.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has thorough information about P2P Fundraising for a non-profit and explains well how successful it can be if it's implemented well. This book explains how a social relationship between company and volunteers has a better outcome for the fundraising event compared to a market relationship. This book provides many real examples as well. However, many information are redundant and could be sufficed.