With the 2024 presidential election rapidly taking over news cycles, it’s smart to question how another divisive campaign season will impact our P2P fundraising events. Competing with the clutter of political ads and campaign contribution requests feels like a daunting uphill battle.

We looked back at P2PPF’s 2016 data archives (because 2020 stats were so skewed by COVID) but unfortunately didn’t uncover any relevant trends in the year-over-year numbers. We’re confident, however, there are much more valuable insights to be found in your organization’s data.

So, what can you do today to better understand the impact of elections on the P2P campaigns of tomorrow?

• Start with your own trends. Dig into your own data archives and analyze how your campaigns performed in 2012 and 2016 compared to surrounding years. How did participation compare year-over-year? How did peer-to-peer fundraising compare to overall giving to your organization? This could help you set your own benchmarks based on the variables from those years.
  
  
• Break down your strategy on a state-by-state level. How do your events perform in blue states compared to red states or purple states? Understanding the communities where your campaigns are most successful could help you uncover new communication channels or opportunities for smarter messaging segmentation. While staying authentic to your mission, even slight wording changes could better appeal to different audiences in different states.
  
  
• Maximize your investment. For political marketers, not every state is a battleground. States with close polls and contentious down-ballot races require greater advertising investment than those that historically lean one way or the other. These battleground states will see the most clutter, making it harder for nonprofits to have their messages break through. This could make it a good year to double down on events in other states.

By leveraging historical data and tailoring strategies to different political landscapes, you can better navigate the challenges posed by the 2024 election season… and beyond.