Generational Marketing

Younger and smaller versions of governing boards for not-for-profits are becoming a strong force at Indianapolis-area nonprofits, despite having no voting power. Young professional boards, usually consisting of members ages 21 to 40, vary in size and responsibilities, but the groups are seen as a way to engage Millennials—an age group nonprofit leaders believe they…

Impact is not achieved by one person, one Millennial or one donation alone. Impact happens when you tap into the collective power of your donors. When we stop treating Millennials as an isolated entity and unite them with givers of all levels and sizes, we, in turn, empower them to actualize that long sought-after impact—even on a $50 donation. Because with the strength in numbers of tens of thousands of Millennials giving just $50, the impact is both unparallelled and accessible...

“You need to Snapchat them.” “They live on Snapchat. If you want Millennials to donate, you have to be an active Snapper.” I cringed when I heard these words. As a Millennial (I’m 21) who works professionally in the nonprofit space (I built an analytics tool for fundraisers) those two sentences physically pained me. As…

While knowing facts and statistics is interesting, actually doing something with that knowledge can be revolutionary—or at least a start to improving our fundraising efforts. As you consider the final eight weeks of 2016, here are some facts that can give you a boost as you make your final efforts to meet your goals for the year...

As the Detroit Zoological Society prepared to build its new penguin center, the zoo's development staff considered whether to place "text to give" signs near the construction area. After talking to other institutions and a handful of tech vendors, the zoo staff decided against the requests. Response rates at other zoos to such signs "was…

Before digital connectivity, nonprofit organizations benefited from concerts that solicited donations and touted their causes. The 1971 Concert for Bangladesh raised money for UNICEF; 1985’s Live Aid sent famine relief to Ethiopia; and since 2004, the Black Ball has collected millions to fight AIDS. Now the charity concert model is changing. Millennials prefer festivals to…

Charities looking to bolster their fundraising efforts should focus their attention on Baby Boomers. This group will provide the bulk of money for charities for at least the next decade. But be careful—while Baby Boomers provide a great charitable opportunity, there are some things you should know about targeting this group in your fundraising activities...

While many nonprofit peer-to-peer programs have been able to connect with the Millennial audience based on school or institution structures, the audience often does not often transition to post-academia participation. Why is that?...

Understanding our audience members and their motivations is important to successfully recruiting them to support our causes. Born in 1980 or later, Millennials are the first generation of digital natives; at about the time they entered high school, the internet became a public space. Half of this group, age 26 and younger, entered high school with social media, first Myspace and then Facebook...

Cultural organizations desperately need to get better at reaching Millennials in order to thrive in the future. But in order to have these conversations, we need to clear up some craziness. The aim of this week’s "Fast Facts" video is to set the record straight: Talking about the need to reach Millennials is responsible and…