Generational Fundraising and Nonprofit Marketing for Charities

today we are talking about generational  marketing for non-profit fundraising because each generation has unique life experiences that  influences their giving habits and preferences and knowing these preferences is crucial  to developing our fund development strategy our non-profit marketing plan and even  our cultivation and stewardship practices now i worked for an organization a while back  where i kept bumping up against resistance when i tried to implement more digital strategies in  their

defense the development team was comprised of baby boomers and the silent generation  they would often say things like i would never participate in that or i wouldn't do that  but younger donors do participate in digital fundraising in fact they prefer it and one of the  biggest mistakes that we can make as fundraisers is to fail to see how our donors want to be asked  engaged and recognized it's not about what we would connect with it's about what our different  donors would connect with so in

today's video we're going to cover the five main generations and  i've broken each generation up using timestamps and i'm gonna link that below so you can come back  and review this video again if you're working on a specific campaign for a specific generation  so hit the thumbs up and let's get to it before we begin i want to get a little technical  and touch on donor segmentation it's a strategy where we split our donor populations into smaller  groups or segments based on similarities in giv

ing preferences communication preferences  or other factors like demographics donor segmentation allows us to target each segment with  communications ass engagement and recognition that they would prefer instead of just blasting out one  generic and uninspiring campaign now generational marketing is about creating prospective donor  personas based on our segmented donor population using the generational information so each  generation has its own set of values preferences and shared experiences

which influences the way  they think act and donate and not all generations are created equal growing up during different  economic times different technological advances different politics it all shapes our preferences  and the way we connect with causes that we are passionate about for example younger tech  savvy donors embrace mobile and social giving trends will seniors still donate heavily through  direct mail so jen's ears were born 1996 to about present and make up about 20.4 percent of

the us  population and Gen Zers grew up watching their parents struggle with an unstable economy and a  highly charged political environment around social issues and this has really helped to find their  beliefs and has pushed many of them to become activists for change they're often referred to as  philanthropy tears meaning they're motivated to support nonprofit organizations and drive social  change while many gen zers are not yet old enough to be working and making their own donations  they

are becoming one of the most socially conscious generations they are one of the largest  potential donor bases so learning to engage and communicate with them now can make a significant  difference for charities in years to come now some giving stats 30 have donated to a charity  and 59 were motivated to make that gift because of something they saw on social media and 10  want to start their own non-profit organization social media is the best way to connect with  jen's ears 98 have a smart phon

e and they're on social media about 15 hours a week and the  best way to attract them is with video content or social media influencers play a huge role in  defining the organizations that gen zeros trust you need to be savvy and authentic  with your social media though because gen z is also savvy they've become very adept  at collecting and analyzing information online they are comfortable with technology and prefer  virtual experiences and ways of communicating as such they have a strong prefe

rence for  mobile giving innovation convenience security and escapism these are the top trends among gen  z's and i've covered many of these as such as fundraising in the metaverse qr codes tapping  into new platforms like discord and tick tock because it's essential to stay updated on  technology and media to keep up with these young donors and finally accountability transparency  is crucial for this generation because they value honesty and integrity from the organizations  they support now mi

llennials aka gen y were born 1981-1995 and they make up about 25.9 percent of  the u.s population and millennials grew up in an age where we saw huge increases in technology and  they were introduced to social media platforms my kids are millennials and they share many of the  common traits such as collaboration expressiveness empathy well these young supporters may not  have a giving capacity of older generations they are the most active demographic donating  to charity they may not give as mu

ch or as often but they donate their time in material goods  they're also the most involved in advocacy now some giving stats eighty-four percent  give to charity forty percent are enrolled in monthly giving program programs and forty  six percent donate to crowdfunding campaigns millennial and gen z's have the highest social  media response rates still this generation is more likely to engage with fundraising strategies  like email campaigns and peer-to-peer campaigns millennials also have the

