Photo courtesy of 401(k)2012
This week, we take a look at the development and fundraising sector and explore how the next generation is shaping this profession, issue area, and field--both as stewards of this department and as contributors and philanthropists. Guest bloggers who are thought leaders in this sector share their ideas on what is to come.
6 Steps To Grow Your Millennial Generation Donor List
Karlo is the Partnership Director at the Truman National Security Project where he trains political leaders on progressive national security issues. Previously, he was a young voter and Millennial generation expert as an analyst at CIRCLE. He serves on the Board of Directors of Advocates for Youth, Progressive Alliance PAC, and Global Solutions PAC.
When I was growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the eighties, I used to write letters (yes, with paper and pen) to my grandmother who lived in the Philippines; it was the cheapest way to keep in touch across a big ocean. Additionally, I got to practice my cursive writing (curse it!).
Of course, today, I wouldn’t touch pen and paper unless an electrical storm wiped out all my electronic equipment. I am a Millennial to be sure. You already know that Millennials are tech savvy and love their devices. So the solution is simple if you need to ask this generation for a charitable donation, right? Simply email, text, Facebook, or Tweet your way to younger supporters and ask them for cash, and the money will simply roll in via your online donation solution. Ha, if that were only the case.
The truth of the matter is that successful fundraising still very much hinges on personal relationships and impassioned supporters.
Here’s how one organization is thinking creatively to grow a Millennial generation donor list from scratch – and you can, too!
1) Locating the Millennial nerve centers in your existing network
While technology has made communicating easier and farther reaching, people are still most easily moved by those they know and trust. The human connection is still real and the people who are the hubs of the webs and webs of your supporters need to be your best friends ASAP. The Millennial Impact Report found that “[b]y a margin of more than two-to-one, Millennials who volunteer for nonprofits are more likely to make donations, and survey responses and focus groups comments suggest that volunteering correlates to larger gifts.” This is where you start to find those who are already deeply engaged and connected in your network of supporters.
I have the privilege of serving on the Board of Directors for Advocates for Youth, an organization promoting sexual and reproductive rights and education for young people in the U.S. and abroad. At Advocates, we tried the shotgun approach of sending out email blasts to our large lists of young supporters, and it was successful though it didn’t land the windfall it does for political campaigns or charities with big-time brand recognition like the American Red Cross. So we had to think about how Millennials communicate with one another, and as it turns out, it isn’t always through mass communication. Armed with the findings about Millennial behavior from The Millennial Impact Report, Advocates launched Y-FAB, the Youth Fundraising Advisory Board. More than 90 applications were received - and 24 passionate and committed volunteers were selected to engage Advocates at a deeper level. The thinking behind Y-FAB is that the best way to ask Millennials for money is to use surrogates who are their peers.
2) Fundraising 101 – it’s a skill that requires learning, practice and more practice
The idea of asking people for money can be intimidating and uncomfortable. Yet, asking for money (whether fundraising for a charity, a business, or a political campaign) is a process with clear goals, steps, strategies and techniques like playing chess or getting in the habit of exercising and eating healthy. The problem is that Millennials haven’t been explained the process for fundraising. Advocates asked me to do a Fundraising 101 training for Y-FAB on the basics of creating a donor target list, using technology and voice calls to make the ask, and following up with thank you notes. Each month Advocates does a webinar for Y-FAB on key fundraising topics with subject matter experts from successful organizations.
3) Set a big goal and explain how it will impact the organization
Once you’ve trained your Millennials to fundraise, it will take them little extra effort to go from raising $500 to $5,000, so set an ambitious, achievable goal. For Y-FAB, we divided them into five teams with a goal to raise $2,000 each, which introduces competition into the mix and will hopefully foster an environment that drives each individual to do their best and more. In addition to setting a big goal, you’ll need to explain how this money will impact the organization. At Advocates we know that these funds help bring young people to our annual leadership retreat in Washington, DC, as well as providing technical assistance to young people in foreign countries where access to information about sexual health is difficult to come by.
4) Supply a fundraising coach and a regular, intimate connection to the organization
So you found your Millennial nerve centers, got them trained-up and helped them set ambitious, achievable goals. You can’t just turn them loose, however. A college friend of mine went to business school some years back and summed up his management education to me in one simple phrase: follow-up. Humans need an accountability friend to make sure they are executing the process well so team-up your Millennial fundraisers with a coach or mentor who they can bounce ideas off of, as well as pick them up when they get down when the going gets tough. At Advocates, we’ve paired up five Board Members to serve as mentors and coaches for each team.
5) Be patient – if money grew on trees, it would still take time for it to grow from seed to money dropping tree
Trust in the process and look for signs that your supporters are growing in the right way, and be sure to share best practices among your Millennial fundraisers – they learn best from their peers who are trying to do the same thing.
6) Evaluate, tweak and repeat!
New generations of donors are coming of age everyday so don’t think that one cohort will be your silver bullet. Continue to sow new seeds each season and be flexible enough to adapt.