Racial Discrimination Tops List of Causes Millennials Care Most About, Study Finds

Title: 2017 Millennial Impact Report, Part II

Organization: Achieve

Summary: Millennials identified civil rights and racial discrimination as the foremost social issue of concern. Two causes tied as the second-ranking concern: improving health care and the joint category of employment and job creation. Next was climate change.

In 2016, millennials ranked the top three causes as education, followed by health care and then the economy.

The 2016 presidential election spurred involvement in causes and social issues, the report found.

The report examines millennials’ values, civic-engagement levels, and attitudes about organizations, including nonprofits.

The most common action that millennials reported taking to address issues of concern was to vote for public officials whose positions reflected their own. That was followed by signing petitions. Posting on social media also ranked high in actions taken, although the millennials surveyed expressed doubt that such actions could bring about change.

More than half of respondents (57 percent) said they remain confident or very confident in the ability of an organization they supported to solve a social issue of concern to them.

Some additional findings:

• Most millennials did not see themselves as advocates. They were more likely to identify themselves as “supporters” of a cause rather than an activist, advocate, or ally.
• A majority (52 percent) said they believed they had the power to create positive change. Only 14 percent did not believe they could improve things. A third were unsure.
• About 35 percent of millennials said the frequency or amount of their charitable donations had increased since the presidential election.
• About 31 percent reported that the number of hours they volunteered had increased since the election.
• And 37 percent said the way they purchased products and or services had changed since the election.

“I feel like you can be an activist in small ways that make a big impact,” one survey participant said. “For me, by making a donation and talking to my friends about it, I might be inspiring action in others. I pay attention to where I spend my money, too, [which is] the biggest impact you can have in certain areas. So, I would say I am [an activist], but not in the same way other people might think.”