highest response rates  to text messages they are tech savvy so it's vital to make sure that our communications our websites  are all optimized and mobile friendly millennials want to engage with nonprofits online and the  best way to keep them engaged is to use responsive designs for emails websites and donation pages  now this generation is very connected to their peers and they're more likely to participate in  peer-to-peer and crowdfunding they raise money for walks runs cycle events they're

also more likely  to be influenced to donate by recommendations from their friends so user generated content  is perfect for attracting millennials and finally millennials are more likely to ask  their friends and family to replace a physical birthday gift with donating to a specific  non-profit generation x my generation was born 1965 to 1980 and it's the smallest generation  sitting at about 20 percent of the u.s population and gen xers we grew up with rising divorce rates  a declining econom

y we're often called latchkey both parents were working and these events  influenced us to prioritize self-sufficiency and individuality now some giving stats with top  supporters of human rights environmental issues and health services 49 are enrolled in monthly  giving programs 31 gave because of emails and 59 are inspired to donate because of something they  saw on social media now this is the group to call on if you need volunteers for your organizations  of events we love to give our time t

alents and money to worthy causes we also donate more  frequently than other age groups this generation is comfortable with technology gen xers value  donating and connecting with nonprofits online primarily through mobile devices and social  media so more than 88 percent of generation x is on facebook and they respond well to  peer-to-peer fundraisers hosted on facebook this demographic also responds well to email  campaigns that detail your organization's mission and give them an opportunity f

or monthly giving  once again transparency is key with gen x so be clear about your goals and where their donations  will be going to build trust and credibility and translate their donation amounts into tangible  results to show them the impact of their support through visual content like photos and videos and  gen xers will also tend to partake in workplace philanthropy bull gen x and millennial donors are  four to five times more likely to participate in corporate sponsored fundraisers and fi

nally tap  into gen x's love for volunteering baby boomers were born 1946 to 1964 and account for 23.6 of  the us population baby boomers grew up fighting for women's liberation and civil rights they are  often characterized by their strong work ethic and propensity to value relationships as such they  tend to be the most loyal supporters they make up the majority of overall donations to charity  at 43 most of this generation regularly gives to charities and is heavily involved in monthly  givin

g programs so some giving stats 72 give to charity 49 are enrolled in monthly giving 24  gave in response to a direct mail so boomers have begun to embrace online and increasing numbers  will boomers still give primarily through direct mail appeals they tend to donate online more now  so make sure donation forms are highly visible and easy to use and also add monthly giving  options and promote this recurring gift program baby boomers are still the largest consumer of  traditional media but they

're also using facebook facebook is the most used platform for this  demographic an email newsletter is likely to be read by this generation they like to receive  updates and donation asks via email baby boomers are very particular about how you address  them so make sure your emails are personalized millennials and gen x donors aren't  the only ones who like peer-to-peer boomers do need to be given the right tools though  and resources and encouragement to get started so you can provide them wi

th the materials they need  like email templates and sample social media posts boomers love a story create a story around  your giving strategy which will help attract more donors to your cause and finally all  donors like to be thanked but especially baby boomers they are loyal but they can also  change loyalties depending on how you steward them the silent generation was born 1945 or earlier  this generation is also known as the matures or the civics they represent 26 of overall  giving they l

ive through the great depression and the second world war while they are a  shrinking generation members give the most per capita each year and donate the largest  number of charities so some giving stats their top supporters of emergency relief veterans  politics and the arts and they represent 20.6 of total giving matured owners rely the most  on direct mail to support and engage with the causes they care about even though they prefer  to send in an old-fashioned check in the mail 35 have made

an online gift while most younger  generations prefer not to interact via phone calls this generation still is responsive to  this means of communication and fundraising and planned giving is a donation method that is  perfectly suited to mature donors because they appreciate when charities develop that strong  one-on-one relationship with them thank you so much for staying to the end and if you found  this valuable please hit the thumbs up so youtube knows i did a good job i also want to ackno

wledge  classy and the community fund for the stats that we covered today i'm going to link that in the  description so thank you and see you next week