Lots of Well-Educated Young Adults Give—but Sums Are Small

Book Worm Angels, a Chicago charity that encourages kids to read for fun, makes young adults a key part of all of its operations, including asking them to play a role in the charity’s leadership.

The organization has three board members under the age of 30, all of whom were recruited through Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Those board members are, in turn, bringing new donors with them, says Michael Ban, the group’s executive director.

“When it comes to appealing to young donors, the lesson is, it takes one to know one,” Mr. Ban says.

Book Worm Angels’ aggressive pursuit of young donors and volunteers is unusual in the nonprofit world, because few charities expect people in their 20s and 30s to give.

But a new survey of more than 6,500 people from 20 to 35 years old shows that young adults who have jobs and have done volunteer work or participated in events for charities are not only likely to give money to support those organizations, but are also likely to enlist their friends to help.

Seventy-five percent of the young people who provided data for the 2012 Millennial Impact Report said they gave money to a nonprofit in 2011, while 70 percent said they have helped solicit donations by encouraging colleagues and others to support a cause.

The survey was conducted by Achieve and Johnson, Grossnickle, and Associates, two groups that consult with charities on fundraising.

“What we heard over and over again is that millennials are eager to give if they’re already engaged in a conversation with the charity,” says Derrick Feldmann, chief executive of Achieve.

Interest Not Universal

While the report suggests that young people want to give and volunteer, fundraising experts caution against applying its conclusions to everyone in the so-called millennial generation.

The young adults who participated in the survey are both highly educated—more than 95 percent hold at least a bachelor’s degree—and employed. Nearly 60 percent of the participants reported earning $25,000 to $99,000 a year. According to recent jobs data, the unemployment rate for young adults is nearly 16 percent, almost twice the national average.

“The huge majority of millennials are struggling financially,” says Allison Fine, co-author of The Networked Nonprofit. “It’s great that this particular cohort is already giving, but we should at least acknowledge that they’re not representative of all millennials.”

The report also found that young adults who do give to charity tend to give small amounts. Of those who donated to a nonprofit organization in 2011, 58 percent reported that their largest contribution was $100 or less. Only 16 percent gave $500 or more to one organization.

These numbers suggest that charities should have modest goals when they recruit young donors.

But charities that appeal to people in their 20s and early 30s have a long-term advantage, says Jennifer A. Jones, a fundraising consultant and a researcher at the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research at the University of San Diego.

“There’s a whole chain of involvement that starts with awareness, volunteering, and small donations. But the chain doesn’t stop there,” says Ms. Jones. “Charities who are already successfully engaging these young donors are going to be able to ask them to give more.”

Technology a Key Resource

Technology plays an essential role in that relationship. The Web sites of organizations remain the primary hub for learning about a nonprofit, seeking volunteer opportunities, and making donations. Sixty-five percent of young people said they preferred to learn about a nonprofit through a Web site. About 70 percent reported that they had made a gift online in 2011, and 7 percent said they had donated via text messaging or through a mobile site.

Vanessa Boynton, a Winston-Salem, N.C., adviser to nonprofit organizations on social-media strategy, says the report contains clear messages for charities that want to build relationships with young donors.

“You are never going to have access to these new donors if you don’t adapt to the way they prefer to interact,” she says.

Despite the reliance of young people on technology, charities also need to build relationships with such donors offline. The report found that a surprising number of young donors still respond to more traditional fund-raising appeals. Nearly 40 percent of those who made a gift reported that they had responded to an in-person request, and 34 percent said they had made a gift through the mail.

The majority of younger donors said that they care most about whether their money will make a tangible difference.

Fifty-four percent of young people said they would respond to the message “Your support will make an impact; here’s how. …”

In three focus groups conducted by researchers, the participants responded most positively to appeals that provided concrete examples of what a nonprofit could purchase or provide as a result of a gift.

Ms. Boynton says the report’s findings should help charities more effectively tailor their fundraising appeals.

“Be very clear in your messaging—what you need, why you need it, and where that money is going to go,” she says.

Jolkona, a Seattle charity that raises money for small overseas projects, relies heavily on young donors who give money online, but it supplements its online appeals with real-world efforts to involve young supporters in its work.

For example, when young adults seek to volunteer, the charity makes a point of trying to match their professional skills with the organization’s needs.

“We want to make sure that they’re getting something meaningful out of the experience,” says Nadia Khawaja, a co-founder of Jolkona. Young volunteers, she notes, are helping to lead the group’s social-media and public-relations efforts.

Persuading Friends

Ms. Khawaja says Jolkona (from the Bengali word for a drop of water) makes a point of highlighting the work of its volunteers on the group’s Facebook page. “It’s a way of recognizing their work, but it also encourages online giving among friends.”

Jolkona counts more than 500 people under age 35 among its donors, many of whom have found the group through Facebook friends. Individuals who raise money for the group are encouraged to share their stories and photos on Facebook.

“Cross-promoting is really key,” says Ms. Khawaja.

Such efforts are particularly important in encouraging young donors to persuade friends, family members, and colleagues to give money to causes or groups they care about.

Of the 70 percent of people in the millennial study who said they had helped raise money for a nonprofit, more than 40 percent reported they had promoted a charity on Facebook and posted a link so that friends could give. Twenty-one percent have set up an online fund-raising page for their favorite cause.

Discounted Tickets

The report also found that, like their older peers, young adults who volunteered were much more likely to make a donation.

In focus groups, young people said they were particularly interested in volunteer opportunities that allowed them to use their education and professional knowledge.

“They want real responsibilities and an opportunity to put their skills and expertise to work,” says Angela White, chief executive of Johnson, Grossnickle, and Associates. “They don’t want to sit at the kiddie table.”

For Book Worm Angels, giving young people a seat at the board table has led to a number of new ideas, Mr. Ban says. And some of those ideas have helped the group raise more money.

When the group recently held a fundraising benefit, board members made a point of slashing ticket costs to attract more young supporters. While regular tickets sold for $125, the group made discounted tickets available for young adults for $75.

The strategy paid off. Twenty of the reduced price tickets sold, raising an additional $1,500, and providing an opportunity to reach some new supporters.