Tennessee Valley Institute for Nonprofit Excellence
Annual Giving in a Millennial World jg
1. Annual Giving in a
Millennial World
Millennials enjoying their Homecoming
at Catlin Gabel School reception
Millennials bidding on wine packages
at Catlin Gabel School auction
Presenters:
Joset Grenon, director of development,
Catlin Gabel School
Marianne Falk, annual fund director,
Catlin Gabel School
2. So you want to engage
Millennials…good news!
“72% of Millennials are eager to join a non-profit
organization and a little over 50% would like to
give monthly to a charitable organization”
--2013 Millennial Impact Research Report
Is your institution ready?
3. MILLENNIALS:
Who and Why?
Age group:
• 21-35
Defining characteristics:
• Largest and most diverse generation
• Politically progressive
• Least religiously observant
• More inclined to trust in institutions than predecessor generations
• Generalized as coddled, protected, overly confident and self-
centered
• Transforming communities, relieving suffering and pursuing social
change
• Wired to work differently: collaboratively, transparently, interactively,
and entrepreneurially
• Want to affect positive change in their local communities and
around the world.
4. Giving in a Millennial World
Millennials first support causes they are
passionate about (rather than
institutions), so it’s up to organizations
to inspire them and show them that
their support can make a tangible
difference on the wider issue.
The question for nonprofits becomes
then: How can we fully invest in this
generation, immerse them in the
cause, and maximize the impact of
their interest, time, and giving?
5. WHY Millennials Give
They feel inspired by the organization.
How? Stories and photos showing how
they have helped.
There is a specific example of how their
gift will make an impact.
Their gift will be matched. Millennials
want to see how it will make an impact.
A personal ask. A family member,
colleague or friend asks them to give.
There is a fundraising goal specified.
They serve in a board or leadership
capacity.
6. • Prefer to connect via technology: Social media, email, texting
• Share in micro ways
• Facilitate and rely on peer influence
• Volunteer along a continuum of support
• Give to have an impact
Need-to-know trends
7. Where do we start?
What you already know about the right channels:
Have an up-to-date, well-designed website.
Make it mobile-friendly.
Be present on social media such as Facebook,
Instagram, Evertrue, Twitter and YouTube.
Follow up with relevant, easy-to-read emails.
What is the real draw for Millennials:
A compelling (but short) message
that inspires them toward impulsive
sharing and contributing. Cross
pollinate across all platforms.
Messages should maintain
“real time relevance,” in that it
connects with and pertains to
their interests in the moment as well as over
time.
9. CONNECT
Millennials prefer to share information about the cause, not the organization
itself.
Attract the mobile-friendly Millennial audience by:
a) Crafting mobile-friendly email content that calls readers to action
75 percent of Millennials have used a mobile device to look up causes and organizations to find more
information. The organization helps them or someone they know.
b) Post regularly on social media: Engage early. Studies show Millennials more likely on Instagram,
but they like to move around. Include LinkedIn, Twitter, Evertrue, YouTube and Facebook. Use
images. Use “Social Media Ambassadors.” (Montclair Kimberley Academy)
c) Write news or action-oriented headlines to deliver organizational news
Organizations should think “mobile first” and focus on responsive design:
a) Content
b) Navigation easy (one-two clicks)
c) Context around the organization’s work and success stories
Your website should:
a) Show your work
b) Demonstrate how potential constituents can help
c) Offer ways people can get involved
You want millennials to want to share your content!
11. HOW Millennials Like to Give
1. ONLINE WEBSITE 84%
2. IN-PERSON 48%
3. SMARTPHONE (MOBILE WEBSITE)
4. MAIL
5. PAYROLL DEDUCTION
6. GROUPON, LIVING SOCIAL, OR OTHER OFFER
7. TEXT
8. OVER THE PHONE 11% (Millennials HATE phone calls)
Email, text, social media Phone
13. Examples from
Catlin Gabel School
GiveDay at Catlin Gabel School for alumni
o 120 donors made a gift on November 18, 2014
o Alumni volunteers helped push outreach and spread the message on
social media and individual emails
o Message was specific about participation and not dollar amount
o 4 postcards: 2 electronic and 2 physical (focused verbiage around
participation and ways to give)
o Alumni board also achieved 100% participation that day
o Overall this put us ahead of where we have been by the end of Nov.
for the last two years.
o More than 100 Catlin Gabel alumni spanning 50 years from around the
globe showed their generous spirit of giving on November 18 raising
over $11,500.
o The message was clear: every alumni gift counts.
“Catlin Gabel thrives because alumni like you play an active role in fostering
a sense of community.”
16. Successful GiveDay Strategies
o Develop a simple and specific message
o State your goals:
1. dollar amount goal
2. purpose of fundraising
o Define and publicize timeline
o Keep it simple and specific for social media, use a hashtag
o Use all platforms: mail, online (web and social), email, text
17. Developing a millennial
engagement strategy for
giving—is to provide
leadership, service, and
truly transformational
opportunities for Millennials
to affect the direction and
impact of the community.
Take ACTION!
Final Thought:
Develop a Millennial
Engagement Strategy
19. Another less cyclical trend in peer fundraising is
that Millennials are starting to ask for donations
in lieu of gifts for birthdays and other events.
This trend is worth watching (and capitalizing
on) as social networks enable and facilitate
such giving with greater reach and speed.
Overall, close to 83% of respondents made a
financial gift to an organization in 2012. What’s
equally important is how they made those
donations and how they prefer to give going
forward.
The overwhelming majority—a combined 84%—
gave or wants to give via website, while giving
in person came in a distant second at 48%.
THE MILLENNIAL IMPACT REPORT
Research
an organization’s perspective, donation
requests that focus on how the gift will benefit
the recipients will garner higher response.
Millennials’ prefer channels (websites and email as
opposed to telemarketing) significantly increases
chances for conversion.
While Millennials don’t give a lot, they do want
to give what they have. One new finding this
is that 52% of respondents said they’d be
interested in monthly giving. This format offers
nonprofits an opportunity to experiment with
soliciting smaller but more regular gifts.
Millennials showed significant interest in using
their network—family and friends—to fundraise
on behalf of causes they were passionate
about. Run/Race/Walk events are the highest
peer fundraising methods by Millennials with
a historic presence within school and college
programs. However, given these events’
cyclical nature, they sometimes swell short-term
participation numbers without always leading to
long-term retention.
