In Trump Era, Millennials See Nonprofits as Change Agents

Spurred by the election of President Trump and bitter division over social issues, millennials see nonprofits as part of the fix to a country they believe is badly broken, according to a study released Thursday.

The findings are a counterpoint to research suggesting that millennials don’t have the affinity for nonprofits that older generations do. “Right now, millennials believe in organizations and in other ways to effect change,” writes Derrick Feldmann, founder of the “Millennial Impact Report,” an annual study of those born between 1980 and 2000. “Together, millennials and nonprofits can create solutions. But if we as nonprofit entities won’t adjust to their needs, millennials — our new and future constituents — will move on without us.”

Among its recommendations, the report suggests that nonprofits spotlight their positions on key social issues such as immigration and race relations to try to harness millennial dissatisfaction. It also proposes tapping the talent of millennials; developing close relationships with them; and focusing communications more on how supporters, volunteers, and others make a nonprofit’s work possible than on the organization itself.

The report is based on a survey of 3,000 millennials, plus individual interviews and follow-up surveys with smaller groups, conducted over two years.

‘Tipping Point’

Though millennials account for a very small share of giving, their desire for change may be bending that trend line. Some 35 percent of those surveyed said they had increased their donations since the election.

“Last year was a tipping point,” says Steve MacLaughlin, vice president for data and analytics at Blackbaud. “There are several examples of progressive organizations that found people who had been activists or supporters in different ways also became donors in droves.” Many of these new donors, he says, were young adults.

Other findings from the “Millennial Impact Report”:

• Asked to identify one or more means for solving social issues, 57 percent of respondents said they believed in the power of organizations — more than the 53 percent who cited the power of their own actions
• A year after the election, slightly more than half said the country was “off track.”
• Before the election, education was the most important issue among millennials. Six months after the election, civil rights and discrimination topped their list of concerns.