For Millennial Donors, "Trust" Is Key In Giving Decisions

Posted in Marketing on Jun 11, 2011

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For Millennial Donors, "Trust" Is Key In Giving Decisions

Nonprofit organizations that succeed in the future will be those prepared to engage the next generation of donors and volunteers, Millennials, on their terms. With attention turned to this challenge, Achieve and Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates partnered in 2009 to conduct the first nationwide research study focused on the giving habits and preferences of Millennials.

In 2010, these partners conducted a second survey and the findings were recently released in the 2011 Millennial Donor Survey report. The findings of these surveys are meant to help organizations prepare an effective strategy for engaging this young generation of donors.

For the 2011 Millennial Donors Survey, nearly 3,000 participants between the ages of 20 and 35 from across the United States shared information about their giving habits and volunteer preferences. While this year's survey included some of the same questions from last year's, in an effort to provide new insights, questions covering new areas were added.

Findings of this year's survey indicate that “trust” is the most important factor in making giving decisions. Most Millennials (84%) said they are more likely to make donations when they fully trust an organization, and, most (90%) said they would stop giving if they decided they do not trust an organization.

More key findings:

#GIVING

What They Give - 93% of surveyed Millennials gave to nonprofit organizations in 2010, 21% giving $1,000 or more during the course of the year, but the bulk of giving was distributed in small increments to many organizations. 58% of respondents said their single largest gift was less than $150.
How They Give - online giving is the method of choice by 58% of respondents.
Giving Motivators - 85% of Millennials are motivated to give by a compelling mission or cause, and 56% by a personal connection or trust in the leadership of the organization. 57% of Millennials gave in response to a personal ask. Only 2% of Millennials were motivated to give by celebrity endorsements.

#COMMUNICATING

Information Gathering - 71% of respondents get information about nonprofit organizations through web searches, 62% want to receive information by email, and 56% get information from peers. 33% of Millennials said they use Facebook to gather information on an organization.
Organization Websites - On an organization's website, 70% of Millennials want to find information about the organization's mission and history, and 56% want to learn about the organization's financial condition. 65% want an organization's website to provide giving guides that explain how support will make a difference, and 52% want to learn about volunteer opportunities.

#ENGAGING

Who Volunteers - 79% of respondents volunteered for organizations in 2010, with 19% of people who gave $1,000 or more volunteered once a week or more, while only 11% of people who donated less than $1,000 volunteered that often.
Who Doesn't Volunteer (and why) - 45% of the non-volunteers said they simply weren't asked to volunteer. The primary obstacle to volunteering being a lack of time, which was noted by 85% of participants who did not volunteer in 2010.
Young Professional Organizations - 40% said they would be interested in joining a young professional organization, and 44% were unsure. Of those interested in joining such groups, only 40% said they would be willing to pay a fee or donate to join.

Tags: 2011 Millennial Donors Survey Nonprofit Organizations Millennials Volunteers

06-15-2011	Comment by Hannah
Great Breakdown Of The Research Here. For People Interested In More, Achieve And The CASE Foundation Have Organized The First Virtual Conference Dedicated To Millennials And Millennial Donor Engagement, MDS11. It's Next Week And There Are Some Really Great Speakers There Like Geoff Livingston And People From Livestrong And The Red Cross. Mdsummit11.com.

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