Wondering how to better market your non-profit or social cause to what has been called the most philanthropic generation yet? Read on to find out about the giving trends of millennials and what causes Millennials care about.
Here we have compiled a brief overview of the research on the general outlook of Generation Y on donations and philanthropy.
Millennials are close to running the world
Millennials or Generation Y are those born roughly between 1980 and 2000, succeeded by Generation Z or Centennials. As of now, Millennials constitute the biggest part of the global workforce – they are also the biggest buyers, driving consumption in most economies.
The engagement of Millennials in philanthropy is not the highest right now – Boomers and Matures or “The Silent Generation” make larger donations and greater overall donations annually. Generation Y’s paying capacity is going to increase greatly by 2020, as they mature and inherit more wealth from their predecessors.
Engaging the cautious Millennial in your cause
With millennials contributing to a growing share of the economy, they are an important source for fund-raisers. However, they are cautious investors and usually like to stay very involved in the activities of the organizations they donate to.
The “me me me” generation is perennially connected via social media. Any organization worth its salt in the 21st century needs to have a strong online presence. It adds a great deal of credibility to your brand image. Having 3 or 4 posts per year on your Twitter feed makes it seem like your company is either defunct or not very active. Updating your social media handles on a consistent weekly or even daily basis is essential to keep your audience involved.
Your biggest resource – The Millennial Impact Report by Achieve
The US national research group Achieve releases a comprehensive report on the habits of the Millennials and the causes they invest in. The Millennial Impact Report is a rich source of information on engaging this highly socially conscious generation. The 2016 Impact Report focused mostly on observing how the presidential elections would affect the issues that Millennials are interested in.
The main findings were along these lines:
Millennials don’t believe in the ability of government to bring about any change. The disillusioned generation places more emphasis on their personal responsibility to make the world better for everyone.
Despite willing to take more responsibility for the state of the nation, Millennials are less vocal about their stances than previous generations like the Boomers. Millennials tend to avoid conflict and argument.
Millennials display less allegiance to any particular political party and instead are more supportive of political figures who touched more on the issues they care about.
How all of this translates to your marketing campaign
Possibly because of the nature of social media and the availability of more information to us at any point of time, millennials are at any point aligned with 3 to 5 causes. The initial investment in any cause is small in most cases, the ones who stand out urge individuals to take further action and be more deeply involved. Acknowledgment from peers is highly impactful in helping the process along, and deeper involvement can be incited by making further action beyond the initial investment easier.
Millennials are deeply invested in social issues; this comes from an empathy knowing that they themselves or people close to them could be similarly affected. They are more responsive to cause-based marketing that directly invokes their empathy via human-centric imagery. Make your audience aware of the real issues that and struggles that people face and how your cause can alleviate them.