How Parents Can Raise Money for School with Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

At GiveCentral, we’ve seen schools work tirelessly to raise money through the usual methods like bake sales, product drives, and raffles. The effort is huge, but the return often falls short. Peer-to-peer fundraising has always helped in such situations. The truth is: your greatest fundraising power is already in your community. It’s the parents.

Parents have networks that go far beyond your school’s mailing list. When they share your cause with friends, family, and coworkers, donations multiply. 

That’s the power of peer-to-peer fundraising, and with GiveCentral, schools are turning parents into fundraising champions and raising 2–3x more with less stress.

What Is Peer-to-Peer Fundraising?

Peer-to-peer fundraising is simple and powerful.

Instead of your school asking everyone directly, each parent sets up their own mini fundraising page through GiveCentral. They share that page with their own networks via text, email, and social media.

For example, Sarah, a 3rd-grade mom, creates her GiveCentral page and posts: “We’re raising money for new Chromebooks at our school. Even $25 helps!”

Her cousin donates. Her coworker donates. Her neighbor donates. Soon, Sarah had raised $300. Now imagine 50 parents doing the same. That’s how schools hit their goals faster.

Why Parent-Led Fundraising Works

From working with schools nationwide, we know three things for sure:

• Parents have reached. Parents have a lot of connections, and these connections can help get donations for them.
• People give to people. A donation request from a parent feels personal and trustworthy. A generic school email doesn’t. Donors trust the person asking for a  donation
  
• Parents are willing to do it if it’s easy. Selling products is hard. Sharing a GiveCentral link is quick and simple.
  

At GiveCentral, we make fundraising frictionless. Parents get pre-built tools, and schools get a system that runs smoothly from start to finish.

How GiveCentral Sets Up Peer-to-Peer Campaigns

When a school partners with us, here’s how we make it happen:

1. We create your school’s campaign page.
   
   • Clear story, fundraising goal, and deadline.
     
   • Example: “Help us raise $20,000 for a new playground. Every gift makes a difference.”
     
2. We equip parents with their own fundraising pages.
   
   • Simple setup, no tech skills required.
     
   • All linked back to your main school campaign.
     
3. We provide ready-to-use sharing scripts.
   
   • Parents get texts, emails, and social posts they can copy and send right away.
     
   • Example text: “Hi! My child’s school is raising funds for library upgrades. Would you consider helping? Here’s my link: [link].”
     
4. We track and report progress in real time.
   
   • Schools see who’s raising the most and how close you are to your goal.
     

How We Motivate Parents to Fundraise

We know parents are busy, so GiveCentral builds in motivation:

• Leaderboards: Parents can see their ranking, sparking friendly competition.
  
• Recognition: Shout-outs in newsletters, assemblies, and social media.
  
• Simple rewards: Parking spots, gift cards, or a “thank you” event.
  

These touches keep energy high throughout the campaign.

What Success Looks Like in Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Even if your school has never run a peer-to-peer campaign before, success usually follows the same pattern. Here’s what we’ve seen across organizations that partner with GiveCentral:

• Fast Participation: Parents can set up and share their fundraising pages within minutes because GiveCentral makes it simple.
  
• Small Gifts Add Up: The average parent fundraiser collects 5–15 donations. Even small gifts of $20–$50 quickly add up when multiplied across dozens of parents.
  
• Momentum Builds: Social sharing and text updates create a snowball effect — once a few donations come in, parents are motivated to keep sharing.
  
• Goals Reached Sooner: Schools often find they hit their fundraising targets earlier than expected because donations flow in from outside the school community (friends, relatives, coworkers).
  

Instead of exhausting a small committee, peer-to-peer fundraising spreads the effort widely. Every parent becomes a micro-fundraiser, and every donor feels personally connected to your school’s success.

Read our blog on Peer-to-peer fundraising for nonprofits: 4 ways to grow your network base for more insights

Building Parent Engagement Beyond One Campaign

At GiveCentral, we believe fundraising should build momentum. That’s why after each campaign we:

• Share results and celebrate success with your community.
  
• Highlight top parent fundraisers to inspire others.
  
• Help you form a parent fundraising team ready for the next event.
  

This way, each campaign grows stronger than the last.

Peer-to-peer fundraising changes the game for schools. Instead of relying on a small committee or repeated events, parents become your most powerful fundraisers.

With GiveCentral, you don’t have to figure it out alone. We set up the tools, guide parents, and keep donors engaged — so your school raises more with less effort.

Ready to launch your school’s peer-to-peer campaign? 

Book a free demo with GiveCentral today, and let’s make it happen.