If your organization is planning a peer-to-peer fundraiser such as a walk-a-thon, you will need to find the best way to collect donations and pledges. Countless successful peer-to-peer campaigns have used pledge forms to secure funds. While peer-to-peer websites have certainly made a strong place for themselves, there’s no reason that this tried-and-true method cannot be used in conjunction with your website. Let’s explore how pledge forms can help your organization succeed with a peer-to-peer campaign.
What We’ll Cover
What is a Pledge Form?
A pledge form for donations is a pre-formatted sheet used to record a donor’s pledge or donation to the fundraiser. Pledge forms simplify the donation process by providing the donor’s information to the fundraiser’s organizers.
The information included within the pledge form includes a donor’s name, address, and any other contact information, along with the amount they have pledged to donate. Other things to include within the pledge form sheet are information on how the donated money is to be used, along with the terms and conditions for donations. Usually, the names of the donors are kept confidential, but that tends to vary with the type of fundraiser you are running and the activities you will be planning within that fundraiser.
Pledge forms are used for all types of peer to peer and crowdfunding events, such as walk-a-thons, dance marathons, bowl-a-thons, bike-a-thons, and spin-a-thons.
How to Use a Pledge Form
Using a pledge form for donations is simple. Be sure to create the pledge form template and have it ready before your campaign starts. Pledge forms are a great way to keep your donations organized, which is why so many people still use them today.
It’s best to start planning your fundraising campaign early, including how you will use your pledge forms. The earlier you begin distributing them, the more people you will reach and the more likely you will be to exceed your fundraising goals.
Pledge forms are most effectively used when distributed to community members through multiple channels. They are a handy way to secure donations at a fundraising event, but can also be distributed on your peer-to-peer website. Encourage donors and participants to take multiple pledge forms to share at their workplace, place of worship, or any other community groups they may be a part of.
Still not convinced? Here are some benefits of pledge forms that prove they can drive your fundraiser’s success.
Why Pledge Forms Work
Simplicity
Fundraisers with volunteer participants can be difficult to organize and plenty of details can get lost. Losing donor information can mess up what would otherwise be a solid program.
That is what makes pledge forms so important to use. It’s a great way to keep all the details of each person in one place, so nothing gets lost. All the information is aggregated and provided to the event organizers. You have all the information at a glance and can easily calculate donations to allocate them to the right place, and contact donors for more information on their donations.
Portability
Another great thing about pledge forms is that they’re portable. It’s easy to bring them around to places where you know you can campaign for your cause. This can be churches, schools, workplaces, and other venues you know hold people passionate about your organization and the values it stands for, plus the actual cause you are fighting for.
That portability will help your fundraiser reach more people than it could have ordinarily, and is a great means to getting your local community involved in your causes. It’s a means to spread your name around and get others within the neighborhood talking about the fundraiser and your organization.
Ease of Creation
Pledge forms are not difficult to create. It just takes some knowledge of how to create your own forms, which can be done through Microsoft Word or Google Docs, or through graphic design platforms. You can input the details you need from donors and customize it to your heart’s content.
However, sometimes that can be too difficult if you’re not familiar with the programs, or there may not be enough time to put one together. In cases like this, it would be best to look into pre-made templates for pledge forms. We’ve prepared some pledge form templates for you. right here Keep reading to see more!
Pledge Form Templates
Here are two sample pledge forms you can easily customize for your fundraiser. We have a pledge form where one sheet works for a single-donor and one where multiple donors are included on the same page. You can find and download pledge dorms here.
Pledge form template for individual donors
Pledge form template for multiple donors
Disadvantages of Using Pledge Forms
The main disadvantage of using pledge forms is that you cannot store sensitive data on a paper form. Therefore, donors may not want to pay with a credit card on a pledge form. In addition, some donors may not want to include personal details, especially on pledge forms that are shared with other prospective donors.
Using Pledge Forms with Our Crowdfunding Software
Pledge forms are a great tool for an effective peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, but that doesn’t mean they are the only tool you need. The most successful campaigns take advantage of peer-to-peer crowdfunding software to easily register participants and collect donations while keeping their information secure.
DoJiggy’s peer-to-peer crowdfunding software comes with a full suite of features to help your fundraiser succeed, such as the ability for participants to design their own personal fundraising pages to send to supporters on social media. This goes great with our pre-made pledge form templates, which donors can print from the campaign’s page.
Conclusions on Using Pledge Forms
Using pledge forms in your fundraising campaigns can help to organize donor data and skyrocket your campaign to success. Be sure to use our pledge form templates and our p2p software to get your organization the money it needs to boost your cause to the place it should be — right on top.