Young Donors Want More than a Party!
by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 01:00
Today’s guest blogger, Derrick Feldman, is CEO of Achieve where he provides guidance to organizations to help them develop new fundraising strategies. Today, Derrick focuses on the importance of engaging young professionals as donors in a more meaningful way.
Walk into a hip bar in a metropolitan area after work and there’s a chance that you’ll be greeted by a table draped with a banner bearing the logo of a local nonprofit. Over the music pulsing in the background, two young staffers will welcome you and offer you a name tag. On behalf of the nonprofit’s Young Professionals Group, they’ll thank you for coming, encourage you to enjoy yourself and offer you information about the organization.
This has become an increasingly likely scenario, which is why, during a recent conversation with a university vice president, I listened as he expressed concern about such groups. “More than 10 organizations in the city have some sort of young donor group with an affinity to the organization,” he said. “They’re all competing with each other for attention.”
It’s true: The concept of the Young Professionals Group (aka, Young Donors Society or Young Donors Group) has spread faster than a funny video on You Tube – which explains why, when we speak on young-donor engagement, I’m always asked whether these groups work. Of course, as a consultant, I have a famous answer for this and many other questions: It depends.
Let’s first look at the positives:
Right idea. By establishing such a group, a nonprofit takes a step in the right direction, demonstrating that it recognizes the need to involve the next generation.
Front-line experience. Some Young Professional Group activities do engage young people in the work of the organization through group volunteerism and other opportunities, giving the young professionals an opportunity to have an impact on the organization.
Creative fundraising. These groups raise support for the organization, often in creative and nontraditional ways. It’s fun to see some of the fundraising ideas that come out of these groups – granted, some are a little tacky, but others are pretty interesting.
Energy boosts. Young nonprofit leaders can be reinvigorated by the organization’s interest in working with young donors, and they’re often excited to help craft activities and events to pull more young professionals closer the organization.
Now let’s break down some of the cons:
Poor substitutes. These groups too often act as substitutes for real relationships. Recently, when I asked a fundraiser how many of her donor visits were with young professionals, she said, “None … that’s why we have a young donor group: to create that relationship so I can focus on larger donors.” True, the Young Professionals Group is an opportunity to create new relationships, but real donor engagement goes beyond that. As donors, young people expect a call, a conversation and a personally meaningful engagement opportunity.
Social, social, social. Trust me: I like a party as much as anyone. But, social activities can’t provide real young donor engagement. It’s demeaning and disrespectful to assume that the key to engaging young professionals is throwing a party in a bar. Would you hold events at bars if you were pursuing your top 50 donors above the age of 40?
Benefits vs. Philanthropy. There’s a difference between a Young Professional Group and a dues-paying society. If you pay dues, you expect a personal benefit; with philanthropy, however, you expect to give for the benefit of the community or the beneficiary of services. If Young Professionals Groups are established with dues expectations – even if the contribution is to the organization – the donor will expect some sort of personal benefit. As a result, once a young professional feels the value of the relationship has diminished, he or she will leave. On the other hand, if his or her personal philanthropic interest and engagement is high, that person will stick around.
So, nonprofit leaders: Here is your opportunity to think beyond simple activities to personal relationships.
Undoubtedly, some organizations will say Young Professionals Groups can have great benefits. I agree. But that doesn’t make them substitutes for personal relationships. As in life in general, a party, event or activity is a great way to meet people, but not a great way to forge real relationships.
So, what’s an organization to do? Utilize these groups to ignite engagement and then take a traditional approach to relationship building. Call and invite a young professional to hear more about the organization. Understand his or her personal motivations and match interests to opportunities beyond the Young Professionals Group.
Like an annual event, that Young Professionals Group might one day lose its flair; when it does, you’ll want to have a relationship that can outlive it. That way, you’ll still have access to your young professionals’ talent, motivation and passion long after the party’s over.
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