I mean it.  Dash right over to Amazon, click and order Dollar Dash: The Behavioral Economics of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising , a practical and powerful guide to the psychology behind P2P fundraising and the factors that drive donors and volunteers with plenty of case studies.

In fact, even if you don’t give one whit about peer-to-peer fundraising you’re in for a true treat. That’s because authors Katrina VanHuss and Otis Fulton provide a fascinating, road-tested tour of donor motivation, donor recognition and donor incentives—good and bad—and the behavioral science principles that undergird them.

If you are engaged in or contemplating a peer-to-peer program Dollar Dash is a must read both in terms of avoiding major missteps and understanding the reasons why successful programs work. More on this in a moment.

Readers may remember Katrina’s and Otis’ first Agitator appearance in Tom’s post Make It About Me on donor identity.  He cited their persuasive example of the importance of understanding donor identify as detailed in their NonprofitPRO piece,  Why I Care About Your Cause, But Don’t Donate.

Well, Dollar Dash is jam-packed with these sorts of insights backed by case study after case study and a wealth of behavioral research. Insights that will inform every fundraiser regardless of the channel and techniques you choose.

For those into peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising this is the only work I’ve found that deliberately goes beyond mere technique and tactics to really explain why some approaches work and some don’t.

Using the mega-P2P event, the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life that raises more money than any other P2P event, Katrina and Otis explain why Relay was so much more successful than others…why it grew so much faster than others…and, just as importantly why it is now declining.

Why did American Cancer Society’s Relay lose 33% of its total income in the difficult 2008-2016 years of the economy?  And why did the March of Dimes’ “March for Babies” lose only 10%?  And why did the “March for Babies” prove more resilient than Relay after the recession ended?

Why are you better off not charging a registration fee for a P2P event?  Why is offering expensive prizes like airline tickets and iPads not the way to go?  Why do great events often fail to raise great money? Why it’s not all about the mission? Why? Why? Why?

Many fundraising books tell us “how” to execute some action.  Dollar Dash not only describes the “how’, but significantly for any serious fundraiser,  the authors explain “why” certain actions work – or don’t work.  And they cite the social science and case histories underlying their insights.ss

Whether you’re into P2P or not– you’ll benefit from the book’s thorough exploration of the importance of being able to identify and act on the two types of relationships with volunteers:

1. Social Relationships
2. Market Relationships

Understanding the type of relationship you’re offering or reinforcing is the “make or break” insight where P2P (and I believe all fundraising) is concerned.

Marry the insights on  Social vs. Market Relationships with their explanation of the immense value of Recognition then top it off with the authors’ explanation of the types of Motivation (and disincentives)  and you’re in for some surprising –and profitable—eureka moments.

PLUS…this one a hell of a fun read.

Katrina, with nearly 30 year’s experience organizing P2P events, and Otis with his long experience as a psychologist and practitioner in consumer behavior draw their conclusions and recommendations from a study of 83 P2P programs from 33 different U.S. organizations of various types and using a variety of P2P platforms.

You can download a summary of their study on which Dollar Dash is based here.

And you can order Dollar Dash right here.

Roger

P.S. Here are just a few of the questions the Donor Dash answers:

• Why is it so hard to get 5K participants to fundraise? How can you empower volunteer event coordinators to succeed – and what will demotivate them (and kill) your program?

• What’s the most viable type of P2P event to pursue if you’re starting up a new program? (Hint, it’s not endurance or cycling, it might be … the humble, time-honored fundraising walk.)

• What types of well-intentioned actions actually *dampen or discourage* P2P fundraising success.

You’ll be surprised!