Good Marketing Brief

Who's already talking about you without being asked? 👀

Rachel Burris Rodriguez on Aug 19, 2026, 9:15:00 AM

Your most passionate supporters are doing something remarkable. They're showing up, telling your story to their friends, and bringing new people into your orbit without being asked. The question is whether you're building systems that make it easier for them to do that at scale.

This week is about how to identify the right people to activate, what to put in their hands when you do, and what a national campaign that runs in over 100 cities can teach you about making peer-to-peer feel personal.

 

The take-home template

The difference between a fundraiser who raises $500 and one who raises nothing is usually what you gave them before they started. This free checklist walks through everything a fundraiser needs to feel confident and ready to go — from the welcome message and onboarding steps through to the creative assets, campaign instructions, and recognition plan that keep them motivated along the way.

Snackable snippets

How to find your best fundraisers 📖

Not every supporter will thrive as a peer-to-peer fundraiser, and identifying the right ones before you recruit makes the whole campaign stronger. The best candidates tend to be deeply committed to the mission, connected to a wide personal or professional network, and comfortable making an ask. Once you've found those people, the job shifts to setting them up well with sample messages, branded graphics, a clear onboarding process, and progress dashboards that make a little friendly competition part of the experience. 

 

9 spots to look before sending your recruitment email 📖

The best fundraiser is someone who's already talking about you without being asked. They're the recurring donor who brings friends to your events, the volunteer who shares your posts, the previous fundraiser who hit their goal last year. Before sending a recruitment email to your entire list, pull specific segments from your database and prioritize people who are already showing up.

 

Turning volunteers into nonprofit ambassadors 🎧

Volunteers already show up for your mission with their time. Becca Segovia walks through how nonprofits can equip supporters with messaging, embrace the way different generations share, and let go of enough narrative control to allow authentic advocacy to happen.

For your inspiration folder

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night campaign runs in more than 100 walks across North America, and the entry point couldn't be simpler: registration is free, and participants can join as individuals, team members, or team captains.

The structure does the recruitment work for you. Team captains bring in their own networks, and the campaign gives every fundraiser a personal page, a goal to hit, and a community of people doing it alongside them. For those who raise $1,000 or more, the Bright Lights Club offers recognition and exclusive incentives that make hitting that milestone feel like something worth working toward. The result is a national campaign that feels local everywhere it runs.
Topics: Nonprofits

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