It takes more than being on social media and having an eye-catching logo to attract millennials to your nonprofit.
This generation of donors and volunteers, born between 1980 and 2000, is more interested in getting their hands dirty, staying connected, and seeing the change occur firsthand than simply mailing nonprofits a check every year.
Unfortunately, many nonprofits ignore millennials. After all, most people falling within this age group are saddled with huge amounts of student loan debt. Why focus on this younger generation when Generation X and the Baby Boomers can supply them with consistent donations?
I’ll tell you why! It’s because millennials are the future of your organization. They are brand loyal and cause-driven. If your nonprofit is committed to changing lives, then millennials will be lining up to support you if you give them what they’re looking for.
Now is the time to start earning the support of millennials. Here are 5 ways to attract millennials to your nonprofit.
Nonprofits, especially large ones, cannot simply assume that a pledge form or broad platform will attract millennials. In fact, this generation is more skeptical of big businesses, corporations, and nonprofits than any other generation.
Your nonprofit needs to earn the trust of millennials. Do this by showing the impact of your work. According to the 2011 Millennial Donors Report, 78% of millennials are very likely or somewhat likely to stop donating if they didn’t know how the donation was making an impact and 90% of donors would stop giving if they do not trust an organization.
Show your impact and earn their trust by:
Don’t just rely on statistics to show your impact and attract millennials to your nonprofit. Share stories with substance.
Millennials are impulsive donors– they give when they feel inspired. Not surprisingly, 42% of donors reported that they donate to whatever inspires them at the moment.
As a nonprofit, you have to figure out how to capitalize on this generation’s spontaneity. Most often, a good story or visual adds the substance that you need. So focus on storytelling techniques that evoke emotion and always end with a statement that encourages the audience to immediately take action.
For most millennials, the Internet is one of the most important ways to connect with friends, family, businesses, and nonprofits. That means that you must put significant effort into staying active on social media and keeping your website up-to-date to attract millennials to your nonprofit.
The 2013 Millennial Impact Report found that a whopping 51% of millennials connected with a nonprofit via social media and 70% donated through a nonprofit’s website.
On average, millennials follow anywhere from 1 to 5 nonprofits online. It is up to your nonprofit to create a strong online presence to ensure that you are one of those organizations that has a millennial following.
Here are 2 easy ways to connect with millennials online:
Don’t just focus on soliciting donations, ask millennials to give their time as a volunteer.
Though older generations place a higher value on money than time, this generation believes that their time is equally as valuable as their money, meaning that they place a high value on your nonprofit if they choose to volunteer.
That value, coupled with the fact that Millennials are faced with high debt, high costs of living, and low salaries for entry-level positions, makes volunteerism a worthwhile and meaningful way for them to contribute.
As one Millennial put it: “Giving my time and leadership to an organization is something I can do while I can’t give a lot financially at this point in life.”
Millennials love a good incentive, and according to the 2015 Millennial Impact Report, this generation is highly motivated by name recognition and prizes in exchange for a donation.
Here are 2 ways that your nonprofit can incentivize giving:
It’s time for nonprofits to start adapting their strategies to align with the traits that millennials are looking for. By incorporating these 5 ways to attract millennials to your nonprofit, you are bound to turn some heads and increase your reach to this surprisingly generous generation.
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