Adapt or Die: The Generational Giving Shift Nonprofits Can't Ignore

Every generation gives differently and the nonprofits that miss this shift won't just lose donations, they'll lose relevance.

In this Quick Take episode, Stephanie breaks down how generational giving patterns are quietly reshaping philanthropy, why "the way we've always fundraised" is becoming a liability, and what adapting actually looks like when your donor base spans Boomers to Gen Z.

Whether you're a fundraiser, nonprofit leader, or founder building for the long haul, this is your wake-up call.

Because people don't give to causes. They give to who they become through them.

Like what you're hearing? Subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. 

And join me each week as I share more meaning-making tips straight to your inbox with the Meaning Makers Club.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I have a prediction. In today's ever-growing digital omni-channel spheres of influence out there, I believe that the nonprofit who doesn't adapt is going to die. Now let me explain. I have been doing a lot of reading lately around generational giving. And by generational giving, I mean how each generation aligns with the organization and then supports them and the giving methods in which they typically prefer. And so one of the things that has really interested me in this is because I'm noticing a lot of nonprofits who struggle to adapt to a more digitized online experience, whether that's an outdated website or there's less options at checkout, for example, and just a variety of ways in which they struggle to even be on social media and collect donations on social media. And so I've I've spent some time in the last couple of weeks really diving into this because I wanted to understand when it comes to how we as humans show up for a cause or show up for something that is meaningful to us, each generation does it in their own little unique way. And I think it's really valuable because if you don't adapt as a nonprofit leader, you will die in this economy. And so let's dive in. Let's talk about each generation's way of giving and begin to pull apart and pull apart those threads of how they give, how a person gives, and where in your model you can start to be a little more bold and brave. And then also start to look and see maybe what doesn't work for your audience. Maybe you're using a technology or a medium that doesn't work for your particular audience. So let's talk about generational giving trends. Um, you know, older cohorts like Baby Boomers still dominate at total absolute dollars and write the largest average checks, while millennials and Gen Z are drastically kind of reshaping the philanthropic landscape through what I would call as rapid growth in like the average donation or the average subscription style recurring gifts. Let's kind of dig in a little bit. So baby boomers specifically, they still anchor most of the philanthropic revenue and drive, I think somewhere nearly up to 70% of total giving in the US. I saw some numbers. They typically give the largest average amounts, you know, well over probably three to five thousand per year, which might seem counterintuitive because you might be thinking that's for some of you, you might be thinking that's not that much money. For others, it's a gold mine. Um, and they really utilize and love direct mail pieces, email appeals, and more traditional fundraising events. Gen X is often labeled as the Sandwich Generation, and they really love to split their contributions between financial gifts and volunteering. And they tend to bridge the gap between more traditional and digital giving, but they still respond heavily to things like email, though texting isn't as frequent. Generation X was probably the last generation, by the way, on an analog non-digital life or raised on a non-digital life. And millennials who come next, they continue to close the giving gap with older generations. And they're actually set to inherit millions upon millions of generational wealth. And so this is, you know, very much a, you know, I would say an audience to look towards. There is significant growth in charitable giving in the millennial generation. They typically favor recurring donation models, subscription models, peer-to-peer crowdfunding. Um, they really love impact tracking. They um, you know, were they digital savvy in that they weren't born in the digital era, but they've bridged over from an analog to a digital experience. And then you have Generation Z, which is the youngest cohort of adult donors. Um, and they are giving at exponential rates, but they are very much intensely, I would say cause first, impact first rather than institution first, meaning they look for the cause, they're not very much loyal to just one organization. They are very much heavily influenced by social media. They are impact creators, they are all about advocacy-based giving. And, you know, at the end of the day, they all like to engage in different ways. And if you're building out a successful campaign and you want to reach all age brackets, you really need to use what I would consider as distinct messaging and platforms to meet the generational preferences. Um, if it's silent generation and boomers, you really want to start to cultivate direct mail, phone calls, physical events like galas. Gen X and Millennials typically utilize robust digital presences. They like email marketing, they like uh recurrent giving programs, um, they like subscription monthly installment type programs. They're very much into um, I mentioned email, there's millennials more than Gen X is text messaging. And then you have Gen Z, and you know, they are mobile optimized, they are online first. Um so text campaigns are really, really popular with them. Crowdfunding links, they utilize social media to to build out rapport with an organization or a cause. And, you know, even consider micro or macro influencers if that's an angle that you want to take in terms of how to reach them. Either way, across all of these mediums, across all these generations, it's about the relationship, of course. So, how do you help someone feel like they belong? And then how do you help them understand the impact? And that really boils down to relationship, whether that's an email or you pick up the phone and call. Knowing this and understanding how each generation lives inside their digital spheres, we need to take a step back and say, how am I directing my efforts to raise money for each one of these generations? And am I needing to maybe change the way that I ask for donations or at least provide different mechanisms for donations based on my unique audience? Now, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that you absolutely have to send direct mail. I will say this again: if you don't adapt, you will die. Because newer generations, especially Gen Alpha, so coming up now right behind Gen Z, they are not only digital natives, but they are digitally immersed. Their world is digital, and they were millennials, kind of lived offline for a while and then lived online. Gen Alpha is completely immersed in the digital and only sometimes lives offline. That's wild, right, when you think about it. So, knowing this about Gen Alpha and understanding that they are next in line and they are immersed, most organizations haven't even been able to master a digital checkout platform to the degree in which Gen Z can come up and say, Hey, I feel really strongly about connecting or donating to this particular organization because digitally I get the information I need and it's seamless, and the user experience is really great for me, right? But Gen Alpha needs that immersion, and most of us are not prepared for that immersion. Again, adapt or die. So a couple of things to consider today and to take away is are you willing to adapt? And then go look at your platforms, look at the way that you um ask for donations and funds, look at your mail campaigns, look at your digital platforms, look at the way that you ask for recurring givers, look at one-time givers. How are people already donating to you? Where are you seeing the biggest return? Does your audience's ages line up with the way that you're asking for money? Just do a quick audit and start to look at gosh, am I even aligning with my audience or have I just gotten used to doing it one way because that's what was told to me 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago? What I want you to do is head on over to Instagram. I want you to tell me, DM me, and let me know what you found out when you did this exercise. And tell me if you had any revelations or any new ideas from this conversation about how we can start to look at generational giving and how you can adapt your organization to best fit the needs of your audience and the needs of your organization when it comes to fundraising. I've put my Instagram in the show notes. I'm at Built for Meaning on Instagram. Come and say hi, subscribe to the newsletter, um, subscribe to this podcast, and until next time.