Millennial Donors Want Engagement on Facebook, Right? Think Again.

Maybe. But if you want to really engage them, they put a very high value on face to face time.


There's a new study fresh off the press that every AFP member should read. The 2010 Millennial Donor Study, conducted by Achieve and Johnson Grossnickle Associates (JGA), reports findings from more than 2,200 people between the ages of 20 and 40 across the U.S. about their giving habits and engagement preferences. 75% of survey participants fell into that mysterious age group of high powered texters and savvy multi-media users, the millennial generation--otherwise known as Generation Y.

Basically, the study found that when Millennials get involved with a nonprofit, in addition to giving financially, they want:

• To affect change
• Create direction
• Access to the organization’s leadership

Woah! Are we ready for those things? We better be, if we want to influence and attract the next generation of donors. Although they may not have a lot of money to give now, they will. And they're growing up fast, getting into the stream of the workplace and influence many others.
Here's some of what stood out to me:

• 91% of Millennial donors are at least somewhat likely to respond to a face-to-face request for money from a nonprofit, with 27% being highly likely to respond. Only 8% are highly likely to respond to an e-mail request. YET, E-mail is Millennial donors’ most preferred communication method, with 93% of respondents favoring it for receiving information. Facebook comes in at only 23.8%.

So Millenials prefer e-mail communication, but only 8% are likely to respond to an e-mail request? This will take some consideration from our nonprofits. Any thoughts?

• 71.9% of Millennial donors don’t need to volunteer for an organization before they donate.

That was a shocker for me!

• 75% of Millennial donors are at least somewhat interested in working closely with organization leadership to define the direction of the organization or helping the board create solutions to challenges. Maybe not a huge surprise, but how do we engage them? Community Youth Development is a good local source.

So what are factors that influence giving?

• Millennial donors say they would be likely or highly likely to give if asked by a family member (74.6%) or a friend (62.8 %). Only 37.8% would be likely or highly likely to give is asked by a coworker. Hmmmm....interesting. So we still need to keep their parents in mind but ALSO remember to ask our current donors to share their charitable passions and organizations with their kids. Big one.

There are lots of other jewels in this report. Hope you'll check it out and post your comments on the AFP blog.

What are your thoughts? Any experiences with this at your nonprofit?

-Susie Bowie