How Much Do Fundraising Events Really Cost You?

Peer-to-peer Fundraising is a powerful way to engage supporters and raise funds, but have you ever considered the true cost of running a campaign?

The costs could be eating into your donations more than you realise.

From donation cuts to admin time, the wrong setup can cost your charity more than you think.

The Hidden Costs of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Many charities rely on third-party platforms to run their fundraising events. But are they taking more than they give? When choosing a provider, consider:

• Platform fees – Is the pricing clear and good value?
• Lost donor data – Some platforms don't give you full access to your fundraisers' supporters, limiting stewardship opportunities.
• Time-consuming admin – Manually inputting donor data into your CRM wastes valuable time and resources.

Real Costs: A Case Study

One of our hapiLite Fundraising customers has received 185 fundraising donations so far. If they were manually inputting this donor data into their CRM, they'd have spent over 15 hours just on admin (at 5 minutes per record).

With the average Fundraising Officer salary at £28,000 per year (£14.36 per hour), this equates to:

📊 Staff time cost saving: £221.14

Now, imagine if that time was used for supporter engagement instead.

A Smarter, More Cost-Effective Alternative

With hapiLite Fundraising, our customers:

✅ Keep 100% of their Gift Aid profits (unlike competitors who take a 5% cut).

✅ Own all of their 2nd-degree donor data, automatically transferred to their CRM.

✅ Save hours of admin time, streamlining donor stewardship and reporting.

What's the Real Cost?

For the same campaign, with an average donation of £33 and 91% of donors adding Gift Aid, here's how costs compare: 

💡 Saving with hapiLite Fundraising: £340 for just this one event.

Now, multiply that across multiple events in a year—how much is your fundraising platform really costing you?

Why does this matter?

✅ Predictable pricing – hapiLite remains £100/month, no matter how much you raise unless you opt for a PAYGO model. The choice is yours.

✅ 100% of Gift Aid retained – unlike competitors who take a cut.

✅ No hidden processing fees.

✅ More time for Fundraising – not admin.

✅ Increased ROI, meaning you get more out of the fundraising events you run.

If your fundraising platform is eating into your hard-earned donations, it's time to rethink your platform.

The question isn't whether peer-to-peer Fundraising is effective—it's whether your platform is costing you too much to make it worthwhile.

Are you making the most of your fundraising potential?