While they individually are not significant donors (60% give $100 or less a year), collectively Millennials represent a significant source of new revenue for not-for-profits. Here’s evidence: 3 million donors made a total of 6.5 million donations online to Campaign Obama, which added up to a total of more than $500 million. Of those 6.5 million donations, 6 million were in increments of $100 or less.
Gen Y is are literally ‘pre-wired’ to support causes. First, they are connected. According to Harris Interactive, 75% of Millennials have a Facebook account, 29% check it every day (or more frequently) and 8% use Twitter. Second they are motivated. Gen Y’s volunteer rates are unprecedented, with 80% of high school seniors volunteering their time. They are passionate about preserving the environment, enhancing educational opportunities, serving the needy, and ‘giving back’. Little wonder professional fundraisers are taking a close look at social media as a means of mobilizing supporters.
Here are ten suggestions for connecting Gen Y with causes via social media. :
1. Invite them to join the Team.
Millennials relate to heroes and young people with ideas. (Think 911, NBC’s Heroes, Harry Potter). DO: Show them how they can get involved and contribute in ways other than money. Like other segments, Millennials are more likely to give when they have a personal connection. Feature team members who are having an impact.
2. Give them a Voice.
Generation Y wants to be heard so help them tell their story. Make it easy to join the conversation. DO: Use blogs to encourage two-way conversation. Blogs are usually less formal and more dynamic than a regular websites. Good blogs invite comments and discussion and repeat visits. DON’T FILTER: Allow the negative and positive comments to remain.
3. Make It Personal.
Millennials use social media to connect to people, not institutions. DO: Feature real people. Be authentic. DON’T: Don’t be afraid to be transparent and have a little fun.
4. Use Facebook with Caution.
Facebook is about connecting with friends, not making friends. Use Facebook to continue a conversation you started someplace else. DO: Create a company page or a group or a fan page for your organization or event. Use Facebook to seek volunteers, donors and fundraisers (who find other donors). DON’T OVER DO IT: When people join your group or become your fans, you can send them messages, but not too many. Make them useful.
5. Embrace Twitter.
Twitter an ideal place to to begin cultivating future donors. Do: DO: Start ‘following’ people!! Participate – ask questions and respond. Don’t: Underestimate Twitter. Yes, it’s true that Millennials are underrepresented among Twitters 17 million users (Techcrunch, 5.12). Yet we don’t think it will be long before they start to literally and figuratively ‘get it.’ Nearly one in five online adults ages 18 to 34 have ever used Twitter or another microblogging platform. The number of users is doubling every month.
6. Offer lots of ways to contribute.
According to Yankelovich Monitor, 50% of Millennials agree that regularly donating your time to help others in need is a sign of success and accomplishment. DO: Make it easy and fun to participate – flexibility is key. Don’t Over-organize: Millennials will tell you what they want –think Twestivals and ‘groundswells’ vs. big events.
7. Enable directed giving.
Millennials want to know that their giving, whatever the size, matters. Do: Provide options that allow Millennials to ‘customize’ their giving. One size fits all is not appealing. Personalize the appeal. Don’t: Expect them to contribute to the general fund. Don’t put them on the spot. Avoid direct appeal phone calls or too persistent requests.
8. Emphasize quantity over quality.
Focus on building long-term supportive relationships. DO: Re-orient to a model that encourages thousands of $25 gifts, rather than twenty-five $1,000 gifts. Don’t: Wait for them to pay off their college loans – they can make small gestures now.
9.Tailor the media to the target.
Know your audiences (current and future) and ‘court’ them appropriately using multiple touch points, including both conventional and social media. DO: Have a strategy that fits the media to the target. If you neglect conventional media, you might leave out your core supporters. Social media is for the most ‘techie’. Don’t: Over-rely on social media or expect immediate results. You may never see results. Even Twitter hasn’t figured out how it’s going to make money yet.
10. Market with them, not to them.
Think of your efforts as multiplying and activating advocates. Do: Work for ‘retweets’ – Encourage donors and fundraisers to publicize their support and progress to their friends. Find ways to give them ‘social currency’ to spend with their friends. Don’t: Wait until you have it all figured out. Put your advocates to work on your behalf. They are in the best position to know how to talk to their peers.
