In 2017, Flagler Humane Society Launched a Peer to Peer Fundraising Campaign for #GivingTuesday and Crushed Their Fundraising Goals! Here's How They Did It.

It all started when FHS secured a $10,000 matching gift pledge from a small group of their most loyal donors in early 2017. With the match in hand, Development Director Jeffery Ritter chose Salsa Engage for an integrated peer to peer fundraising, email, and social marketing experience. Then, he quickly built a campaign page and began recruiting individuals and teams to raise money on their behalf. FHS challenged their board members to set an example as individual fundraisers, and FHS also partnered with a local high school offering a $100 gift card reward to the teacher whose team of students raised the most money.

For FHS, marketing the campaign on the day of giving was much more successful than in years past. They published Facebook Ads and scheduled multiple fundraising emails and social posts to go out at the same time throughout the day, each time telling powerful stories of how donations help FHS save and improve the lives of shelter animals. Ritter reported, "Our emails sent from Engage got through SPAM filters and reached 99% of inboxes, much more than in years past."

By the end of #GivingTuesday 2017, Flagler Humane Society had raised over $13,000 through their peer to peer campaign, 30% more than their goal and 73% more than the previous two #GivingTuesdays combined! The generous matching gift brought their fundraising haul to $23,000 which went towards funding operations at the shelter.