ProSpeak: Engaging Young Donors

To reach young donors, you have to consider what they respond to based on life, work and personal interest. In our experience and research, we’ve found that young donors respond best to organizations offering the following four benefits.

1. A personal connection to the mission. Typically, young donors are involved in organizations related to causes or issues by which they or someone close to them have been personally affected. If a woman fights cancer, she might enlist in a cancer-related organization. If a man loves to read, he might volunteer to battle illiteracy. If a young family has overcome poverty, they might volunteer at a food bank. Once connected to an organization, these people want to help shape the direction or have the opportunity to directly assist someone served by it.
2. Networking. Young donors and professionals view involvement as an opportunity to network with like-minded individuals. They also see involvement in an organization as a means to meet other professionals and local community leaders — possibly with the objective of eventually serving in larger, more powerful organizations.
3. Social. Young donors are encouraged by opportunities to work with and be involved in organizations with a social atmosphere. They want opportunities to volunteer, attend or participate in programs of organizations where the experiences are lively, upbeat and positive.
4. Ease of use. Young donors are looking for easy ways to get involved. They respond to calls to action and clear methods to make a difference. If they find Web sites and other source of information cluttered of difficult to navigate, they’ll move on to another, easier-to-reach opportunity.

All organizations should embrace these four key elements as they develop a fundraising strategy for young donors. It can be a fairly straightforward process. For example, some organizations develop societies and clubs for young donors — as part of the club, they connect with other young donors in unique social settings, meet with key leaders and volunteer. These kinds of societies provide an entry point for young donors to get involved. Yes, social media can help to support this effort, but don’t assume that social media alone will build this base.